Did you know the Arabic language has an “abjad” system and not an alphabet?
The Arabic abjad is made up of 28 letters, written from right to left. All of the letters are consonants, since the vowels in Arabic are denoted by diacritics.
A thread on Arabic letters & language…
1/ Written Arabic uses an abjad instead of an alphabet.
An abjad writing system is a form of writing in which each letter stands for a consonant and not a vowel. The vowels are indicated with vowel marks rather than a full letter
2/ The origins of Arabic letters can be traced to the writing of the semi-nomadic Nabataean tribes, who inhabited southern Syria and Jordan, Northern Arabia, and the Sinai Peninsula. Surviving stone inscriptions in the Nabataean script show strong similarities to the modern… https://t.co/4TRF6U2rystwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
3/ At its core, Arabic developed through a predominantly oral and poetic tradition that flourished in the Arabian Peninsula before the emergence of Islam and a codified Arabic script.
4/ The Arabic language is read and written from right to left! And the reason behind it is ancient: back to the time when people used to carve planks to write, they used the hammer with the right hand and the chisel with the left one, so it was way easier to carve from right to… https://t.co/KltYpt8G6Htwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
5/ Arabic is written entirely in the script, that is, a distinct connected format that English speakers might compare to cursive. This makes it one of the most visually distinctive written languages on the planet.
6/ The Arabic script is widely used in art through calligraphy and it is now common to see more modern and contemporary Arabic art being produced; some of it uses a fusion of calligraphy and graffiti, known as 'calligraffiti'.
7/ Arabic is considered as the highest form of Islamic art, and Arabic calligraphy is one of the most beautiful of all written languages and Arabic art forms.
8/ Arabic is thought to be the language with the richest vocabulary. Just for us to get an idea of how rich Arabic lexicon is: the world lion has more than 300 synonyms and there are 50 ways to express the world love.
9/ The Arabic alphabet consists of eighteen shapes that express twenty-eight phonetic sounds with the help of diacritical marks. The same letter shape can form a "b" sound when one dot is placed below (ب), a "t" sound when two dots are placed above (ت), or a "th" sound when three… https://t.co/oYVAnomaNetwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
10/ Arabic has sounds that don't exist in other languages
There are many differences between Arabic and English, the most obvious one being that it is written from right to left. There are also a few sounds that don’t exist in other languages, such as 'ح' , which is a ‘h’ sound… https://t.co/MbC2XMu0rUtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
11/ Geometry holds significance in Arabic culture, reflecting in Arabic constructions and the language itself. Arabic letters are derived from geometric figures such as triangles, circles, or combinations of both.
12/ The Arabic alphabet comprises 28 letters. However, only three of these are vowels. These three vowels have five different variations. This means the majority of the Arabic words just have consonants.
13/ English has many words acquired either directly from Arabic or indirectly from Arabic words that have entered into Romance languages before passing into English. Examples include: racquet, alchemy, alcohol, algebra, algorithm, alkaline, (the article ‘al’ in Arabic denotes… https://t.co/aWP3hipmEwtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
14/ In case you’re wondering, “Does Arabic use capital letters?” the answer is no. Instead, quotation marks serve as a way to place emphasis on particular words.
15/ In its written form, the Arabic language does not seem to use punctuation marks. Actually, punctuation marks are used. Albeit their position and orientation are different than what you are used to in English sentences. The Arabic comma, for example, faces the other direction… https://t.co/SuOGObDj3vtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
16/ ʾalif, أَلِف
Alif, being the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, is “the letter par excellence” from which all letters are derived. Its vertical, linear form is a perfect symbol of the unifying Principle of “as above, so below”.
17/ Besides Arabic, more than 10 non-Arabic languages use the Arabic letters, including Persian, Urdu & Kurdish.
In Islam, Hajj is the annual pilgrimage made to the Kaaba, the ‘House of God’ in the city of Mecca. The Kaaba is covered in a Kiswah — a black silk cloth, exquisitely embroidered in gold
Every year, artisans work on creating a new Kiswah
A thread on the art of making the Kiswah
1/ The Kiswah is the cloth that covers the Kaaba. The term Kiswah means ‘robe’ & is also known as the ‘Ghilaf’. Hanging the Kiswah, a huge piece of black silk embroidered with gold patterns & verses from the Quran, over the Kaaba symbolises the start of the Hajj pilgrimage season
2/ Meaning cube in Arabic, the Kaaba is a square building unlike almost any other religious structure. It is fifteen meters tall and ten and a half meters on each side; its corners roughly align with the cardinal directions.
‘Traveling leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller’
- Ibn Battuta
The most famous explorer in the Muslim World, Ibn Battuta, travelled more than any other explorer in pre-modern history - around 117,000 km!
A thread on the 14th century explorer Ibn Battuta…
1/ Ibn Battuta was born in 1304 CE in Tangier, Morocco. His travelogue the Rihla is his most important work. His journeys in the Rihla lasted for a period of almost thirty years, covering nearly the whole of the known Islamic world & beyond.
2/ Ibn Battuta travelled more than any other explorer in pre-modern history, surpassing Zheng He with 50,000 km (31,000 mi) and Marco Polo with 24,000 km. His total distance travelled was approximately 117,000 km (73,000 mi) (15,000 mi).
The Qur’an was first revealed during the month of Ramadan. This blessed month is also known by Muslims as the month of Fasting
To celebrate the arrival of #Ramadan here are 24 beautiful Qur’anic manuscripts found in museum collections across the world #RamadanMubarak
A thread…
1/ Folio from a Manuscript of the Qur'an
Iran, Shiraz, 1550-1575
Ink, colors and gold on paper
@LACMA #Ramadan
@LACMA 2/ Double Folio from a Qur'an
c. 1330-1350, Central Asian or Turkish
Early Muslim settlers from central and western Asia carried Islamic book traditions into India, especially in the form of Qur'ans, such as the one from which these pages come
Shah-i-Zinda is one Samarkand’s most beloved sites, which contains some of the richest tile work in the world. The magnificent architecture draws inspiration from multiple periods & styles, taking you back through time & across cultures
A thread on the beauty of Shah-i-Zinda…
1/ The Shah-i-Zinda ensemble includes mausoleums, mosques & other ritual buildings of 11-15th & 19th centuries. The name Shah-i-Zinda (meaning The living king) is connected with the legend that Qutham ibn Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH is buried here
📷 Ash Diler
2/ Shah-i-Zinda is a world-famous example of a continuously constructed historical site. Over 1,000 years ago, it was founded with a single religious monument. Between the 11th & 19th centuries, mosques & mausoleums were continuously added
From Spain to Azerbaijan, to Germany to Bosnia, Europe has some of the finest mosques.
The presence of Islam in Europe is not a new phenomenon, with Muslims residing in the continent as early as the 8th century.
Here are 24 mosques across Europe #JummahMubarak
A thread…
1/ Koski Mehmed-Pasha Mosque, Mostar, Bosnia
Dates back to 1617 & features numerous multicolored windows, a minaret with a lookout spot & a courtyard with several tombs. Although the original Ottoman mosque was heavily damaged during the attacks of the 1990s it has been restored
2/ The Shah Jahan Mosque, Woking, England
This is the first purpose built mosque that was built in the UK.
It was built in 1889 by Dr Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner, an orientalist of Jewish descent from Hungary. Money was donated by Begum Shah Jahan, the Nawab Begum of Bhopal.
Welcome to Al-Mutanabbi Street the ‘Book Market of Baghdad’, where books remain in the street at night because Iraqis say:
“The reader does not steal and the thief does not read.”
A thread on the rich heritage of the historic book market on Al-Mutanabbi Street…
1/ Al-Mutanabbi Street is the historic center of Baghdad bookselling, that dates back to the time of the Abbasids. Located near the old quarter of Baghdad, Al-Mutanabbi Street was Baghdad’s first book traders’ market.
2/ Al-Mutanabbi Street has been, since time immemorial, the historic heart and soul of the Baghdad literary and intellectual community.