[AceOfHearts]

Here is a respone to this article by an enlightened sister:

Dear brother, your devotedly dedicated writings are such a breath of fresh and fragranced air. They are a pleasant change from the shallow ideas and superficial babblings of relatives and friends we come across in our daily lives I honestly mean that ..

You are absolutely right. Merely learning Arabic will not make a person well-versed in the Quraan.

Allah has made it clear that only those who have humbled their hearts and surrendered themselves to His Will with love and devotion will be given the privilege to grasp the meanings of the Quraan. Unfortunately there are very few who come into this category. Majority who read the Quraan can be grouped in either one of the following three segments.

(1) Arrogant disbelievers with a challenging attitude toward Allah.

(2) Those who call themselves believers but are actually interested in showing their authority and controlling the masses. Thus their undertanding of the Quraan is incorrect, because their motive is to somehow reconcile the Quraan with the Hadith and fatwas. They cannot accept the Quraan by itself.

(3) The ignorant mainstream who simply learn to read the Arabic script without understanding a single word and depending entirely on their imams for all guidelines of life. Many such ones even consider it a violation to read and follow the Quraan on their own.

Therefore, as for the above three categories, whether or not they know the Arabic language, their perception and insight will never brighten enough to acquire the guidance needed to understand the Quraan.

Furthermore, the Noble Quraan is a Book with great depths. For this reason, understanding only the literal or direct meanings or translations (even if the translation is correct) isn't enough. We are required to reflect carefully, using our rational and conscientious minds at the hidden wonders of Allah that almost every ayat contains. It is also important to be acquainted with the historical, social, policital and economic conditions of the 7th century and the eras prior to that.

I recall once getting caught up in an online forum where a few Arabic speaking brothers and sisters began bragging so much about their knowledge of conversational Arabic that it virtually felt that they considered the Quraan to be their sole monopoly. Feeling quite upset, I posted a rejoinder to which, much to my surprise, they never responded. I also posted that same piece here for the information of our readers titled
Is knowledge of Arabic essential for the study of Islam?

Yes .. the disbelievers of Mekkah were also fluent in Arabic yet they disrespected and misunderstood the Quraan. At present, there are approximately 15 million Arab Christians living in the Middle-East, all of whom speak Arabic fluently as their first language like the Arab Muslims. Yet, you'll hardly find any Arab Christian who has been able to grasp the meaning of the Quraan correctly.

"Imagine you are explaining a concept to someone in perfect English. The person you are explaining to also can 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 a 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 whichever of His servants He pleases. One may be very intelligent but can lack this God-given ability to understand the Qur'an."

MaashAllah brother, this is a great analogy. People have arguments and misunderstandings even with close family members and friends despite speaking the same language. Sometimes this lack of underdstanding can arise because of a "missing comprehension" as you stated. In other cases it can be intentional, with a particular motive. Many readers of the Quraan who know Arabic have either one of the two above mentioned problems, sometimes both.

"Again, with the sincerity and enthusiasm to find the truth, the believer can undertake the research to find a word or expression's real meaning in the Qur'an. ...... "

Absolutely brother. Where there's a will, there's a way. Even if one doesn't know Arabic, but if one has that burning desire within one's heart to understand and obey the words of Allah, there are various ways in which one can carry out one's research. Besides, it's in situations like these that one feels the need to use one's rationality, a very important requirement for the correct understanding of the Quraan. It's necessary to keep in mind that the immense wisdom of the Noble Quraan puts a lot of emphasis on rational thoughts and behaviour.

Here's a big problem with many people. Since they look at life through a narrow prism, they think of Allah in a similar manner. They do not pay their respects to Allah by looking upon Him as the symbol of Perfection which is His rightful quality. Thus, since they are themselves partisans, their ignorance and ego makes them think the same way about Allah. The mental state of many such persons is truly pathetic. Ridiculous as it may sound, once a non-Arab Muslim mentioned to me that a friend of hers well-versed in spoken and written Arabic often hinted that Arabic speaking people will be granted a better portion of Jannah. Not just that, I've heard the well known revert, Br. Steve Rockwell, who was the student of the late Sheik Ahmed Deedat say that on the Day of Judgment all questions will be asked by Allah in Arabic. Such talks leave my head spinning. I would add that by reading the works of the late Sh. Deedat, I gather that he was a well-guided, rational and very pious man. That was primarliy because he was self-educated who never went to those expensive Islamic universities and wasn't interested in hanging diplomas & certificates in his study. He didn't teach those bizarre stuff to his student. The student himself went berserk after getting influenced by the local imams.

As you explained so correctly .. at the end of the day what counts in the Sight of Allah is "sincerity and motivation." It's these qualities that make a person worthy of guidance, and their absense make them unworthy of understanding the Book of Allah. This is the Will of Allah which no one can change.

An absolutely a superb article! Thank you my brother. May Allah never discontinue giving us the wealth of wisdom and knowledge through the Great Quraan, InshAllah.

By Sister Zeynab on Muslim Villa