To join Al-Jisr, you'll need to be able to read Arabic script, even slowly. If you can't read yet, or your pronunciation needs work, you can start with Al-Asās, my one-to-one foundation course, before you join. You'll learn the letters, how to write them and correct pronunciation (makhārij al-ḥurūf), with the option to add tajwīd and practise it. It's exactly where I started: for my first six months of classes I wrote everything in transliteration. Al-Asās is £12 an hour, paid month to month. Message me to set it up, or book a free 15-minute intro chat and we'll work out the right starting point together.

Not necessarily. Let's check: book a free 15-minute intro chat. We'll read a short paragraph together, and I'll get a feel for your reading, pronunciation and understanding. It's not a test, just a way to find your right starting point. If you're past Book 1, Part A, you can join a later module when it opens. Private classes are also always open, with a programme tailored to your level and goals. If you're unsure, starting at Module 1 is rarely wasted: most people who 'know some Arabic' have gaps in the basics that hold them back later.

Most people who stop aren't lazy. They just had no plan between lessons and nobody who noticed when they drifted. That's exactly what the mentorship is for: a study plan built around you, a 1-2-1 call every month, and questions answered within a day. Someone will notice if you drift.

I've done all eight years of my Arabic alongside a full-time job and a family, so I won't pretend it's easy. It's two evenings a week, and I'll help you build a self-study routine that fits real life, not an ideal week you'll never have.

As a general guide, one hour of revision for every hour of class: about 2.5 hours a week on top of the two lessons. Spread it out with Anki most days, the homework and some listening. The more you put in, the better, but little and often beats one long session, and your study plan will be built around the time you actually have.

The first cohort is a brothers' group. Sisters, if you're interested, please let me know on WhatsApp. If there's enough demand, I'll be happy to set up a sisters' group too.

The group course is for adults (18+). For anyone under 18, I can arrange private online classes with a parent's agreement, on the same pathway, tailored to the student's level. If they're still learning to read, Al-Asās is the place to start. Message me to set it up.

Because I've just made the journey you're about to start. I began unable to read or write Arabic properly; today, by the bounty of Allah, I read classical works for the love of the language. A native speaker never had to learn Arabic. I did, as an English speaker with a job and a family, so I know exactly where people get stuck and how to get past it.

I'm honest about my level: I'm B1–B2, not a scholar. And that's the point. I'm not trying to be your last teacher. My job is to give you foundations strong enough to study independently, then connect you with Arabic teachers who teach only in the Arabic medium, and with the scholars directly.

Modern Standard Arabic (Fusha): the Arabic of books, news and formal speech, and your bridge to classical and Quranic Arabic. The grammar you learn is the grammar of the Quran and the classical texts.

If you'd like to understand dialects too, I'll help you pick them up through self-study once your Fusha is secure. You'll get my dialect watchlist: 60 series and hundreds of hours of viewing in Shami (Syrian and Lebanese), Saudi and Gulf Arabic, graded from easiest to hardest, with guidance on how to watch so you actually learn.

That's why most of us start, and it's why I did. This course builds the foundations: reading, grammar and core vocabulary, much of it in an Islamic context. Understanding the Quran deeply is a lifelong journey; this gets you onto it properly, with the tools to keep going.

Only if you put the work in, and I'd rather tell you that now. Turn up, do the self-study I set, and you'll be able to sit with a teacher who teaches only in Arabic and follow along. There's no finish line in Arabic, but there is a point where you can carry on by yourself. That's the goal.

Al-Jisr is just the start. Once you've successfully completed the programme, you can continue with Books 3 & 4, and your Anki decks for those books are already built. Or, if you're ready, I'll connect you with Arabic teachers who teach only in the Arabic medium.

Then we slow down and fix it, not move on without you. In your monthly 1-2-1 we'll find exactly where it slipped, and I'll adjust your study plan around it. Lesson recordings (on request) and the Anki decks mean you can always go back over a unit. If a module turns out to be too fast for you, you can repeat it with the next cohort rather than push on and struggle.

Please attend live wherever you can: that's where most of the learning happens. But life happens, so every lesson is recorded. If you miss one in exceptional circumstances, the recording is available on request, along with the homework and the unit's Anki deck, so you can catch up before the next class. If something doesn't click, message me and I'll go through it with you, or we'll cover it in your monthly 1-2-1. And if you miss a few in a row, I'll check in, not to chase you, but to help you get back on track.

No. I'll send you the PDFs of the books we use, along with the audio recordings that go with them. If you'd prefer printed copies, I can share a link to buy the full series at a competitive rate.

It's a fair question, and yes, there's always something cheaper.

But think about something you're passionate about, a skill it took you years to build. What would you feel was a fair hourly rate to teach it, live, to a small group, and to check in on each person between lessons?

Here's what Al-Jisr actually works out at:

• £199 covers 3 months, not one: a whole module.
• That's 26 live lessons of 1h15, or 32.5 hours of teaching.
• That comes to just over £6 an hour, around half the UK minimum wage.
• On top of that: a monthly 1-2-1 call, your own study plan, speaking reviews, progress notes, 1,623 Anki cards, and a group of no more than 7.

A GCSE maths or English tutor typically charges £30 or more an hour. Yet when it comes to Arabic, we've come to expect it to cost almost nothing. Teachers abroad can charge less because their living costs are lower, and that's fair for them. But it isn't a like-for-like comparison with live teaching in English, from someone who learned Arabic the way you're about to.

Prefer to spread it? It's £79 a month instead. Or pay £375 for six months and save £99.

You're not taking a risk: if it isn't right for you in the first two weeks, I'll refund you in full.

If you can't afford it, message me privately and we'll work something out. At The Arabist, we don't believe money should ever be a barrier to knowledge. We do this for the sake of Allah.

Free content is a great resource, and I use YouTube heavily myself. But our tradition has always been one of talqīn: knowledge passed from person to person, with a teacher who guides and corrects you. If watching videos were enough on its own, it would already have worked for most of us.

Real progress comes from structure, accountability and mentorship. And it takes a certain level of discipline and Arabic before YouTube becomes truly useful. Al-Jisr gets you to that point, and from there, it becomes a powerful extra.

Join for the first two weeks. If it isn't right for you, message me and I'll refund you in full, no awkward conversation. After that, you're only ever committed to the module you're on, and you decide before each new one whether to continue. If you pay monthly, the 3 instalments cover the module you're on, so they're still due if you stop part-way through it. Nothing is owed for later modules.

Yes. A Monzo link is a secure bank payment, and you don't need a Monzo account to use it: you can pay with a debit card. Use your student reference so I can match your payment, and I'll confirm receipt on WhatsApp the same day, with a written receipt for your records.

Online, live, so you can join from anywhere. The exact platform and joining details will be confirmed closer to the start date.

Yes. Classes are online, so you can join from anywhere. Lessons run on UK time (Mondays and Thursdays, 6:30–7:45pm), so check how that falls in your time zone. If it doesn't work, see the question on class times: we can look at the timing with the cohort, or set up a private group. If you can't pay with a UK bank, alternative payment methods are available. Contact me for more information.

Let me know. Times can be discussed with the cohort, and if a different slot works better for the group, we'll agree one together. Or, if you have at least 3 people, you can set up your own private group at a time that suits you. Message me privately to arrange it.

The first cohort starts in mid-December, and I'll confirm the exact date to everyone who reserves a place. Groups are capped at 7, so places go in the order they're reserved.

Message me anyway, or book a free 15-minute intro chat. I'll tell you honestly whether this course is right for you, and if it isn't, I'll point you to something that is.