The series of articles on the Arabic language which is started with the following piece explains some basics of the Arabic language through the analysis of basic texts of Islam.

Many of these texts are learned by heart throughout the Islamic world, without being grammatically explained, as the ability to recite these texts is a necessity to fulfill religious duties.

One of the pillars of Islam is the Islamic profession of faith, the Shahadah.

أشهد أن لا إله إلاَّ الله و أشهد أن محمد رسول الله

There are slight variations in the way the Shahadah is encountered. One of these variations is orthographic, Like any Arabic text, it can be written with short vowels indicated ("dotted"), or with these vowels omitted. In the above version, the short vowels are not indicated.

The central noun of Islamic Arabic is:

الله

Transliteration: Allah

Translation: God

The Arabic spelling of this central word applies a feature that is otherwise used rarely, the miniature alif above the shadda (which looks like a italics 'w' and indicates the duplication of the consonant below it).

The word 'Allah' consists of the following letters:

ا ل ل ه

Names of the letters: alif – laam – laam – haa'

Transliteration:  a l l h

The first word of the Shahadah:

(Be aware of the fact that Arabic is written and read from right to left!)

اَشْهَدُ

Transliteration: Ashhadu

Translation: I testify

Arabic does not have infinitives (to testify) as does English. Rather, in Arabic, the root of a word is used to refer to it. The root of most Arabic verbs (and words) consists of three consonants. Vowels are added in a systematic pattern to derive meanings.

The root of the first word of the Shahadah, "I testify", consists of the following three consonants:

ش ه د

Transliteration: sh – h - d

Of most verbal roots, the easiest derived form is the third person singular in the past tense. For many Arabic verbs, the third person singular in the past tense is formed by adding a short vowel, "a", after each of the consonants. However, sometimes, the second vowel is a short "i", as is the case with the form "he testified". As modern English uses infinitives to list verbs in dictionaries, modern Arabic – English / English – Arabic dictionaries have switched to translating the third person singular in the past tense as infinitives. Thus, we obtain:

شَهِدَ

Transliteration: shahida

Translation: to testify

Arabic uses two tenses, the present tense and the past tense. The Shahadah is expressed in the present tense.

Arabic verbs are conjugated, just as the verbs of European languages, with different forms for the present tense and past tense, and in accordance to the subject: I, you, he, she, we, you (plural), they, In addition to you (singular) and you (plural), Arabic also has a form for you (dual), which can be translated as "the two of you".

The conjugation that is relevant for the Shahada is the first person singular: I testify…

While there are exceptions, a good rule of thumb to start with is that the first person singular in Arabic is formed by putting a short "a" in front of the three consonants of a verb. The vowel after the first consonant is omitted, and the vowel after the third consonant is turned into a short "u".  An additional complication is that the vowel after the second consonant is usually changed.

The Arabic symbol for a short "a" is a short slanting line, added above another letter. If a short "a" is added in front of a verbal root, it needs a carrier letter, and this is usually a non-pronounced alif.

اَ

Thus, the first person singular of the verb "to testify" is formed like this:

Add a short "a" in front of the three consonants.

Omit the short vowel after the first consonant.

Change the vowel after the second consonant (an "i" is changed into an "a").

Change the vowel after the third consonant into a short "u".

Thus, we obtain:

اَشْهَدُ

Transliteration: Ashhadu

Translation: I testify

The omission of the short vowel after the first consonant is marked with a small circle above the consonant.

In the Qur'an and other religious texts, all vowels are written (the text is fully "dotted"); in modern Arabic, the signs for short vowels are usually omitted.

Likewise, in the religious use of the spoken Arabic language, the short "u" at the end of the first person singular form is normally spoken, while it is kept silent in modern spoken Arabic.  

The second word of the Shahadah:

اَنْ

Transliteration: an

Translation: that

While verbs in Arabic can be rather complicated, conjunctions are as straight-forward as they are in English.