What does one who does not know the Arabic language recite in the prayer?

The Shaykh : Go ahead.

The questioner : I mean, you are in Albania, and there are no Arabs in Albania.

The Shaykh : Not at all.

The questioner : I mean, the Muslims whom Allah has blessed are able to recite al-Fatihah, but a person coming from Central America or from China who does not understand anything of the Arabic language wants to become Muslim and says, "La ilaha illa Allah." What does he recite? How does he recite al-Fatihah? Go ahead.

The Shaykh : As we used to recite it in our country.

The questioner : And how do you recite it in your country? In Albanian.

The Shaykh : No, here I learned to recite the Qur'an as it was revealed.

The questioner:...........

The Shaykh : ... Give us an answer. We used to recite the Qur'an as it was revealed, in the Arabic language. How did the Turks write their Turkish language, with what letters did they write it before Ataturk? It is the same way. All the non-Arabs in all their countries recited the Qur'an as they wrote it in Arabic letters, and they recited it likewise. And among the non-Arabs are scholars of tajwid and qira'at, some of whom surpassed many of the Arabs.


The questioner : I mean a man who newly became Muslim in America, one of the Black people, who does not know how to say "Allahu Akbar," but he stands with the people and says, meaning... as much as he can, but he does not know how to recite al-Fatihah. Is his prayer valid or invalid?

The Shaykh : Every question has its answer. I understood your question as a community, but you are speaking as an individual. You are now speaking as an individual, right? Well, we are now speaking of facts that are not hidden from many people. Did a man who became Muslim know before he became Muslim what to say if he wanted to become Muslim? The answer is no. Well, if he resolved to embrace Islam, he must learn how to recite the tashahhud. It is not a problem, but you are now saying it is easy for him to say, but did he know how to say it before? No. So knowledge is necessary. And as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, So this disbeliever, when he resolves to embrace Islam, must pronounce the two testimonies of faith. He did not know them before, so we say he must learn them, right or wrong? So we do not imagine that this man who wants to become Muslim will become a Muslim without pronouncing the two testimonies of faith. He may become a Muslim between him and Allah, but between him and the Muslims, he will not be a Muslim until he testifies that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. So this phrase is the first thing he learns. I want to say, from this phrase, just as he learns the two testimonies of faith to become a Muslim, he must proceed gradually. He learns the prayer that is necessary. We know from our previous hadith . So we tell him he must learn to recite al-Fatihah, because the prayer is not valid without it. And I imagine it is not just that we tell him he must learn and he learns; no, he may take hours, perhaps days, and perhaps months, because this varies with age, for example, between a child and an old man, and so on. Regardless of the natural difference, for example, a man with a strong memory versus a man who does not have this memory, we imagine that it will take him a long time. So we tell him, we are now giving you a choice: if it is easy for you to learn al-Fatihah from a close source, then you must recite al-Fatihah. If this is difficult for you, we will give you four words: . These four words are undoubtedly easier than al-Fatihah, easier than al-Fatihah. So we teach him these easy words that are made easy for every tongue, and at the same time we tell him, do not forget your share of learning the opening of the Book. This is the Shari'ah solution.

The questioner : So it is necessary for him to recite it in the prayer.

The Shaykh : No, this does not indicate that. Do you know, like you, Abu Khudr? Yes, like you, like one who says.

The questioner : One plus one equals two.

The Shaykh : Oh, my goodness.

The questioner : You said, teach him "Subhan Allah, Alhamdulillah, La ilaha illa Allah, Allahu Akbar."

The Shaykh : When did I say I would teach him that? I said I would teach him if he is unable to learn al-Fatihah. So what did you do? and that is it? No, .

The questioner : We have one among us who masters the Arabic language in a way that we cannot master, but I tell you, Shaykh, the day Allah opened up for him.