Q. As I do not read or write Arabic, can I read the Qur’an in English? Many people say that it can only be read in Arabic. Please comment.
R. Syeed • Al-Gassim
A. The Qur’an is God’s book, containing His message to mankind. It was revealed from on high to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) over a period of 23 years. It has been preserved in its original form, and God has guaranteed that it will remain intact for the rest of time. Its text is the only revelation whose reading constitutes an act of worship. This is the case not only when we read parts of it in our prayer, but also whenever we read it. All this applies to the text of the Qur’an in its original form, i.e. in Arabic.
Thus, if you are speaking about reading the Qur’an as an act of worship, then you have to read it in Arabic. Scholars agree that in prayer, a new Muslim who does not speak Arabic should learn the Fatihah in Arabic in order to be able to offer his prayers. If he cannot do so before his first prayer, then he repeats the part of it he learns several times to make up for its length. This means that if he has learned only one verse of it, he repeats that verse 7 times, and if he has learned 2 verses, he repeats them 4 times. After that, he should learn it by heart without delay. This shows that for worship, the Qur’an can only be read in Arabic.
For non-Arabic speaking people, it is perfectly appropriate to use a translation in order to understand the Qur’an. They should remember, however, that any translation is inadequate, because it is the language of the translator, expressing what he understands to be the closest form to the original text.
Arab News Islam 7 July 2003
