# Our Mission

These are the principles we stand for and what we hope to achieve by the grace of Allah.

[QuranBasics.org](https://quranbasics.org) was founded in 2024 on the idea that learning **Al-Fatihah** (The Opening), **Al-Ikhlas** (The Sincerity), **Al-Falaq** (The Daybreak) and **An-Nas** (Mankind) are essential for anyone who wants the Quran to enter their heart and blossom a love for Allah's wisdom.

**Especially new Muslims**, who can go months - if not years - without having learned a single word. They pray in their native tongue, with headphones playing an audio recording or stand meditating in silence. We have personally seen it all. 

Why? Because nobody taught them better. They don't know what they don't know. Unfortunately, not every community has accessible programmes for reverts and not every revert has good role models they can learn from. Apart from major cities with well-funded mosques, many reverts only have Allah and the internet.

Without a real, trustworthy human to sit down with them, listen to them, teach them and correct them, many reverts have no resource to learn the Quran confidently or properly.

QuranBasics.org exists to connect new Muslims to the Quran through trustworthy teachers. There are enough good-hearted people out there who would jump at the opportunity to help a new Muslim discover the beauty of the Quran for the first time. The reward is immense. 

### The Quran

Many Muslims that have a strong relationship with the Quran will testify that a single verse has taken them on hours-long journeys filled with curiosity, adventure and learning where they explore the length and breadth of Islamic knowledge through Tafsir (exegesis), Hadith (words, actions, stories of the Prophet ﷺ) and scholarly lectures. Each gem you discover guides you to another until your heart is filled with awe for the wisdom of Allah. 

It's a joy. One of the most satisfying ways to spend time. A miracle from Allah.

And it is those journeys that teach us about our religion. They teach us about Allah. His Mercy, His Wrath. They show us heaven, hell, and explain why we work so hard, for so long, to please Allah. They remind us to never give up. They remind new Muslims, to not give up.

The first journey was, for all of us, before any other journey, **Al-Fatihah**. It gave us our first taste of the Quran's sweetness. Stored deep in our hearts. We'll repeat those seven verses until the day we die. That peace, that serenity, that security in having the Quran in your heart is the greatest gift you can give anyone. The happiness you see on a new Muslim's face when they finally recite Al-Fatihah by heart is pure joy. And for the teachers, we share that joy with them and reserve a little more in hope for the reward of Allah. It's an energy and a happiness unfound anywhere else. It's a miracle from Allah. 

After **Al-Fatihah**, the ball starts to roll. We go for **Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq** and **An-Nas**. Each one with it's own journey through history, meaning and purpose. Each one is closer to Allah and each one is filling a heart previously void. 

Here, at QuranBasics.org, it's those journeys, that sweetness, that full heart, we want to pass on to new Muslims worldwide. And we can't do it without [you](https://quranbasics.org/volunteer).


# How it works (for volunteers)

QuranBasics.org is the place where new Muslims can begin their journey with the beautiful Quran by learning the 4 simplest chapters in free, private lessons with a volunteer teacher. ​

If you have a few hours spare each week, even just one, to teach a new Muslim Al-Fatihah, Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq or An-Nas, become a QuranBasics.org [volunteer](https://quranbasics.org/volunteer) and share the blessing of the Quran with others.

### Skip to content

1. [Control your schedule & availability](#control-exactly-when-youre-available)
2. [How lessons are booked](#taking-on-students)
3. [Managing lessons](#tracking-student-progress)
4. [What you'll teach and how](#what-youll-teach-and-how)
5. [Eligibility](#eligibility)

### Control exactly *when* you're available

You stay in full control of your time donation & availability so our system guarantees lessons are only booked during times slots you’ve earmarked for charity.

<figure><img src="/files/bPjJiqTmGPou62tXkDh8" alt=""><figcaption><p>Easily edit your volunteer schedule to only get bookings when you're free.</p></figcaption></figure>

{% hint style="info" %}
When a student books a lesson, our system automatically assigns that lesson to a volunteer who is available at the selected time slot. If multiple volunteers are available, we fairly assign lessons to the first volunteer in the queue (i.e. they taught a lesson least recently).&#x20;
{% endhint %}

### How lessons are organised

All lessons are booked on our website at [quranbasics.org/book](https://quranbasics.org/book/) and lessons are assigned to teachers in two ways.&#x20;

<figure><img src="/files/IoDauNctRLKo4b8YHhSO" alt=""><figcaption><p>Students can book lessons at quranbasics.org/book</p></figcaption></figure>

#### Round Robin

QuranBasics.org works by giving students variety in who they learn from. As a volunteer teacher, you won't be stuck with the same student from the beginning to the end of their journey, instead every teacher will take turns teaching each student (a round-robin system).

This system makes sure students always have a teacher with "fresh ears" to notice mistakes or provide a different style of teaching to help them progress.

#### Direct Lessons

Students also have access to a directory of all volunteer teachers and can book a lesson with a specific teacher directly if they are available.&#x20;

### Managing lessons

To help students pick up exactly where they left off in their last lesson, with you or another teacher, we use an internal notes system to log student-specific summaries on their progress. It's a very helpful tool to check before lessons with a new student.&#x20;

<figure><img src="/files/nRdXn3HgCndjkILL1Cyw" alt=""><figcaption><p>Internal lesson notes system</p></figcaption></figure>

### What you'll teach and how

QuranBasics.org only teaches **Al-Fatihah, Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq** and **An-Nas**. They are 4 of the most important Chapters in the Quran and through Allah’s Wisdom and Mercy, they are also some of the shortest and easiest Chapters to memorise – even for those who don’t know Arabic.

#### 7-Step Curriculum

As a volunteer, you will follow this simple, proven 7-step curriculum:

1. Sounds of the alphabet
2. Learn how, and when, to say several key phrases
3. Learn **Al-Fatihah**
4. Learn **Al-Ikhlas**
5. Learn **Al-Falaq**
6. Learn **An-Nas**
7. Reviewing everything they learned to build confidence and fluency

On the completion of a chapter of the Quran, students are awarded a certificate to celebrate their achievement. You can see an example certificate [here](https://quranbasics.org/f/QBCertificateAlFatihah.pdf).

#### Sounds of the Alphabet

This lesson gets them comfortable with the unique phonics of Arabic. Going through a few rounds of Aa, Ae, Au, Ba, Be, Bu etc, helps us find the sounds they need help with and we focus on building that new sound. It's a fun introductory exercise to help them figure out how to control their tongue and throat in new ways. We don't labour the point here, as long as they are close enough it's a pass.&#x20;

The goal is **not** to memorise the alphabet. Students don't need to be literate in Arabic to learn the Quran. After all, neither was the Prophet ﷺ and some of his companions...&#x20;

#### Learning Key Phrases

This is their first experience memorising Arabic sentences. These exercises are designed to prepare them for memorising Ayat of the Quran and let them experience what it's like to learn sentences.

Phrases such as:

* Bismillāh (Arabic: **`بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ`**) and the long version **`بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ`**
* Alhamdulillāh (Arabic: **`ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّٰهِ`**) and the long version **`ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّٰهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَالَمِينَ`**
* Inshallāh (Arabic: **`إِنْ شَاءَ ٱللَّٰهُ`**)

Phrases like the full Bismillāh and Alhamdulillāh give them a head start to learning Al-Fatihah which will give them a great boost of motivation. They'll begin **Al-Fatihah** with confidence. That smooth start will dispel all the anxiety they are hiding inside themselves. We have only Allah to thank for making this easy.&#x20;

#### Al-Fatihah (The Opening)

Al-Fatihah is the first chapter, has only 7 verses and only 29 words. After learning the key phrases, students will have an amazing start to learning Al-Fatihah and the feeling of "this isn't as hard as I thought it would be" will motivate them the entire way.

When teaching Al-Fatihah, and any part of the Quran, it's important to cover the following things:

1. The meaning behind the chapter
2. The context of the chapter
3. Any known benefits of it

{% hint style="info" %}
Don't worry, you'll be given notes with all this information. It's all basic stuff.
{% endhint %}

The reason why we do this is to demonstrate that learning the Quran is not just about repeating a series of pleasant sounds. They are the words of Allah. The words we learn have purpose and the benefit of the Quran comes when you understand its message.&#x20;

#### Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq, An-Nas

Once your student has successfully memorised and understood **Al-Fatihah**, it is now time to teach them these three chapters in the following order:

1. **Al-Ikhlas**
2. **Al-Falaq**
3. **An-Nas**

### Eligibility

To join as a volunteer teacher, we need to make sure you're qualified. That doesn't mean having a degree in Arabic or Quran Sciences, but it does mean you need to confirm the following:

* [ ] I have perfect memorisation of Al-Fatihah, Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq and An-Nas
* [ ] I can read any page of the Quran fluently
* [ ] I am a fluent English speaker
* [ ] I have the patience to teach non-Arabic speakers the Quran&#x20;

When you join us as a volunteer, we'll verify this before you start taking any lessons.

If you haven't read our about mission, you can do so [here](/).&#x20;

If you're ready to join us, you can do so [here](https://quranbasics.org/volunteer).

***

Have questions? Email bilal\[@]quranbasics\[.]org


# Lesson Notes Overview

These lesson notes are here to help volunteers and students with a clear learning path with the strict aim of achieving fluent memorisation of **Al-Fatihah, Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq** and **An-Nas**.

These notes, and all quranbasics.org materials in general, are intended as a basic guides only. Volunteers and students are free to modify these materials or follow a different structure as long as the outcome remains the same as the quranbasics.org mission.

***

If you would like to suggest improvements to these notes, please don't hesitate to contact us at bilal\[at]quranbasics\[.]org&#x20;


# Letter Sounds & Phonics

This lesson gets you familiar and comfortable with the unique phonics of Arabic.

Going through a few rounds of phonics helps teachers find the sounds students need help with and we focus on building that new sound. It's a fun introductory exercise to help them figure out how to control their tongue and throat in new ways. We don't labour the point here, as long as they are close enough it's a pass.&#x20;

#### Group Key

<table data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><mark style="color:green;"><strong>Easy</strong> ◥</mark></td><td>In this group are all the letters that are more or less exactly pronounced as their English counterparts.</td></tr><tr><td><mark style="color:yellow;"><strong>Medium</strong> ◥</mark></td><td>These letters are still somewhat similar to English sounds, but slightly more difficult to pronounce.</td></tr><tr><td><mark style="color:purple;"><strong>Difficult</strong> ◥</mark></td><td>These Arabic letters can prove tough to pronounce for most non-Arabs, not just English speakers. Take it easy and accept attempts that are close enough.</td></tr></tbody></table>

### Letters by difficulty

Follow this order in teaching the letters. Remember, the goal is **not** to teach the alphabet, rather, the goal is to get them familiar with the sounds. That is why we have reorganised the letters to create a list sorted from easiest to hardest.

{% hint style="warning" %}
This table is best viewed on a computer
{% endhint %}

<table><thead><tr><th width="105">Arabic</th><th width="139">English</th><th>Sound</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>ا</td><td>Alif</td><td>a: This sound is like the “a” in “mad” <mark style="color:green;">◥</mark></td></tr><tr><td>ب</td><td>Baa</td><td>b: This sound is the same as the “b” in “bread” <mark style="color:green;">◥</mark></td></tr><tr><td>ت</td><td>Taa</td><td>t: This sound is the same as the “t” in “tea” <mark style="color:green;">◥</mark></td></tr><tr><td>ث</td><td>Thaa</td><td>th: This sound is like the “th” in “three” <mark style="color:green;">◥</mark></td></tr><tr><td>ج</td><td>Jeem</td><td>dj: This sound is the same as the “j” sound in “John” <mark style="color:green;">◥</mark></td></tr><tr><td>د</td><td>Dal</td><td>d: This sound is the same as the “d” in “door” <mark style="color:green;">◥</mark></td></tr><tr><td>ذ</td><td>Thaal</td><td>dh: This sound is like the “th” in “there” <mark style="color:green;">◥</mark></td></tr><tr><td>ز</td><td>Zaa</td><td>z: This sound is the same as the “z” in “zoo” <mark style="color:green;">◥</mark></td></tr><tr><td>س</td><td>Seen</td><td>s: This sound is the same as the “s” in “serpent” <mark style="color:green;">◥</mark></td></tr><tr><td>ش</td><td>Sheen</td><td>sh: This sound is the same as the “sh” in “shine” <mark style="color:green;">◥</mark></td></tr><tr><td>ف</td><td>Fa</td><td>f: This sound is the same as the “f” in “ferry” <mark style="color:green;">◥</mark></td></tr><tr><td>ك</td><td>Kaaf</td><td>k: This sound is the same as the “k” in “kilo” <mark style="color:green;">◥</mark></td></tr><tr><td>ل</td><td>Laam</td><td>l: This sound is the same as the “l” in “look” <mark style="color:green;">◥</mark></td></tr><tr><td>م</td><td>Meem</td><td>m: the same as our "m" in "mouse" <mark style="color:green;">◥</mark></td></tr><tr><td>ن</td><td>Noon</td><td>n: This sound is the same as the “n” in “nose” <mark style="color:green;">◥</mark></td></tr><tr><td>ه</td><td>Ha</td><td>h: the same as our "h" in "hurricane" <mark style="color:green;">◥</mark></td></tr><tr><td>و</td><td>Waw</td><td>w: the same as our "w" in "water" <mark style="color:green;">◥</mark></td></tr><tr><td>ي</td><td>Ya</td><td>y: the same as our "y" in "year" <mark style="color:green;">◥</mark></td></tr><tr><td>ح</td><td>Haa</td><td>H: similar to the English "h", but stronger and from the throat, like when smelling your breath <mark style="color:yellow;">◥</mark></td></tr><tr><td>ر</td><td>Raa</td><td>r: similar to the English "r" sound in "race" but with the tongue towards the front and almost, but not, rolled like the Spanish "r" <mark style="color:yellow;">◥</mark></td></tr><tr><td>ص</td><td>Saad</td><td>S: similar to the English letter "s", but more emphatic with the build up of pressure <mark style="color:yellow;">◥</mark></td></tr><tr><td>ض</td><td>Ddaad</td><td>D: similar to the English letter "d" but more emphatic with the build up of pressure and deeping of the voice <mark style="color:yellow;">◥</mark></td></tr><tr><td>ط</td><td>Ta</td><td>T: similar to the English letter "t", but more emphatic with the build up of pressure <mark style="color:yellow;">◥</mark></td></tr><tr><td>ظ</td><td>THa</td><td>THa: similar to the English sound "th" in "there", but more emphatic with the build up of pressure and deeping of the voice (like "dh" in "dhuhr") <mark style="color:yellow;">◥</mark></td></tr><tr><td>خ</td><td>Kha</td><td>kh: like the "ch" in the scottish "loch" and similar to the sound of bring something out of your throat <mark style="color:purple;">◥</mark></td></tr><tr><td>ع</td><td>Ain</td><td>aa: like the "aaa" sound you make when a doctor checks your throat and asks you to open wide. Widen your throat. <mark style="color:purple;">◥</mark></td></tr><tr><td>غ</td><td>Ghayn</td><td>gh: same as "aa" but this time try close your throat instead. It's a similar sound to gargling mouthwash <mark style="color:purple;">◥</mark></td></tr><tr><td>ق</td><td>Qaf</td><td>q: like the "qa" sound a seagull makes <mark style="color:purple;">◥</mark></td></tr></tbody></table>

### Vowel Sounds

Now, we look at how letters are modified by vowels. There are three main vowels: a, e, u, therefore each letter in the alphabet has three main variations.\*&#x20;

In simple, they are added to the end of the base sound of the letter. For example the letter for **`b(ب)`** turns in to **`Ba, Be, Bu`** when the vowels **`a, e, u`** are added to them respectively. It's a very simple and logical language - in Arabic, letters and words always sound exactly how they are written (unlike English's read vs. reed & read vs. red...)&#x20;

*\*In reality there are more vowels, modifiers and variations, which are all still easy to learn, but for the purposes of these 'basics' lessons, we only need these three: a, e, u.*

#### Practice with a teacher

The following table should be used as a quick exercise to explore all the sounds. As a reminder, don't get too hung up on perfect pronunciation, if it's close enough, it's good enough.

{% hint style="warning" %}
This table is best viewed on a computer. On mobile you may need to scroll sideways to view all **four columns**.
{% endhint %}

| Base | Fat'ha (+a like ba) | Kas'ra (+e like be) | Dam'ma (+u like bu) |
| ---- | ------------------- | ------------------- | ------------------- |
| a    | اَ                  | اِ                  | اُ                  |
| b    | بَ                  | بِ                  | بُ                  |
| t    | تَ                  | تِ                  | تُ                  |
| th   | ثَ                  | ثِ                  | ثُ                  |
| g    | جَ                  | جِ                  | جُ                  |
| H    | حَ                  | حِ                  | حُ                  |
| kh   | خَ                  | خِ                  | خُ                  |
| d    | دَ                  | دِ                  | دُ                  |
| th   | ذَ                  | ذِ                  | ذُ                  |
| r    | رَ                  | رِ                  | رُ                  |
| z    | زَ                  | زِ                  | زُ                  |
| s    | سَ                  | سِ                  | سُ                  |
| sh   | شَ                  | شِ                  | شُ                  |
| S    | صَ                  | صِ                  | صُ                  |
| Dd   | ضَ                  | ضِ                  | ضُ                  |
| T    | طَ                  | طِ                  | طُ                  |
| TH   | ظَ                  | ظِ                  | ظُ                  |
| Aa   | عَ                  | عِ                  | عُ                  |
| Gh   | غَ                  | غِ                  | غُ                  |
| f    | فَ                  | فِ                  | فُ                  |
| q    | قَ                  | قِ                  | قُ                  |
| k    | كَ                  | كِ                  | كُ                  |
| l    | لَ                  | لِ                  | لُ                  |
| m    | مَ                  | مِ                  | مُ                  |
| n    | نَ                  | نِ                  | نُ                  |
| h    | هَ                  | هِ                  | هُ                  |
| w    | وَ                  | وِ                  | وُ                  |
| y    | يَ                  | يِ                  | يُ                  |