Is it permissible to deliver the Friday sermon in a language other than Arabic?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Eid Abbasi : Another question: Is it permissible to deliver the Friday sermon in a language other than Arabic?
The Shaykh : The principle is that sermons must be delivered in Arabic, even among non-Arabs; because the purpose of the Islamic conquests was not merely to transmit Islam to them in translation; that is necessary, but it is also obligatory during these conquests to transmit the Qur'an to them; that is, to transmit the language of the Qur'an to them, so that those non-Arabs are able to understand Islam correctly, directly from its two sources, the Book and the Sunnah. The means of teaching a specific language in previous eras were not readily available or smoothed out; so at the very least, the possible means of that time should be adopted so that non-Arabs receive the Arabic language through that means. For example, reciting the Qur'an in prayer as it was revealed in the language of the Qur'an. Due to this recitation, non-Arabs learned the Qur'an even though it was not their language, and over time they learned the Arabic language itself through this means and similar ones, such as the sermons on Friday and the festivals and the like.
However, it should not be hidden from anyone that if this Arab or Arabized non-Arab preacher preaches to his non-Arab people in Arabic, and they are still new to it, they will not understand anything from him; therefore, it is necessary to combine both benefits: the benefit of delivering the sermon in Arabic as a means to teach these people the language of the Qur'an, and the other benefit of translating this sermon into their language so that they understand it. For that reason, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said:[Ibrahim 14:4], so we take from this verse this explanatory phrase to make it clear to them. Thus, this preacher should not limit himself to merely delivering the sermon in Arabic and then descending; for in that case, the attendees would not benefit from it at all. Rather, he must translate it for them to the extent that achieves the purpose of this sermon.
The Shaykh : The principle is that sermons must be delivered in Arabic, even among non-Arabs; because the purpose of the Islamic conquests was not merely to transmit Islam to them in translation; that is necessary, but it is also obligatory during these conquests to transmit the Qur'an to them; that is, to transmit the language of the Qur'an to them, so that those non-Arabs are able to understand Islam correctly, directly from its two sources, the Book and the Sunnah. The means of teaching a specific language in previous eras were not readily available or smoothed out; so at the very least, the possible means of that time should be adopted so that non-Arabs receive the Arabic language through that means. For example, reciting the Qur'an in prayer as it was revealed in the language of the Qur'an. Due to this recitation, non-Arabs learned the Qur'an even though it was not their language, and over time they learned the Arabic language itself through this means and similar ones, such as the sermons on Friday and the festivals and the like.
However, it should not be hidden from anyone that if this Arab or Arabized non-Arab preacher preaches to his non-Arab people in Arabic, and they are still new to it, they will not understand anything from him; therefore, it is necessary to combine both benefits: the benefit of delivering the sermon in Arabic as a means to teach these people the language of the Qur'an, and the other benefit of translating this sermon into their language so that they understand it. For that reason, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said:
And We did not send any messenger except [speaking] in the language of his people to state clearly for them
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ رَسُولٍ إِلَّا بِلِسَانِ قَوْمِهِ لِيُبَيِّنَ لَهُمْ
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.