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{{Infobox WS
|name=Arabic abjad
|type=[[Abjad]]
|languages= [[Arabic Language|Arabic]], [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Balochi language|Baloch]], [[Urdu]], [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]], [[Pashto]], [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]], [[Malay language|Malay]] (limited usage) and others.
|time=[[400 CE]] to the present
|fam1=[[Proto-Canaanite alphabet|Proto-Canaanite]]
|fam2=[[Phoenician alphabet|Phoenician]]
|fam3=[[Aramaic alphabet|Aramaic]]
|fam4=[[Nabatean alphabet|Nabataean]] or [[Syriac alphabet|Syriac]]
|unicode=[http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U0600.pdf U+0600 to U+06FF]<br>
[http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U0750.pdf U+0750 to U+077F]<br>
[http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/UFB50.pdf U+FB50 to U+FDFF]<br>
[http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/UFE70.pdf U+FE70 to U+FEFF]
|iso15924=Arab (#160)
|sample=Arabic albayancalligraphy.svg
|image_size=200px
}}
{{Arabic alphabet}}
{{alphabet}}
The '''Arabic alphabet''' is the [[writing system|script]] used for writing languages such as [[Arabic language|Arabic]], [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Urdu language|Urdu]], and others. Arabic is written from right to left, and is written in a cursive style of script. There are 28 basic letters in the Arabic alphabet.
Just as different [[script (styles of handwriting)|handwriting styles]] and [[typeface]]s exist in the [[Roman alphabet]], there are Arabic scripts in a number of different [[Arabic calligraphy]] styles, including [[Naskh (script)|Naskh]], [[Nasta'līq|{{transl|ar|Nastaʼlīq}}]], [[Shahmukhi script|Shahmukhi]], [[Ruq'ah|{{transl|ar|Ruqʼah}}]], [[Thuluth]], [[Kufic]], and [[Hejazi]]. After the [[Latin alphabet]], the Arabic writing system is the second-most widely used alphabet around the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9008156/Arabic-alphabet |title=Arabic Alphabet |accessdate=2007-11-23 |publisher=Enclopaedia Britannica online}}</ref>

The alphabet was first used to write texts in Arabic — most importantly, the ''[[Qur'an|{{transl|ar|Qurʼan}}]]'', the holy book of [[Islam]]. With the spread of Islam, it came to be used to write many other languages, even outside of the [[Semitic language|Semitic]] family to which Arabic belongs. Examples of non-Semitic languages written with the Arabic alphabet include [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Urdu language|Urdu]], [[Pashto language|Pashto]], [[Baloch language|Baloch]], [[Malay language|Malay]], [[Balti language|Balti]], [[Brahui language|Brahui]], [[Panjabi language|Panjabi]] (in [[Pakistan]]), [[Kashmiri language|Kashmiri]], [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]] (in Pakistan), [[Uyghur language|Uyghur]] (in [[China]]), [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]] (in China), [[Kyrgyz language|Kyrgyz]] (in China), [[Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]] (in [[Iran]]) and [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]] in Iraq and Iran. In order to accommodate the needs of these other languages, new letters and other symbols were added to the original alphabet. (See [[#Arabic alphabets of other languages|Arabic alphabets of other languages]] below.)

==Structure==
The Arabic alphabet has 28 basic letters. Adaptations of Arabic script for other languages, such the [[Jawi script|Malay Arabic script]], have additional letters. There are no distinct [[Letter case|upper and lower case]] letter forms.

Both printed and written Arabic are [[cursive]], with most of the letters directly connected to the letter that immediately follows. Each individual [[Letter (alphabet)|letter]] can have up to four distinct forms, based on its position within in the word. These forms are:

* Initial: at the beginning of a word; or in the middle of a word, after a non-connecting letter.
* Medial: between two connecting letters (non-connecting letters lack a medial form).
* Final: at the end of a word following a connecting letter.
* Isolated: at the end of a word following a non-connecting letter; or used independently.

Some letters look almost the same in all four forms, while others show considerable variety. In addition, some letter combinations are written as [[ligature (typography)|ligatures]] (special shapes), including ''{{transl|ar|lām-ʼalif}}''.<ref>{{cite book |title=Writing Systems: A Linguistic Approach |author=Rogers, Henry |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |date=2005 |pages=p. 135}}</ref> Many letters look similar but are distinguished from one another by dots above or below their central part. The dots are an integral part of the letter, not [[diacritic]]s, because they distinguish completely different letters (and sounds). For example, the Arabic letters transliterated as ''b'' and ''t'' have the same basic shape, but ''b'' has one dot below, {{rtl-lang|ar|ب}}, and ''t'' has two dots above, {{rtl-lang|ar|ت}}.

The Arabic alphabet is an "impure" [[abjad]]. [[vowel length|Long vowels]] are written, but short ones are not, so the reader must be familiar with the language to understand the missing vowels. However, in editions of the ''{{transl|ar|Qurʼan}}'' and in didactic works, vocalization marks are used, including the ''sukūn'' for vowel omission and the ''šadda'' for [[Geminate consonant|consonant gemination]] (consonant doubling).

===Sorting===
{{Main|Abjad numerals}}

There are two [[collation|collating]] orders for the Arabic alphabet. The original ''abjadī'' order ({{lang|ar|أبجدي}}) derives from the order of the [[Phoenician alphabet]], and is therefore similar to the order of other Phoenician-derived alphabets, such as the [[Hebrew alphabet]]. The ''abjadī'' order is used for numbering. In the ''{{transl|ar|hijāʼī}}'' order ({{lang|ar|هجائي}}), similarly-shaped letters are grouped together (see the next section). The ''hijāʼī'' order is used wherever lists of names and words are sorted, as in phonebooks, classroom lists, and dictionaries.

Modern software packages, like word processors, lack the capability of sorting or generating numbered lists according to the Abjadi order.

== Letters and letter variants ==
The following table provides all of the [[Unicode]] characters for Arabic, and none of the supplementary letters used for other languages. The transliteration given is the widespread [[DIN 31635]] standard, with some common alternatives. See the article ''[[Romanization of Arabic]]'' for details and various other transliteration schemes.

Regarding pronunciation, the phonetic values given are those of the standard pronunciation of [[literary Arabic]], the ''[[Dachsprache]]'' which is taught in universities. Actual pronunciation between the [[varieties of Arabic]] may vary widely. For more details concerning the pronunciation of Arabic, consult the article ''[[Arabic phonology]]''.

===Primary letters===
The Arabic script is cursive, and all primary letters have conditional forms for their [[glyph]]s, depending on whether they are at the beginning, middle or end of a word, so they may exhibit four distinct forms (initial, medial, final or isolated). However, six letters have only isolated or final form, and so force the following letter (if any) to take an initial or isolated form, as if there were a word break.

For compatibility with previous standards, Unicode can encode all these forms separately; however, these forms can be inferred from their joining context, using the same encoding. The table below shows this common encoding, in addition to the compatibility encodings for their normally contextual forms (Arabic texts should be encoded today using only the common encoding, but the rendering must then infer the joining types to determine the correct glyph forms, with or without ligation). There are 29 primary letters.

The names of the Arabic letters can be thought of as abstractions of an older version where they were meaningful words in the [[Proto-Semitic]] language.

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan="2"|General<br />Unicode
!colspan="4"|Contextual forms
!rowspan="2"|Name
!rowspan="2"|Translit.
!rowspan="2"|Phonemic Value (IPA)
|-
!Isolated
!Final
!Medial
!Initial
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0627</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ا}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FE8D</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺍ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FE8E</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺎ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;background:#EEEEEE" colspan="2"|—
|{{transl|ar|[[ʼalif]]}}
|[[ʾ|{{transl|ar|ʾ}}]] / {{transl|ar|ā}}
|various, including {{IPA|/aː/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0628</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ب}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FE8F</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺏ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FE90</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺐ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FE92</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺒ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FE91</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺑ}}</font>
|{{transl|ar|[[bāʼ]]}}
|{{transl|ar|b}}
|{{IPA|/b/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>062A</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ت}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FE95</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺕ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FE96</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺖ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FE98</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺘ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FE97</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺗ}}</font>
|{{transl|ar|[[tāʼ]]}}
|{{transl|ar|t}}
|{{IPA|/t/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>062B</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ث}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FE99</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺙ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FE9A</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺚ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FE9C</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺜ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FE9B</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺛ}}</font>
|{{transl|ar|[[ṯāʼ]]}}
|{{transl|ar|ṯ}}
|{{IPA|/θ/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>062C</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ج}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FE9D</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺝ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FE9E</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺞ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEA0</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺠ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FE9F</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺟ}}</font>
|{{transl|ar|[[ǧīm]]}}
|{{transl|ar|ǧ}} (also j, g)
|{{IPA|[ʤ]}} / {{IPA|[ʒ]}} / {{IPA|[ɡ]}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>062D</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ح}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEA1</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺡ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEA2</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺢ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEA4</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺤ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEA3</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺣ}}</font>
|{{transl|ar|[[ḥāʼ]]}}
|{{transl|ar|ḥ}}
|{{IPA|/ħ/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>062E</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|خ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEA5</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺥ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEA6</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺦ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEA8</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺨ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEA7</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺧ}}</font>
|{{transl|ar|[[ḫāʼ]]}}
|{{transl|ar|ḫ}} (also kh, x)
|{{IPA|/x/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>062F</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|د}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEA9</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺩ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEAA</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺪ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;background:#EEEEEE" colspan="2"|—
|{{transl|ar|[[dāl]]}}
|{{transl|ar|d}}
|{{IPA|/d/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0630</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ذ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEAB</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺫ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEAC</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺬ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;background:#EEEEEE" colspan="2"|—
|{{transl|ar|[[ḏāl]]}}
|{{transl|ar|ḏ}} (also dh, ð)
|{{IPA|/ð/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0631</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ر}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEAD</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺭ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEAE</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺮ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;background:#EEEEEE" colspan="2"|—
|{{transl|ar|[[rāʼ]]}}
|{{transl|ar|r}}
|{{IPA|/r/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0632</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ز}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEAF</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺯ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEB0</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺰ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;background:#EEEEEE" colspan="2"|—
|{{transl|ar|[[zāī]]}}
|{{transl|ar|z}}
|{{IPA|/z/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0633</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|س}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEB1</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺱ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEB2</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺲ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEB4</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺴ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEB3</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺳ}}</font>
|{{transl|ar|[[sīn]]}}
|{{transl|ar|s}}
|{{IPA|/s/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0634</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ش}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEB5</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺵ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEB6</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺶ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEB8</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺸ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEB7</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺷ}}</font>
|{{transl|ar|[[šīn]]}}
|{{transl|ar|š}} (also sh)
|{{IPA|/ʃ/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0635</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ص}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEB9</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺹ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEBA</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺺ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEBC</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺼ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEBB</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺻ}}</font>
|{{transl|ar|[[ṣād]]}}
|{{transl|ar|ṣ}}
|{{IPA|/sˁ/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0636</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ض}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEBD</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺽ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEBE</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺾ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEC0</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻀ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEBF</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺿ}}</font>
|{{transl|ar|[[ḍād]]}}
|{{transl|ar|ḍ}}
|{{IPA|/dˁ/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0637</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ط}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEC1</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻁ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEC2</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻂ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEC4</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻄ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEC3</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻃ}}</font>
|{{transl|ar|[[ṭāʼ]]}}
|{{transl|ar|ṭ}}
|{{IPA|/tˁ/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0638</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ظ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEC5</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻅ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEC6</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻆ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEC8</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻈ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEC7</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻇ}}</font>
|{{transl|ar|[[ẓāʼ]]}}
|{{transl|ar|ẓ}}
|{{IPA|/ðˁ/}} / {{IPA|/zˁ/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0639</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ع}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEC9</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻉ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FECA</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻊ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FECC</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻌ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FECB</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻋ}}</font>
|{{transl|ar|[[ʿayn]]}}
|[[ʿ|{{transl|ar|ʿ}}]]
|{{IPA|/ʕ/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>063A</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|غ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FECD</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻍ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FECE</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻎ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FED0</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻐ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FECF</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻏ}}</font>
|{{transl|ar|[[ġayn]]}}
|{{transl|ar|ġ}} (also gh)
| {{IPA|/ɣ/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0641</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ف}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FED1</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻑ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FED2</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻒ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FED4</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻔ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FED3</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻓ}}</font>
|{{transl|ar|[[fāʼ]]}}
|{{transl|ar|f}}
|{{IPA|/f/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0642</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ق}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FED5</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻕ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FED6</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻖ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FED8</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻘ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FED7</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻗ}}</font>
|{{transl|ar|[[qāf]]}}
|{{transl|ar|q}}
|{{IPA|/q/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0643</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ك}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FED9</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻙ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEDA</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻚ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEDC</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻜ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEDB</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻛ}}</font>
|{{transl|ar|[[kāf]]}}
|{{transl|ar|k}}
|{{IPA|/k/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0644</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ل}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEDD</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻝ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEDE</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻞ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEE0</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻠ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEDF</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻟ}}</font>
|{{transl|ar|[[lām]]}}
|{{transl|ar|l}}
|{{IPA|/l/}}, ({{IPA|[lˁ]}} in ''[[Allah]]'' only)
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0645</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|م}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEE1</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻡ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEE2</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻢ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEE4</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻤ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEE3</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻣ}}</font>
|{{transl|ar|[[mīm]]}}
|{{transl|ar|m}}
|{{IPA|/m/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0646</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ن}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEE5</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻥ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEE6</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻦ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEE8</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻨ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEE7</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻧ}}</font>
|{{transl|ar|[[nūn]]}}
|{{transl|ar|n}}
|{{IPA|/n/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0647</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ه}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEE9</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻩ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEEA</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻪ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEEC</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻬ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEEB</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻫ}}</font>
|{{transl|ar|[[hāʼ]]}}
|{{transl|ar|h}}
|{{IPA|/h/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0648</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|و}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEED</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻭ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEEE</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻮ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;background:#EEEEEE" colspan="2"|—
|{{transl|ar|[[wāw]]}}
|{{transl|ar|w}} / {{transl|ar|ū}}
|{{IPA|/w/}} / {{IPA|/uː/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>064A</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ي}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEF1</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻱ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEF2</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻲ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEF4</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻴ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEF3</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻳ}}</font>
|{{transl|ar|[[yāʼ]]}}
|{{transl|ar|y}} / {{transl|ar|ī}}
|{{IPA|/j/}} / {{IPA|/iː/}}
|}

;Notes:

* Initially, the letter ''{{transl|ar|ʼalif}}'' indicated the [[glottal stop]] {{IPA|[ʔ]}}, as in [[Phoenician alphabet|Phoenician]]. Today it is used, together with ''{{transl|ar|yāʼ}}'' and ''{{transl|ar|wāw}}'', as a ''[[mater lectionis]]'', that is to say a consonant standing in for a long vowel (see below). In fact, over the course of time its original consonantal value has been obscured, so ''{{transl|ar|ʼalif}}'' now serves either as a long vowel or as graphic support for certain diacritics (''madda'' and ''hamza'').

* The Arabic alphabet now uses <span style="font-size:150%;"> {{rtl-lang|ar|ﺀ}}</span>, the ''[[hamza]]'', to denote the glottal stop, which can appear anywhere in a word. This letter, however, does not function like the others: it can be written alone or with a carrier, in which case it becomes a [[diacritic]]:
** alone: {{rtl-lang|ar|ء}} ;
** with a carrier: {{rtl-lang|ar|إ, أ}} (above and under a ''{{transl|ar|ʼalif}}''), {{rtl-lang|ar|ؤ}} (above a ''{{transl|ar|wāw}}''), {{rtl-lang|ar|ئ}} (above a dotless ''{{transl|ar|yāʼ}}'' or ''{{transl|ar|yāʼ hamza}}'').

* Letters lacking an initial or medial version are never connected to the following letter, even within a word. As to the ''hamza'', it has only a single form, since it is never connected to a preceding or following letter. However, it is sometimes combined with a ''{{transl|ar|wāw}}'', ''{{transl|ar|yāʼ}}'', or ''{{transl|ar|ʼalif}}'', and in that case the carrier behaves like an ordinary ''{{transl|ar|wāw}}'', ''{{transl|ar|yāʼ}}'', or ''{{transl|ar|ʼalif}}''.

===Modified letters===
The following are not individual letters, but rather different contextual variants of some of the Arabic letters.

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan="2"|General<br />Unicode
!colspan="4"|Conditional forms
!rowspan="2"|Name
!rowspan="2"|Translit.
!rowspan="2"|Phonemic Value (IPA)
|-
!Isolated
!Final
!Medial
!Initial
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0622</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|آ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FE81</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺁ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FE82</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺂ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;background:#EEEEEE" colspan="2"|—
|{{transl|ar|ʼalif madda}}
|{{transl|ar|ʼā}}
|{{IPA|/ʔaː/}}
|- align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0629</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ة}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FE93</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺓ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FE94</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﺔ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;background:#EEEEEE" colspan="2"|—
|[[Ta' marbuta|{{rtl-lang|ar|ًtāʼ marbūṭa}}]]
|{{transl|ar|h}} or {{transl|ar|t}} / <sup><small>h</small></sup> / {{Unicode|ẗ}}
|{{IPA|/a/}}, {{IPA|/at/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0649</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ى}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEEF</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻯ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FEF0</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻰ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;background:#EEEEEE" colspan="2"|—
|{{transl|ar|ʼalif maqṣūra}} ("broken alif") (Arabic)<br />(see note below)
|{{transl|ar|ā}} / {{Unicode|ỳ}}
|{{IPA|/a/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>06CC</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ی}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FBFC</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﯼ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FBFD</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﯽ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FBFF</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﯿ}}</font>
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>FBFE</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﯾ}}</font>
|{{transl|ar|yeh}} (Persian, Urdu)<br />(see note below)
|{{transl|ar|ī}} / {{Unicode|ỳ}}
|{{IPA|/iː/}}
|}

The broken alif (''{{transl|ar|ʼalif maqṣūra}}''), commonly encoded as Unicode 0x0649 ({{rtl-lang|ar|ى}}) in Arabic, is sometimes replaced in [[Persian language|Persian]] or [[Urdu]], with Unicode 0x06CC (ی), called "Persian ''yeh''", in accordance with its pronunciation in those languages. The glyphs are identical in isolated and final form (ﻯ ﻰ), but not in initial and medial position, where the Persian ''yeh'' gains two dots below (ﻳ ﻴ). The ''{{transl|ar|ʼalif maqṣūra}}'' has neither an initial nor a medial form. Although this is the common situation, the problem is not so simple, and no solution has been met yet as of September, 2007.<ref>[http://www.k2.dion.ne.jp/~oibane/aonl/en/uni-prob.htm Unicode problems; Arabic on Linux<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

===Ligatures===
The only compulsory [[Typographical ligature|ligature]] is ''{{transl|ar|lām}}'' + ''{{transl|ar|ʼalif}}''. All other ligatures (''{{transl|ar|yāʼ}}'' + ''{{transl|ar|mīm}}'', etc.) are optional.
* (isolated) ''{{transl|ar|lām}}'' + ''{{transl|ar|ʼalif}}'' (''{{transl|ar|lā}}'' {{IPA|/laː/}}):
:: <span style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻻ}}</font></span>
* (final) ''{{transl|ar|lām}}'' + ''{{transl|ar|ʼalif}}'' (''{{transl|ar|lā}}'' {{IPA|/laː/}}):
:: <span style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﻼ}}</font></span>

[[Unicode]] has a special glyph for the ligature ''{{transl|ar|allāh}}'' (“God”). U+FDF2 ARABIC LIGATURE ALLAH ISOLATED FORM:
:: <span style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ﷲ}}</font></span>

The latter is a work-around for the shortcomings of most text processors, which are incapable of displaying the correct [[harakat|vowel marks]] for the word ''{{transl|ar|[[Allāh]]}}'', because it should compose a small ''{{transl|ar|ʼalif}}'' sign above a gemination ''{{transl|ar|šadda}}'' sign. Compare the display of the composed equivalents below (the exact outcome will depend on your browser and font configuration):
* ''{{transl|ar|lām}}'', (geminated) ''{{transl|ar|lām}}'' (with implied short ''a'' vowel, reversed) ''{{transl|ar|hāʼ}}'' :
:: <span style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|لله}}</font></span>
* ''{{transl|ar|ʼalif}}'', ''{{transl|ar|lām}}'', (geminated) ''{{transl|ar|lām}}'' (with implied short ''a'' vowel, reversed) ''{{transl|ar|hāʼ}}'' :
:: <span style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|الله}}</font></span>

==Writing vowels==
===Short vowels===

Short vowels are generally not written in Arabic, except in sacred texts (such as the ''{{Unicode|Qurʼan}}'', where they ''must'' be written) and sometimes in teaching material. These are known as vocalized texts.

Short vowels are occasionally marked where the word would otherwise be ambiguous and could not be resolved simply from context, or simply wherever they are [[calligraphy|aesthetically pleasing]].

Short vowels may be written with [[diacritic]]s placed above or below the consonant that precedes them in the syllable. All Arabic vowels, long and short, follow a consonant; contrary to appearances, there ''is'' a consonant at the start of a name like Ali — in Arabic ''{{transl|ar|ʻAliyy}}'' — or of a word like ''{{transl|ar|ʼalif}}''.

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Short vowels<br />(fully vocalised text)
!Name
!Trans.
!Value
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>064E</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|َ}}<sup><small style="color:#CCCCCC">◌</small></sup></font>
|{{transl|ar|fatḥa}}
|{{transl|ar|a}}
|{{IPA|/a/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>064F</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ُ}}<sup><small style="color:#CCCCCC">◌</small></sup></font>
|{{transl|ar|ḍamma}}
|{{transl|ar|u}}
|{{IPA|/u/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0650</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ِ}}<sup><small style="color:#CCCCCC">◌</small></sup></font>
|{{transl|ar|kasra}}
|{{transl|ar|i}}
|{{IPA|/i/}}
|}

===Long vowels===

A long ''a'' following a consonant other than a ''[[hamza]]'' is written with a short ''a'' sign on the consonant plus an ''{{transl|ar|ʼalif}}'' after it; long ''i'' is written as a sign for short ''i'' plus a {{Unicode|''yāʼ''}}; and long ''u'' as a sign for short ''u'' plus a ''{{transl|ar|wāw}}''. Briefly, ''<sup>a</sup>a'' = ''ā'', ''<sup>i</sup>y'' = ''ī'' and ''<sup>u</sup>w'' = ''ū''. Long ''a'' following a ''hamza'' may be represented by an ''{{transl|ar|ʼalif madda}}'' or by a free ''hamza'' followed by an ''ʼalif''.

In the table below, vowels will be placed above or below a dotted circle replacing a primary consonant letter or a [[Shadda|''šadda'']] sign. For clarity in the table below, the primary letter on the left used to mark these long vowels are shown only in their isolated form. Please note that most consonants do connect to the left with ''{{transl|ar|ʼalif}}'', ''{{transl|ar|wāw}}'' and ''{{transl|ar|yāʼ}}'' written then with their medial or final form. Additionally, the letter ''{{transl|ar|yāʼ}}'' in the last row may connect to the letter on its left, and then will use a medial or initial form. Use the table of primary letters to look at their actual glyph and joining types.

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Long vowels<br />(fully vocalised text)
!Name
!Trans.
!Value
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>064E 0627</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|َا}}<sup><small style="color:#CCCCCC">◌</small></sup></font>
|{{transl|ar|fatḥa ʼalif}}
|{{transl|ar|ā}}
|{{IPA|/aː/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>064E 0649</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|َى}}<sup><small style="color:#CCCCCC">◌</small></sup></font>
|{{transl|ar|fatḥa ʼalif maqṣūra (Arabic)}}
|{{transl|ar|ā}} / {{transl|ar|aỳ}}
|{{IPA|/a/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>064E 06CC</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|َی}}<sup><small style="color:#CCCCCC">◌</small></sup></font>
|{{transl|ar|fatḥa yeh (Persian, Urdu)}}
|{{transl|ar|ā}} / {{transl|ar|aỳ}}
|{{IPA|/a/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>064F 0648</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ُو}}<sup><small style="color:#CCCCCC">◌</small></sup></font>
|{{transl|ar|ḍamma wāw}}
|{{transl|ar|ū}} / {{transl|ar|uw}}
|{{IPA|/uː/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0650 064A</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ِي}}<sup><small style="color:#CCCCCC">◌</small></sup></font>
|{{transl|ar|kasra yāʼ}}
|{{transl|ar|ī}} / {{transl|ar|iy}}
|{{IPA|/iː/}}
|}

In unvocalized text (one in which the short vowels are not marked), the long vowels are represented by the consonant in question: ''{{transl|ar|ʼalif}}'', ''{{transl|ar|ʼalif maqṣūra}}'' (or ''{{transl|ar|yeh}}''), ''{{transl|ar|wāw}}'', or ''{{transl|ar|yāʼ}}''. Long vowels written in the middle of a word of unvocalised text are treated like consonants with a ''sukūn'' (see below) in a text that has full diacritics. Here also, the table shows long vowel letters only in isolated form for clarity.

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Long vowels<br />(unvocalised text)
!Name
!Trans.
!Value
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0627</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ا}}</font>
|{{transl|ar|(implied fatḥa) ʼalif}}
|{{transl|ar|ā}}
|{{IPA|/aː/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0649</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ى}}</font>
|{{transl|ar|(implied fatḥa) ʼalif maqṣūra (Arabic)}}
|{{transl|ar|ā}} / {{transl|ar|aỳ}}
|{{IPA|/a/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>06CC</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ی}}</font>
|{{transl|ar|(implied fatḥa) yeh (Persian, Urdu)}}
|{{transl|ar|ā}} / {{transl|ar|aỳ}}
|{{IPA|/a/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0648</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|و}}</font>
|{{transl|ar|(implied ḍamma) wāw}}
|{{transl|ar|ū}} / {{transl|ar|uw}}
|{{IPA|/uː/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>064A</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ي}}</font>
|{{transl|ar|(implied kasra) yāʼ}}
|{{transl|ar|ī}} / {{transl|ar|iy}}
|{{IPA|/iː/}}
|}

===Diphthongs===

The [[diphthongs]] {{IPA|[ai]}} and {{IPA|[au]}} are represented in vocalised text as follows:

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Diphthongs<br />(fully vocalised text)
!Name
!Trans.
!Value
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>064E 064A</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|َي}}<sup><small style="color:#CCCCCC">◌</small></sup></font>
|{{transl|ar|fatḥa yāʼ}}
|{{transl|ar|ay}}
|{{IPA|/ay/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>064E 0648</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|َو}}<sup><small style="color:#CCCCCC">◌</small></sup></font>
|{{transl|ar|fatḥa wāw}}
|{{transl|ar|aw}}
|{{IPA|/aw/}}
|}

===Sukūn and alif above===
An Arabic [[syllable]] can be open (ending with a vowel) or closed (ending with a consonant).
* open: CV [consonant-vowel] (long or short vowel)
* closed: CVC (short vowel only)

When the syllable is closed, we can indicate that the consonant that closes it does not carry a vowel by marking it with a [[diacritic]] called ''{{transl|ar|sukūn}}'' ( {{rtl-lang|ar|ْ}} ) to remove any ambiguity, especially when the text is not vocalized. A normal text is composed only of series of consonants; thus, the word ''{{transl|ar|qalb}}'', "heart", is written ''{{transl|ar|qlb}}''. The ''{{transl|ar|sukūn}}'' indicates where not to place a vowel: ''{{transl|ar|qlb}}'' could, in effect, be read ''qalab'' (meaning "he turned around"), but written with a ''sukūn'' over the ''{{transl|ar|l}}'' and the ''{{transl|ar|b}}'' ({{rtl-lang|ar|قلْبْ}}), it can only have the form ''qVlb''. This is one step down from full vocalization, where the vowel ''a'' would also be indicated by a ''{{transl|ar|fatḥa}}'': {{rtl-lang|ar|قَلْبْ}}.

The ''{{transl|ar|[[Qur’an]]}}'' is traditionally written in full vocalization. Outside of the ''{{transl|ar|Qur’an}}'', putting a ''{{transl|ar|sukūn}}'' above a ''{{transl|ar|yāʼ}}'' — which represents {{IPA|[i:]}} —, or above a ''{{transl|ar|wāw}}'' — which stands for {{IPA|[u:]}} — is extremely rare, to the point that ''{{transl|ar|yāʼ}}'' with ''sukūn'' will be unambiguously read as the [[diphthong]] {{IPA|[ai]}}, and ''{{transl|ar|wāw}}'' with ''{{transl|ar|sukūn}}'' will be read {{IPA|[au]}}.

For example, the letters ''{{transl|ar|m-w-s-y-q-ā}}'' ({{rtl-lang|ar|موسيقى}} with an ''{{transl|ar|ʼalif maqṣūra}}'' at the end of the word)
will be read most naturally as the word ''{{transl|ar|mūsīqā}}'' (“music”). If one were to write a ''{{transl|ar|sukūn}}'' above the ''{{transl|ar|wāw}}'', the ''{{transl|ar|yāʼ}}'' and the ''{{transl|ar|ʼalif}}'', one would get {{rtl-lang|ar|موْسيْقىْ}}, which would be read as ''{{transl|ar|*mawsaykāy}}'' (note however that the final ''{{transl|ar|ʼalif maqṣūra}}'', because it is is an ''{{transl|ar|ʼalif}}'', never takes a ''{{transl|ar|sukūn}}''). The word, entirely vocalized, would be written {{rtl-lang|ar|مُوْسِيْقَى}} in the ''{{transl|ar|Qur’an}}'', or {{rtl-lang|ar|مُوسِيقَى}} elsewhere. (The Quranic spelling would have no ''{{transl|ar|sukūn}}'' sign above the final ''{{transl|ar|ʼalif maqṣūra}}'', but instead a miniature ''{{transl|ar|ʼalif}}'' above the preceding ''{{transl|ar|qaf}}'' consonant, which is a valid [[Unicode]] character but most Arabic computer fonts cannot in fact display this miniature ''{{transl|ar|ʼalif}}'' as of 2006.)

A ''{{transl|ar|sukūn}}'' is not placed on word-final consonants, even if no vowel is pronounced, because fully vocalised texts are always written as if the ''[[ʼIʻrāb|{{transl|ar|ʼiʻrāb}}]]'' vowels were in fact pronounced. For example, ''{{transl|ar|ʼAḥmad zawǧ šarr}}'', meaning “Ahmed is a bad husband”, for the purposes of Arabic grammar and orthography, is treated as if still pronounced with full ''{{transl|ar|ʼiʻrāb}}'', i.e. ''{{transl|ar|ʼAḥmadu zawǧun šarrun}}'' with the complete [[desinence]]s.

The ''{{transl|ar|sukūn}}'' is also used for transliterating words into the Arabic script. The Persian word {{rtl-lang|fa|ماسک}} (''mâsk'', from the English word "mask"), for example, might be written with a ''sukūn'' above the {{rtl-lang|fa|ﺱ}} to signify that there is no vowel sound between that letter and the {{rtl-lang|fa|ک}}.

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!General<br />Unicode
!Name
!Translit.
!Phonemic Value (IPA)
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0652</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ْ}}<sup><small style="color:#CCCCCC">◌</small></sup></font>
|{{transl|ar|sukūn}}
|(no vowel with this consonant letter or<br />diphthong with this long vowel letter)
|Ø / {{IPA|/a͡-/}}
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0670</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ٰ}}<sup><small style="color:#CCCCCC">◌</small></sup></font>
|{{transl|ar|ʼalif above}}
|(no vowel with next final consonant letter or<br />diphthong with next final long vowel letter)
|Ø / {{IPA|/a͡-/}}
|}

== Other diacritics ==
{{seealso|Harakat}}

===Gemination===

The ''{{transl|ar|šadda}}'', or ''[[shadda]]'' ( {{rtl-lang|ar|ّ}}<sup><big style="color:#CCCCCC"> ّ </big></sup> ), marks the [[gemination]] (doubling) of a consonant. A ''{{transl|ar|kasra}}'' ( {{rtl-lang|ar|ِ}}<sup><big style="color:#CCCCCC"> ّ </big></sup> ) may be written between the consonant and the ''{{transl|ar|šadda}}'' rather than under the consonant.

The ''w''-shaped ''{{transl|ar|šadda}}'' sign is derived from beginning of a small letter ''{{transl|ar|šīn}}''.

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!General<br />Unicode
!Name is
!Translit.
|-align="center"
|style="line-height:180%;padding:10px;"|<small>0651</small><br /><font size="5">{{rtl-lang|ar|ّ}}<sup><big style="color:#CCCCCC"> ّ </big></sup></font>
|{{transl|ar|šadda}}
|(consonant doubled)
|}

===Nunation===
{|
|-
| COLSPAN=2 | ''Tanwīn'' letters:
|-
| WIDTH=50 | {{rtl-lang|ar|ـًـٍـٌ}}
| used to write the grammatical endings ''-an'', ''-in'' and ''-un'', respectively, for [[desinence]]s with [[nunation]] in indefinite state (see ''{{transl|ar|[[ʼIʻrāb]]}}'') in Arabic. The sign {{rtl-lang|ar|ًـً}} is most commonly written in combination with {{rtl-lang|ar|ا}} ''ʼalif'' ‎ ({{rtl-lang|ar|ـًا}}) or ''[[Ta' marbuta|{{rtl-lang|ar|ًtāʼ marbūṭa}}]]''.
|}

== Numerals ==
{{main|Arabic numerals}}
There are two kinds of numerals used in Arabic writing; standard numerals (predominant in the [[Arab World]]), and [[Eastern Arabic numerals]] (used in [[Iran]], [[Afghanistan]], [[Pakistan]] and [[India]]). In Arabic, the former are referred to as "Indian numbers" ({{rtl-lang|ar|أرقام هندية}} ''{{transl|ar|arqām hindiyyah}}''). Arabic (or Hindu-Arabic) numerals are also used in Europe and the rest of the [[Western World]] in a third variant, the Western Arabic numerals, even though the Arabic alphabet is not. In most of present-day North Africa, the usual western numerals are used; in medieval times, a slightly different set was used, from which Western Arabic numerals derive, via Italy. Like Arabic alphabetic characters, Arabic numerals are written from right to left, though the units are always right-most, and the highest value left-most, just as with Western "Arabic numerals". Telephone numbers are read from left to right.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Western || Middle-Eastern <br> (Standard) || Eastern/Indian
|-
| 0
| <font size=+2>{{lang|ar|٠}}</font>
| <font size=+2>{{lang|ar|۰}}</font>
|-
| 1
| <font size=+2>{{lang|ar|١}}</font>
| <font size=+2>{{lang|ar|۱}}</font>
|-
| 2<sup>*</sup>
| <font size=+2>{{lang|ar|٢}}</font>
| <font size=+2>{{lang|ar|۲}}</font>
|-
| 3
| <font size=+2>{{lang|ar|٣}}</font>
| <font size=+2>{{lang|ar|۳}}</font>
|-
| 4
| <font size=+2>{{lang|ar|٤}}</font>
| <font size=+2>{{lang|ar|۴}}</font>
|-
| 5
| <font size=+2>{{lang|ar|٥}}</font>
| <font size=+2>{{lang|ar|۵}}</font>
|-
| 6
| <font size=+2>{{lang|ar|٦}}</font>
| <font size=+2>{{lang|ar|۶}}</font>
|-
| 7
| <font size=+2>{{lang|ar|٧}}</font>
| <font size=+2>{{lang|ar|۷}}</font>
|-
| 8
| <font size=+2>{{lang|ar|٨}}</font>
| <font size=+2>{{lang|ar|۸}}</font>
|-
| 9
| <font size=+2>{{lang|ar|٩}}</font>
| <font size=+2>{{lang|ar|۹}}</font>
|}<sup>*</sup>The standard form of the numeral 2 is slightly different in Egypt.

In addition, the Arabic alphabet can be used to represent numbers ([[Abjad numerals]]). This usage is based on the ''abjadī'' of the alphabet. {{rtl-lang|ar|أ}} ''{{transl|ar|ʼalif}}'' is 1, {{lang|ar|ب}} ''{{transl|ar|bāʼ}}'' is 2, {{lang|ar|ج}} ''{{transl|ar|ǧīm}}'' is 3, and so on until {{lang|ar|ي}} ''{{transl|ar|yāʼ}}'' = 10, {{lang|ar|ك}} ''{{transl|ar|kāf}}'' = 20, {{lang|ar|ل}} ''{{transl|ar|lām}}'' = 30, …, {{lang|ar|ر}} ''{{transl|ar|rāʼ}}'' = 200, …, {{lang|ar|غ}} ''{{transl|ar|ġayn}}'' = 1000. This is sometimes used to produce [[chronogram]]s.

== History ==
{{main|History of the Arabic alphabet}}

The Arabic alphabet can be traced back to the [[Nabatean alphabet]] used to write the [[Nabataean]] dialect of [[Aramaic]]. The first known text in the Arabic alphabet is a late fourth-century inscription from [[Jabal Ramm]] (50 km east of [[Aqaba]]), but the first dated one is a trilingual inscription at [[Zebed]] in [[Syria]] from 512. However, the [[epigraphy|epigraphic]] record is extremely sparse, with only five certainly [[pre-Islamic Arabic inscriptions]] surviving, though some others may be pre-Islamic. Later, dots were added above and below the letters to differentiate them (the Aramaic model had fewer phonemes than the Arabic, and some originally distinct Aramaic letters had become indistinguishable in shape, so in the early writings 15 distinct letter-shapes had to do duty for 28 sounds!) The first surviving document that definitely uses these dots is also the first surviving Arabic [[papyrus]] ([[PERF 558]]), dated April 643, although they did not become obligatory until much later. Important texts like the ''{{transl|ar|[[Qur’an]]}}'' were frequently [[memorization|memorized]]; this practice, which is still widespread among many Muslim communities today, probably arose partially from a desire to avoid the great ambiguity of the script.

Later still, vowel marks and the ''[[hamza]]'' were introduced, beginning some time in the latter half of the [[seventh century]], preceedign the first invention of [[Syriac alphabet|Syriac]] and [[Tiberian vocalization|Hebrew vocalization]]. Initially, this was done by a system of red dots, said to have been commissioned by an [[Umayyad]] governor of [[Iraq]], [[Hajjaj ibn Yusuf]]: a dot above = ''{{lang|ar-Latn|a}}'', a dot below = ''{{lang|ar-Latn|i}}'',
a dot on the line = ''{{lang|ar-Latn|u}}'', and doubled dots indicated [[nunation]]. However, this was cumbersome and easily confusable with the letter-distinguishing dots, so about 100 years later, the modern system was adopted. The system was finalized around 786 by [[al-Farahidi]].

==Use of the Arabic script for languages other than Arabic==
{| class="toccolours" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="float:right; clear:right; font-size:85%; width:400px; margin:0 0 1em 1em;"
|- bgcolor="83C30F"
! colspan="2" align="center" | Worldwide use of the Arabic alphabet
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Image:Arabic alphabet world distribution.png|center|400px|Arabic alphabet world distribution.]]
|-
| style="width:10px; height:10px; background:#00884B;" | || &nbsp;→&nbsp; Countries where the Arabic script is the only official orthography
|-
| style="width:10px; height:10px; background:#83C30F;" | || &nbsp;→&nbsp; Countries where the Arabic script is used alongside other [[orthographies]].
|}

The Arabic script has been adopted for use in a wide variety of languages other than Arabic, including [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]], [[Malay language|Malay]] and [[Urdu language|Urdu]]. Such adaptations may feature altered or new characters to represent [[phoneme]]s that do not appear in Arabic [[phonology]]. For example, the Arabic language lacks a [[voiceless bilabial plosive]] (the {{IPA|[p]}} sound), so many languages add their own letter to represent {{IPA|[p]}} in the script, though the specific letter used varies from language to language. These modifications tend to fall into groups: all the [[India]]n and [[Turkic languages]] written in Arabic script tend to use the [[Persian alphabet|Persian modified letters]], whereas [[Indonesia]]n languages tend to imitate those of [[Jawi (script)|Jawi]]. The modified version of the Arabic script originally devised for use with Persian is known as the [[Perso-Arabic script]] by scholars.

In the case of [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]], vowels are mandatory, making the script an abugida rather than an abjad as it is for most languages. [[Kashmiri language|Kashmiri]], also, writes all vowels.

Use of the Arabic script in [[West Africa]]n languages, especially in the [[Sahel]], developed with the penetration of Islam. To a certain degree the style and usage tends to follow those of the [[Maghreb]] (for instance the position of the dots in the letters ''[[Pe (letter)|fāʼ]]'' and ''[[Qoph|qāf]]''). Additional diacritics have come into use to facilitate writing of sounds not represented in the Arabic language. The term [[Ajami script|Ajami]], which comes from the Arabic root for "foreign", has been applied to Arabic-based orthographies of African languages.

=== Current uses of the alphabet for languages other than Arabic===
Today Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and China are the main non-Arab states using the Arabic alphabet to write one or more official national languages, including Persian, Dari, Pashto, Urdu, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Uyghur.

The Arabic alphabet is currently used for:

====Middle East and Central Asia====
* [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]] and [[Turkmen language|Turkmen]] in Northern [[Iraq]]. (In [[Turkey]] and [[Syria]], the [[Latin alphabet]] is now used for Kurdish);
* [[Official language]] [[Persian language|Persian]] and regional languages including [[Azeri language|Azeri]], [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]] and [[Baluchi]] in [[Iran]];
* Official languages [[Dari (Afghanistan)|Dari]] (which differs only to a minor degree from Persian) and [[Pashto language|Pashto]] and all regional languages including [[Uzbek language|Uzbek]] in [[Afghanistan]];
* [[Tajik language|Tajik]] also differs only to a minor degree from Persian, and while in [[Tajikistan]] the usual [[Tajik alphabet]] is an extended [[Cyrillic alphabet]], there is also some use of Arabic-alphabet Persian books from Iran; in the southwestern region of the [[Xinjiang|Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region]] in northwest [[People's Republic of China|China]] Arabic script is the official one (like for Uyghur in the rest of Xinjiang);
* [[Uyghur language|Uyghur]] changed to Roman script in 1969 and back to a simplified, fully voweled, Arabic script in 1983;
* [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]] is written in Arabic in Pakistan, Iran, China, and Afghanistan; and
* [[Kyrgyz language|Kyrgyz]] is written in Arabic by the 150,000 in the [[Xinjiang|Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region]] in northwest [[People's Republic of China|China]].

====East Asia====
*The [[Chinese language]] is written by some [[Hui people|Hui]] in the Arabic-derived [[Xiao'erjing]] alphabet.

====South Asia====
* Official language [[Urdu language|Urdu]] and regional languages including [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] (where the script is known as [[Shahmukhi]]), [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]], [[Kashmiri language|Kashmiri]], and [[Balochi language|Balochi]] in [[Pakistan]];
* [[Urdu language|Urdu]] and [[Kashmiri language|Kashmiri]] in [[India]]. Urdu is one of several official languages in the states of [[Jammu and Kashmir]], [[Delhi]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Bihar]] and [[Andhra Pradesh]]; see [[List of national languages of India]]. [[Kashmiri]] also uses [[Sharada script]];
* The [[Arwi language]] known as Arabic-Tamil uses the Arabic script together with the addition of 13 letters. It is mainly used in Sri Lanka and the South Indian states of [[Tamil Nadu]] for religious purposes.
* [[Malayalam]] language represented by Arabic script variant is known as [[Arabi Malayalam]].The script has particular alphabets to represent the peculiar sounds of Malayalam.This script is mainly used in Madrassas of South Indian state of [[Kerala]] to teach Malayalam.
* The [[Thaana]] script used to write the [[Dhivehi language]] in the [[Maldives]] has vowels derived from the vowel diacritics of the Arabic script. Some of the consonants are borrowed from Arabic numerals.

====Southeast Asia====
* [[Malay language|Malay]] in the Arabic script known as [[Jawi (script)|Jawi]] is co-official in [[Brunei]], and used for religious purposes in [[Malaysia]], [[Indonesia]], [[Southern Thailand]], [[Singapore]], and predominantly Muslim areas of the [[Philippines]].

====Africa====
* [[Beja language|Bedawi or Beja]], mainly in northeastern [[Sudan]];
* [[Comorian language|Comorian]] (Comorian) in the [[Comoros]], currently side by side with the [[Latin alphabet]] (neither is official);
* [[Hausa language|Hausa]], for many purposes, especially religious (known as Ajami);
* [[Mandinka language|Mandinka]], widely but unofficially (known as Ajami), (another non-Latin alphabet used is [[N'Ko]]);
* [[Fula language|Fula]], especially the Pular of Guinea (known as Ajami);
* [[Wolof language|Wolof]] (at ''[[zaouia]]'' schools), known as ''[[Wolofal]]''.
* [[Tamazight]] and other [[Berber languages]] were traditionally written in Arabic in the [[Maghreb]]. There is now a competing 'revival' of neo-[[Tifinagh]].

=== Former uses of the alphabet for languages other than Arabic===
Speakers of languages that were previously unwritten used Arabic script as a basis to design writing systems for their mother languages. This choice could be influenced by Arabic being their second language, the language of scripture of their faith, or the only written language they came in contact with. Additionally, since most education was once religious, choice of script was determined by the writer's religion; which meant that Muslims would use Arabic script to write whatever language they spoke. This led to Arabic script being the most widely used script during the Middle Ages. See also [[Languages of Muslim countries]].

In the 20th century, the Arabic script was generally replaced by the [[Latin alphabet]] in the [[Balkans]], parts of [[Sub-Saharan Africa]], and [[Southeast Asia]],
while in the [[Soviet Union]], after a brief period of [[Latinisation (USSR)|Latinization]],<ref>[http://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/52_folder/52_articles/52_alphabet.html Alphabet Transitions — The Latin Script: A New Chronology — Symbol of a New Azerbaijan], by Tamam Bayatly</ref> use of the [[Cyrillic alphabet]] was mandated. [[Turkey]] changed to the Latin alphabet in 1928 as part of an internal Westernizing revolution. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, many of the Turkic languages of the ex-USSR attempted to follow Turkey's lead and convert to a Turkish-style Latin alphabet. However, renewed use of the Arabic alphabet has occurred to a limited extent in [[Tajikistan]], whose language's close resemblance to [[Persian language|Persian]] allows direct use of publications from Iran.<ref>[http://www.cimera.org/files/camel/en/27e/MICA27E-Siddikzoda.pdf Tajik Language: Farsi or Not Farsi?] by Sukhail Siddikzoda, reporter, Tajikistan.</ref>

Most languages of the [[Iranian languages]] family continue to use Arabic script, as well as the [[Indo-Aryan languages]] of Pakistan and of Muslim populations in [[India]], but the [[Bengali language]] of Bangladesh is written in the [[Bengali alphabet]].

====Africa====
* [[Afrikaans language|Afrikaans]] (as it was first written among the "[[Cape Malay]]s", see [[Arabic Afrikaans]]);
* [[Berber languages|Berber]] in North Africa, particularly [[Tachelhit language|Tachelhit]] in [[Morocco]] (still being considered, along with [[Tifinagh]] and Latin for [[Tamazight]]);
* [[Harari language|Harari]], by the [[Harari people]] of the [[Harari Region]] in [[Ethiopia]]. Now uses the [[Ge'ez alphabet]].
* For the West African languages mentioned above - [[Hausa language|Hausa]], [[Fula language|Fula]], [[Mandinka language|Mandinka]], and [[Wolof language|Wolof]] - the Latin alphabet has officially replaced Arabic transcriptions for use in literacy and education;
* [[Malagasy language|Malagasy]] in [[Madagascar]] (script known as [[Sorabe alphabet|Sorabe]]);
* [[Nubian languages|Nubian]];
* [[Swahili language|Swahili]] (has used the [[Latin alphabet]] since the 19th century);
* [[Somali language|Somali]] (see [[Wadaad's writing]]) has used only the [[Latin alphabet]] since 1972;
* [[Songhay languages|Songhay]] in West Africa, particularly in [[Timbuktu]];
* [[Yoruba language|Yoruba]] in West Africa (this was probably limited, but still notable)

====Europe====
* [[Albanian language|Albanian]];
* [[Azeri language|Azeri]] in [[Azerbaijan]] (now written in the [[Latin alphabet]] and [[Cyrillic alphabet]] scripts in [[Azerbaijan]]);
* [[Bosnian language#History|Bosnian]] (only for literary purposes; currently written in the [[Latin alphabet]]);
* [[Polish language|Polish]] (among ethnic [[Tatars]]);
* [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]] (among ethnic [[Tatars]]; see [[Belarusian Arabic alphabet]]);
* [[Mozarabic language|Mozarabic]], when the Moors ruled Spain (and later [[Aragonese language|Aragonese]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], and [[Spanish language|Spanish]] proper; see ''[[Aljamiado]]'');

====Central Asia and Russian Federation====
* [[Bashkir language|Bashkir]] (officially for some years from the [[October Revolution]] of 1917 until 1928, changed to Latin, now uses the Cyrillic script);
* [[Chagatai language|Chaghatai]] across [[Central Asia]];
* [[Chechen language|Chechen]] (sporadically from the adoption of Islam; officially from 1917 until 1928);<ref>[http://socrates.berkeley.edu/%7Echechen/Ch_writing.htm Chechen Writing]</ref>
* [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]] in [[Kazakhstan]] (until 1930s, changed to Latin, now uses the Cyrillic script);
* [[Kyrgyz]] in [[Kyrgyzstan]] (until 1930s, changed to Latin, now uses the Cyrillic script);
* [[Tatar language|Tatar]] before 1928 (changed to Latin [[Janalif]]), reformed in 1880s (''[[iske imlâ]]''), 1918 (''[[yaña imlâ]]'' — with the omission of some letters);
* [[Chinese languages|Chinese]] and [[Dungan language|Dungan]], among the [[Hui people]] (script known as [[Xiao'erjing]]);
* [[Turkmen language|Turkmen]] in [[Turkmenistan]] (changed to Latin, now uses the Cyrillic script);
* [[Uzbek language|Uzbek]] in [[Uzbekistan]] (changed to Latin, now uses the Cyrillic script);
* All the Muslim peoples of the [[USSR]] between 1918-1928 (many also earlier), including [[Bashkir language|Bashkir]], [[Chechen language|Chechen]], [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]], [[Tajik language|Tajik]] etc. After 1928 their script became Latin, then later Cyrillic.

====Southeast Asia====
* [[Malay language|Malay]] in [[Malaysia]] and [[Indonesia]]; [[Maguindanao language|Maguindanaon]] and [[Tausug language|Tausug]] in the [[Philippines]].

====South Asia====
* [[Arwi language|Arwi]], a hybrid [[Arabic]] and [[Tamil language|Tamil]] dialect that was used extensively by the Muslim minority of [[Tamil Nadu]] state of [[India]] and the [[Islam in Sri Lanka#Sri Lankan Moors|Moors]] of [[Sri Lanka]].
<!-- * [[Sanskrit language|Sanskrit]] has also been written in Arabic script,{{Fact|date=January 2008}} though it is more well known as using [[Devanagari]] - the script also currently used for writing several [[Indo-Aryan languages]]. -->

====Middle East====
* [[Turkish language|Turkish]] in the [[Ottoman Empire]] was written in Arabic script until [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]] declared the change to [[Roman script]] in 1928. This form of Turkish is now known as [[Ottoman Turkish language|Ottoman Turkish]] and is held by many to be a different language, due to its much higher percentage of Persian and Arabic [[loanword]]s ([[Ottoman Turkish alphabet]]);
* [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]] (Kurmanji dialect) in Turkey and Syria was written in Arabic script until [[1932]], when a modified Kurdish Latin alphabet was introduced by [[Jaladat Ali Badirkhan]] in Syria.

== Computers and the Arabic alphabet ==
The Arabic alphabet can be encoded using several [[character set]]s, including [[ISO-8859-6]] and [[Unicode]], in the latter thanks to the "Arabic segment", entries U+0600 to U+06FF. However, neither of these sets indicate the form each character should take in context. It is left to the [[rendering engine]] to select the proper [[glyph]] to display for each character.

===Unicode===
{{main|Arabic Unicode}}
As of Unicode 5.0, the following ranges encode Arabic characters:
*[[Template:Unicode chart Arabic|Arabic]] (0600–06FF)
*[[Template:Unicode chart Arabic Supplement|Arabic Supplement]] (0750–077F)
*[[Template:Unicode chart Arabic Presentation Forms-A|Arabic Presentation Forms-A]] (FB50–FDFF)
*[[Template:Unicode chart Arabic Presentation Forms-B|Arabic Presentation Forms-B]] (FE70–FEFF)

The basic Arabic range encodes the standard letters and diacritics, but does not encode contextual forms (U+0621–U+0652 being directly based on [[ISO 8859-6]]); and also includes the most common diacritics and [[Arabic-Indic digits]]. U+06D6 to U+06ED encode Qur'anic annotation signs such as "end of ''ayah''" {{unicode|۝&#x6d6;}} and "start of ''[[Rub El Hizb|rub el hizb]]''" {{unicode|۞}}. The Arabic Supplement range encodes letter variants mostly used for writing African (non-Arabic) languages. The Arabic Presentation Forms-A range encodes contextual forms and ligatures of letter variants needed for Persian, Urdu, Sindhi and Central Asian languages. The Arabic Presentation Forms-B range encodes spacing forms of Arabic diacritics, and more contextual letter forms.

See also the notes of the section on [[#Modified letters|modified letters]].

===Arabic keyboard===
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:ArabicQWERTY.jpg|thumb|200px|Arabic/QWERTY keyboard in [[Yemen]]{{puic|Image:ArabicQWERTY.jpg|log=2008 February 24}}]] -->

Keyboards designed for different nations have different layouts so that proficiency in one style of keyboard such as Iraq's does not transfer to proficiency in another keyboard such as Saudi Arabia's. Differences can include the location of non-alphabetic characters such as '<' as well as the location of vowel marks and possibly others.
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:ArabicAZERTY.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Arabic/AZERTY keyboard in [[Morocco]]{{puic|Image:ArabicAZERTY.jpg|log=2008 February 24}}]] -->

All Arabic keyboards allow typing Roman characters, e.g. for URL in a [[web browser]]. Thus, each Arabic keyboard has both Arabic and Roman characters marked on the keys. Usually the Roman characters of an Arabic keyboard conform to the [[QWERTY]] layout, but in [[North Africa]], where [[French language|French]] is the most common language typed using the Roman characters, the Arabic keyboards are [[AZERTY]].

When one wants to encode a particular written form of a character, there are extra code points provided in Unicode which can be used to express the exact written form desired. The range ''Arabic presentation forms A'' (U+FB50 to U+FDFF) contain ligatures while the range ''Arabic presentation forms B'' (U+FE70 to U+FEFF) contains the positional variants. These effects are better achieved in Unicode by using the ''zero width joiner'' and ''non-joiner'', as these presentation forms are deprecated in Unicode, and should generally only be used within the internals of text-rendering software, when using Unicode as an intermediate form for conversion between character encodings, or for backwards compatibility with implementations that rely on the hard-coding of glyph forms.

Finally, the Unicode encoding of Arabic is in ''logical order'', that is, the characters are entered, and stored in computer memory, in the order that they are written and pronounced without worrying about the direction in which they will be displayed on paper or on the screen. Again, it is left to the rendering engine to present the characters in the correct direction, using Unicode's [[bi-directional text]] features. In this regard, if the Arabic words on this page are written left to right, it is an indication that the Unicode rendering engine used to display them is out-of-date.<ref>For more information about encoding Arabic, consult the Unicode manual available at [http://www.unicode.org/ The Unicode website]</ref><ref>See also [http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/su/mideast/Multilingual_Computing_with_Arabic_and_Arabic_Transliteration.pdf MULTILINGUAL COMPUTING WITH ARABIC AND ARABIC TRANSLITERATION Arabicizing Windows Applications to Read and Write Arabic & Solutions for the Transliteration Quagmire Faced by Arabic-Script Languages] and [http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/su/mideast/multilingual_computing_arabic.ppt A PowerPoint Tutorial (with screen shots and an English voice-over) on how to add Arabic to the Windows Operating System].</ref>

===Arabic text computerized===
The first software program of its kind in the world that identifies Arabic handwriting in real time has been developed by researchers at [[Ben-Gurion University]]{{Fact|date=March 2008}}.

The prototype enables the user to write Arabic words by hand on an electronic screen, which then analyzes the text and translates it into printed Arabic letters in a thousandth of a second. The error rate is less than three percent, according to Dr. Jihad El-Sana, from BGU's department of computer sciences, who developed the system along with master's degree student Fadi Biadsy.<ref>[http://www.israel21c.org/bin/en.jsp?enDispWho=Articles%5El1650&enPage=BlankPage&enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=object&enVersion=0&enZone=Technology& Israel 21c]</ref>

== Arabic printing presses ==

Although [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] generally is given the credit with introducing the printing press to the Arab world upon invading Egypt in 1798, and he did indeed bring printing presses and Arabic script presses, to print the French occupation's official newspaper ''Al-Tanbiyyah'' (''The Courier''), the process was started several centuries earlier.

[[Johannes Gutenberg|Gutenberg]]'s invention of the printing press in 1450 was followed up by Gregorio de Gregorii, a Venetian, who in 1514 published an entire prayer book in Arabic script entitled ''Kitab Salat al-Sawa'i'' intended for the eastern Christian communities. The script was said to be crude and almost unreadable.

Famed type designer [[Robert Granjon]] working for Cardinal [[Ferdinando de Medici]] succeeded in designing elegant Arabic typefaces and the Medici press published many Christian prayer and scholarly Arabic texts in the late sixteenth century.

The first Arabic books published using movable type in the Middle East were by the [[Maronite]] monks at the Maar Quz?hayy Monastery in [[Mount Lebanon]]. They transliterated the Arabic language using [[Syriac]] script. It took a fellow goldsmith like Gutenberg to design and implement the first true Arabic script movable type printing press in the Middle East. The [[Greek Orthodox]] monk [[Abd Allah Zakhir]] set up an [[Arabic language]] [[printing press]] using [[movable type]] at the monastery of Saint John at the town of [[Dhour El Shuwayr]] in Mount Lebanon, the first homemade press in Lebanon using true Arabic script. He personally cut the type molds and did the founding of the elegant typeface. He created the first true Arabic script type in the Middle East. The first book off the press was in 1734; this press continued to be used until 1899.
<ref>[http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/198102/arabic.and.the.art.of.printing-a.special.section.htm Arabic and the Art of Printing — A Special Section], by Paul Lunde</ref><ref>[http://phoenicia.org/zakhir.html A Bequest Unearthed, Phoenicia, Encyclopedia Phoeniciana]</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Arabic calligraphy]] - considered an art form in its own right
*[[Arabic numerals]]
*[[Romanization of Arabic]]
*[[Arabic Chat Alphabet]]
*[[ArabTeX]] - provides Arabic support for [[TeX]] and [[LaTeX]]
*[[Harakat]] (vowel pointing)
*[[I'jam]] (consonant pointing)
*[[Rasm]] (unpointed consonants)
*[[South Arabian alphabet]]
*[[:Category: Arabic-derived alphabets]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.unics.uni-hannover.de/nhtcapri/arabic-alphabet.html The Arabic Alphabet] showing the different glyphs for each letter and its code position in Unicode
*[http://www.arabic2000.com/arabic/alphabet.html Alphabet, with sound, just click on a letter]
*[http://purl.oclc.org/NET/arabe/alalifba.en.html Arabic Alphabet Table] pronunciation of the letters, and instructions to write them.
*[http://www.naturalarabic.com/free_article.php?artid=10150 Arabic Alphabet] with sound and lessons
*[http://www.al-bab.com/arab/visual/calligraphy.htm Arabic writing and calligraphy]
*[http://www.omniglot.com/writing/arabic.htm Article about Arabic alphabet]
*[http://www.islamicart.com/main/calligraphy/ Arabic alphabet and calligraphy]
*[http://members.aol.com/OlivThill/aralpha/aral10.htm (freeware) to learn the characters]
*[http://www.uga.edu/islam/arabic_windows.html Guide to the use of Arabic in Windows, major word processors and web browsers]
*[http://www.theiling.de/schrift/#arabic Learn the Arabic Script Online]
*[http://www.madinaharabic.com/Arabic_Reading_Course/AR_Lesson_001.htm Madinaharabic.com: Free Arabic Reading and Language Course (with sound)]
*[http://www.theiling.de/schrift/ Arabic Alphabet Quiz] Choose the "Arabic" link.
*[http://i-cias.com/babel/arabic/ Babel Arabic Writing Explanation]
*[http://scripts.sil.org/cms/scripts/page.php?site_id=nrsi&item_id=SitesOnScriptsAndWSs Site on Scripts and Writing Systems]: A long list of links to sites dealing with issues of scripts.
*[http://www.mesiti.it/arabic/wiki/wiki.asp?db=WikiAsp&o=ArabicLetters1 Arabic alphabet stroke directions]
====Online Arabic keyboards====
*[http://www.arabic-keyboard.org online Arabic keyboard ]to type Arabic characters on computers which do not have a keyboard for typing the Arabic alphabet.
*[http://arab.sourceforge.net Arabic Keyboard adapted to QWERTY] (ISLAM-91)
*[http://www.lexilogos.com/clavier/araby.htm clavier arabe en ligne LEXILOGOS] (French)
*[http://www.muftah-alhuruf.com Muftah-Alhuruf.com: Write and send Arabic emails without having an Arabic keyboard or operating system.]
*[http://arabic-radio-tv.com/keyboard.html Arabic Keyboard لوحة المفاتيح العربية]
* [http://www.eiktub.com: eiktub: a web-based Arabic transliteration editor]
*[http://www.yamli.com Yamli: Type Arabic using English characters ] fuzzy transliteration system.
----
''This article contains major sections of text from the very detailed article [[:fr:Alphabet arabe|Arabic alphabet]] from the French Wikipedia, which has been partially translated into English. Further translation of that page, and its incorporation into the text here, are welcomed.''

{{writing systems}}

[[Category:Abjad writing systems]]
[[Category:Arabic script| ]]

{{Link FA|sl}}
{{Link FA|br}}

[[als:Arabisches Alphabet]]
[[ar:أبجدية عربية]]
[[arc:ܐܠܦܒܝܬ ܥܪܒܝܐ]]
[[ast:Alfabetu árabe]]
[[bar:Arabisches Alphabet]]
[[bs:Arapsko pismo]]
[[br:Lizherenneg arabek]]
[[bg:Арабска азбука]]
[[ca:Alfabet àrab]]
[[cs:Arabské písmo]]
[[cy:Yr wyddor Arabeg]]
[[da:Arabiske alfabet]]
[[de:Arabisches Alphabet]]
[[el:Αραβικό αλφάβητο]]
[[es:Alfabeto árabe]]
[[eo:Araba alfabeto]]
[[fa:خط عربی]]
[[fr:Alphabet arabe]]
[[gl:Alfabeto árabe]]
[[ko:아랍 문자]]
[[hi:अरबी लिपि]]
[[ia:Alphabeto arabe]]
[[it:Alfabeto arabo]]
[[he:אלפבית ערבי]]
[[ka:არაბული დამწერლობა]]
[[sw:Herufi za Kiarabu]]
[[ku:Alfabeya erebî]]
[[lt:Arabų raštas]]
[[hu:Arab írás]]
[[ms:Abjad Arab]]
[[nl:Arabisch alfabet]]
[[ja:アラビア文字]]
[[no:Det arabiske alfabetet]]
[[nn:Det arabiske alfabetet]]
[[pl:Alfabet arabski]]
[[pt:Alfabeto árabe]]
[[ro:Alfabetul arab]]
[[qu:Arabya siq'i llumpa]]
[[ru:Арабский алфавит]]
[[se:Arába alfabehtat]]
[[sq:Shkrimi arabë]]
[[simple:Arabic alphabet]]
[[sk:Arabské písmo]]
[[sl:Arabska abeceda]]
[[sh:Arapsko pismo]]
[[fi:Arabialainen kirjaimisto]]
[[sv:Arabiska alfabetet]]
[[tt:Ğäräp älifbası]]
[[th:อักษรอาหรับ]]
[[tr:Arap alfabesi]]
[[uk:Арабська абетка]]
[[wa:Alfabet arabe]]
[[zh:阿拉伯字母]]

Revision as of 00:53, 22 April 2008

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