As the sacred language of Islam, Arabic is used by Muslims
worldwide. It has twenty eight letters.
Arabic Words are written and read in horizontal lines
from right to left (note:numbers are written from left to
right as in English) .
Unlike the latin alphabet short vowel indicators are not
part of the arabic letter system, instead they are written
as marks over or below the consonant.
An example will make this clear:
This letter is
pronounced *d*
with this mark (called 'Fatha') on
the top of it, is pronounced like "da" in "danger" check
this out:
with this mark (called 'Dammah')
on the top of it, is pronounced like "du" in "duplicate"
check this out:
with this mark (called 'Kasrah')
on below it, is pronounced like "di" in "disable" check
this out:
Another example::
This letter is
pronounced *R*
with 'Fatha' on
the top of it:
with 'Dammah'
on the top of it,:
with 'Kasrah'
on below it;
Summary:
or Fatha stands for vowel a (and is pronounced
like a in hat)
or Dammah stands for vowel u (and is pronounced
like u in pull)
or Kasrah stands for vowel i (and is pronounced
like i in tin)
Long vowels
Tthere are three long vowels in arabic:
prononced aa
prononced uu
prononced ii
check this out:
Note: When we have a long vowel, we do not need to
have the marks on top or below the letter:
is
pronounced *d* 
on
the top of it, is pronounced like "da" in "danger" check
this out:
on the top of it, is pronounced like "du" in "duplicate"
check this out:
on below it, is pronounced like "di" in "disable" check
this out:
is
pronounced *R* 
prononced aa
prononced uu
prononced ii 
