Is learning the English language forbidden, and is there a detail in that, and how do you reconcile your statement with the hadith: "Whoever learns the language of a people is safe from their treachery"?

The questioner : The honorable Shaykh says: You mentioned, may Allah guide you, learning the English language. Does this mean that you forbid learning languages in general, or is there a detail? Also, regarding what is said that whoever learns the language of a people is safe from them or safe from their treachery, how do we reconcile this with this hadith?

The Shaykh : Yes, as for learning a language other than Arabic, this is not forbidden; rather, it may be obligatory if calling non-Arabs to the faith depends on learning their language. In other words, we cannot call them to Islam unless we know their language to address them in it. In that case, learning their language becomes a collective obligation, because we must convey the religion of Allah to these non-Arabs—and by non-Arabs, I mean those who are not Arabs. We must convey to them the religion of Allah, and by what means? By their language, as the Exalted said: So sometimes, learning a foreign language becomes obligatory if calling the people of that language to the faith depends on learning their language. However, what I disapprove of, and what I see us to be in danger of, is teaching our young children, those who are five or four years old and the like, the English language, so that it becomes their fluent tongue in the future. This is what I disapprove of. Otherwise, if the need arises to learn the English language to call people to Islam, it becomes a collective obligation. And if the need arises for permissible worldly matters, learning it becomes permissible. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he ordered Zayd ibn Thabit to learn the language of the Jews. The language of the Jews is Hebrew, which is not Arabic. But letters would come from the Jews to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) would send letters to them, so he needed to learn their language so that he could read what came from them and write to them what was issued to them. The Shaykh al-Islam said: "Zayd ibn Thabit learned it in sixteen days". I do not know how long it would take Adam to learn the English language. The Shaykh al-Islam said he learned it in this short period because the Hebrew language is close to the Arabic language, and this is true. Also, the Arabs in the past were better than us, with clearer understanding and stronger memory. A poet would recite a poem of a hundred verses, a hundred verses, then leave, and the people would memorize it. Now, if we recite a single verse to students who came to learn, and I recite it once, how many of them will memorize it? Yes? Perhaps one, or not even one. In any case, I say that what I disapprove of, and what I see us to be in danger of, is teaching our young children the English language, because it will become their tongue. Also, it is feared for those who learn the English language: does this learning stop at mere pronunciation? No, they will take the books written in the English language and read the literature of the English or the literature of others who share their language, and much evil will result. It is not just that the tongue changes; no, the person wants to read the books in this language to practice reading in this language and to practice his tongue in pronouncing it. And we do not know what is behind these books. They mention bad things about the books written to teach the English language.
Yes.

The questioner : The honorable Shaykh says: It is rumored among some people, or it is spread among some people, a statement they circulate, and perhaps...

The Shaykh : We forgot to comment. As for the statement of the brother in the question that in the hadith , this hadith is fabricated and false; it is not authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Even in meaning, it is not correct. If you learn the language of a people, are you safe from their treachery? No. Therefore, we are now Arabs; are we safe from the treachery of the Arabs toward us? We are not safe, even though we have learned their language. Yes.