What is better for the da'iyah: teaching foreign languages or the Shari'ah?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : May Allah preserve you, O Shaykh. A man wants to enter the College of Shari'ah, but he was advised that, since Allah has blessed him with eloquence and qualities that help him in da'wah, he should enter the English department to call those who speak this language to Islam. So what do you advise him to do, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Does he know English or not?
The questioner :: meaning.
The Shaykh : The question is: does he know it or not? Say yes or no.
The questioner : No, he does not know it.
The Shaykh : Well, if he does not know it, let him enter the Shari'ah and learn the Shari'ah, and then let him learn the language in which he will call people, whether it is English, Urdu, Hindi, or something else. He should learn the language of the people to whom he is directing his call. How can he learn English, for example, when he does not know the Shari'ah? How can he call people?
So I do not say that the one who advised him intended to make a mistake; he may have been exercising ijtihad, but he was not correct. Learn the Shari'ah first, and then call to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Yes.
The Shaykh : Does he know English or not?
The questioner :: meaning.
The Shaykh : The question is: does he know it or not? Say yes or no.
The questioner : No, he does not know it.
The Shaykh : Well, if he does not know it, let him enter the Shari'ah and learn the Shari'ah, and then let him learn the language in which he will call people, whether it is English, Urdu, Hindi, or something else. He should learn the language of the people to whom he is directing his call. How can he learn English, for example, when he does not know the Shari'ah? How can he call people?
So I do not say that the one who advised him intended to make a mistake; he may have been exercising ijtihad, but he was not correct. Learn the Shari'ah first, and then call to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Yes.