Arabic is to Islam what Mandarin is to the Chinese... the "uniting" factor...
As Muslims, we profess the way of life (Ad-Deen) as guided to us via the Noble Quran... we recite the Khalimah, a promise, an oath, that we believe in the One and Only God, Allah S.W.T. and that we believe Muhammad S.A.W. to be the last and completion of the prophets... this Khalimah is of course recited in Arabic... and I'm sure many of us know the literal, as well as the symbolical, meaning behind the Khalimah...
At the current state we're in, I have to use the word "decay" to describe us... our once mighty and glorious Empire of Faith, reduced to what Westerners call an extrimist religion... who's to blame?.. naturally we are to be blamed...
What went wrong?
I say our fall is directly linked to the fact that we've lost our way, we've strayed-off the path shown to us by Allah S.W.T. in the Noble Quran...
There are many examples I can pluck from history books to show where Muslim's have strayed off the path, the most notable being those by the Khaliphs of the Abbasiyah and Otthaminiyah... but I won't touch on those, do your own research and in the process you'll learn more than just than what I can write in simple words...
I'm going to touch on the subject of language...
How many Muslim's alive can say they speak fluent Arabic?.. even those of us of partial Arabic lineange can't speak fluent Arabic... the problem of language, or lack of a common language, means that we lack the medium needed to exchange knowledge, information, and most importantly wisdom... I'm not just talking about religious/theological knowledge, but every aspect of daily life, both personally and professionally... we know Islam to be an all-encompassing way of life (ad-Deen doesn't traslate as "religion" but "way/path of life")... hence Islam guides us in every aspect of daily life... the most important barrier facing us is that without knowing the Arabic language, the language of the Noble Quran, how do we read and understand the teachings of the Noble Quran?.. remember one every important fact; translation of the Al-Quran is not the Al-Quran, merely a book of translation...
We fail to notice how this has impacted us, but the evidence is all around us...
The absence of good-governence, the absurd institutions and bodies, as well as cimmissions that are in existance; not to mention the syirik practices that are common practice in this country... they all exist because we fail to understand Islam in it's entirety, it's totallity... but how are we to understand Islam when we don't speak Arabic?..
Could not this problem be solved by simply learning to comprehend the Arabic language?.. the damage done is so severe that there is no simple solution to it... but... comprehending the Arabic language is the first step towards solving the problem Islam is facing...
You might be tempted to start learning the Arabic language after reading this entry... afterall, as the Noble Quran indicated thru Surah Al-Qalam, the universe was created using the Arabic language... Arabic is the language of Origin...
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Bid,
ReplyDeleteGood post. Arabic is relevant and necessary to understand the teachings of the Quran. However, knowing Arabic is no guarantee that one will understand the teachings of the Quran - and accept it !
Recall Abu Lahab who is supposed to be a linguist of Arabic? He remained a Non-Muslim and a strong enemy of the Prophet.
Even more, there is no guarantee that the person proficient in Arabic will even read it to understand it. Ironical? Yes.
In the search for knowledge and Truth, above languages, the most important thing is the unstoppable passion to know. Not many are willing to pay the "heavy price" needed for such passion.
The other is humility - an acknowledgment that we are all students of life till our death. However, many fall into arrogance confusing it with confidence.
Salam.
Good article I must say.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree that it is helpful to learn Arabic and we are encouraged to learn Arabic as that is the best way to read and understand the Quran.
To my humble opinion,learning Arabic is not the only way to understand the 'truly' and 'wholly' meaning of Islam.We could just learn Islam in wuteva language is our mother tongue and make the best out of it..I believe that the most important thing is in the essence of believing the faith of Islam and its teaching.
agreed that being proficient in Arabic doesn't mean one will understand the Noble Quran...
ReplyDeleteand agreed that language isn't important in learning/understanding Islam...
but I believe very few individuals truly understand Islam, and fewer more realize how Islam has been politicized (in the process, distorted too)...
language then becomes a medium which we could use... why trust an ulama when we can double check the Noble Quran ourselves?..
Guess I know what u r trying to explain here is not to just follow blindly and vainly the teachings of our ancestors or any ulama/ustaz/imam,coz we'r given the Holy Book for us to do our own findings(based on our own reason and common sense to follow the paths with own logic) by using Arabic as the medium to understand Quran,but yet we should remember that Allah is All-Knowing..Allah wouldnt even create other language if Arabic is the best language for the humankind to get to know about Islam,and merely by learning Arabic doesnt promise us Iman and Heaven.just look at us,even we dont understand Arabic,but still we believe and have faith in Allah and His Way.it is important to keep doing what Allah already told us to do, because it our duty as His creation to follow His rules.in whatever language we are using now,Allah is still there to listen and answer our prayers.
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