Is it permissible to deliver the sermon to non-Arabs 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 the Arabic language, even among non-Arabs, because the purpose of the Islamic conquests is 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 the time should be adopted so that non-Arabs could receive the Arabic language through those means. For example, reciting the Qur'an in prayer as it was revealed in the language of the Qur'an. Due to this recitation, the 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 the Arabic language, 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 the Arabic language 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]. We take from this verse this explanatory phrase . Therefore, the preacher should not limit himself to merely delivering the sermon in the Arabic language 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 the Arabic language, even among non-Arabs, because the purpose of the Islamic conquests is 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 the time should be adopted so that non-Arabs could receive the Arabic language through those means. For example, reciting the Qur'an in prayer as it was revealed in the language of the Qur'an. Due to this recitation, the 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 the Arabic language, 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 the Arabic language 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 لَهُمْso that He may make it clear to them
لِيُبَيِّنَ لَهُمْ
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.