على الرغم من الحائط القديم، يركب أبي الرف.

Yes. على الرغم من is a very common fixed expression meaning despite or in spite of.

It is best to learn it as one unit, rather than translating each word separately. In real usage, Arabic speakers treat it much like English despite.

Examples:

• على الرغم من المطر = despite the rain
• على الرغم من التعب = despite the tiredness

If a full clause follows, Arabic often uses على الرغم من أن:

• على الرغم من أن الحائط قديم = although the wall is old

Because على الرغم من is the normal set phrase.

The من is not optional in standard usage here. After من, the following noun phrase is in the genitive case.

So, with full case endings, this part would be:

• على الرغم من الحائطِ القديمِ

In normal unvowelled writing, those case endings are usually not shown, so you just see:

• على الرغم من الحائط القديم

Because حائط is a masculine noun in Arabic.

Adjectives in Arabic must agree with the noun they describe in:

• gender
• number
• definiteness
• case

So:

• الحائط = the wall (masculine, singular, definite)
• القديم = the old (masculine, singular, definite)

That is why القديم is correct here.

Because Arabic very often uses verb–subject–object order, especially in Modern Standard Arabic.

So:

• يركب أبي الرف = literally rides/climbs my father the shelf
• Natural English order: My father rides/climbs the shelf

You can also say:

• أبي يركب الرف

That is also grammatical, but it uses subject–verb–object order and can feel a little more emphatic or more like spoken phrasing, depending on context.

Yes. أبي means my father.

It is pronounced abī.

This is the normal Modern Standard Arabic form with the possessive ending -ي (my). So:

• أب = father
• أبي = my father

You may also see والدي for my father, which is another common and often slightly more formal word.

It is pronounced ar-raff, not al-raf.

There are two important pronunciation points here:

1. ر is a sun letter, so the l of ال assimilates.

   • الرف is pronounced ar-raff

2. The word رف normally has a doubled final f sound when fully vowelled:

   • الرَّفّ

So even though the plain spelling is الرف, the pronunciation is effectively ar-raff.

The basic meaning of يركب is he rides, he mounts, or he gets on.

Common examples:

• يركب الحافلة = he rides/gets on the bus
• يركب الحصان = he rides the horse

So in this sentence, يركب أبي الرف would most literally suggest something like:

• my father gets on the shelf
• my father mounts the shelf

That is grammatically possible, but semantically it sounds unusual.

Not very natural in most contexts.

With الرف (the shelf), يركب sounds odd, because shelves are not the usual things one rides or mounts.

Depending on the intended meaning, more natural verbs would be:

• يصعد إلى الرف = goes up to the shelf
• يتسلّق الرف = climbs the shelf
• يُثبّت الرف = installs/fixes the shelf
• يُركِّب الرف = installs/assembles the shelf

This last one is especially important:

• يَركب (Form I) = rides / mounts
• يُركِّب (Form II) = installs / assembles / puts together

So if the intended meaning is My father installs the shelf, then the sentence should be:

• يُركِّب أبي الرفَّ or more naturally
• يُثبِّت أبي الرفَّ

Because يركب can take a direct object.

Just as Arabic says:

• يركب السيارة = he rides the car / more naturally he gets in the car
• يركب الحصان = he rides the horse

it can also directly take الرف as its object.

That said, if you want the meaning climb onto the shelf, Arabic often sounds more natural with another verb plus a preposition, such as:

• يصعد إلى الرف
• يصعد على الرف

Because the opening phrase على الرغم من الحائط القديم functions like an introductory phrase, and Arabic often uses the Arabic comma ، to separate that from the main clause.

So:

• على الرغم من الحائط القديم، يركب أبي الرف.

This punctuation is possible and understandable. In Arabic, punctuation is somewhat flexible, so some writers might omit the comma.

It is understandable as a grammar example, but as a real sentence it sounds unusual.

There are two main reasons:

1. على الرغم من الحائط القديم is a slightly odd idea by itself. English also sounds a bit strange with despite the old wall unless the wall’s age is directly relevant.

2. يركب أبي الرف sounds odd because يركب is not the most natural verb with shelf.

More natural versions would depend on the intended meaning.

If the idea is Despite the wall being old, my father climbs onto the shelf:

• على الرغم من أن الحائط قديم، يصعد أبي إلى الرفّ.

If the idea is Despite the wall being old, my father installs the shelf:

• على الرغم من قِدَمِ الحائط، يُثبِّت أبي الرفَّ.

So the original sentence is useful for noticing grammar, but it is not the most natural everyday Arabic.