What is the ruling on a non-Arab reading the Qur'an if he does not master it?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question : The questioner says: If a person is a non-Arab and does not master the recitation of the Noble Qur'an, do we prevent him from reading, or do we let him read to the best of his ability?
Answer : Yes, we must know that the Noble Qur'an cannot be altered, and a non-Arab cannot pronounce it in his own language, because it is the speech of Allah. If it were translated into another language, it would not be the Qur'an. Therefore, it is not permissible for a person to read the Qur'an except in the Arabic wording. If he is unable to do so, there is an alternative, which is tasbih, tahmid, takbir, and tahlil. If a person is unable to perform tasbih, takbir, and tahlil in the Arabic language, he may do so in his own tongue, meaning in his own language. So, if he cannot recite al-Fatihah in the Arabic tongue, let him recite in its place tasbih, tahmid, and takbir, and he recites them in his own language. Yes. Yes.
The presenter : May Allah reward you.
Answer : Yes, we must know that the Noble Qur'an cannot be altered, and a non-Arab cannot pronounce it in his own language, because it is the speech of Allah. If it were translated into another language, it would not be the Qur'an. Therefore, it is not permissible for a person to read the Qur'an except in the Arabic wording. If he is unable to do so, there is an alternative, which is tasbih, tahmid, takbir, and tahlil. If a person is unable to perform tasbih, takbir, and tahlil in the Arabic language, he may do so in his own tongue, meaning in his own language. So, if he cannot recite al-Fatihah in the Arabic tongue, let him recite in its place tasbih, tahmid, and takbir, and he recites them in his own language. Yes. Yes.
The presenter : May Allah reward you.
Source
دروس وفتاوى المسجد الحرام لعام 1418هـ - 18 — binothaimeen.net (1:04:17)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.