Welcome, Guest: Register On Nairaland / LOGIN! / Trending / Recent / NewStats: 3,195,627 members, 7,958,874 topics. Date: Thursday, 26 September 2024 at 06:17 AM |
Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Religion / Islam for Muslims / Arabic, A Superior Language??? (1854 Views)
An Appeal To Arabic And IRS Teachers In Our Children's Schools / Stop reading Arabic Quran If You Do Not Understand It's Meaning (2) (3) (4)
Arabic, A Superior Language??? by Saksreal(f): 10:55am On Feb 26, 2013 |
I followed Justaqad's thread, www.nairaland.com/1184712/losing-identity-arabs .Even without making a comment, i totally agree with him. Just yesternite, i had a discussion with a friend concerning the use of arabic by Nigerian muslims. I told him i dropped out of quranic school simply because i felt it was a waste of time. Nigerian arabic schools only teach arabic and not the understanding of the holy Quran. I also asked, why do muslims pray in Arabic? and why do most preachers preach in arabic. His reply: Arabic is the language of the holy Quran and thereafter should be used for everything in Islam. He supported his claim with a simple quranic verse, Quran 12:2 " We have sent it down as an arabic Quran so that you people may understand/ use reason". Does this verse indicate superiority of the arabic language?? Did a little reseach. The Quran is sent as a guidance to mankind. The language of scriptures as and when they are sent down to different generation and region is in the language of the messenger and the people who are immediately around him. Quran 14:4, "We have not sent any messenger except with the language if his people so he can make things clear to them. Allah misguides anyone he wills and guides anyone he wills. He is the almighty, the all wise. Thus for those caught in the disbelief at the prophet's time, it was a great blessing that Allah sent a magnificient scripture in their language which they could understand and use their reasoning over. Quran 65:11, "A messenger, reciting Allah's clear verses to you to bring those who believe out of the darkness into the light. Whoever believes in Allah and acts righteously , we will admit him into gardens". The verses on sending the Quran should be perceived in this light. Had the quran been in a foreign language, it would not be possible for the speakers of the language who received it or the messenger, to take its message to the world. In other words, although the Quranic message is for the world, this verse is more specifically addressed to those who understood the language (..."so that you may understand" ) ...emphasising on appreciating what would have happened had it been in a language other than their tongue. This is proved in the following verse; "So We have revealed an Arabic Quran to you, in order that you may warn the capital city and all who live nearby..." (Qur'an 42:7) "We have made the Qur'an easy in your language so that they may take heed it." (Qur'an 44:58) "If We had made it a foreign Quran, they would have said, ‘If only its verses were clear! What? Foreign speech to an Arab?’ Say, ‘It is guidance and healing for those who have faith, but the ears of the disbelievers are heavy, they are blind to it, it is as if they are being called from a distant place.’ (Qur'an 41:44) So when Allah says: "We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur'an so you people may understand / reason" (Qur'an 12:2) We can clearly see it is in reference to the above verses - to the blessing that Allah revealed clear wisdom and guidance in a language they can understand and be able to reason over (Arabic). Therefore, Verse 12:2 (and 43:3) are not classing the Arabic language as being linguistically superior to other languages of the world, nor do they mean to indicate any intrinsic linguistic qualities of the Arabic language over others as being the motivational factor in its choice. Yet, it is wrongly taught in great many literature that the Arabic language has been divinely shown or praised in the Qur'an for its qualities - which is followed on by other exaggerated claims like it being the language of Paradise etc. A misunderstanding of 41:44 "If We had made it a foreign Quran, they would have said, ‘If only its verses were clear! What? Foreign speech to an Arab?’ Say, ‘It is guidance and healing for those who have faith, but the ears of the disbelievers are heavy, they are blind to it, it is as if they are being called from a distant place.’ (Qur'an 41:44) This verse is in reference to the immediate people who heard the Qur'an, describing the scenario had they heard the Qur'an in a foreign language. Some people assume it is in reference to all people, thus they think the portion: "...they would have said, ‘If only its verses were clear (literally 'detailed / explained ْﺖَﻠِّﺼُﻓ)!' ...is an exclamation from all people of all languages. In other words, they are saying, if the Qur'an was non-Arabic, then a speaker of that language reading the Qur'an in his language would complain that the Qur'an was not detailed enough because it was not in the Arabic language. This is a highly unfeasible and unrealistic understanding because why would a man reading the Qur'an in his language make such a claim? Consider a parallel scenario where you are reading a very enjoyable book in English, what are the chances of you wanting the book in, say, Chinese, given: 1) You are reading, enjoying and understanding an eloquent Book. 2) Nothing is lacking in this language to not be able to describe any ideas. 3) You have no knowledge of the foreign language to even compare (assuming you do not speak Chinese!) No doubt, such an explanation is completely irrational. Their intention behind this understanding is to explain 12:2 and 43:3 as references to Arabic as a linguistically superior language, which is as we have seen, something the verse is not trying to indicate. |
Re: Arabic, A Superior Language??? by Saksreal(f): 11:05am On Feb 26, 2013 |
Understanding the arabic Language does not mean one understands the Quran. The majority of the people assume that if one understands the Arabic language, it means he is capable of understanding the Qur'an. They are also quick to dismiss anyone who has a point to make about the Quran's verses, if they are not an Arab or do not speak Arabic. A consistent feature of these sorts of people is that they themselves know little about the Qur'an because they never attempt to research the Qur'an directly. This is because of an intentionally induced inferiority complex of not knowing Arabic which gives them the excuses they need to stay distant from the Qur'an, as well as due to some other vain excuses. They never attempt to understand the verses of the Qur'an themselves. All of their views on the Qur'an are formed entirely by following other people and texts written by those whose trust they assume. They have only read the Qur'an's verses in text books in the context created by their trusted writers, or otherwise read the Arabic verses in ritualistic recitation, or in prayer without understanding them. Sometimes, he feels he has done enough by reading the translation of the few verses he recites frequently in prayer. As stated above, their excuse is that the Qur’an is not in their language and only an Arab or an Arabic speaker can understand the verses. The truth is however far from their mistaken beliefs. A believer can understand the Qur'an and live by it even while possessing little or no Arabic knowledge. History is witness to many people who are proficient in the Arabic language, yet made very twisted and perverted interpretations of the Qur'an, all while they are accepted to be well skilled by the majority. The majority being the group we have identified above. These interpreters of the Qur'an consider themselves Muslims, yet made countless erroneous interpretations - even while knowing Arabic. This begs the question, does knowing Arabic mean one can understand the Qur’an? The disbelievers of Makkah were expert in the language of the Qur'an, but they did not understand many of the concepts and similitudes of the Qur'an. They thus rejected it as being words of a madman. What one needs to comprehend is that understanding the Qur'an means to understand correctly what is being told in the verses, the concepts, lessons, signs, admonitions metaphors and imagery. All of these aspects of the Qur'an hold true regardless of the language used. When one does not understand the Qur'an, that is, makes erroneous interpretations, he is incapable of understanding these lessons, admonitions and true purposes of the verses. One may even be in possession of great Arabic skills, yet be incapable of understanding the verses due to his or her lack of comprehension of what is being told in the verses. We can compare this with the following scenario. Imagine you are explaining a concept to someone in perfect English. The person you are explaining to can also understand English perfectly. However, due to a lack of comprehension on their part, that person fails to understand what you are explaining to them despite your perfect explanations in English and their ability to understand the language. Likewise, the same can be said about the Qur'an. Even an expert Arabic speaker may well be incapable of understanding and interpreting the verses correctly as a direct result of that missing comprehension. This comprehension is given by Allah to whoever He pleases. A verse identifies this: "...But the disbelievers say, 'what does Allah mean by such a similitude?' Through it, Allah misguides many and He also guides many. But He misguides only the rebels." (Qur'an 2:26) The comprehension we have mentioned is actually a gift from Allah to His sincere believers only. A believer who does not know Arabic may be endowed with this ability to understand the Qur'an. When the verses of the Qur'an are explained to him by another true believer in his language, he grasps them correctly, even though he does not know Arabic. And it is probable that a person fluent in Arabic could not understand the same verses correctly even in his own language. Skill in the Arabic language did not afford him the true interpretations of Allah’s verses, and so he remained bereft of Allah’s guidance. Another person who is a more sincere believer could understand the verses, even though he did not speak the language of the Qur'an. Allah explains this 'veiling of perception' in a verse: "When you recite the Qur'an, we place an invisible barrier between you and those who do not believe in the life to come. We have put covers on their hearts that prevents them from understanding it, and heaviness in their ears." (Qur'an 17:45-46) That is why a true believer can live by the Qur'an without knowing Arabic. It is true that a non-Arabic speaking believer will need to overcome the obstacle of language, but with his sincerity and motivation, he overcomes them without difficulty. Today, there are many translations of the Qur'an available in almost any language. It is possible to draw a fairly accurate understanding of the Qur'an by studying different translations. In conclusion, people who speak Arabic do not automatically posses the comprehension to understand the meanings of the Verses of the Qur’an. The comprehension is given by Allah to whom He wills regardless of ones language. All people who consider themselves Muslim must not hide behind excuses from gaining a first- hand understanding of the Book revealed by Allah, which is a guide, mercy and cure for them if they only make the effort to understand it themselves. Allah has held everyone responsible for adhering to the Qur'an, regardless of their spoken languages. Reference; www.Quranicpath.com |
Re: Arabic, A Superior Language??? by deols(f): 3:18pm On Feb 26, 2013 |
please try to present it better next time. It is hard to read in this format. I had an intention of writing my reply to the thread u stated but haven't been able to and now this? If no one thought it necessary to learn arabic, how do you think you would have been able to have the translations that helps you with understanding what the Qur'an is. While learning arabic is not compulsory, it actually is a form of empowerment. It helps you get the meaning and not have to depend on anyone for the translation and you cannot deny that a lot is not lost in translation. there are even certain things in Yoruba that you cannot entirely express in English language. Arabic is a beautiful language and I learn it because of so many of the reasons you try to disprove. In fact, you will need to try again. Your points are not convincing enough. I am afraid that people like you would come out one day and want to pray solaat in your native languages. the end is near for real. 1 Like |
Re: Arabic, A Superior Language??? by LagosShia: 6:02pm On Feb 26, 2013 |
Re: Arabic, A Superior Language??? by tbaba1234: 6:23pm On Feb 26, 2013 |
This kind of topic is usually borne out of a lack of knowledge or an assumption of knowledge. I encourage people thinking like this to study Quranic arabic and get blown away. i. The Quran is only the Quran in Arabic. Translations do not do justice to what the Quran is... You might capture some of the meaning but you cannot translate the miracle of the Quran.. I encourage you to read this thread where i try to point some of the things missing in translations. https://www.nairaland.com/972776/amazing-quran-season-1 Please read through it particularly on the section on Arabic. ii. The names of Allah are only only in Arabic... Do you know what AlRahman is?? Do you really know what Al wadud means??I could spend half an hour explaining what AlRahman is .. What you have in translations barely cover the surface... I encourage you to also read through Al-fatiha here: https://www.nairaland.com/1007823/journey-through-quran-amazing-quran 1 Like |
(1) (Reply)
Essence Of Hajj / Jarus, Mukina And Olabowale, I Got Your Messages Late / Is This Section A Secular Muslim Forum Or An Islamic Muslim Forum
(Go Up)
Sections: politics (1) business autos (1) jobs (1) career education (1) romance computers phones travel sports fashion health religion celebs tv-movies music-radio literature webmasters programming techmarket Links: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) Nairaland - Copyright © 2005 - 2024 Oluwaseun Osewa. All rights reserved. See How To Advertise. 37 |