Arabic Grammar: General Reference

Assalamu'alaikum wa rahmatullah

Introduction

The reference for this simple lesson is from the Taysīr al-Naḥwu or Concise Grammar for Arabic Speakers. For first lessons, I would just include the reference for grammatical method in Arabic which has been simplified. Basically I am using simple English as the medium because it would be easier for non-Arabs to understand them...

One has to remember that Arabic is an ancient language which survives as a spoken language. The Quranic Arabic which we use in our daily liturgy and rituals is the Arabic of Classical Period based from the Quraysh tribe speeches since our noble prophet Muhammad s.a.w is a member of the particular tribe. The Arabic dialects spoken in various Arabic speaking countries are the variants of Arabic which often mixed with other sister languages such as Aramaic and other languages as according to the regions. There is also Modern Standard Arabic which is used for standard communication in modern world.

Just like speakers of other languages, the Arabic speakers developed various sciences to study and analyze the speeches. The applied ones are the naḥwu, ṣarf, uslūb, balaghah, and so on. They are usually connected with other advanced sciences such as the Quranic ones namely the tafsīr, tajwīd, tarannum and many others. Most Arab descents (of Arab fathers) living abroad were encouraged or "forced" to speak in Classical Arabic so they had lost their regional dialects.

I think our generation is the last one survives as locally educated Arabs and the formal Arabic education was abolished to give way for national ones. Some of locally established Arabic schools were converted into Folk Religious ones. We are so much doomed as compared to Tamil or Chinese compatriots. Arabic stream has no defenders even of its own people or despite of our association with local sultanates. Nobody defend our cultural rights or education in Arabic. Younger generations have lost their sense of identity including the spoken language, religious observances, customs and awareness about clans. We are facing the identity conflicts despite the new-coming Arabs flooding our country as immigrants, expatriates, refugees or as tourists. We choose to speak in national language or in English just like those in Indian sub-continent choose Urdu or regional languages as their spoken languages.

Let us begin with the lesson....    

The Word

A singular pronunciation which shows the meaning and it is not suitable for a complete communication. Example of the word are, book, exercise book or pen. 

Complete Sentence

Consists of two words thus it is being broken to parts thus giving the meaning out of the silence of no meaning. E.g in English such as Ali is a brave man or a beneficial book.

Parts of Words

• Noun

Whatever thing pronounced among the human-being, animals, plants or inanimate matters or anything. E.g such as Ali, Fatima, tree, buffalo, book or chair. 

• Verb

Whatever thing which shows the product of a deed in a certain time. E.g he wrote, writes, wrote, writing, write.

• Alphabets

In Arabic, the prepositions are signified with the alphabets. The same thing goes to other Semitic languages for e.g Akkadian, Assyrian, Hebrew or Ethiopian. They are referred in Arabic grammar as; any pronunciation which shows no manifestation of complete meaning when it is alone except that when it is paired with others.

Verbs

• Past Tense

Refers to any deed which has been conducted in the past. I think here comes example in Arabic....

 قرأ التلميذ الكتاب

The student read the book.  

• Present Tense

Refers to any deed which is conducted right now or in the future. Arabic concludes the future in the present tense. Example which I could think of right now for this:

يلعب الأولادُ

The children are playing. 

• Imperative

It refers to any verb which is used to order the performer to do something. When we give order to someone, then it is imperative. 

إقرأ كتابَك

Read your book!

Actor

It is a noun who brings about the deed and it refers to the doer of the deed. In Arabic, we call this person as الفاعل. E.g of the actor is in this following sentence:

دخل المدرس الفصل

The teacher entered the classroom.

Accusative

A noun which is the victim of the actor. In Arabic, the term is المفعول به. E.g:

حفظ التلاميذ الدروس

The students memorized lessons.

Subject

The term in Arabic is Mobtada' which is the noun located in the beginning of a sentence. E.g:

الشمس طالعة، القمر مضئ

The sun rises, the moon shines. 

Predicate

It is known as Khabar in Arabic. It refers to the noun at the end of the sentence. E.g:

أنتم أذكياء، ونحن مخلصين

You guys are smart, but we are sincere.

Nominal Sentence

The sentence comprised of the subject and the predicate. E.g:

محمد تلميذ مجتهد

Muhammad is a hardworking student.

Verbal Sentence

The sentence consists of the verb and actor. I am not sure whether this is equivalent to phrasal verb in English. Maybe I should check it again...

يجتهد الطلاب فى دروسهم

Students put on efforts in their studies.

Closing Section

Normal Arabic speakers actually do not really pay attention for grammatical order of the speeches. They just speak and write in it. However, some people do emphasize on the correct speeches such as the late Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal or Sharia jurists because it is important for them in providing the guidelines for public. If your jurist speak rustic language, then do not listen to him. His jurisdiction might be flawed and barbaric! I wish this simple lesson would be a quick reference and helpful for those who are interested in Arabic and Middle Eastern studies.

Sealed with prayers for mercy, peace and love, amin!

Arabic: Ishtiqāq

Assalamu'alaikum wa rahmatullah

I am trying to structure some of the language lessons that I have in my notebooks. Altogether, I had learned few languages which is not spoken in my country or even the archaic ones such as Pali-Sanskrit while some of them are the spoken languages where I speak in them in my daily life as according to the region where I stay for example Malay, Chinese, Urdu and Thai. I think I would dump my notes here for everyone to get the benefit if the interested viewers stepped into this humble site. Arabic script is not so easy for Roman script keyboard and I am not a good software engineer. This is quite a trouble for me since Arabic is not so developed in transliteration as compared to Sanskrit, hehe...

I know Malay is not a useful language out there but it is useful for those who wanted to study the classical Turat books translated and adapted by the clerics who speak and write in Malay in South East Asian region. Malay was the medium to teach Buddhism around the 7th century AD. It is now the medium to teach Islam and also other basic sciences although not as much popular as English or other languages. Languages are extremely important for students of Shari'a and Usūluddin. No joking... You would not be a good qadhi while your languages are at the level of three years old infant. How are you going to interpret jurisdictions when you are not good in language and linguistic studies? At least we should know the basic of them as a tool for ourselves...

Ishtiqāq literally means etymology or derivation for the Arabic words. Arabic is not so much difficult when we study it from our childhood time. The languages such as English, Persian, Urdu, Spanish or Malay themselves absorbed a large number of Semitic words through Arabic. 

Formula

This system emphasizes on the root word so you also need to know about it as to make it easy for you to check the dictionary. For example the word...

كَتَبَ write

Could also be developed into several other nouns such as...

مكْتَبٌ desk

كْتَابٌ book

مكْتُوبٌ written

كاتِبٌ author

مَكتَبَةٌ library

This is just an example. There are many examples for this. Among scholarly works that we could refer with regard to this topic were of Ibn Qutaybah and Ibn Duraid. Both of them were from Abbasid caliphate. The latter identify himself as a Qahtanite Arab while the previous was known as a Persian descent. I simply hope that the notes at least would help Arabic students. I am sorry no transliteration for the Arabic words. I am lazy, haha... 

Sealed with prayers for mercy, peace and love, amin!

Is Kafir Really Means Infidel?

Assalaamu'alaikum wa rahmatullah

This morning I had read some questions and statements about Islam and Muslim by people who hate Islam or religion. They are sometimes annoying, like childish little girls or budak jambu perasan macho (boys who thinks that they're smart good looking guys with bunch of friends around) in American schools seeking attention for something which is "temporary," pooorah! They don't hate Muslim (human), but they hate Islam (the God), hehehe. 

The God actually does not need this kind of people. Nobody needs their filthy blood to be spilled on mother earth. So, every time when they talk about "apostates" or "infidels" must be killed, I found that it as annoying because it does not reflect the 'real' situation or perhaps they wanted to die and asking some "terrorists" to kill them? Sick people... I would just recommend them to get a life, do something better with our life. I had been a Buddhist and an Atheist for some times and I hated Islam because of bad experiences with Muslims too. Nobody actually had killed me. I am alive and typing this post. There are many people turning to other faith in this world either from Islam to other faith or being ones without faith or from other faith to Islam. So, what's the big fuss about it? We want to believe anything, just go on. Do we have to let the whole world know what is inside our heart? What if people know? We feel proud because we could be in line with the mainstream and showing off on how advance we are like the "mainstream" when we criticize other faith?

This post is a bit of translation and we don't simply translate words because the words of different languages match to each other. In political science, we have conceptualization. Those people who talk nonsense are just insulting their own intelligence as human-being. People like Cicero the orator, also doing some interpretation while delivering speeches.

In most Eastern traditions of philosophies for example Buddhism, these people are considered as beasts because they do not talk like human. This is according to what had been proposed in Panchasil or the Five Principle Precepts to be human-being. This discourse about Panchasil was given by lord Buddha Gautama to Naga Muchalinda who took human form to be a monk (human) but since he was not a human-being, lord Buddha advised him to stick to Five Principle Precepts for him to be "incarnated" into a human-being in the future and he could perform monasticism "in the real meaning."

What is in Panchasil???

1. Not to take life (killing, murder)    

2. Not to take what is not given (jealousy, hijacking, stealing, robbing)

3. No to false speech and fact distortion (lying, cheating, slandering)

4. Avoid from using senses falsely (norms and morality of sexual conduct according to monastic law, usage of mind)

5. Avoid intoxicants stuffs (liquor, crack, caffeine)

Many "scholars" about Islam as a hideous thing with bias childish criticism, and bashing in the internet had fallen into the stage of beasts though this principle is Buddhism by basis. It has no religious connotation because beasts need 'no religion.' This is what I am trying to tell some Muslim brothers and sisters when we talk about people of other faith or about anything. We try to avoid distorting facts. We just talk about whatever we know but stay silent on whatever that we are not sure. In the West, people love to act scholar though they are not by fact 'wise.' They articulate and talk as if they know everything though their brain is empty of the issue that they are talking about. People also distort facts through the name of "Rules and Regulation." Unfortunately, this is how the world is "dominated" and "shaped" by them while the real Dominion is the One with Mercy and Love : ) 

Now back to the topic, when we translate things, there are actually many principles that we need to adhere. We even possess translation and interpretation theories and science. It mentions that translation could not be a "real" rendition of a text but simply to bring the message from a language to another for the different audience. As to say, there are many misunderstandings about this Quranic word which sounds like كافر kafir (pl. kuffaar). It is often translated into English as infidel. Infidel is a Latin word based from Roman Catholicism terminology. Latin is a liturgy language for Roman Catholics and technically Roman Catholicism is a sect of Christians' religion. It's not Muslims' ritual language because we use Quraiysh Arabic in most of rituals like salat. Even some of us recite supplications after salat in Arabic and not in native tongues. 

As per my understanding for the word kafir in this way to return to Him, it means that a creature is an ingrate toward Him. Ingrate in this context of word means someone who has no gratitude to the Creator, Who gives and generates Life. The Arabic word kafir is a noun which shows the act of the subject from the past tense verb كفر kafar.

What does كفر  kafar means in Arabic? 

It has three basic meanings...

I. غطاه closed, covered from comprehending their selves and the God

II. انكره refusing to respect the God 

III. ضد امن against security (those who spread lies, slander, and harming human-society or creatures)

From this word, another word which is derived from kafir sounds like is كفارة kaffarah. It means the breaking of commandment and covenant. It also refer to sentence or fine for sins and crimes committed by a creature. Deeper meaning, it means the sentence to cancel the act of breaking the commandment and covenant. Commandment and covenant is the contract between a soul and the God. This is how the word being developed in Arabic. It's not simply substituting word for word like a person who does not go to school. This problem happened because many of Islamic texts was translated by Westerners. Translation could also be influenced by the ideology and tendency of a certain translator. 

Terminologically, the word kafir means a person who does not believe, have no confidence and denies the God as the One who Creates the Universe, who Sustains the Universe, and who Gives life to the death. It refers to people who are hidden and covered to the Revelation and the seal of prophethood, Muhammad s.a.w as a messenger of the God to the nations of era near Resurrection. 

Then only this word is generally translated into English as infidel where it has been taken into substitution for the word in eastern part of the world. Another word for this in English used to translate this particular word is disbeliever because translators trying to avoid Roman Catholicism connotations and the method of understanding the word is different. For me, I would use the word ingrate to translate the word into English.

E.g of the usage of this word is such in the term of كُفُرْنِعْمَةْ kufur ni'mah. It means someone who refuse to admit the grace of the God the Most Highest to him or to her. Basically it means ingratitude, ones without politeness and of no manner. These kind of people do not co-exist well with the nature and causing troubles for the universe. This كُفُرْ kufur word is synonymous to kafir but it does not make a Muslim person an infidel from his or her faith to the God the Most Highest and His messenger to the universe, Muhammad s.a.w or leading to what is called as apostasy. This term is used to refer to ingratitude which brings not one from the boundary of the basic six pillars of faith and five pillars Islam.

Sealed with prayers for mercy, peace, and love, amin!

Eagerness to Learn

Assalamu'alaikum wa Rahmatullah!

I just took a circulatory bus in the university to the language center. I have to check the venue for the German language test. It is in Lang. Lab 3 and 6 at 9.00 in the morning. I do not know what to answer tomorrow. Maybe I would just hantam (shooting answers), and leave the room early. Thank God, higher degree students do not have to register the course for examination grade as it is only the requirement for us according to our field of study related to European studies. Or else it would be a disaster for me. 

I wait for the bus at the bus stand near the center after checking the venue and time for the test. There I met my German language classmate. A Chinese girl from China. In the beginning I thought that she is ethnically Manchu or Korean because she looks like a Northern tribe girl. Well, Chinese everywhere still remember about Manchurian invasion.


It could be seen even in HK and Taiwanese movies about the Jiang Shi (jumping zombies) being described as wearing Manchurian style garments. I love watching the late Lum Ching Ying movies. He was among famous names in Cantonese film industry during my childhood time before he passed away because of liver cancer in 97'. We were so sad, because we love his movies.

I lived in Cheras Kuala Lumpur when I was a kid and my father worked in a press media company particularly as a reporter getting news for a Malay language paper. If you could notice this, people with western (arab and indian) origin always attached to newspapers, writings, and some in politics or business through their connection with feudal lords be it in the old time or recently. That is what these people were last time. My father being a reporter because of his passion to Malay language and literature. He did not get formal education after his father passed away when he was 12 and was sent to Singapore when he was 14. 


Malay is the language my father was raised with in northern state of Malaysia since he was born in 1948. Undeniably it is an important medium for our ancestors transmitting the knowledge about Allah to natives through books written in Arabic script taught in traditional madrasas in Malaysia and Southern Thailand.


In 1948, our beloved Kedah Sultanate was reluctantly merged By British through the threat from Siam (former Thailand and our former rival) into the Malayan Peninsula Federation to give way for other states and kingdoms under British rule and administration their way for independence. In 1948 too, British left Palestinian British Mandate in Jerusalem and Israel declared its indepence as a nation-state. 

As to say, we especially children were so much influenced by Chinese environment around us in Kuala Lumpur. I do not even know how to talk or mingle with Malay kids when I was a kid. I am not familiar with them although I tried to befriend them when I was a little kid. My parents sent me to a mosque to be educated according to Islamic way but I never make any friend there. I just have neighbors at home as friends.


Eventhough not a pure Hua Qiao (overseas Chinese), but I do aware about some points in the history of Chinese empires and states from discussions with other Malaysian Chinese compatriot from Chinese Private Education like the Confucian School in Kuala Lumpur or other Chinese National Type education. I borrowed their books to read, hehe.

I thought that the Chinese girl is a non-Muslim because in the class her name is just a combination of two sounds and it sounds like 'objective' or 'motivation' in Mandarin if we play with the words articulation, haha. I feel sorry to her now when I chuckled at her when listening she told me her name. She does not know I understand Chinese.


We talked about how tough German class. Our German teacher has high expectation on students because she is a native German. I believe Frau Myer is a good teacher, because she never takes students problem in her class easily. She always tries to know what is her student problem if they could not understand her teachings in the class. 

She told me that she is a Muslim. That is fine with me. I know many Muslim Chinese brothers and sisters before, be they from Malaysia, China, Taiwan or Thailand. What stricken me was that the girl said that she could not read some parts of Quran because she does not really familiar with Arabic script. So she also wanted to take Arabic class at least for the beginner level. I also found her Malay is quite impressive when she said "saya boleh cakap sikit-sikit Melayu" (I can speak a little bit Malay). I don't speak with her in Chinese anyway because no one would expect a 'Malay' speaking in 'dialectical' Chinese. I consider it as impressive because she tries to speak in the language that she learned in classes. 


I could understand her intention when she wants to learn Arabic. I know how China is. We also heard about Cultural Revolution. I could not offer her my help because of the difference in gender though sometimes I could be quite open minded but since she is a Muslim, I am respectful to her. If my sisters are there, I would certainly ask my sisters to volunteer helping her without she have to waste her money registering for classes in the center. We were all educated using Arabic script Malay before we learned Malay with Roman script. I had also seen other Chinese national friends and brothers who are eager with Arabic learning and they are taking the opportunity while studying here.


Although I personally do not like how the university language center is 'making' money by pressing students' money because I was also a student under the center. I know how they work, and I sympathize first degree students for that. However, I still admire these students when I see how eager they are to acquire the knowledge which would eventually connect them to Allah 'Azza wa Jalla and as we know they live in non-Islamic environment. China is still a country with Communism as its ideology although I could see now it shifts little by little toward capitalism without we realize it. 

In Malaysia, we learn everything sometimes without having to be burdened with costs. Especially religious education is actually everywhere and those in the mosques are usually free because the mosque usually pay for the teachers transportation costs and others to deliver teachings.

Masjid Zubair al-Awwam, this was the place where I received my early education. I do not have any good memory here, most of the teachers there were women when I was taught religious practices and other things like reading and writing. I remember I was slapped by teachers and humiliated in front other 'malay' friends. I noticed that only me who was humiliated and left alone. My perception too was formed since these early times. I stopped from going to the nursery in the mosque for about a year and just staying at home until I was registered in standard one (7 years old) in a national school just under our flat house in Cheras. When I was in the class in standard one, I do not even know how to read alphabets anymore and have to learn again. I hope parents, teachers, and others learn from this. Do not humiliate little soul but handle them with care without spoiling them. They might not know how to describe how they feel but they have feelings too. - Picture by Nawuzah 

Mosques are everywhere and we have musalla even in shopping complex in the area with majority Chinese community. We have broadcasting like religious lectures in the TV and radio. It is the matter we realize it or not. Whether we have the desire to get it. Whether we want to get benefits from them or not. Last time, I myself did not realize about this.

I began to slowly get this understanding when I live with Zaidi. He was my roommate from Kelantan when I was in second year doing my first degree. He was the same age as me but he came from religious school where he had to be stranded for one year for Arabic preparation. In some madrasas, students have to take Arabic preparation class before moving to i'dadi level. The highest level in a madrasah is the thanawi. 


He used to listen to Kedah state radio where they have religious lectures aired around 14:00-14:30 and also another radio which is the radio of Pulau Pinang from 14:30-15:00. These radio also have many other religious lecture and spiritual program. When I heard he tuned in these radios, I also get to learn many things. I am also imitating him when I return home. This is also a good method to get religious knowledge.


I also recall back my experience when I listened to Thai radio and getting some knowledge about Buddhism practices when I live with my grandparents when I was 13. The broadcasting is aired from Chanak, Thailand. Just nearby my mother's hometown. I listened to the Thai radio because that is the only channel that I could get at my grandparents' house and visiting temples when I feel bored to talk with monks there. There was no TV. Nobody to play with. Sometimes my uncle who is a member of Tabligh-e-Jama'at would come to visit my grandparents with his wife.
  
I will always have to apologize to respective brother Zaidi. Last time I had scared him with strict practices and had waken him up for pray fajar prayers everyday in the mosque. We just walked because I have no transport and the mosque is quite far from the hostel. I did that because nobody calling for prayer early in the morning and my voice is not so loud to bangk (calling people to pray).


I can not just leave him alone and wake up late. I have to wake him up because it is for his own good. I didn't get anything by doing that except helping him to perform his responsibility as a believer. That is why I do not want to live with any roommate now considering that most of phd students are too old and I could not cope up with their way. I am also afraid that I would scare people away or I would burden them and make them feel uneasy.

As I had already encountered many bad experience, I just tested brother Zaidi in the beginning because I wanted to know with whom I lived with and after that I felt sorry to him. I think that I had done evil things to him when I tested him or perhaps I had bullied him. It might not be a good way to test others, but after that I get to learn many things from him too when I observe him.


He showed me the importance of religious lectures. I had seen religious lectures everywhere but I never realize its importance because last time, I just like other youngsters thought that only elders listen to religious lectures. It is boring and lame. My mother had also dragged me and my sisters to mosque last time, but we were so stubborn and only care about playing around or spending times in front of TV. Such a waste of time, and living in the frame of time we could be sliced to pieces if we do not realize it.

After I talk with the Chinese girl, watching uncles, aunties, grandpas and grandmas from China in their way to hajj pilgrimage in the airport when I was a temporary worker in immigration center in the international airport. And also after few months observing other Muslim brothers from China here. I felt so ashamed of our selves.

Their elders were pressured after Communists took over their states. Even some of them like in Yunnan have to flee south during Manchurian rule because in Northern Malaysia there are few descendants of these Yunnanese refugees who fled Yunnan. Some remnants are still there in Myanmar and North Thailand called as Panthaiy.


I could not even put my self as a comparison to them because their eagerness to seek knowledge strucks my heart. Through knowledge and revelation, Allah will guide us to imaan. Let us together seek knowledge, the knowledge that would bring us to know Allah no matter in what field we are working or studying : )     

Sealed with prayers may Allah bless beloved brothers and sisters and tahiyyat (respect) to all of you regardless nationality and languages : ) Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aali Muhammad, wa ahlihi wa sahbihi ajma'in. Under a nation banner and wings of peace!  

Hassan al-Banna: A Muslim Reformer

Assalamu'alaikum wa Rahmatullah!

Alhamdulillah, praise be to Allah. I have finished almost all of the paper. Now I just have another one paper to go and it is not a burden anymore for me. I had covered almost all of the topic, may Allah keep my memory long going for the subject this Monday, Amin!

Yesterday night I went to a brother room. A Kelantanese guy and six years younger than me. It is just a ziara (visit) because I was on the way to the restaurant and I had not taken my dinner yet at that time. Then suddenly rain poured down. The brother thbored : ) He then start talking about politics. Well, I actually hate politics it makes me feel

But then he hits the right button when he talked about Hassan al-Banna. I love this figure. I had read some books about this figure and I have a huge respect to Ikhwanul Muslimin (Muslim brotherhood). The brother said that the guy was shot dead. I think that I had read about him and also his idealism last time but it may be long ago. May Allah bless his pure soul, aamin!

Very nice idealism and the late Mr. al-Banna's idea had made me realize the importance of Arabic although I had learned it since I am a young kid. The language does not attract me at all because it was around me. Now when I really wanted it, it always distanced itself from me. Lately, I had discovered that my paternal line is of Yemeni descent although we do not use the title sayyed (lord). It makes me more keen now to go back to my root. Without our silsilah (family line), we had lost everything including our religion. I had lost Islam when I was 15 and becoming a silent Buddhist. It began since I was 13 years old but I profess the statement of belief when I was 15.

I listened to the brother with respect about what he thinks regarding politics either in Malaysia or abroad. Well, most of all Mr. al-Banna's idealism is not really about politics. I am so relieved as I hate politics. I am just into Allah and the prophets teaching. Then it is about the purpose of our life. As a Muslim, my purpose is only You O Allah! How chaos is our Muslim nations without proper understanding of the basis of Islam.

I am planning to read more about Mr. al-Banna idealism. I wish that there are also books about him in English or Chinese :'(   

May Allah forgive us our sins, and please O Allah do not Ye count us our despicable acts due to our ignorance and forgetfulness, Amin!

Arabic greetings for Chinese speaking Muslims

Peace,

I had read a post in one of our sisters' blog, she has a very interesting point about people who are well-versed in religious studies always using some Arabic terms or greetings which we as publics can't really understand. I am also thinking the same in this matter and I am pretty sure others too agree with this.  It is not about denying anyone's ability in any studies, it is just for the sake of understanding and convenience. All of us are learning and will always learn.

This had brought me to my conversation with a respective Muslim Chinese friend from Gansu. Gansu is located in Northwest of China and a strong fort of Islamic adherents in China. I have a huge respect to this province of China and once I met the brother who talked with me, I already could guess where he came from based of his loyalty to Islamic teachings. They actually just like Malays using lots of Islamic or Arabic terminologies in their everyday Chinese. I would like to share this with our brothers and sisters Muslim Chinese for your own convenience. 

This is just to show to everyone that not only Malays like in Malaysia has this culture but it is a wide-spread culture.  Muslims who speak no Chinese too can learn. I would love to encourage everyone to learn Chinese and if possible other Chinese dialects for Da'awa purpose. Till now I had a little bit made the jama'a in the surau at my place of staying realize that sino-speaking Muslim do exist in Malaysia. We are all brothers in humanity and the most important thing are brothers and sisters in faith.

I think it is good for sinophone Muslim to get some information about this so next time you can help other people in the term of educating them about Islamic terms or greetings. I had learned the first Islamic greetings from my Muslim Chinese friend which is 賽倆目 or pronounced as Sailiamu. It simply means Salaam from Arabic with the meaning peace in English but written in Chinese script and sound.

The other variant of 賽倆目 is  色蘭 in pinying is pronounced as Selan. It is still the same Salaam but can be used in Chinese text SMS as it is a simplified version. To answer it, simply say 回色蘭 (Huiselan, or Veeslan). It is the sound for Wassalam.  Means salam kembali or peace returned to you.

The other one which is a bit longer is 安斯倆目阿來空 (Ansiliamu'alaikong). It is from Assalamu'alaikum in Arabic which means peace be upon everyone. To answer, simply say, 我來苦目阿賽倆目 (Wolaikumussailiamu) or Wa'alaikumussalam.   

So, next time our Muslim Chinese sisters and brothers can use these greetings among each other in text message. I know most of you are having hard time to type because I am also having hard time before and simply typing wrong characters for those greetings. Thanks to friendly brother who lives at level 7th, brother Xian who taught me these and thanks to puan Aliya for raising this in her blog. It is a good sharing. May Allah grants them bountiful of blessings.

I always forgotten about this once I raised it to myself but when I saw this in her blog  I've got back my lost memory and spontaneously typing it here before I forgot it again.  There are lots more on these Islamic terms in Chinese characters and meaning in Chinese. I will update them next time whenever I am free. I hope next time, our Muslim Chinese brothers and sisters could help writing more materials in Chinese for everyone especially in Malaysia : )

Till then, I pray for everyone peace and please pray for my exam this Wednesday. May Allah bless all of our faithful brothers and sisters, ameen.