The writing system Arabic has been a literary language for over 1500 years. It is written from right to left. Words are very often formed by adding vowels to consonant root forms. The consonants carry the underlying meaning and the vowels grammatical information, such as parts of speech and tense.
Take, for instance, the root form ktb:
kitab
book
katab
to write
aktob
I write
katib
writer
maktab
office
The heavy reliance on the consonant roots of words has given rise to writing systems consisting largely of consonants. Vowels are indicated with marks either above or below the letters in the Qu'ran and in elementary school books, but are otherwise omitted.
Most letters change according to their position - initial, medial, final or isolated.
Calligraphy is a highly venerated art form, providing a link between the Arabic language and the Islamic religion. Proverbs and passages from the Qu'ran are often important sources for calligraphic art.Arab names
Grandfather
Abbas Ausama Ali
Father
Tahir Abbas Ausama
Son
Salam Tahir Abbas
Daughter
Fateema Tahir Abbas
The child's personal name is followed by the father's and grandfather's personal names. Alternatively, in states such as Oman, bin (son of) or bint (daughter of) is inserted before the father's and grandfather's names which, in turn, are followed by a family name starting with Al - (e.g. Salam bin Tahir bin Abbas Almoharby, Fateema bint Tahir bin Abbas Almoharby). Some Arab countries have made further adaptations. In Algeria, for instance, the influence of French has meant that the same family name is now passed from one generation to the next.
