Equipping undergraduate students in University of malaya with sufficient arabic grammar skillls

Abstract

Putting the blame on Arabic language incapability, as the main reason why most graduates from local universities in Malaysia are not well-versed in the Qur'an and the Hadith, is not a new phenomenon. One of the factors why the graduates are not really Arabic literate is due to insufficient exposure to the language during their undergraduate studies. Most of them are the products of local universities where Arabic is not the full medium of instruction. However, not much has been done so far to rectify this handicap. The same syllabus that has been used for hundreds of years is still in practice. Thus, what the undergraduate students in local universities in Malaysia need now is a revised curriculum. For that purpose, this study discusses the role of Arabic grammar as an instrument for undergraduate students in University of Malaya (UM) to understand Islam in its fuller form. This study also tries to convince these students that there is no better way to improve their Quranic and Prophetic knowledge than through mastering the Arabic grammar itself. Only with that grammar skill, they will be able to accurately and profoundly understand the Qur'an and the Prophetic Hadith. However, the Arabic grammar, that is referred to, is the simplified version popularized by those involved in the Arabic grammar simplification movement. The question is why UM is chosen as the focus of the study. The main reason is that due to the university's standing as Malaysia's premier university, the quality of UM's graduates are always questioned/compared to its status as Malaysia's premier university. Although, other local universities have also been facing with the same dilemma but due to UM's status as Malaysia's premier university, it has always been the focus/benchmark. © Medwell Journals, 2012.