The phonetic transcription below is based on the scheme found in Arabic Through the Quran by Alan Jones (Islamic Texts Society, 2008). The correct form of pronunciation will depend on context, especially for the letters hamza and alif maksūra. The basic form of transcription is shown in figures 1 and 2 below.
| Letter | Arabic | Transcription |
| alif |  |
ā |
| bā |  |
b |
| tā |  |
t |
| thā |  |
th |
| jīm |  |
j |
| ḥā |  |
ḥ |
| khā |  |
kh |
| dāl |  |
d |
| dhāl |  |
dh |
| rā |  |
r |
| zāy |  |
z |
| sīn |  |
s |
| shīn |  |
sh |
| ṣād |  |
ṣ |
| ḍād |  |
ḍ |
| ṭā |  |
ṭ |
| ẓā |  |
ẓ |
| ʿayn |  |
ʿ |
| ghayn |  |
gh |
| fā |  |
f |
| qāf |  |
q |
| kāf |  |
k |
| lām |  |
l |
| mīm |  |
m |
| nūn |  |
n |
| hā |  |
h |
| wāw |  |
w |
| yā |  |
y |
| hamza |  |
' |
| alif maksura |  |
ā |
| ta marbūta |  |
t |
Fig 1. Phonetic transcription for letters.
| Diacritic | Arabic | Transcription |
| fathatan |  |
an |
| dammatan |  |
un |
| kasratan |  |
in |
| fatha |  |
a |
| damma |  |
u |
| kasra |  |
i |
| shadda |  |
(double) |
| sukūn |  |
' |
Fig 2. Phonetic transcription for diacritics.
Vowels
The long vowels are indicated by ā, ī and ū, and the maddah may also be used to lengthen a vowel. The shadda is indicated by the doubling of a letter. The hamzat wasl is transcribed as l- except at the start of a verse where al- is used. For example:
(2:147) al-ḥaqu min rabbika falā takūnanna mina l-mum'tarīna
Fig 3. Phonetic transcription for hamzat wasl.