What is your opinion of the one who says that it is not permissible to call non-Muslims to Islam in any language other than Arabic, and who cites the words of al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) in his book *al-Risalah* as evidence?
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The questioner : May Allah reward you, Shaykh. I heard one of the scholars say that it is not permissible to call non-Muslims to Islam in any language other than Arabic, and he cites the book *al-Risalah* by Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) as evidence.
The Shaykh : What did he cite as evidence?
The questioner : The book *al-Risalah* by Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him).
The Shaykh : Yes, yes.
The questioner : He said that Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) stated that the Arabic language is not to be followed, but rather it is the one that is followed, and that it is not permissible to speak in the call to Islam in any language other than Arabic, not even a single letter. What do you say about this? May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : We say, first, that his argument using the statement of al-Shafi'i is out of place, because the statement of al-Shafi'i is not to be used as evidence, but rather evidence is to be presented for it. This is if we assume that al-Shafi'i said it; I do not know for certain. But if we assume that he did, and that this man is certain of it, we say that the statement of al-Shafi'i is not to be used as evidence, but rather evidence is to be presented for it. Al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) and other Imams have said: "If you find our words contradicting the words of Allah and His Messenger, cast them aside." This is one point.
The second point is that we say it is not possible to call upon those who do not understand the Arabic language except in their own language, by the explicit text of the Qur'an. Allah the Exalted said:[Ibrahim 14:4] It is well known that Arabic is prior; Arabic has existed since the time of Isma'il, and Arabic is present. And yet Allah sends the messengers in the language of their people, because a person cannot understand the Arabic language unless he is from its people or has learned it.
So the correct view is that it is obligatory for a person to learn the language of those he wants to call to Islam, if no one else is available. Learning the language in which the call to Islam is made is a collective obligation, just as the call to Islam itself is a collective obligation. Do you understand? Yes. The one who knows the Arabic language is not to be called to Islam in any language other than Arabic, and the one who speaks Arabic is not to speak in any language other than Arabic. For this reason, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab used to strike people when they spoke in the gibberish of non-Arabs. And the scholars disliked it for communication to be in a language other than Arabic for those who know the Arabic language. Do you understand now?
The questioner : Yes
The Shaykh : And so, unfortunately, some of the people here with us in Saudi Arabia, which is the mother of Arabic, we find some of them speaking in a language other than Arabic with their Arab brother. Some of them even teach their children a language other than Arabic. Some of them even teach them the Islamic greeting in a language other than Arabic. We have heard someone say to his child, when he wants to leave or when he comes to him, "Bye bye." What does "bye bye" mean? What is its meaning?
The questioner : Goodbye.
The Shaykh : It means goodbye.
The questioner : Yes, in English.
The Shaykh : Well, how do we come to this? Then we see now, unfortunately, that there are signs on some stores in a language other than Arabic. That is, in our Arab lands, an Arab comes from the country, stands at this shop, and does not know what it means, what is in it, or what this store is. And a European person comes who does not know the country, stands there, and knows what is in this shop. Why? Because the sign is written in his language, whereas we do not know. And this is undoubtedly a deficiency in the perception of our people. In reality, from your perspective, who understands the English language? Not even one percent of the population. And yet you put the sign on your shop in this language. The least that should be done is to have some modesty, modesty toward the people of the country. But the truth is that hearts are dead; otherwise, they would boycott the one who made his shop in a language other than Arabic. What we, as Arabs, should say is: "By Allah, you did not open your shop for us; you opened it for the people of this language," and we would cut off dealings with him. If we had boycotted him, he would have written it in large letters in the Arabic language tomorrow. But people, in truth, their hearts are dead, except for whom Allah wills. And I see that it is obligatory for the authorities, though I do not like to say it this way, to go around these shops and stores and say: "The least we can say to you is that if there are many non-Arabs among you, the least that is obligatory upon you is to write it in the Arabic language on top, and in the non-Arabic language below." And we also say: If in this country the foreigners, who are non-Arabs, are mostly Pakistanis, is it fitting to write it in English or in Pakistani? If we want to use a non-Arabic language, it should be in Pakistani. Now, those who write it, if the majority of the workers in the country are, for example, Pakistanis, and they write in English and leave out Arabic and Pakistani, then now neither the Arabs nor the Pakistanis know it. All this is due to the weakness of personality in many people. They were dazzled by this civilization in the global countries, so they thought that it is the starting point of progress. In any case, this was an aside. The point is that whoever calls a non-Arab people must call them in their language, otherwise they will not benefit. Yes.
The questioner : This statement... May Allah reward you. He said that the call is based on textual evidence and it is not for us.
The Shaykh : The call is based on textual evidence, but what about the means? Is it possible now to sit among ten non-Arabs and speak in the most eloquent and expressive Arabic? What do they understand? Nothing. So can it be said that this person called to Allah? Then the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered Zayd ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) to learn the language of the Jews in order to respond to their writings and read their writings. He ordered him to learn that. Then he said to Umm Khalid: When she came from Abyssinia and he found a garment on her, which I think was new, he said: meaning "Good, good." The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke in a language other than Arabic, even though he was not in the position of a caller to Islam. But some people, I mean, speak out of ignorance. And here I ask: Which is more dangerous for Islam, the simple ignorant person or the complex ignorant person? The second one, the complex ignorant person, because the complex ignorant person thinks he is a scholar while he is ignorant, so he speaks of what he does not know.
The simple ignorant person does not speak; he knows himself and says, "By Allah, I do not know." So my advice to this brother is to convey my greetings to him and tell him to reflect on the evidence, fear Allah, and not speak of what he does not know, for he is responsible.[Al-Isra 17:36]
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : No, no, that's it. One question left.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : No comments.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, Shaykh. What is your opinion regarding dealing with the Bank of Riyadh, specifically in depositing money in order to guarantee checks?
The Shaykh : What did he cite as evidence?
The questioner : The book *al-Risalah* by Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him).
The Shaykh : Yes, yes.
The questioner : He said that Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) stated that the Arabic language is not to be followed, but rather it is the one that is followed, and that it is not permissible to speak in the call to Islam in any language other than Arabic, not even a single letter. What do you say about this? May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : We say, first, that his argument using the statement of al-Shafi'i is out of place, because the statement of al-Shafi'i is not to be used as evidence, but rather evidence is to be presented for it. This is if we assume that al-Shafi'i said it; I do not know for certain. But if we assume that he did, and that this man is certain of it, we say that the statement of al-Shafi'i is not to be used as evidence, but rather evidence is to be presented for it. Al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) and other Imams have said: "If you find our words contradicting the words of Allah and His Messenger, cast them aside." This is one point.
The second point is that we say it is not possible to call upon those who do not understand the Arabic language except in their own language, by the explicit text of the Qur'an. Allah the Exalted said:
And We did not send any messenger except [speaking] in the language of his people to state clearly for them
وما أرسلنا من رسول إلا بلسان قومه ليبين لهمSo the correct view is that it is obligatory for a person to learn the language of those he wants to call to Islam, if no one else is available. Learning the language in which the call to Islam is made is a collective obligation, just as the call to Islam itself is a collective obligation. Do you understand? Yes. The one who knows the Arabic language is not to be called to Islam in any language other than Arabic, and the one who speaks Arabic is not to speak in any language other than Arabic. For this reason, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab used to strike people when they spoke in the gibberish of non-Arabs. And the scholars disliked it for communication to be in a language other than Arabic for those who know the Arabic language. Do you understand now?
The questioner : Yes
The Shaykh : And so, unfortunately, some of the people here with us in Saudi Arabia, which is the mother of Arabic, we find some of them speaking in a language other than Arabic with their Arab brother. Some of them even teach their children a language other than Arabic. Some of them even teach them the Islamic greeting in a language other than Arabic. We have heard someone say to his child, when he wants to leave or when he comes to him, "Bye bye." What does "bye bye" mean? What is its meaning?
The questioner : Goodbye.
The Shaykh : It means goodbye.
The questioner : Yes, in English.
The Shaykh : Well, how do we come to this? Then we see now, unfortunately, that there are signs on some stores in a language other than Arabic. That is, in our Arab lands, an Arab comes from the country, stands at this shop, and does not know what it means, what is in it, or what this store is. And a European person comes who does not know the country, stands there, and knows what is in this shop. Why? Because the sign is written in his language, whereas we do not know. And this is undoubtedly a deficiency in the perception of our people. In reality, from your perspective, who understands the English language? Not even one percent of the population. And yet you put the sign on your shop in this language. The least that should be done is to have some modesty, modesty toward the people of the country. But the truth is that hearts are dead; otherwise, they would boycott the one who made his shop in a language other than Arabic. What we, as Arabs, should say is: "By Allah, you did not open your shop for us; you opened it for the people of this language," and we would cut off dealings with him. If we had boycotted him, he would have written it in large letters in the Arabic language tomorrow. But people, in truth, their hearts are dead, except for whom Allah wills. And I see that it is obligatory for the authorities, though I do not like to say it this way, to go around these shops and stores and say: "The least we can say to you is that if there are many non-Arabs among you, the least that is obligatory upon you is to write it in the Arabic language on top, and in the non-Arabic language below." And we also say: If in this country the foreigners, who are non-Arabs, are mostly Pakistanis, is it fitting to write it in English or in Pakistani? If we want to use a non-Arabic language, it should be in Pakistani. Now, those who write it, if the majority of the workers in the country are, for example, Pakistanis, and they write in English and leave out Arabic and Pakistani, then now neither the Arabs nor the Pakistanis know it. All this is due to the weakness of personality in many people. They were dazzled by this civilization in the global countries, so they thought that it is the starting point of progress. In any case, this was an aside. The point is that whoever calls a non-Arab people must call them in their language, otherwise they will not benefit. Yes.
The questioner : This statement... May Allah reward you. He said that the call is based on textual evidence and it is not for us.
The Shaykh : The call is based on textual evidence, but what about the means? Is it possible now to sit among ten non-Arabs and speak in the most eloquent and expressive Arabic? What do they understand? Nothing. So can it be said that this person called to Allah? Then the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered Zayd ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) to learn the language of the Jews in order to respond to their writings and read their writings. He ordered him to learn that. Then he said to Umm Khalid:
Good, good
سنة سنةGood, good
سنة سنةThe simple ignorant person does not speak; he knows himself and says, "By Allah, I do not know." So my advice to this brother is to convey my greetings to him and tell him to reflect on the evidence, fear Allah, and not speak of what he does not know, for he is responsible.
And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight and the heart - about all those [one] will be questioned.
ولا تقف ما ليس لك به علم إن السمع والبصر والفؤاد كل أولئك كان عنه مسؤولاThe questioner : ...
The Shaykh : No, no, that's it. One question left.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : No comments.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, Shaykh. What is your opinion regarding dealing with the Bank of Riyadh, specifically in depositing money in order to guarantee checks?