Thought provoking words on the Arabic Language..

[eTeacher]

Since the latest posts have been about the Arabic Language, I thought it would be good to post the following:

Wanna take you back…way back…to our days of glory in Spain....sigh..

"Turning to the far West, we find that in Moorish Spain, too, the Christian subjects had fallen under the 'spell' of Arabic Language and literature. Many of them were so deeply imbued with the Arabic culture that we find a contemporary writer, Alvaro, Bishop of Cordova, bitterly deploring this state of affairs.

"My fellow Christians delight in the poems and romances of the Arabs; they study the works of Mohammedan theologians and philosophers, not in order to refute them, but to acquire a correct and elegant Arabic style. Where today can a layman be found who reads the Latin commentaries on Holy Scriptures? Who is there that studies the Gospels, the Prophets, and the Apostles? Alas! The young Christians who are most conspicuous for their talents have no knowledge of any literature or language save the Arabic; they read and study with avidity Arabic books; they amass whole libraries of them at a vast cost; and they sing everywhere the praises of Arabian lore. On the other hand, at the mention of Christian books they disdainfully protest that such works are unworthy of their notice. The pity of it! Christians have forgotten their own tongue, and scarce one in a thousand can be found able to compose in fair Latin a letter to a friend. But when it comes to writing Arabic, how many there are who can express themselves in that language with the greatest elegance, and even compose verses which surpass in formal correctness those of the Arabs themselves!" ¹

¹ Spanish Islam- English translation by F.G. Stokes Page #268 (London, 1913)

......sigh.......those were the days.....

Whilst at it… how about changing the words ‘Christian’ and ‘Arabic’ in the above to ‘Muslim’ and ‘English’? Nah…not really…..

[Raeesa]

wow mashallah... thats awesome

[Mariah]

for the info, there was something in the latest Q-News issue about Portugal, some of which was also part of Andulus, and therefore its rich Islamic history and how many words used today were origionaly from the arabic language, hmm pretty amazing

wassalam

[Raeesa]

Yeah subhanallah the glory of Spain... truly was great...
Sometimes yr reading thru the history and and u cant stop saying subhnallah
lol its our own faults though.. we brought it to ourselves *sigh*

[Mariah]

yeah true say, im getting back to my reading this week coz exams n stuff are all over, so iv dug a couple of kitaabs out on history of spain, one of which is Ahmad Thompsons, but i find his "For Christs sake" kinda tough coz its extremely detailed.

But as you say, somethings really do make u say in awe

wassalam

[eTeacher]

The following are some quotes I gathered on the Arabic Language. I hope after reading them, you will be inspired to learn the Arabic Language. I have requested Br. Saleel to lock this thread. All of them are by non-Muslims commenting on the Arabic Language.

1) In his inaugural address delivered before the Academy of Sciences, Berlin, on the 30th of June, 1887, Dr. Eduard Sachau made the following powerful statement:

"The language of the Arabs is reckoned as one of the greatest and most wonderful products of the human mind in the field of language construction."
__________________________________________________ ___________

Next….I Wanna take you back…way back…to our days of glory in Spain....sigh.....

2) “Turning to the far West, we find that in Moorish Spain, too, the Christian subjects had fallen under the 'spell' of Arabic Language and literature. Many of them were so deeply imbued with the Arabic culture that we find a contemporary writer, Alvaro, Bishop of Cordova, bitterly deploring this state of affairs. "My fellow Christians delight in the poems and romances of the Arabs; they study the works of Mohammedan theologians and philosophers, not in order to refute them, but to acquire a correct and elegant Arabic style. Where today can a layman be found who reads the Latin commentaries on Holy Scriptures? Who is there that studies the Gospels, the Prophets, and the Apostles? Alas! The young Christians who are most conspicuous for their talents have no knowledge of any literature or language save the Arabic; they read and study with avidity Arabic books; they amass whole libraries of them at a vast cost; and they sing everywhere the praises of Arabian lore. On the other hand, at the mention of Christian books they disdainfully protest that such works are unworthy of their notice. The pity of it! Christians have forgotten their own tongue, and scarce one in a thousand can be found able to compose in fair Latin a letter to a friend. But when it comes to writing Arabic, how many there are who can express themselves in that language with the greatest elegance, and even compose verses which surpass in formal correctness those of the Arabs themselves!" ¹

¹ Spanish Islam- English translation by F.G. Stokes Page #268 (London, 1913)
__________________________________________________ _________________

3) When Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), the dominating literary figure of the 18th century, was granted a pension by the British Government in 1762, he is reported to have exclaimed the following: "Had this happened twenty years ago, I would have gone to Constantinople to learn Arabic as P. Edward (P. EDWARD 1604-1691) did."

http://www.wikiquote.org/wiki/Samuel_Johnson
__________________________________________________ _______________

4) John Beckmann (1739-1811), who wrote a history of inventions, refers to the scientific achievements of the Arabs and to the importance of Arabic in this connection in the following words:

"What a noble people were the Arabs. We are indebted to them for a great deal of knowledge and many inventions of great utility; and we should have still more to thank them for, were we fully aware 0f the benefits we have received from them. What a pity that their great works should be suffered to molder into dust, without being made available to us; what a shame that those conversant with their rich language should meet with little encouragement. Had I still twenty years to live and could hope for an abundant supply of Arabic works, I WOULD GLADLY LEARN ARABIC."

[eTeacher]

Umar (Radhiyallahu Anhu) said: “Learn Arabic for it is part of your religion.”

I love SF's search engine. I was looking for the contents of this thread and I found it here so I decided to bring up this thread 3 years later.

[mospike]

My Heart cries out to learn to speak and understand the ARABIC language… unfortunately I cannot find ANY ANY Aalim or teacher that is willing to teach me with the intensity that I want.

May Allah grant us all the ability to Speak Arabic… al lughatul quraan…...

[Colonel_Hardstone]

Asslamo Allaikum Brother,

What do you mean?

There are plenty of resources on the net for you to learn on your own pace? Does that help?

My Heart cries out to learn to speak and understand the ARABIC language… unfortunately I cannot find ANY ANY Aalim or teacher that is willing to teach me with the intensity that I want.

May Allah grant us all the ability to Speak Arabic… al lughatul quraan…...

[mospike]

Internet access is very expansive here in South Africa,,,,

I am trying with the Madina text books, but i really need a teacher