This reader is designed for students who have some background in Modern Standard Arabic, and who are interested in Hijazi Arabic beyond the basic level. Presumabl[y] the student has already completed an introductory Hijazi Arabic course such as Margaret K. Omar's Saudi Arabic, Urban Hijazi Dialect Basic Course (see the bibliography). The reader may also be of interest to Arabists and Arabic dialectologists.The language of this reader is used in informal situations by educated native speakers of the Hijaz area. There are some variations within Hijazi Arabic which correlate with the level of education, occupation, age, social class, travel, etc. of native speakers. Highly educated natives speak with some admixture of pan-Arabic koine, depending on circumstances and situations. This fact is apparent in some selections of the reader.The reader consists of forty selections, some of which are based on recordings of spontaneous, unrehearsed conversations of unsophisticated native speakers from Mecca, Medina, and Ta'if. The remaining selections are based on accounts of current events which appeared in Saudi newspapers such as Al-Jazzira, Al-Medina, and Al-Sharq Al-Awsat. These survey the progress made by Saudi Arabic in the areas of eduction, industry, agriculture, medicine, infrastructure and improving the standard of living as a whole. The selections also describe life in Saudi Arabic and treat various social, political, and religious problems. The introductory section on the transcription and the sound system is designed to acquaint the user with the transcription employed throughout the reader. The symbols used for the transliteration are those most commonly employed for Arabic dialects. In daily speech, short vowels are often omitted because of elision and assimilation, and because of the difference in pronunciation among native speakers.Each selection is followed by a vocabulary list. The words are listed in the order they appear in the text. Verbs are listed in the third person singular masculine in both the perfect and imperfect aspects. Grammatical and cultural notes are also provided for each selection in order to facilitate a better understanding of the dialect as well as the society in which it is spoken. Quite often the notes make comparisons of the Hijazi dialect to some features of Modern Standard Arabic.The second part of the reader provides the English translations of the Hijazi selections, from which the user will benefit whether he is studying independently or with a teacher. The translations were kept as close as possible to the Hijazi text in order to enable the user to see the relationship between the two. As a result, he may occasionally find the English somewhat stiff or unidiomatic. The words and phrases enclosed in brackets do not have equivalents in the Hijazi text. They were added for a better and smoother English translation. Words and phrases which appear in the Hijazi text but which are not necessary for the English translation are enclosed in parentheses preceded by "literally." The last part of the reader provides an alphabetized general glossary containing all the entries in the individual vocabulary lists and the words used in the notes as well.

What was the language of the Quran like, and how do we know? Today, the Quran is recited in ten different reading traditions, whose linguistic details are mutually incompatible. This work uncovers the earliest linguistic layer of the Quran. It demonstrates that the text was composed in the Hijazi vernacular dialect, and that in the centuries that followed different reciters started to classicize the text to a new linguistic ideal, the ideal of the ʿarabiyyah. This study combines data from ancient Quranic manuscripts, the medieval Arabic grammarians and ample data from the Quranic reading traditions to arrive at new insights into the linguistic history of Quranic Arabic.

Music and Traditions of the Arabian Peninsula provides a pioneering overview of folk and traditional urban music, along with dance and rituals, of Saudi Arabia and the Upper Gulf States of Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar. The nineteen chapters introduce variegated regions and subcultures and their rich and dynamic musical arts, many of which heretofore have been unknown beyond local communities. The book contains insightful descriptions of genres, instruments, poetry, and performance practices of the desert heartland (Najd), the Arabian/Persian Gulf shores, the great western cities including Makkah and Medinah, the southwestern mountains, and the hot Red Sea coast. Musical customs of distinctive groups such as Bedouin, seafarers, and regional women are explored. The book is packaged with downloadable resources and almost 200 images including a full color photo essay, numerous music transcriptions, a glossary with over 400 specialized terms, and original Arabic script alongside key words to assist with further research. This book provides a much-needed introduction and organizational structure for the diverse and complex musical arts of the region.

A comprehensive textbook of the early Arabic Kufic script, written as a complete reference book for calligraphers, designers, and students of art history and the history of Arabic language and scripts. This beautiful and powerful script was derived from the earlier Hijazi Mashq style of Mecca and Medina, which was invented by early Muslim scribes to record the Quran. Today, the many historical manuscripts displayed in numerous museums around the world can attest to development and evolution of this remarkable and versatile script. Authored by master calligrapher, Mousavi Jazayeri, this book is the only book written in English that is solely dedicated to the study, learning and revival of the fascinating script behind the first mature Arabic calligraphic style, which was the official script of the Islamic Near East for centuries, before being replaced by the modern Naskh style. In this handbook, Mousavi Jazayeri who had discovered the lost art of cutting the qalam (pen) for early Kufic more than twenty years ago, explains with detailed, clear illustrations how to write early Kufic using a calligraphic pen and even a regular pen. He guides students patiently through the process involved in creating amazing, modern monograms. With clear, ample examples taken from the old Quranic manuscripts, art history students, font designers, and scholars of the history of the Arabic language and scripts can use this reference book to learn the key aspects of the early Kufic script as a writing system. Mr. Mousavi Jazayeri is joined by two co-authors, Perette E. Michelli, a multi-disciplinary historian of medieval and later art, and Saad D. Abulhab, a known Arabic type designer and independent scholar of the history of Arabic language and scripts. The two co-authors are members of the first international group dedicated to the study and revival of the early Kufic script, Kuficpedia, which was formed a few years ago around the historical achievements of Mr. Mousavi.

How has Saudi Arabia managed to maintain its Arab and Islamic values while at the same time adopting Western technology and a market economy? How have its hereditary leaders, who govern with a mixture of political pragmatism and religious zeal, managed to maintain their power? This comprehensive history of Saudi Arabia from 1745 to the present provides insight into its culture and politics, its powerful oil industry, its relations with its neighbours, and the ongoing influence of the Wahhabi movement. Based on a wealth of Arab, American, British, Western and Eastern European sources, this book will stand as the definitive account of the largest state on the Arabian peninsula.