Islamic Culture

Islam and the Arabic language are inseparable

This article explains the centrality of the Arabic language in understanding and deriving the rules of Islam. It is based on the tafsir of Surah Al-Baqarah ‘tayseer ila usul it-tafsir’ by Shaykh Ata bin Khalil Abu Rishta. With Islam a state arose that was a guiding light for the world, spreading justice to all corners of the earth. The sovereignty and leadership of this ummah and this state was for the book of Allah سبحانه وتعالى and the sunnah of His messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم.

The Muslims in the time of RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم and the time of his companions (raa) used to understand the book and the sunnah with a pure understanding.

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

With Islam the best ummah was raised from mankind:

كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ

“You are the best ummah raised from mankind, you command the good and forbid the evil and you believe in Allah” [al-‘Imran, 3:110]

With Islam a state arose that was a guiding light for the world, spreading justice to all corners of the earth. The sovereignty and leadership of this ummah and this state was for the book of Allah سبحانه وتعالى and the sunnah of His messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم.

The Muslims in the time of RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم and the time of his companions (raa) used to understand the book and the sunnah with a pure understanding. An understanding that made them happy and satisfied their hearts. If a verse or part of a verse was explained by RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم with a shariah explanation, so the word or verse was given a shariah terminology, they adhered to it and followed it. If he صلى الله عليه وسلم did not give the verse a shariah terminology they searched for it in their language, the Arabic language, in which the verse was revealed as Allah سبحانه وتعالى says:

قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا

“an Arabic Qur’an” [Yusuf, 12:2]

and whose tongue was:

وَهَٰذَا لِسَانٌ عَرَبِيٌّ مُبِينٌ

“this is a clear Arabic tongue” [an-Nahl, 16:103]

If RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم recited:

وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ

“establish prayer” [Al-Baqara, 2:43]

then explained ‘prayer’ as a set of specific actions and sayings, they followed this shariah terminology in understanding the verse and its performance, thus leaving the linguistic meaning of ‘prayer’ which means supplication.

When the verse was recited to them:

حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَيْتَةُ

“carrion is forbidden for you” [Al-Maaida, 5:3]

he صلى الله عليه وسلم did not give it a shariah terminology, but the sahaba understood it in the Arabic language as a prohibition to eat carrion, because it’s clear in the language that the prohibition is connected to carrion.

This is what the sahaba used to do. If an explanation was authentically traced back to RasulAllah’s صلى الله عليه وسلم speech, they adhered to it and followed it. If not, they looked for an explanation in the Arabic language of the Qur’an. This matter gave the sahaba a sound understanding and a straight path they traveled upon, so the ummah became honoured and the state became strong. With that they had a great position in the world.

The sahaba’s purity and clarity in understanding the language of Qur’an increased when they understood the limits of the human mind that Allah distinguished mankind with.

وَعَلَّمَ آدَمَ الْأَسْمَاءَ كُلَّهَا

“Allah taught Adam all of the names” [al-Baqarah, 2:31]

They understood the mind is limited in its scope and capability, so it cannot study except that which has a sensed reality. As for that which has no reality, then there is no role for the mind to produce a thought about it and it will therefore provoke imagination and contemplation.

The sahaba thought about Allah’s سبحانه وتعالى creation and contemplated His signs. They saw the universe, man and life being limited, weak and needy and its existence following a precise system, definitely indicating that it has a great, powerful, eternal creator. A creator who limited the nature of creation and organized its sustenance, and who is able to end its weakness and secure its needs. So, they believed in Allah, the Creator, the One, al-Ahad as a result of contemplating on His signs and thinking about His creation on the basis of the sensed reality.

Then, they believed in the Qur’an al-Kareem and that it is the speech of Allah سبحانه وتعالى, because the Arabs failed in the challenge and their inability to bring a surah like it while they are the people of clear speech and eloquence. Their language is the language of the Qur’an, so their incapability was a definite proof that the Qur’an is the speech of Allah سبحانه وتعالى, so they believed in the Qur’an that they read or heard its verses, while it was sensed by them, not unseen to them.

Like this it was confirmed that Muhammad is a Messenger from Allah, as he had come to them with the speech of Allah revealed by Him سبحانه. So, they believed that Muhammad is RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم while it was sensed by them, not unseen to them.

However, they did not exercise the mind in the unseen that were not sensed by them. So, they did not subject it to an intellectual study, because it is not the mind’s domain. Rather, they were satisfied with an-naql (the transmission), i.e. with what came about it in the book of Allah and what they heard of it from RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم, or was transmitted to them of him صلى الله عليه وسلم.

Therefore, they did not use their minds to investigate the attributes of Allah, are they created or uncreated? Are they connected to the essence or separate from it? Because, their reality was not sensed by them, so they believed in them as they came by way of transmission from Allah’s book and the sunnah of His messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم. The Qur’an is the speech of Allah, they believed in that and were certain about all that was in it, without doubt or suspicion.

Allah is Samee’, Baseer, ‘Aleem, Hakeem, for Him is the best names. They believed in that and had certainty without any investigation into how are these attributes. Rather, they surrendered to them submissively.

Their Iman in the unseen matters became complete just as the Qur’an brought it, without increase or decrease, without interpretation or misguidance. They were happy with that and their hearts were satisfied.

Just as they understood the scope of the language in understanding the Qur’an, similarly they comprehended the scope of the mind and the transmission in al-iman. So the Qur’an is not understood except in the language with which it was sent down, and the mind is not exercised in what has no sensed reality. Rather it is transmitted from the book of Allah and the sunnah of His messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم and it is believed in as it is. The limits of the language are not exceeded in understanding the Qur’an, nor is the scope of the mind that Allah distinguished mankind with exceeded. Their adherence to these two: the language and the mind, and understanding their limits and their domains, was a path to the soundness of the aqeedah (creed) and its correctness, and to the best implementation and perfection of the shariah rules.

This is what the Muslims were on in the time of RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم and the time of his companions (raa), all of them, and those who followed them in good. Their weapon in understanding their deen (religious way of life) was what was authentically transmitted of RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم of explanation, and their comprehending their language, the Arabic language that the Qur’an was sent down in. Then, their understanding the scope of the mind, its limits and that it has no role in the un-sensed unseen matters, except in proportion to what the mind transmits from the book of Allah and what tawatara (was transmitted in a way that leaves no room for error) from RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم.

But, there came after them successors, who were weaker in their possession of the language and who were confused about matters. So, they delved into explaining the verses of Allah without the language that it was sent down in, giving meanings to it which it cannot carry. Interpretations became many as they made for the text apparent and hidden meanings. Sects were founded and the people who followed their desires disunited the opinions. This did not stop at exerting effort in the branches, rather it transgressed into the foundations until it extended to the beliefs and the branches of belief.

That which muddied the waters more, was that they did not comprehend the scope of the mind and its limits, so they gave it free reign in what it was not created for. They entered into the intellectual study of Allah’s essence, His attributes and the creation of the Qur’an. They brought investigations that are neither in the book of Allah سبحانه وتعالى nor in the sunnah of His messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم. They busied the people along with them in investigations that Allah did not send down authority for, dividing the Muslims instead of gathering them on the truth that RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم and his companions (raa) were on.

Then, after those successors, came other successors, distancing further from the truth, descending lower than those who came before them in terms of guidance. Those who came before them had one calamity in that they gave free reign to the mind in other than its domain.

As for those who came after them, the initial calamity remained as it was, so they also gave free reign to the mind in other than its domain, then they completed the previous misfortune so it became a calamity by neglecting the language, not giving any value to it. If only they had known that they were on ignorance, for they would have then sought knowledge and learnt it. But, they thought that they themselves were knowledgeable, so you see that they were daring with the deen of Allah. They were asked and gave fatwas (specific legal rulings) while they read the verses of Allah and the narrations of RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم without understanding or contemplating the language that the Qur’an was revealed in and the messenger of Islam صلى الله عليه وسلم spoke in, without comprehending its sciences and styles.

If you said to them “how do you issue rules from the book and sunnah while you don’t understand the language of the Qur’an and the sunnah?!” Or, you said to them “Don’t you fear Allah in deriving rules that you are not qualified for, and it is obligatory upon you to concentrate on the language before you issue rules and misguide or be misguided?!” They reply to you with belittling the standing of the language in understanding the book of Allah سبحانه وتعالى and the sunnah of His messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم.

They added to this claim of theirs, making matters worse, and increasing more on the two calamities. Then some of the general public were affected by them, carrying some of their corrupted concepts and erroneous thoughts, so, sects were established upon them, some connected to those who came before and some of them unconnected.

Except that Allah سبحانه وتعالى sent his favour to this ummah with men after men, who were elevated with this deen to towering heights, with Allah’s favour. Allah protected His deen, so these sects were not able to change its path or destroy its thoughts.

Knowledgeable men stood up, among them the extraordinary. They exerted effort and ability in transmitting this language, the language of the Qur’an, pure and clean, from its foundations and principles. Then they built upon it other sciences in al-usul (principles) and al-fiqh (Jurisprudence). The sciences of the language were a companion to the sciences of the Qur’an and hadith and were a basis for them.

They protected for us and transmitted how the Arabs used to speak, and how they used to understand the book of Allah and the sunnah of His messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم with the language in which it was sent down and the language in which the messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم said it.