Arabs are a Semitic people that originated in Arabia, but today spread across most of Western Asia and North Africa, and many other parts of the world.

There are three distinct forms of Arabic. Classical or Qur’anical Arabic, Formal or Modern Standard Arabic and Spoken or Colloquial Arabic. Classical Arabic is the form of Arabic literally found in the Qur’an. It is used neither in conversation, nor in non-religious writing. As such, Classical Arabic is primarily learned for reading and reciting Islamic religious texts.

The first documented record of written Arabic dates from the early 4th century C.E., its use in the early 7th century as the language of the Qur’an led Arabic to become the major world language that it is today. As Islam spread throughout the world, its chosen language did as well. Coupled with the rise of Islam, Arabic became the language of government as well as religion. Within 100 years after the introduction of the Qur’an, Arabic became the official language of a world empire whose boundaries stretched from the Oxus River in Central Asia to the Atlantic Ocean, and even northward into the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. As Islam continued to spread through the world, Arabic inherently followed.

Tattooing has been practiced in the Middle East for thousands and thousands of years. In fact tattooing in the Middle East predates the Arabic language and the Arab people by many thousands of years.