Faith Has a Language
Contributor:
Coverage:
Creator: Muhammad Alshareef
Date:
Description:
Format: text
Identifier: http://www.khutbah.com/en/ed_know/faith_language.php
Language: en
Publisher:
Relation:
Rights:
Source:
Subject: knowledge
Title: Faith Has a Language
Created on: Tue Jan 29 11:02:08 -0500 2008
Updated on: Tue Jan 29 11:02:08 -0500 2008
Version: 1
Abstract: ... rue communication has not occurred. The same is true for the words of Allah and his messenger. Have we really communicated with Allah and understood the message of Allah, if we have not truly understood the meaning of His words? Just because we understand a watered down, weakened English translation of the Qur'an doesn't mean we fully understand the Qur'an. There is subtlety and nuance within every language and a lot of it simply cannot be translated precisely. If RasulAllah sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam spoke to us directly today - and naturally he would speak to us in Arabic - would we understand what he was saying or would we need translators? We would want to capture every moment, understand every piece of advice he was giving us, but instead, we might be standing there helpless, unable to communicate with him, or to understand his wisdom. Those before us who had that chance to listen to him, to communicate with him, were changed by the experience. Shortly after the first Muslim migration to Habasha, RasulAllah sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam recited Surah Najm at the Ka'bah. As he recited, everyone - Muslims and non-believers - listened in rapture to the Arabic verses. He came to the final verses and recited: Do ye then wonder at this recital? / And will ye laugh and not weep / Wasting your time in vanities? / But fall ye down in prostration to Allah, and adore (Him) (Surah An-Najm 53/59-62)! At that moment, RasulAllah sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam fell to the ground in prostration to Allah. The Muslims followed him, all of them falling in sajdah to Allah. Now, try to picture what happened next: every disbeliever in the gathering, every single one, also fell in sajdah to Allah! They were so moved by the beauty and complexity of the Qur'an, that they couldn't deny the message contained within: Verily we sent it down as an Arabic Qur'an so that you may understand (Yusuf 12/2). To give one example of the impossibility of truly translating the Qur'an, in Surah 'Abasa Allah says regarding the Day of Judgment: At length when there comes the deafening noise ( 'Abasa 80/33)… The Arabic word for this deafening noise is saakh-khah, which refers to the blowing of the trumpet, which will announce the resurrection and humanity's repayment for its deeds on earth. It will be an unbelievably overwhelming moment. When one looks at the word saakh-khah one would assume that it's pronounced in two syllables, or beats. But in Arabic, this same word is recited in a 6 count prolongation. Listen to someone reciting it. It is as if the recitation of the word itself is like a trumpet being blown. In English, we cannot prolong the words 'deafening noise,' so we don't get the full strength of meaning that Allah intended for us to grasp from the word. This is clear evidence that only someone who understands the language can pick up the power of each word Allah has so carefully and profoundly chosen to give us. Here's another example. If someone who speaks only English overheard a master telling his servant, "Get me water," this person would understand that the master wants the water right away, not two hours from now, although this hasn’t been explicitly stated. It's implicit and is part of the nuance of the language. Similarly, when someone says, "The... [Full Article...]
