By: Dr. Munir El-Kassem

Being the language of Qur’anic revelation, Arabic places itself at the peak of the pyramid of linguistic excellence. The All-Knowing God chose Arabic as the medium of revelation from among a multitude of other languages for no simple reason. Arabic, no doubt, must be the most malleable and versatile language to account for God’s communication with His human creation. Emphasizing that God’s words cannot be covered by any human language, including Arabic, one cannot help but hold in high esteem the language of divine choice. God says in Surat Al-Kahf, “Say: Even if the sea turns into ink to (write) the Words of my Lord, it will run out before the Words of my Lord get exhausted, even if We bring the like thereof to help,” (18:109)

Arabic, therefore, is an honoured language which was mentioned in a context of praise by God in many Suras of the Qur’an, namely, Yusuf (12:2) “We have revealed it, an Arabic Qur’an, so that you may understand,” Al-Ra’ad (13:37) “Thus have We revealed it, a decisive utterance in Arabic,” Al-Nahl (16:103)” The speech of him at whom they falsely hint is outlandish, and this is clear Arabic speech,” Taha (20:113) “Thus We have revealed it a Qur’an in Arabic, and included therein warnings that they may fear God or it may cause them to take heed,” and similar themes in Surat Al-Shu’ara (26:195), Al-Zumar (39:28), Fussilat (41:3 & 44), Al-Shura (42:7), Al-Zukhruf (43:3) and Al-Ahqaf (46:12).

By using Arabic as the language of the Qur’an, God emphasized that no falsehood is ever detected in the Book whether looking forward or backward. This demonstrates the capability of Arabic to portray the intended meaning in a perfect manner. In his book, “The language of the Qur’an”, Dr. Ibrahim Abu-Abat suggested that early scholars considered studying Arabic, as a language, a form of worship that brought them closer to God.

The effectiveness of Arabic is demonstrated by the fact that a thousand years before English emerged as the international language of science, it unified scholars across the Muslim world from Samarqand to Cordoba. A book published in Central Asia could be read in Southern Spain less than a year later. Even if the mother tongue of scholars were different, they still wrote their books and papers in Arabic. Omar Al-Khayyam, for example, wrote his poetry in Persian, but he used Arabic to explicate his mathematical concepts.

Having mentioned this, there was a historical aberration that marked the spread of Arabic as an international language of communication. The Umayyad caliph Abd Al-Malek Ibn Marwan decreed at the beginning of the eighth century that government institutions, schools, courts and businesses communicate in Arabic. This forced people, so to speak, to learn Arabic in order to manage their affairs. Arabic dominance of scientific circles lasted seven centuries. In the fifteenth century it started to be eclipsed by Turkish as Ottoman rule expanded, and in the sixteenth century, Latin took over as the universal language of science. Unlike Arabic, however, which was accessible to all classes, Latin was exclusively the domain of academics and clergy, making knowledge largely restricted to the educated elite. Contrast that with the Qur’an which emphasized the importance of seeking knowledge by every Muslim, male or female. In Surat Al-Mujadilah, one reads, “God will exalt those who have faith among you, and those who have knowledge, to high ranks,” (58:11).

The Prophet had further been reported to have said, “Search for knowledge even if it be in China,” and “The quest for knowledge is a duty for every Muslim.” Although these sayings cannot be traced to authentic hadiths, they reflect the high esteem in which Islam holds learning. This probably was the driving force behind the development of Arabic, the language of the Qur’an, as a universal language for learning.

Having established the unshakeable universal status of Arabic as an effective tool of communication and learning, one has to practically admit that languages are subject to dynamic forces of change and may eclipse each other as a result of shifts in global power structure. This, by no means, diminishes the importance and reverence of any one language, but is rather a reflection of what is happening in the world at any particular phase in history. The Qur’an registered this reality beautifully when God said in Surat Ibrahim, “We have not sent a messenger save by the tongue of his community in order to make things manifest for them,” (14:4). In essence, this means that God sent messengers who spoke the language of the people they were sent to. Language, therefore, is not a mere ritual but rather a tool of communication. In this sense, many Muslims fail to recognize the importance of Arabic as a tool of communication. There are thousands of non-Arabic speaking Muslims who memorize the entire Qur’an and some even pronounce its words impeccably without understanding a single word. Granted that God immensely rewards those who memorize the Qur’an, nevertheless memorization should not turn into a ritual. Having Arabic as the universal language of Salat (daily prayers) does not mean that every other act of worship should be treated in the same way. Salat is unique in the sense that, by its very nature, it unifies the global Muslim Ummah (community). Imagine an imam leading a congregational prayer while everyone else is busy reciting in his/her own language. The whole idea of congregational prayer is to perform a collective harmonious act of worship that is tied by the language of divine revelation.

I have witnessed instances during Friday prayers when the entire Khutbah (sermon) was delivered in Arabic, bearing in mind that very few people in the congregation could understand Arabic. Some communities even engaged in internal disputes over Arabic having to be the language of the Khutbah. Proponents of this view argue that Arabic is an integral part of the Sunnah (Prophetic tradition). These people fail, however, to recognize that the Prophet commanded his emissaries to learn new languages before he would send them to new communities for the purpose of educating them about Islam. We all love the Qur’an, but our love will not be diminished if we teach the Qur’anic values in English, French or Spanish.

The ideal scenario is for every Muslim to master the Arabic language in order to read and understand the Qur’an and Sunnah references first hand. But since this is rather impossible, as there are even millions of Arabs who do not know Arabic reasonably well, one needs to study Islamic sources in whatever language they are available in. The objective is to learn, not only restrict ourselves to rituals. As the Ayat and Hadiths mentioned earlier indicate, God wants us to learn and study, not only recite. Twice in the Qur’an one reads, “Do not they ponder the meaning of their recitation, or do they have locks on their hearts?”

In North America we are seeing new generations of Muslim children starting to bud out. If their parents, who are mostly the immigrants who brought Islam to this continent, insist to hear the Khutbas in Arabic without paying attention to the new realities of cultural change, these children may soon lose interest in Islamic learning. Children of today learn through interactive media, unlike our generation who were taught to memorize, and quite often without understanding. Therefore, we need to make Islamic teaching an appealing process. Perhaps we can teach Arabic as a language without restricting religious teaching to Arabic.

We are going through a critical phase of Islamic identity affirmation. As we try to integrate ourselves into a society that is becoming more and more Islamophobia, we need to deal with internal challenges that are too many to even start mentioning. I propose that we do not add language to our list of challenges.