Knowing facts about the Arabic alphabet (28 letters, right-to-left, connected forms — see Arabic Alphabet) is different from actually being able to read it fluently. Here's a practical plan for closing that gap.
Several Arabic letters share a base shape and differ only by the number and position of dots above or below (ب ت ث, for example, share a base shape). Learning these shape families together, rather than in strict alphabetical order, makes the visual differences click faster because you're actively comparing similar-looking letters rather than meeting them in isolation, far apart in your study sequence.
Rather than memorizing a table of "isolated / initial / medial / final" forms for each letter in the abstract, look for one very common real word for each letter that shows it in each position. Seeing a letter's medial form inside a word you already recognize builds recognition faster than an abstract chart.
A small number of letter pairs cause most of the early confusion (ب vs ت vs ث, ج vs ح vs خ). A short personal mnemonic for just these pairs — even something as simple as "the letter with one dot below is ba" — resolves most of the friction, since it's usually a handful of specific pairs causing the trouble, not the whole alphabet.
Recognition (reading) typically comes faster than production (handwriting), so prioritize being able to read a letter confidently before spending equal time on writing it by hand — writing practice reinforces reading recognition anyway, so it's not wasted time, just better sequenced second.
See also the reference page: Arabic Alphabet.
Grouping letters by shared shape (like ب ت ث, which differ only in dot placement) helps the visual distinctions click faster than meeting similar-looking letters far apart in a strict A-to-Z sequence.
Find one common real word that shows the letter in each position (isolated, initial, medial, final) rather than only studying an abstract positional-forms chart — recognizing a letter inside a familiar word builds recognition faster.
Letters that share a base shape and differ only by dots, like ب ت ث or ج ح خ — a short, specific mnemonic for just these pairs resolves most of the early confusion.
Reading recognition typically develops faster and is worth prioritizing first — handwriting practice still reinforces recognition, so it isn't wasted, just better sequenced afterward.