Arabic Language Day: Unfinished journey of Arabic education in Pakistan

By Mushfiq Ahmad

KARACHI, Pakistan (MNTV) – As the world marks World Arabic Language Day, celebrated annually on December 18, Arabic stands as one of the most widely spoken languages globally, the liturgical language of Islam, and the official tongue of more than 20 countries. 

Yet in Pakistan—a country with thousands of Arabic graduates from universities, seminaries, and language institutes—fluency in Arabic does not always translate into professional success in Arabic-speaking countries.

This paradox raises an important question: Why do many Pakistani Arabic learners, especially madrasa graduates, struggle to convert their proficiency into employability in the Arab world?

According to Dr. Asif Saleem, a university teacher, the issue lies not in the absence of Arabic education but in how the language is taught. “The Arabic taught in universities mainly focuses on the basics of the language along with literature, history, and the Qur’an,” he explains. 

“However, there is a major gap because students are not trained using modern, practical textbooks—such as those needed for official correspondence, workplace communication, or contemporary media.” 

Instead, most curricula emphasize Sarf and Nahw (morphology and syntax), classical texts, and elementary conversational phrases—often no more advanced than greetings or market dialogues. 

As a result, graduates possess theoretical knowledge but lack functional fluency. “In classrooms, most interaction between teachers and students still takes place in Urdu rather than Arabic,” Dr. Saleem notes. “Spoken Arabic is not the primary focus, and much depends on a student’s own motivation.”

For Najam Soharwardi, an academic with decades of exposure to Arabic learning in Pakistan and the Middle East, the distinction between classical and colloquial Arabic is central to understanding the problem.

“When Pakistanis go to Saudi Arabia, people often tell them, ‘You speak Fusha Arabic’ (bookish Arabic),” he says. “Language has two functions—classical and colloquial. Our madrasas primarily teach Arabic through the grammar-translation method.”

This approach serves a clear purpose: enabling students to understand classical Islamic texts, Qur’anic exegesis, Hadith, and jurisprudence. Madrasas train scholars, not conversationalists.

“The focus is on meaning—how (Umar al) Zamakhshari (a 12th-century scholar) interpreted a verse, how Imam Nawawi (a 13th-century scholar) explained it,” Soharwardi explains. “The purpose is not workplace communication but textual understanding.”

As a result, madrasa graduates often excel in reading, interpretation, and explanation, but struggle with everyday speech, humor, cultural nuance, and informal dialogue—skills essential for professional life in Arab societies.

Based on his experience, Soharwardi identifies one group that stands out. “From a linguistic point of view, the strongest group in Arabic are the Ahl-e-Hadith,” he observes. “They give Arabic high priority, have closer links with Saudi Arabia, travel more, and actively speak the language.” 

Exposure, he argues, is the missing ingredient. Without immersion in Arab culture, language learning remains incomplete. “You cannot crack a joke in a language unless you understand its culture,” he says. “Our Arabic is mature, serious, and book-centered, with little room for everyday expression.”

Universities: mixed outcomes

While criticism often targets universities, Dr. Faezul Ebraar, another university teacher, presents a more nuanced picture. “In Arabic-medium madaris and universities, students do develop the ability to speak, write, and read Arabic,” he says. “Many Karachi University graduates are now working in translation centres, call centres, media, consulates, and teaching institutions in Pakistan.”

According to Dr. Ebraar, success depends on the medium of instruction and student effort.

“If a student cannot speak Arabic, sometimes it is due to personal laziness, and sometimes due to shortcomings in the system,” he admits. “There is no strict requirement that students must speak Arabic to pass.” 

Graduates of the universities that adopt Arabic as the medium of instruction perform far better. Graduates from these programs work in Arab TV channels, newspapers, and government-approved translation agencies. 

Dr. Ebraar argues that madrasa students often have stronger grammatical foundations. “They study Arabic for eight years, while university students study it for four,” he explains. “In writing, reading, and comprehension, madrasa students are generally ahead.”

However, madrasas that teach through Urdu limit students’ conversational growth. In contrast, Arabic-medium institutions—whether religious or secular—produce more confident speakers.

Declining enrolment

Beyond pedagogy, structural issues play a role. Government policies have gradually reduced Arabic teaching in colleges, shrinking the pipeline of students entering higher education.

“In Sindh province, Arabic faculty appointments almost stopped after the Musharraf (who ruled from 1999 to 2008) era,” Dr. Faez notes. “Punjab is far better off, with Arabic teachers in nearly every college.” 

At Karachi University, enrolment in Arabic remains modest—around 19 to 20 students per batch—and has declined slightly in recent years.

Arabic’s complexity also intimidates learners. Soharwardi recalls a conversation with renowned scholar Dr. Khurshid Rizvi. “Arabic may take 30 years to master,” he says. “Unlike English, which can be learned in a decade, Arabic has immense depth, diversity, and variation.”

“People think Arabic is easy because the script resembles Urdu,” Soharwardi says. “But structurally, Urdu is closer to Persian.”

Experts agree that success lies in Arabic-medium instruction, cultural exposure, practical curricula, and strict speaking requirements—without undermining the scholarly tradition that madrasas preserve.