why do we need to pray in arabic?

Greetings,
i wonder if islam is universal and for all races and all kinds why do i have to pray in language i dont know at all(arabic)?
cant i pray in english?

i asked my imam the same question. here's the answer:

its true it would be more meaningful if we all prayed in our own languages but there would be no unity.

the reason we pray in arabic and towards a common center (kaaba) is symbolic of muslim unity. otherwise if you consider the languages of the world, the nigerian standing in line with you will pray in his/her language, the arab will pray in his/her language, the turk will pray in his/her language, the malay will pray in his/her language, the swedish will pray in his/her language and therefore you will have a complete breakdown of salah in the mosque. it part of one of the many things of muslim unity that we pray in arabic.

also it is consistent with following the sunnah or tradition of the Prophet pbuh.

also when words are translated, they are not completely accurate, hence the term 'lost in translation'. if everyone started praying or reading the Quran in their own language, its not completely accurate. for example there is no word for salah in the english language. prayer is the closest word but its not accurate because salah comprises of more than just physical actions performed. salah also integrates the heart, intention and focus of a person worshipping Allah.

thanks for your nice answer brother

Jazakallah khair bro diplomaticmuslim for the good reply.

I double that.

thank you diplomaticmuslim

JazakAllah khair brother Ayman.

Just to add, see what happenned to the christian today? Their bibles are no longer in its original language and today they are having 33800 denominitions (See Newsweek, April 2000).

:salam2:

jazak Allahu ckair brother diplomaticmuslim. also the arabic language is much more powerfull than other languages. for example the word patience "sabir". I read in tafseer of Yusuf Ali that sabr means:

1) it means patience in terms of thoroughness the opposite of hurriedness
2) having a patient steadiness, endurance, steadfastness and determination in ones intention
3) having a systematic strategy instead of an accidental or hurry action
4) a prepared and wise acceptance of calamaties, sufferings and failure

Pray whith the language of your hearth. Voices are not of importance

There is no nationalism in Islam.

What you mean by your hearth is more important than whay your language is.

What if we don't have a language. ability to speak and ability to hear? won't be abble to pray?

There is no guarantie that you will understand words better with Arab lang. as a second language of your own.

Yet Allah knows all the languages and what is there deep in the hearth.

we will use quran language (high arabic) in the Paradise (Jannah)..no english or other languages 'here after'...

salam alikom


good answer masha allah taala akhi :ma::ma::ma:
may allah reward you with al firdaous al aa'la

:salam2:

but if we do our daily prayers on arabic it is much better... it is also better for our unity if we all pray in the same language..of course it is important to understand the meaning of what you receiting on arabic but you can also learn it... to that arabic is the language of the quran and it can not be compared to any other language.

they ll probably open an arabic course in Jannah

Christians did have a united language in Latin and Greek and many denominations did use the Latin text as part of their services until the 1600s. I can read the Bible in the original Greek and Latin.

But, back to the OP and the question. I believe that in speaking Arabic, the believers are united, even where they may be of different nationalities, genders, ages and classes.
Learning Arabic is fun too!

Quick question: if Arabic is the language of Paradise, and everyone will speak it, is this because we have learnt it here on Earth or will Allah grant us the ability to speak it automatically in our heavenly form?

Quran in Arabic and Namaz in Arabic..Well its imp to understand what we are reading..Well i think that this is not a question why arabic...........anyways good question and repliess

Brother, As-salaam-Alaikum
As we believe in day of Judgement and on that day every creature (means everything humans, stones, trees, etc) of Allah S.W.T. will speak only Arabic and no other language.

Brother, is there evidence for your claim from Qur'an and Hadith? I've never heard that before. As for Arabic, it is important because it is the language of the Qur'an. And no translation can take the place of the Qur'an's original words. And adherence to perfect original protects against the deviations in meaning.

Assalamou Alaikoum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh
What I found about your question brother is the following:

It is not certain what the language of Jannah will be but there are a few weak hadith that some take as leading indicator that the language of Jannah will be arabic.

Al-Muhaddith Muhammad Naasirud-Deen Al-Albaani brought in As-Silsilatud-Da’eefah no.161 the hadeeth: ( I am an Arab, the Qur’an is Arabic, and the language of the people of Paradise is Arabic)

Fabricated. It is collected by At-Tabarani in Al-Awsat (2/285/1/9301) He said: “Mas’adah ibn Sa’d realated to us: Ibraheem ibn Al-Mundhir narrated to us: Abdul-Azeez ibn ‘Imraan narrated to us: Shibl ibn ibn Al-Alaa narrated to us from his father on his grandfather on Abu Hurairah ãÑÝæÚÇ (raised to the Messenger of Allah Õáì Çááå Úáíå æ Óáã ) He said: ‘No one narrated it on Shibl except Abdul-Azeez ibn ‘Imraan and As-Suyuti mentioned it in Al-Lali (1/442) as a supporting narration for the hadeeth which comes before it then he said after it: ‘Adh-Dhahabi said in Al-Mughni: ‘Shibl ibn Al-Alaa ibn Abdur-Rahman; Ibn Adi said: ‘He has contradictory reports’.”

I say (Al-Albaani): Al-Haythami found fault with it in Al-Mujmi’ (1/52-53). He said: ‘In it is Abdul-Azeez ibn ‘Imraan and he is ãÊÑæß (abandoned). And he said: In it is Ibn Lahi’ah, and he is not trustworthy. Al-Hafidh Al-‘Iraaqi said in Al-Muhajjah (1/56): “Abdul-Azeez ibn ‘Imraan Az-Zuhri ãÊÑæß (abandoned), An-Nisaai said this and other than him, and Al-Bukhari said: ‘His hadeeths are not to be written and upon this the narration is therefore not authentic.” Ibn Araaq affirmed this in Tanzeeh Ash-Sharee’ah (pg.209).

And from what points to the futility of attributing this hadeeth to him Õáì Çááå Úáíå æ Óáã is that in it is him bragging about his being an Arab, and this thing is alien to the Islamic legislation, not in harmony with Allah’s statement: “Verily, the most honourable of you with Allah are the most pious.”[Al-Hujaraat:13] And his statement Õáì Çááå Úáíå æ Óáã: “There is no virtue of the Arab over the non-Arab except in piety.” It is collected by Ahmad (5/411) with a authentic chain of narration, as Ibn Taymiyyah said in Al-Iqtidaa (pg.69). And is not [in agreement] with his prohibition of boasting about ones forefathers (lineage), and it is his statement: “Indeed Allah has removed from you the affairs of the Al-Jaahiliyyah and the boasting about lineage, all of the people are the children of Adam, and Adam came from dirt, [they are] either a pious beleiver or a wicked evil one, people must cease to boast about men that are only coals for the Hell fire or they will be more worthless with Allah than the beetle that pushes dung with its nose.” It is collected by Abu Dawud, and At-Tirmidhi and he graded it fair, and Ibn Taymiyyah authenticated it (pg.35,69) and other than them, and it is collected in Ghaaytul-Maraam (pg.312). So if these are his directives Õáì Çááå Úáíå æ Óáã for his Ummah then how could it be thought that he would do what he forbade them from?!


And Allah knows best.

:salam2:

JazakAllah khai thank you for that explanation, I had always wondered too.