WHY ARABIC IS IMPORTANT?

First, it is the language of the Holy Quran. And it’s the language which Prophet Mohammad (peace-be-upon-him) spoke. It is, therefore, the language in which that preserved his sacred traditions. Thus, the two sources of Islam, the Holy Quran and the Sunnah, were available only in the Arabic language.

The importance of the Arabic language in promoting unity and friendship in the Muslim world has always been keenly felt and stressed by sincere and upright Muslim leaders. They have also apprised people about the importance of the Arabic language for the Muslims and have also warned against the adversaries of Islam, particularly the Western imperialists, who very active in diverting the Muslim mind from the Arabic language and alluring it to the false glamour of other languages. They have been doing by dint of the political sway, which they have held over Muslim lands for a considerable period. In certain cases, these political powers even succeeded in winning over the Muslims to abandon the Arabic Script in favour of the Roman script.

Realising the gravity of the situation and foreseeing the great harm that could be done to the Muslim culture, civilisation and the Muslim faith itself, the well-wishers of Islam raised their voices against this inherent danger and exhorted the Muslims of the world to adopt Arabic as their common language. It is, therefore, the duty of every Muslim to learn the Arabic language so that he may be able to understand the Holy Quran, the Sunnah and other literature on religious topics available in the Arabic language.

Allah has commanded all believers to understand and reflect upon the Holy Quran. How can a man ponder on the Holy Quran unless he understands the meaning of the verses of the Holy Quran, and for this understanding it is indispensable for him to learn the Arabic language.

The Holy Quran is a living miracle of Allah associated with Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him). It is unique in the beauty of its diction, expression and eloquence. It has a melody and symphony of its own that moved to tears even the most hard-hearted enemies of Islam. To verify the truth of this statement, let one recall the event of acceptance of Islam by Hazrat Umar. It is a Muslim’s duty to qualify himself to be able to experience this unique miraculous distinction of the Holy Quran. This again requires a thorough knowledge of the Arabic language.

In addition to the many exhortations in the Holy Quran and the Sunnnah asking the Believers to learn and teach the Book of Allah, there is another indication in Allah’s scheme of things that in order to preserve the Divine Book genuinely pure and unaltered till the Day of Judgment, the believers should be provided facility to learn the Arabic language without any hindrance. It is another clear miracle that Allah has in His grace protected the language of the Holy Quran from undergoing any drastic changes during the last fourteen centuries. This is a period sufficient for a language to fall into disuse and become dead or at least change so drastically that it is very difficult to understand it without the guidance of an expert.

The Arabic language has been safe from such changes and will remain so till the Day of Judgment. The entire non-Muslim world is striving hard to estrange the Muslims from their religion and culture and they know that the most effective way to achieve this nefarious objective is to weaken and ultimately sever, the relation of the Muslims from the Arabic language. The counter effort made in this respect by Muslim countries or Muslim associations in their respective capacities will not be effective.

This important issue must be studied and tackled on the international forum. They should have branches spread throughout the Muslim majority and minority countries to introduce a common syllabus for teaching the Arabic language by trained teachers, and to set up the requisite machinery to supervise, coordinate and promote the teaching programmes.

The responsibility of the Arabic speaking countries for launching and working these programmes is much greater and they should therefore step forward to play their due role in this important field without further loss of time.

by khaleejtimes