When you show the Moon to a child, all it sees is your finger. (Chinese Proverb)
^ so true.... I can relate to that :)
U do have a point, learning Arabic and being able to truly understand Quran is a daunting task and realistically speaking a task that is very hard to achieve in these times… but at the same time for those who do not want to solely rely on someone else’s translations and interpretations they should have the motivation to learn Arabic so they can go to the source themselves. Also there is tremendous amount of research and documentation on Islam that has been done in Arabic. Translations lose the effect and sometimes even the meaning.
As far as requiring a decade to learn Arabic to be able to understand Quran, I don’t agree with it. It depends how much time and effort you give it and how motivated you are. Forcing it on everyone and making it mandatory will never ever work but for someone who is motivated enough can achieve in no time.
It is the language since Allah (SWT) chose it as the medium to relay his final message and his deen.
Ravage: Thank you for your reply. It is always a pleasure to discuss with a person who is intelligent and sane like you. 
Prophet Adam :as: and those that came after him, had many things in their shariah that do not apply on the ummah of Muhammad :saw: . We are the last nation, with a complete set of rules and guidance. The previous nations were also different because they were for a limited period and also in a limited and confined area. Islam’s message is universal. Therefore, Arabic happens to be the finalized language as the Quran is in Arabic and this message is final till the day of Judgement.
Shaykh-ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said: “The Arabic Language is from the Religion, and the knowledge of it is an obligation. For surely the understanding of the Qur’ân and the Sunnah is an obligation, and these two are not understood except with the understanding of the Arabic Language, and whatever obligation is not fulfilled except by certain steps then those steps themselves become obligatory (to fulfil the initial obligation)” [The Necessity Of The Straight Path by Ibn Taymiyyah ( 1/470)]
Arabic language is essential for every Muslim so that he can perform his religious acts of worship and he can be proficient in the recitation of the Noble Qur’ân. Allâh says in His Book (which means):
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“Verily we have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’ân in order that you may understand” (Soorah Yusuf: 2)**
And likewise the Most-Glorious said (which means):
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“And thus We have inspired unto you (O Muhammad) an Arabic Qur’ân that you may warn the mother of the towns (Makkah) and all around it” (Soorah ash-Shura: 7)
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And The Exalted said (which means):
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“And truly this (the Qur’ân) is a revelation from the Lord of the 'Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists), which the trustworthy Ruh (Jibreel) has brought down upon your heart (O Muhammad) that you may be (one) of the warners, in the plain Arabic language” (Soorah ash-Shura: 192-195)
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And He the Most High also said (which means):
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“A Book whereof the verses are explained in detail, a Qur’ân in Arabic for people who know” (Soorah Fussilat: 3)
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Dear brother in Islam, why should we be depriving ourselves of the miracle of the Speech Of Allâh. Also a translation implies a human factor, which goes against the very essence of the Book of Allâh. Also, the person who does not know Arabic, will have added difficulty in his concentration during his prayers and also in his understanding of the Sunnah. This is because a language is just not a collection of words which can readily be translated into another language but is a whole way of thinking.
Language does to a great extent unite people. Your point regarding the Christian Arabs is very valid indeed, but ofcourse Christian Arabs would be culturally closer to Arabs because of the language than us. Distances, languages and cultures do come in the way to some extent. Although you are right that, real unity is achieved through faith.
Dr. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali (Translator of the Noble Qur’ân) writes:
“It is a pity that many nations are only satisfied in the translated meaning of the Qur’ân and Prophet’s Sunnah instead of studying the (true) Arabic text of the Qur’ân and Prophet’s Sunnah. For this reason they are divided into various sects (due to the lack of knowledge about the religion of ) e.g. as regards to the ways of religious education, etc. so they are plunged in differences, which was prohibited by Allâh. If the translation of the meaning of the Qur’ân is meant for the above said purpose then it is a real mischief-doing, and an evil action and is against what was brought by Allâh’s Messenger () and also against the opinions of the early present day religious scholars. All the religious scholars unanimously agree that the Qur’ân and the Sunnah should be taught in the language of the Qur’ân (i.e. Arabic Language). So did the early religious scholars of the Muslim nation when they conquered different countries.
Translations are mainly meant for informing the people who have not yet embraced to make clear to them the principles of and the teachings of Muhammad () and to know its exact facts. When they reach this state and Allâh has blessed them with , they must take the Qur’ânic and the Messenger’s Language (i.e. Arabic) as the only language to understand .
May Allâh’s mercy be on Shaykh 'Umar Uzbak, a great Turkish man, who strove for in Uzbakistan under the Russian government, after his long fight against the enemies of with fire (iron) and tongue (speech), he took refuge in Afghanistan at Kabul, where the government honoured him. I met him there in 1352 A.H. (approx. 1932 CE) i.e. nearly 40 years ago, and he had vowed to Allâh that he will never speak to a relative or anybody else except in the Qur’ânic and Messenger’s (Arabic) language. His wife sent a man for me to intercede for her to him that he should speak with her and her children in the Turkish language even for an hour everyday. So when I spoke to him about it, he said: ‘Russians had compelled us to learn perfectly the Russian language (by force), so we learnt it. And unless they knew that the learning of the Russian language will make the person who learns it, follow their ways of thinking, characters, and their traditions, they would not have forced anybody to learn it.’ He further said to me, 'I have vowed to Allâh long ago not to speak except in the language of the Qur’ân and Sunnah (i.e. Arabic) and I do that only for Allâh’s sake. If my wife and children desire to enjoy speaking with me, they should learn the language of the Qur’ân and of the Prophet () (i.e. Arabic) and I am ready to teach them the Qur’ânic language whenever they desire that” [The Noble Quran in the english language by Dr. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al- Hilali & Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan , page xxiv ( 1994 edition )]
Umar :razi:, the 2nd reightly guided caliph, stressed on the need to learn Arabic.
This is the meaning of the report narrated by Aboo Bakr Ibn Abee Shaybah who said: ’Eesa Ibn Yoonus told us from Thawr from ’Umar Ibn Yazeed that ’Umar wrote to Aboo Moosa al-Ash’aree radiallaahu ’anhu and said: “Learn the Sunnah and learn Arabic; learn the Qur‘ân in Arabic for it is Arabic.”
According to another hadeeth narrated from ’Umar radiyallaahu ’anhu, he said: “Learn Arabic for it is part of your Religion, and learn how the estate of the deceased should be divided (faraa‘id) for these are part of your Religion.”
This command of ’Umar, to learn Arabic and the Sharee’ah combines the things that are needed, for Religion involves understanding words and actions. Understanding Arabic is the way to understand the words of Islâm, and understanding the Sunnah is the way to understand the actions of Islâm.
Source
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Verily! You (O Muhammad SAW) guide not whom you like, but Allâh guides whom He wills. And He knows best those who are the guided. (Al-Qasas 28:56)
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Chachoo, Islamabad, thanks for keeping this discussion alive and active.
The point of both of your posts is that arabic is essential in order to issue new injunctions based on the Quran and Sunnah. That is, to some extent, true. If we assume that by studying directly in arabic, with your fledgeling understanding of the language and its evolution, you may come across something the immense body of reasonably similar transliterations of the Quran that have been published over time without significant instances of dissonance between two accredited translations.
Islamabad you say human translations are subject to error. What about two? What about three? Fifteen? What is the probability that you will arrive at the correct understanding that the other fifteen proficient arabic speakers missed?
Nevertheless, for those who wish to base their lives studying and refining their understanding of the religion, yes, arabic is beneficial in my view, to a certain extent. That said, I remain highly skeptical that there exists any interpretation arabic speakers do that would be impossible to do without knowledge of arabic.
Regarding the three Quranic ayaats you cite Islamabad, you notice that all three emphasise Quran's revelation in arabic as a means of communication..'that you may understand'.
Other quotations, are not from the Quran and Sunnah, and could be fallible. Im pretty sure you know what I think about Ibn Taymiya by now :).
That said, the debatable religious value of Arabic nevertheless pertains strictly to scholarly research in the Quran. Every Muslim is not responsible for Ijtihad, which is why we have the concepts of Ijtihad and Taqleed.
Beyond the use of Arabic as an aid for researching the Quran, (for which Im sure there would be sawab for), I do not believe there is any sawab/religious value in speaking Arabic in everyday life. And essentially, that was my point.
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*Originally posted by ravage: *
...... Otherwise christian arabs and muslim arabs have more unity with each other....
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Here is a famous Araaab saying on this topic
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A non-Muslim Araab is not a complete Araab.
And a non-Araab Muslim is not a full Muslim
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No need to "unite" with idiots. They will bring nothing but destruction. Haven't you guys experienced in Afghanistan and WANA?
Religions don’t unite people, economic interests do. Pakistan's economic and strategic interests never rested with the Araaabs.
Khuda Hafiz everybody!
Long live brave people of Pakistan. Pak-army zindabaad.
Thank You ravage.
There was a Hadith, which I couldn’t find at this moment, which meant that your prayer (salat/namaz) is only that you understood. Therefore, when we read namaz, we only read it in Arabic. Everyone agrees on this. So, should we be reading namaz without understanding?
Brother, I myslef first learnt the meaning of namaz in English by heart, and whenever I would read surah Fatiha, I would at the the back of my mind know what it means. Fair enough. When I actually learnt Arabic, I have no words to explain how I feel now. Alhamdulilah, my prayers are much different than what they were before. Namaz is like a communication with Allah, and it is to be in Arabic. To understand what we are saying, I think the best way is to learn Arabic.
Wa Sallam Alaiukm wa Rehmatullah wabarakatuhu.
I'm glad my original post (quran translation) brought up this discussion. It was nice to hear all your views on this topic. Thanks, I have taken in some information which I think makes sense to me.