Studying Nahw: A Complete Curriculum

They say: Sarf is the mother of all disciplines and Nahw is their father, or in Arabic الصرف أم العلوم والنحو أبوها.

Nahw (Arabic Syntax) and Sarf (Arabic Morphology) are two foundational disciplines without which one cannot progress in their study of Arabic or the Islamic Sciences. Their importance is well-known and understood. Muslims from the earliest of times have given importance to them and to the learning of the Arabic language. We find many statements from the Sahabah and the generations after them in this regard. 

We have already posted a detailed curriculum for studying Sarf (Arabic Morphology) as it is the first subject which should be studied. That article can be found here. This article will outline a detailed curriculum for studying and mastering Nahw. Once a person has mastered these two sciences, he can walk on the shores of Balaghah and swim in the oceans of Arabic and Islamic literature.

We recommend a three level approach to the study of Nahw:

Level 1: Coming to Terms with Nahw

This stage is a key stage of a student's journey in studying Nahw, it will familiarize him with the standard terminology used by the grammarians and will lay down for him a firm foundation which he/she can build upon. These are the two goals of this level. At a practical level there is a third goal which a student should aim to achieve, and that is, by the end of this level he should be able to do basic I'rab (grammatical parsing/analysis) of Arabic sentences.

Four texts need to be studied at this level:
1. Nahw Mir (Originally written in Persian, available in English and Arabic, presents a complete yet concise overview of Nahw)

2. Sharh Miat 'Amil (This will be used as a practice text for doing I'rab)

3. Sharh Ajurrumiyyah by Zayni Dahlah or Matn an-Nahw as-Saghir

4. Sharh al-Kafrawi on Ajurrumiyyah

This curriculum will acquaint the student with the some terminological differences between Arab and Non-Arab works, in addition to providing him with a solid foundation in doing I'rab. 

Level 2: Understanding Nahw Comprehensively

This stage will help a student take a deeper dive into Nahw. There are many topics which weren't covered in the previous works, but they will be covered in detail in this level. A student will come out of this level with a comprehensive understanding of Nahw and will become comfortable with doing I'rab.

Four texts are recommended for this stage:

1. Hidayat un-Nahw (It covers all of Nahw in a very logical and organized manner, thus its perfect for a theoretical study of Nahw).

2. Qatr un-Nada and Shuzur adh-Dhab (These works although they aren't as well organized as Hidayat un Nahw, they are key for learning the application of Nahw, a student should study them individually and then collect the topics discussed in them in one notebook, there will be a lot of overlap).

3. at-Tatbeeq an-Nahwi (This work should be thoroughly read for practical purposes)

A final recommendation (based on the recommendation of Ustadh Moustafa Elqabbany to myself), a student should use the Nahw workbook 'an-Nahw al-Wadheefi' by Abdul 'Aleem Ibrahim for practice.