An Overview
There were several primary reasons for the decline of the Muslim Ummah. Negligence of the Arabic language takes a leading position amongst the reasons for decline. This is due to the integral and inseparable relationship between the revelation i.e. Al-Qur'an and As-Sunnah and the Arabic language. Both Islamic texts were revealed in Arabic and, therefore, knowledge of the Arabic language is a prerequisite to their understanding. There is no doubt that one can understand the general Islamic ideas in any language as the ideas of Islam are not language bound. However, to directly be able to understand the honorable texts, to be able to deduce laws from these texts cannot be done without adequate knowledge of Arabic.
It is well known that the process of Ijtihad is the method to derive laws from the Islamic texts. Such a process cannot take place without thorough knowledge of the Arabic language. Therefore, as knowledge of Arabic weakens, the ability to perform Ijtihad is negatively impacted. Consequently, various new challenges and issues that face Muslims will stand unanswered if Arabic is neglected.
In addition, while Muslims like the way Al-Qur'an sounds when recited, it becomes more amazing when enjoyed with its powerful meaning. Arabic will enable you not only to understand the QurÂ’an but also to realize its miracle and appreciate its eloquence.
One should keep in mind that these courses are not simply a month or even a year long. It is the beginning of a lifelong pursuit of knowledge. Languages do not get learned by merely attending a class. Rather, languages are taught by interacting with them. A person who wishes to learn Arabic has to live this course, practice it daily, read Al-Qur'an Al-Kareem and the Sunnah daily, looking for what one learned. Most of the examples provided in this course will be taken from Al-QurÂ’an and/or the Sunnah. As a result, one will end up learning Arabic as used in the Islamic texts, hence learning Islam while studying its language.
Even though many might already know the letters, this series will start with them as the correct pronunciation of the letters must be learned.
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"Do not write what I say, but where I took it from." - [Al-Imam Ahmad]
Umar wrote to Abu Musa al-Asha'ri, "Learn Arabic, as Al-Qur'an is in Arabic".
[Abu Shaybah]
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