In the Name of Allaah…
Many non-Arabs who learn proper Arabic find difficulty in communicating with regular, everyday people. The problem is that common Arabs don’t usually speak a very high level of fus-haa (proper) Arabic, rather they speak ‘Aammiyyah, a lesser grade of Arabic slang. Students of the Arabic Language tend to have a strong stance against the use of this slang, ‘Aammiyyah.
Perhaps the following words from the great scholar, Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have Mercy on him), may provide some much needed insight into the issue: [1]
بعض الناس تجده يسرع في الكلام ويغمغم في الكلام حتى إن الإنسان يحتاج إلى أن يقول: ماذا قال؟ هذا خلاف السنة، فالسنة أن يكون الكلام بينًا واضحًا يفهمه المخاطب، وليس من الواجب أن يكون باللغة الفصحى، بل ولا من المستحب إذا كان الناس ينتقدون ذلك ويرون أن ذلك تنطع. إنما تخاطب الناس بلسانهم، وليكن كلامك بينًا واضحًا كما في حديث أنس بن مالك _ رضي الله عنه _ أن النيي _ صلى الله عليه وسلم _ كان إذا تكلم بالكلمة أعادها ثلاثًا حتى تفهم عنه
…You find that some people speak too quickly, or they mumble in their speech, and people have to ask, “What did he say?” This is against the Sunnah. The Sunnah is to make one’s speech clear and audible so the listener can understand it. It is not even a must that proper (fus-haa) Arabic is used, nor is it even recommended, [2] when the people are critical of this and consider it to be a kind of unnecessarily added difficulty (in communicating). Instead, speak to the people with their language, using clear, audible speech, as found in the hadeeth of Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him): The Prophet (may Allaah raise his rank and grant him peace) used to repeat his words three times when speaking, so that he would be understood…[3]
And Allaah knows best. [4]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Source: His explanation of Riyaadh as-Saaliheen (4/65).
[2] Read the sentence carefully to avoid misunderstanding the shaykh’s point. He was not advising against the use of proper Fus-haa Arabic. Rather, he was stressing the importance of communicating with the people with words they understand.
[3] The hadeeth was collected by al-Bukhaaree in his Saheeh (#94).
[4] Edited by Nadeem Ahsan-Shah (may Allaah bless him).
السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
I’m a young man who works during the night & is free during the day. I live in the west (Toronto) & I am really eager to learn arabic. Sadly, I’ve found it a bit difficult to find suitable teachers to teach me. I heard troid had an arabic program but it was discontinued due to confusion amongst the students. Until I can find a teacher to do some intense one-on-one classes with me (or even some group classes) I’m stuck with myself as a teacher. Any advice or tips you can give me that can aid me, by the Permission if Allaah, in seeking knowledge of the Arabic language?
Baarak Allaahu feek.
On Mujahid’s (rahimahullah) Wikipedia page, a quote is attributed to him saying “It is not permissible for one who holds faith in Allah and the Day of Judgment to speak on the Qur’an without learning classical Arabic.” but it doesn’t have a citation.
Have you heard this statement before and do you know if it is authentic/correct? If so, does this mean that those who don’t know Arabic shouldn’t bring up the daleel from the Quran when commanding good and forbidding evil? Because at times when I do, I will pull up the relevant Quran verse on my phone to show to people the proof for what I’m saying. For example to stop a person from Qadhf
That statement is attributed to Mujaahid ibn Jabr in some of the later books on Quranic sciences, but I was not able to locate an original source for it (with a chain). I could not find it in the Musannafs, or the early books of Aathaar in Tafseer. The wording is: لا يحل لأحد يؤمن بالله واليوم الآخر أن يتكلم في كتاب الله إذا لم يكن عالماً بلغات العرب
However, other imams have made similar statements about the importance of knowing Arabic for anyone who would speak of Tafseer. But that cannot lead non-Arabs from enjoining good and forbidding evil in clear matters of the Religion, simply because they are not advanced Arabic Language learners. We have witnessed the arrogance of many Arabic speaking people, when confronted with good advice from their non-Arab brothers in Islam, saying things like, “You do not even know Arabic…” about simple matters of clear halaal and clear haraam. However, we have also seen non-Arab brothers ordering and forbidding things based on poor understanding, sometimes because of not knowing the Arabic language associated with an issue. So, case by case, we would need to look at each issue, and Allah knows best.
The example you have given about Qathf, accusing a Muslim of adultery or fornication without having four witnesses, is very serious. It is a major sin, which has a serious punishment connected to it in this life and the Next. Yet, we have seen recently, non-Arabs, and even some biased pasrtisan Arabs talking about the word “Aahir” and saying that it is not a Qathf. The discussion requires knowledge of Arabic, Tafseer, and Fiqh, and it is very serious as it is Tafseer of the Book of Allah! When your Tafseer of the Book of Allah is based on your desire to defend a criminal who has uttered this Qathf in a masjid, then you are a HIZBEE, plain and simple, your understanding of the Deen changes with who you are trying to defend. We’ve seen this exact form of putrid hizbiyyah in the defenders of Muhammad ibn Haadee in the West, some of them so blatantly biased that they would first translate the word “aahir” as fornicator before the need to defend Ibn Haadee came up, and then they went back and changed their translation to “criminal” or something other than fornicator, since their hizbiyyah of that day was to defend a man who accused another with that word, and on that day, they did not want the word “AAHIR” to mean “fornicator”, because their guy used it, and they wanted him to be innocent! Pure, rotten hizbiyyah. May Allah guide them and rid them of this flagrant partisanship. We do not defend criminals in falsehood by redefining words; this resembles more the actions of the Jews of the past than the action of any Muslim.
To summarize, whether we know Arabic or not, we are not allowed to call a Muslim a fornicator without four reliable witnesses testifying to the graphic nature of the act. We avoid this filthy, criminal act, and we forbid others from it, in Arabic and English! And Allah knows best.
السلام عليكم
Some of the anti-islam propagandists claim that the verse وَمَكَرُوا۟ وَمَكَرَ ٱللَّهُ وَٱللَّهُ خَيْرُ ٱلْمَٰكِرِينَ
Affirms that Allah is the “Best of Deceivers”, and they use as proof that some dictionaries translate مكر to be deception or definitions similar to it. How do we refute this claim?
وعليكم السلام ورحمة الله
Makr is plotting and out-planning others. It is praiseworthy when it is a response to evil people and it accompishes good. This is the makr of Allaah, a perfect and complete form of makr befitting His Majesty. Also, khidaa’ (خداع), deception, is similar. Allah is only described with it as a response to those who try to deceive Him and His believing servants. See Quran (4:142). It is not mentioned except specifically in response to their evil plotting and deception.