The Ruling on Using a Foreign Language in Study and Conversation
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Shaykh, is speaking in the Arabic language a Sunnah? Is it part of the Sunnah to speak in Arabic?
The Shaykh : Yes, without a doubt. Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) mentions in his book *Iqtida' al-Sirat al-Mustaqim* that it is not obligatory for one to speak in his foreign language if he is speaking Arabic with someone who understands Arabic, because this helps him in studying the Book and the Sunnah. However, if he is sitting with people who are non-Arabs and they do not understand his Arabic, then he must speak in his foreign language. As for making his language what they call this local language, it must be Arabic.
The questioner : Okay, as for us, we study at the university in English in the College of Sciences. For example, we take some subjects initially in both Arabic and English, so we use English words, or even... a big rumor spread in the College of Sciences that the girls speak to each other in English or use many terms.
The Shaykh : As for using some scientific or technical terms, that is necessary as a preliminary. It is necessary for the scholars who combine both languages, Arabic and the foreign or English language, to translate all these words into Arabic. As for you, as female students, there is no harm in studying this knowledge, but do not take pride in speaking this language. It should only be out of necessity to deliver a lesson or take an exam or the like, and there is no harm in that.
The questioner : Sometimes I use words so that my tongue gets used to them. For example, with my classmates, I pronounce these words, the scientific terms and others, so that I learn and my tongue gets accustomed to them.
The Shaykh : Sometimes there is no objection, but your goal should not be to speak in it, as some of the contemporary youth do today, where they are good at speaking English, for example, or French. If I were to cite a hadith, I would cite one, but it is not authentic: "Whoever among you..."
The questioner: Arabic, then
The Shaykh: Speaking in Persian, so they should not do so, for it breeds hypocrisy. It is authentic, not merely good. I say: If I were to argue with a weak hadith, I would have argued with this one, but its meaning is correct: speaking a foreign language breeds hypocrisy. You have spoken well.
The questioner: But
The Shaykh : Yes, without a doubt. Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) mentions in his book *Iqtida' al-Sirat al-Mustaqim* that it is not obligatory for one to speak in his foreign language if he is speaking Arabic with someone who understands Arabic, because this helps him in studying the Book and the Sunnah. However, if he is sitting with people who are non-Arabs and they do not understand his Arabic, then he must speak in his foreign language. As for making his language what they call this local language, it must be Arabic.
The questioner : Okay, as for us, we study at the university in English in the College of Sciences. For example, we take some subjects initially in both Arabic and English, so we use English words, or even... a big rumor spread in the College of Sciences that the girls speak to each other in English or use many terms.
The Shaykh : As for using some scientific or technical terms, that is necessary as a preliminary. It is necessary for the scholars who combine both languages, Arabic and the foreign or English language, to translate all these words into Arabic. As for you, as female students, there is no harm in studying this knowledge, but do not take pride in speaking this language. It should only be out of necessity to deliver a lesson or take an exam or the like, and there is no harm in that.
The questioner : Sometimes I use words so that my tongue gets used to them. For example, with my classmates, I pronounce these words, the scientific terms and others, so that I learn and my tongue gets accustomed to them.
The Shaykh : Sometimes there is no objection, but your goal should not be to speak in it, as some of the contemporary youth do today, where they are good at speaking English, for example, or French. If I were to cite a hadith, I would cite one, but it is not authentic: "Whoever among you..."
The questioner: Arabic, then
The Shaykh: Speaking in Persian, so they should not do so, for it breeds hypocrisy. It is authentic, not merely good. I say: If I were to argue with a weak hadith, I would have argued with this one, but its meaning is correct: speaking a foreign language breeds hypocrisy. You have spoken well.
The questioner: But
Source
سلسلة الهدى والنور، رقم 105 في قناة «تسجيلات الإمام الألباني - محمد أبو ليلى الأثري» — youtube.com (21:40)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.