Quran, like the Torah and the Gospel, is a book with a great
message,
"WORSHIP GOD ALONE".
Thousands of years ago God gave the Jews the Torah in their
own language. The Jews then considered the Hebrew/ Aramaic as the special
(Holy) language of God. Some of their Rabbis even taught the Jews that praying
in any language other than Hebrew is unacceptable to God and that the angels
of God do not understand the prayers if not read in Hebrew.
Then God gave the followers of Jesus, the Gospel in their own language and
they felt the same way that their language, mainly Aramaic is the very special
language of God.
Then God gave the world the Quran in the Arabic language. And again history
repeats itself and the Arabs thought that Arabic is the language of God.
They never appreciated that God gave His previous scriptures in other languages,
namely Hebrew and Aramaic. They never appreciated the fact that in all the
languages that the scriptures came down with, the most important single fact
is that the message has been always the same. "WORSHIP GOD ALONE." They never
appreciated the fact that to God belongs all the languages of the world,
He created them, just like He created us, See 49:13 and 11:118-119.
Those who can read Arabic can appreciate the excellence of the literature
structure of the Quran. Those who do not, can appreciate the excellence of
the message by reading the Quran in any language.
God, the Almighty, the Knower, the Cognizant knows that the majority of the
Muslims in the world will not be reading , speaking or understanding Arabic.
About 80% of the Muslims in this world cannot read, understand or speak Arabic.
SO, WHY AN ARABIC QURAN ?
Only those who understand the purpose of the book will understand why it
is in Arabic or non-Arabic.
Quran is a book of a message and not a book of entertainment. God knows that
HIS MESSAGE can be and will be translated to all the languages of the world
and that the true believer will get His message in any place that was destined
to be. God would not send a message that cannot be given to everyone clear
and unambiguous. God would not send a message in a language that the people
cannot read, speak or understand then punish them for not knowing what His
message is.
God clearly told us in the Quran that He does not want any hardship in His
religion. God did not put any hardship on these millions (or bilions)
of non-Arabs to master the Arabic language before getting His message. See
22:78 Getting the message and enjoying the literature excellence of the Quran
are two different matters.
The contemporary Arabs of Muhammed listened to the Quran and appreciated
its literature excellence but many of them did not believe then, e.g. Abu
Jahl and Abu Lahab, Muhammed's own uncles. Many of the contemporary Arabs
of today read the Quran in Arabic but do not appreciate the message of the
Quran, they belong to the same group as Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab.
It is the message of the Quran that actually counts, and THANKS GOD, it is
the part of the Quran that can be translated. If that message could not be
translated, there would not be there these 900 million Muslims who do not
know how to read, speak, or understand Arabic.
The inability to appreciate the literature excellence of the Quran is but
a minor loss if the message could be appreciated, since the purpose of the
excellence in literature was one way to get the people to accept the message.
In other words, appreciating the message by a non-Arabic speaking person
is like going to the conclusion without passing by all the proofs.
This is in contrast to many of those who had the proof, read Arabic and see
the literature excellence of the Quran but failed to uphold the message .
Many deceived Arabic speaking people put too much emphasis on their ability
to appreciate the literature excellence of the Quran while missing the point
of the need to appreciate the message itself, by following it.
Understanding that God guarantees that the MESSAGE of the Quran will be given
to the whole world in any language in any place, means to understand that
having the Quran as an Arabic or non-Arabic book would not make the difference
and that is exactly what God is teaching us in 41:44
"If we made it a non-Arabic Quran they would have
said, "Why did it
come down in that language?" Whether it is Arabic or non-Arabic,
say, "For those who believe, it is a guide and healing. As for
those who disbelieve, they will be deaf and blind to it, as if
they are being addressed from faraway."
Praise be to God, Lord of the Universe.
____________________________________________________________
Why Was the Quran Revealed in
Arabic?
Appendix 4 of the authorized English translation of the Quran by Dr.
Rashad Khalifa
We learn from 41:44 that the sincere believers have access to the
Quran, regardless of their mother tongue. The disbelievers, on the
other hand, are not permitted access to the Quran, even if they are
professors of the Arabic language (17:45, 18:57, 41:44, & 56:79).
Arabic is the most efficient language in the world, especially when it
comes to the precise statement of laws. Since the Quran is a Statute
Book, it was crucial that such laws must be clearly stated. God chose
Arabic for His Final Testament because of the obvious reason that it
is the most suitable language for that purpose. Arabic is unique in
its efficiency and accuracy. For example, the word "they" in English
does not tell you if "they" are males or females. In Arabic there is a
"they" for the males, "HUM," and a "they" for the females, "HUNNA."
For two females, instead of "these" or "those" there is "HAATAAN"
and for the two males "HAATHAN." This feature does not exist in
any other language in the world. I came to appreciate this efficiency
of the Arabic language when I translated, for example, 2:228.
This verse enjoins the divorcee to give up her own wishes to divorce
her husband, if she discovers that she is pregnant, and the husband
wishes to reconcile -
the welfare of the child takes a priority. The efficiency of the
Arabic language was extremely helpful in stating this law. Any other
language would have made it almost impossible to point out whose
wishes are to be superseded, at least not in such a few words as we
see in 2:228.
The word "Qaalataa" of 28:23, for example, translates into four
English words: "the two women said." Such is the efficiency of the
Arabic language.
Another possible reason for choosing Arabic is the fact that "He" and
"She" do not necessarily imply natural gender. Thus, when God is
referred to as "He," this does not imply gender at all. God be
glorified; He is neither male, nor female. The usage of "He" to refer
to God in the English language, for example, has contributed to a
false image of God. This was not helped by such distorted expressions
as "Father" when referring to God. You never find such a reference to
God in the Quran.
Praise be to God, Lord of the Universe.
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