Arabic – A language chosen by Allah ﷻ(Miraculous language)

Arabic is a Central Semitic language. Standard or Classical Arabic – Fusha فُصْحَى– is the distinct form of the language used in قران واحاديث, literature and other formal settings. ‘Aamiya, عامية which is colloquial (spoken) Arabic, has many forms that are used in ordinary conversation, and it varies from country to country, and even town to town. The different forms are used side by side with different dialects to serve different functions in society. But the purest form of Arabic is Fusaha (meaning frozen /جامد) which is unpolluted and protected for centuries.

Meaning of عَرَبَ

• To express emotions clearly
• To make something crystal clear
• The opposite of Arab is A’jm عجم, which means mute, one who cannot speak.
• The people of Hijaz were very proud of فصاحة و بلاغة of their language.
• The Kaaba, became a national monument under the custodianship of the Quraysh, the chief tribe of Mecca, which made the Hejaz the most important religious area in north Arabia. It was an era of literature and poetry. Arabs were very fond of memorization and eloquence of poetry, they used to memorize thousands of names of their ancestors and tribes as they used to marvel in genealogy. Quraishi dialect was considered prestigious and it was an honor to adopt Qurayshi dialect in reading poetry (today how British accent is considered best)
• Poets and اهل قصيدة had a prestigious and significant place in society.
• Makkans being the caretakers and custodian of ka’aba were considered BEST.عكاظ was the stage of شعراء where they performed and got appreciation in terms of money and popularity. Poetry and oratory had such an effect on the community that two tribes would battle for words.
• Poetry contests were held to determine the best poems. Thus, before revelation of the Quran, Makkah was the focal point for nurturing, flourishing and تدويج of Arabic language. Makkah was prime business center and trade hub along with a religious epicenter, each year at the time of hajj, festival gatherings, social meetings, religious and cultural programs used to be held.
• The Muʻallaqāt المعلقات‎, is a group of seven long Arabic poems that are considered the best work of pre-Islamic Arabia. The name means The Hanging Poems, the traditional explanation being that these poems were hung on or in the Kaaba at Mecca. The name Mu‘allaqāt has also been explained figuratively, as if the poems “hang” in the reader’s mind. The seven poets
• Imru’ al-Qais
• Labīd ibn Rabī’ah
• Tarafa
• Zuhayr ibn Abi Sulma
• Antara Ibn Shaddad
• Amr ibn Kulthum
• Harith ibn Hilliza
• One of the best poets from these 7, was Labīd (Abu Aqil Labīd ibn Rabī’ah)

لَبيد بن ربيعة بن مالك أبو عقيل العامِري , He was the winner of poetry competitions for 3 consecutive years and his poems were demonstrated at the wall of Kaaba as an achievement and honor. He belonged to the Bani Amir, a division of the tribe of the Hawazin. In his younger years he was an active warrior, and his poems were largely concerned with inter-tribal disputes. Later, he was sent by a sick uncle to get a remedy from Muhammad SAW at Medina and on this occasion was much influenced by a part of the Quran’s, shortest Surah, ‘Al-Kawthar’. He heard inna a’ataina kal kausar

He was astonished and said  ما هذا كلام البشر and accepted Islam.

How?

A layman cannot understand that how Quran is a miracle, but some one who is in balagha and has in-depth knowledge of language can easily feel the style and eloquence does not resemble the words of human being. This feature of the Quran has been approved by the experts of eloquence in all centuries.

علوم اللغة العربية

• الصرف —-Morphology
• النحو —-grammar
• الرسم و الاملاء —-writing
• البيان—-Metaphorical language
• البديع—-Style
• العروض—-prosody
• القوافي—-Rhyme
• قرض الشعر —-Poetry
• الانشاء—-Composition
• الخطابة —-oratory
• تاريخ الادب—-History
• البلاغة —-Core of Arabic language

And Subhan Allah, Quran summarizes and combines all these sciences in it.

• Arabic constructs words from basic roots

As in other Semitic languages, Arabic has a complex and unusual method of constructing words from a basic root. This means that a pattern of three letters such as ‘k-t-b’, will always be the foundation of words that have the semantic field of ‘writing’, Various vowels, prefixes and suffixes are used with the root letters to create the desired inflection of meaning. Using the root system means that direct translation, particularly of poetic texts, is often difficult – the root of a word may contain a meaning that could take a few sentences to translate. However, this can be beneficial, and the beauty of it is that it conveys a depth of both meaning and emotion unmatched by many languages.

• The vastness of Arabic language can be seen from the same simple root k-t-b to describe things such as:

This is only a sample of the immense variety of words that can be formed by simple and predictable usage of the basic root which was only the three consonants k-t-b.

Richness of Arabic language

• There are at least 11 words for ‘love’ and hundreds of words for ‘camel’
• Arabic has at least 14 words for love and each of them conveys a different stage in the process of falling in love. The word ‘hawa’, for example, describes the initial attraction or inclining of the soul or mind towards another. The term comes from the root word ‘h-w-a’ – a transient wind that has no weight
• ‘Alaaqa’, which comes from the root word (‘a-l-q) which means ‘to cling on to’ describes the next stage when the heart begins to attach itself to the beloved, before evolving into a blind desire ‘ishq’ and all-consuming love ‘shaghaf’. The final stage of falling in love, ‘huyum’, describes the complete loss of reason and intellect and so on…
• Interestingly, the most common word for love in Arabic, ‘hubb’, ( H – b- b) comes from the same root as the word ‘seed’ – that which has the potential to grow into something beautiful and beneficial to all , if it has dedication and efforts.
• 7 words for different stages of sickness  مريض  pertaining to each stage of illness from feeling lethargis until actually falling on bed.
• The word for heart, ‘qalb’, comes from the root word (q-l-b), meaning to flip or turn something over. Although the word refers to the physical heart, spiritually the root word becomes appropriate when we think of our hearts as something constantly turning over emotions, decisions and opinions.
• This expansive vocabulary is not just limited to the world of poetry and literature, but also practical life.
• ‘Trust in God, but tie your camel’ is a great (and practical) Arabic proverb used to express the nature of destiny and personal responsibility. The matter of destiny is also very much embedded within everyday Arabic phrases such as ‘Insha’Allah’ (If God wills).
• There are up to 1,000 words related to camels in the Arabic language. There are names for camels based on: color of hair; herd mentality; relativity to water; food habits; health conditions; the number of camels in one spot; and so much more.
• For example, …
• al-‘aees:A white camel with blond hair
• al-thowee:A camel that is too weak to stand up
• al-soorma:between 10 and 30 camels
• al-ghub:A camel that drinks once every two days
• ‘Al-Jafool’ means a camel that is frightened by anything
• ‘Al-Harib’ is a female camel that walks ahead of the others by a great distance so that it appears to be fleeing and many more…

• Arabic has sounds that don’t exist in other languages
• There are also a few sounds that don’t exist in other languages, such as ‘ح’, which is a ‘h’ sound as in ‘hubb’ (love). To get an idea of how this is pronounced, imagine breathing on a window pane to create a mist.
• There is a complete science of articulation points of each letter which has been preserved since centuries.
• Arabic increases your intellect

قال عمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه

تَعَلَّمُوا الْعَرَبِيَّةَ فَإِنَّهَا تُنْبِتُ الْعَقْلَ وَتَزِيدُ فِي الْمُرُوءَةِ

One can think how is it possible that one language increases your thinking ability?

Here is the answer!

All left to right languages systematically activate both halves of the brain independently with considerable activation of the left half, (Which is assigned for speech, writing and learning) except the Arabic language, where it activates both halves simultaneously, with considerable activation of the right half, (which is assigned for memory)

Therefore, the Arabic language utilizes the resources of both hemispheres of the brain, which results in developing and enhancing perceptive and cognitive skills among many other advantages.

• Learning a New Language at Any Age Helps the Brain. Learning a new language may improve people’s thinking skills and memory abilities, research suggests. Learning a second language may help improve brain function regardless of when you start.
• Learning a second language offers proven benefits for intelligence, memory, and concentration and lowered risks of dementia and Alzheimer’s. … Because language is complex, speaking or learning a foreign language gives your brain a good workout. It’s good brain exercise that makes the brain stronger
• Another saying of Umar RA

تعلموا العربية فإنها تثبت العقل وتزيد في المروءة

“Learn Arabic, for it strengthens the intelligence and increases one’s noble conduct”

• Three root words will always make meaningful words wherever you will put together

ق  م  ر

• قمر moon
• رمق slight remains of life in a body
• مقرpoison
• مرقgravy
• رقمto write
• قرمchief
• Capitalization and abbreviations do not exist in Arabic
• Exclamation, comma, full stop, question mark etc., are not required in the Arabic language as it is such a rich language that it has treasure of words to express emotions without external help. One has to understand all these expressions through تشكيل اعراب or style.
• Example: اياك نعبد in surah fatiha (normal structure would be نعبد ك ايا) but to stress on a particular component, style is important.
• قَتَلَ حَامِدٌ راشِداً

One needs to understand the verb, doer and object through تشكيل and اعراب

• Who is murderer and who has been murdered?

• Why is it important to learn Arabic language?

وَلَقَدْ يَسَّرْنَا الْقُرْآنَ لِلذِّكْرِ فَهَلْ مِن مُّدَّكِرٍ

“We have made this Qur’an easy as a reminder. Is there, then, any who will take heed?” Surah Qamar (54:17)

أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ أَمْ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَا

“Do they not then earnestly seek to understand the Qur’an, or are their hearts locked up by them? “Surah Muhammed (47:24)

To understand the Quran, ahadith, Islamic literatures, Islamic aadaab and ethics properly.

Translation of speech of Allah cannot pay its due right to Allah’s chosen words, style and construction of sentences.

The sweetness of kalam Allah can only be felt when we try to understand through its original essence of language.