Fun Fact: Arabic Braille is Read from Left to Right!

Many sighted people are surprised to learn this fact. We know that visual Arabic writing is written and read from Right-to-Left. However, when converted to Braille, the reading direction changes to Left-to-Right.

1. Why Is That?

The Braille system was created by Louis Braille based on linear Latin letters (left-right). When this system was adopted into Arabic (Hijaiyah) at the 1951 UNESCO conference, experts decided to maintain the logic of the Braille dot sequence to keep it universal.

If Arabic Braille were reversed to right-to-left, the dot numbering (1-2-3, 4-5-6) would be reversed and confuse blind people who also study Latin/English letters. Therefore, the physical Al-Quran Braille is read by moving the fingers from left to right, even though it is Arabic.

2. Hijaiyah Dot Code (Arabic Braille)

This system maps Arabic letters to the Braille pattern whose sound (phonetics) is most similar to Latin/European letters. Example:

• The letter Ba (ب) is mapped to dots 1-2 (same as the letter B).
• The letter Dal (د) is mapped to dots 1-4-5 (same as the letter D).
• The letter Fa (ف) is mapped to dots 1-2-4 (same as the letter F).

This standardization makes it easier for blind people all over the world to learn Arabic as a second language.