I have always been curious how brother @Coollearned to understand Arabic without the aid of translations. Did you learn it formally in a Madressa, or did you learn it through self study?
I have personally been using Duolingo and Quranic for the last few months, and I understand it at least as well as Punjabi. I may understand simple and basic phrases, and I sometimes get the gist of the message from longer Ayah's.
For some reason, Ahadith are more difficult for me than Ayahs.
I would like to know about the experiences of non native Arabs who learned it, and some tips on how can I take it to the next level.
Edit: I would also like some ideas on how to go about learning Farsi. There's no Farsi on Duolingo. Brother @Ashvazdanghe, any pointers? Also, is Dari and Farsi the same or mutually intelligible?