Transliteration Table
The following transliteration system is used throughout this book to represent the sounds of the Arabic alphabet:
1 Consonants
|
Arabic |
Transliteration |
Arabic |
Transliteration |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
ʾ |
|
ḍ |
|
|
b |
|
ṭ |
|
|
t |
|
ẓ |
|
|
th |
|
ʿ |
|
|
j |
|
gh |
|
|
ḥ |
|
f |
|
|
kh |
|
q |
|
|
d |
|
k |
|
|
dh |
|
l |
|
|
r |
|
m |
|
|
z |
|
n |
|
|
s |
|
h |
|
|
sh |
|
w |
|
|
ṣ |
|
y |
2 Vowels
|
Arabic Short Vowels |
Transliteration |
Arabic Long Vowels |
Transliteration |
|---|---|---|---|
|
fatḥa |
a |
alif |
ā |
|
ḍamma |
u |
waw |
ū |
|
kasra |
i |
yāʾ |
ī |
3 Diphthongs
|
Arabic |
Transliteration |
Arabic |
Transliteration |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
ay (sayr for |
- |
aw (ṣawm for |
The definite article al- is not changed according to pronunciation. Hence the sun letters are not observed; for instance, “the East” is al-Sharq rather than ash-Sharq.
The tāʾ marbūṭa is rendered as a final a; for instance, al-Malakiyya, al-Ṭarīqa.
In the translation of Arabic texts, terms are given in (parentheses) for accuracy, while explanations of the translator are given in [brackets].
Mohammad Marmaduke Pickthall’s The Meaning of the Glorious Koran: An Explanatory Translation (New York: New American Library, 1954) has been used for the translation of Qurʾānic verses.