Classical Arabic

Classical Arabic (CA), also known as Qur'anic or Koranic Arabic, is the form of the Arabic language used in literary texts from Umayyad and Abbasid times (7th to 9th centuries). It is based on the Medieval dialects of Arab tribes. Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is the direct descendent used today throughout the Arab World in writing and in formal speaking, for example, prepared speeches, some radio broadcasts, and non-entertaining content. While the lexis and stylistics of Modern Standard Arabic are different from Classical Arabic, the morphology and syntax have remained basically unchanged (though MSA uses a subset of the syntactic structures available in CA). The vernacular dialects, however, have changed more dramatically. In the Arab world, little distinction is made between CA and MSA, and both are normally called al-Fuṣ-ḥā (الفصحى&lrm) in Arabic, meaning 'the clearly spoken one' or the 'language of eloquence'. Because the Qur'an is written in Classical Arabic, the language is considered by most Muslims to be sacred. It is the only language in which most Muslims recite their prayers, regardless of what language they use in everyday life.