IMPORTANCE OF ARABIC LANGUAGE FOR UNDERSTANDING RELIGION
By: Dr. Issah Abeebllahi Obalowu
THE MERIT OF THE ARABIC LANGUAGE & ITS IMPORTANCE FOR THE UNDERSTANDING OF RELIGION
Arabic Language as the Best of all Languages
In the first place, the Arabic language derives its value from being the language of the last Prophet and last revelation. Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) who is the most beloved one to Allah came from among the Arabs. Likewise, the Qur’an which is the word of Allah and His last and most comprehensive divine message to the whole universe was revealed in the Arabic language. Indeed, Allah knows that the Arabic language is the richest language that is worthy of being the world language, and the most suitable one for conveying His last and eternal message to the whole world. Thus, Allah revealed the Qur’an in Arabic. Allah says: “Indeed, We have sent down the Qur’an as an Arabic Quran, so that you may understand.”[1] Ibn Khathīr commented on the verse and said that this is because the Arabic language is the most eloquent, fluent, and broadest language.
Likewise, it is the best language that reveals the desired meanings of the words that touch the souls and leave a great impact. So, Allah has revealed the best of His Books, in the best of His languages, to the best of His Apostles, through the best of His angels, in the best of His months, on the best place on the earth, during the best of His months. Thus, honor revolves around the Qur’an from every angle.[2] In another place in the Qur’an, “Allah says: It is a Quran that is revealed in Arabic without any oddity, so perhaps they will be conscious of Allah.”[3]
Arabic Language as a Universal language
The revelation of the Qur’an in the Arabic language has given the language the feature of the globality. Since the Prophet (p.b.u.h) is sent to the entire world with the message of the Qur’an, every Muslim around the world is required to know a certain amount of Arabic that will, at least, enable him/her fulfilling the right of worship. Allah says: “And We have not sent you [Muhammad] except to the entire mankind as a bringer of good tidings and a warner. But most of the people do not know.”[4]
Undoubtedly, every Muslim around the world must recite some parts of the Qur’an daily in the Arabic language in their five-times daily prayers and nawᾱfil. Likewise, some parts of the ḥajj rites must be performed in the Arabic language, such as al-Talbiyyah. More so, al-Adhᾱn, different types of adhkᾱr and other religious rites must be done in the Arabic language. Thus, the Arabic language is known everywhere across the universe and is being spoken in any corner around the world. The Arabic language is definitely found anywhere a single Muslim is found.
The Inevitability of Mastering Arabic Language for Proper Understanding of Religion
A simple understanding of the message of al-Qur’an requires a certain level of mastering Arabic grammar, let alone he who wants to become an Islamic scholar. Actually, the early generation of this ummah attained that high level of knowledge and understanding of al-Qur’an due to their vastness and firmness in Arabic grammar. Hence, as the level of grammatical competence diminishes in the later generations, the level of their understanding of the Qur’an diminishes as well. A typical example of this fact is obvious from the present situation of the Arabs.
Many Arabs of today cannot comprehend the message of the Qur’an, despite that it is written in their own language. The cause for this phenomenon is the prevalence of broken/pidgin Arabic across the Arab world of today. If the common message of the Qur’an can be hardly understood without mastering Arabic grammar, hence, becoming a Mufassir of the Qur’an requires a high level of grammatical knowledge.
Knowledge and disciplines in Islam are categorized into two groups:
(1) groups of knowledge that are considered to be the tools (علوم الآلة) (‘ulūm al-Ᾱlah). This category consists of all subjects related to Arabic grammar, i.e., al-Naḥw, al-Ṣṣarf, al-Balᾱghah…
(2) groups of knowledge that are considered as the objectives (علوم المقاصد) (‘ulūm al-maqᾱṣid), i.e., ‘Aqidah, Tafsir, Hadith and Fiqh.
The first group that is considered to be the tool serves as the foundation that helps the students of knowledge to understand the objectives, such as Tafsir. According to the scholars of Islam that wrote about the etiquettes of seeking knowledge, it is highly recommended for the students of knowledge to start with the tools that serve as the mechanism for them to have a proper understanding of the objectives. Indeed, such a step is inevitable in this aspect.
Iman al-Shawkᾱnī in his book “Adab al-Ṭalab wa Muntahᾱ al-Arib” categorized the students of knowledge into three groups as follows:
1. Students who wish to become authorities in their field, teach people and write books. Such students are the scholars of the ummah, i.e., mufassir, mahadith, etc.
2. Students whose objective of seeking knowledge is to become independent in all that is related to their religion, whereby they will have enough knowledge of what will enable them fulfill the right of all kinds of ‘ibᾱdah that are required from them.
3. Type of students who aim to acquire the amount of knowledge that will enable them standardizing their pronunciation of the words of al-Qur’an and Arabic language, and strengthen their intellects to avoid misguidance. So, the major source of the verdicts on their religious matters depends on the scholars.
According to al-Shawkᾱnī, all these three categories of students are immensely required to start the journey of their seeking knowledge with Arabic grammar. Actually, anyone that wants to become mufassir has decided to speak on behalf of Allah by expressing the aims and objectives of Allah in His words. Such a person falls under the first category of the students of knowledge; therefore, he is required to be extremely vast in Arabic grammar.
Shawkᾱnī stated that he who intends to reach that stage must start the journey with ‘ilm al-Naḥw and al-Ṣṣarf. Both disciplines have to do with the grammatical analysis in the Arabic language. He asserted that no one could become vast in Islamic knowledge, such as Tafsīr except if he masters some specific books of Arabic grammar. According to him, after mastering Arabic grammar, he has to proceed with ‘ilm al-Balᾱgah, which also serves as a mechanism for the contextual analysis of the texts.
Undoubtedly, no one can have a proper understanding of the meaning of al-Qur’an without having sufficient knowledge of the aforementioned disciplines. The student is then eligible to start learning Tafsīr after acquiring sufficient Arabic grammar that serves as the tools.[5] No disagreement between the scholars of Islam that mastering all subjects that are related to grammatical analysis in the Arabic language is an essential requirement for the proper understanding of the texts and correct deduction of the lessons and verdicts from them. The Qur’an, of course, is the most sacred of these texts.
[1] Al-Qur’an, Yusuf: 2.
[2] See: Abu al-Alfidᾱi Ismᾱ‘īl bin ‘Umar bin Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qur’an al-‘Aẓīm, )Dᾱr Ṭayyibah li al-Nnashr wa al-Tawzī’), vol.4: 366.
[3] Al-Qur’an, al-Zumar: 28.
[4] Al-Qur’an, Sabai: 28.
[5] See: Muhammad bin ‘Alī al-Shawkᾱnī, Adab al-Ṭalab wa Muntahᾱ al-Arib, (Bayrut: Dᾱr al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah), 145-181.
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