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Sacred Ayat · Learn · How to Read Quran

How to Read Quran

A free 30-lesson video course taking you from the Arabic alphabet, through your first Surah, to your first prayer. Designed for adults — reverts, returners, parents teaching kids, anyone whose Arabic schooling slipped. 5 minutes per lesson. No prior knowledge required.

Total lessons
30
Per lesson
5–7 min
Cost
Free, forever
Outcome
Read your first Surah

The Three Acts

Act I · Episodes 1–10

Learn every letter of the Arabic alphabet. Shape, sound, place of articulation, three Quranic example words for each.

Act II · Episodes 11–20

How letters join, the short and long vowels (fatha, kasra, damma, madd), shaddah, tanwīn — everything needed to read real Quranic text.

Act III · Episodes 21–30

Recite Surah Al-Fatiha word-by-word. Then learn wudu, the rak'ah, and perform your first complete prayer.

All 30 Lessons

ا
Episode 1 · ⏳ Coming soon

The First Letter — ا (Alif)

How to Read Quran · Lesson 1
ب ت ث
Episode 2 · ⏳ Coming soon

Three Letters That Look Identical — ب ت ث

Distinguishing the dot pattern
ج ح خ
Episode 3 · ⏳ Coming soon

The Heart Letters — ج ح خ

Throat & jaw triplet
د ذ
Episode 4 · ⏳ Coming soon

د ذ — The Pair That Hisses

Voiced vs voiceless sisters
ر ز
Episode 5 · ⏳ Coming soon

ر ز — Rolled and Buzzing

Spanish-style rolled vs buzzing
س ش
Episode 6 · ⏳ Coming soon

س ش — Silent Snake, Whispered Wind

The sibilants
ص ض ط ظ
Episode 7 · ⏳ Coming soon

The Heavy Letters — ص ض ط ظ

Tafkhīm introduced
ع غ
Episode 8 · ⏳ Coming soon

The Throat Letters — ع غ

The deepest Arabic sound
ف ق ك ل م ن
Episode 9 · ⏳ Coming soon

The Workhorses — ف ق ك ل م ن

Common letters
ه و ي ء
Episode 10 · ⏳ Coming soon

The Last Letters — ه و ي ء

Soft endings + hamza
E11
Episode 11 · ⏳ Coming soon

How Letters Connect — The Four Joining Forms

Initial / medial / final / isolated
ا د ذ ر ز و
Episode 12 · ⏳ Coming soon

The Six Letters That Don't Connect Forward

Stand-alone letters
فَ
Episode 13 · ⏳ Coming soon

Fatha — The Short A Sound

First short vowel
فِ
Episode 14 · ⏳ Coming soon

Kasra — The Short I Sound

Second short vowel
فُ
Episode 15 · ⏳ Coming soon

Damma — The Short U Sound

Third short vowel
بَلْ
Episode 16 · ⏳ Coming soon

Sukoon — When a Letter Has No Vowel

The silent mark
إِنَّ
Episode 17 · ⏳ Coming soon

Shaddah — When a Letter Doubles

The doubling mark
ٌ ً ٍ
Episode 18 · ⏳ Coming soon

Tanwīn — The N Ending

Three tanwins
بَا بِي بُو
Episode 19 · ⏳ Coming soon

Madd — The Long Vowels

Lengthening
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ
Episode 20 · ⏳ Coming soon

Reading Your First Real Word — بِسْمِ اللَّهِ

The Bismillah
E21
Episode 21 · ⏳ Coming soon

The Most-Recited Verse — Bismillah

Word-by-word breakdown
E22
Episode 22 · ⏳ Coming soon

Surah Al-Fatiha · Verse 1

Alḥamdu lillāh...
E23
Episode 23 · ⏳ Coming soon

Surah Al-Fatiha · Verses 2-3

Ar-Rahman, Malik...
E24
Episode 24 · ⏳ Coming soon

Surah Al-Fatiha · Verse 4

Iyyaka na'budu...
E25
Episode 25 · ⏳ Coming soon

Surah Al-Fatiha · Verses 5-7

Ihdina-s-sirat...
E26
Episode 26 · ⏳ Coming soon

Recite Al-Fatiha From Memory · Practice Drill

Slow → normal → fast
E27
Episode 27 · ⏳ Coming soon

Wudu (Ablution) · Step by Step

Required before prayer
E28
Episode 28 · ⏳ Coming soon

The 5 Pillars of a Rak'ah · Visual Walkthrough

Standing, ruku, sujood...
E29
Episode 29 · ⏳ Coming soon

Your First Prayer · Salat al-Fajr Step-by-Step

2-rak'ah morning prayer
E30
Episode 30 · ⏳ Coming soon

What's Next · Memorising Surah 2 (Al-Baqarah)

Series wrap-up

Why this course

Most "learn Quran" content assumes you already know Arabic. We don't. Lesson 1 starts at: "This is the letter ا. It looks like a vertical line. Pronounce it 'aaa', like the 'a' in father." By Lesson 30 you can perform your first prayer in Arabic. We use the same warm voice that narrates Sacred Ayat's stories — patient, never preachy, always encouraging.

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Support the work

Every lesson costs ~$3 to produce — voice, illustrations, hosting. Sacred Ayat is free forever. Contributions fund the next 30 lessons (we want to extend to all 114 Surahs).

£5 one-time £10/mo supporter £25/mo patron 🛍 Merch shop