Arabic vs. English – A Spiritual Comparison

وَلَقَدْ نَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُمْ يَقُولُونَ إِنَّمَا يُعَلِّمُهُ بَشَرٌ لِّسَانُ الَّذِي يُلْحِدُونَ إِلَيْهِ أَعْجَمِيٌّ وَهَـذَا لِسَانٌ عَرَبِيٌّ مُّبِينٌ

Indeed We know that they say that a mere mortal teaches him; whereas the tongue of he to whom they impute this is non-Arab whilst this is a clear Arabic tongue. [ʾan-Naḥl : 103]

I strongly recommend “Muḥammad Rasūlullāh” the biography of Allāh’s Final Messenger صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, written by Shaykh Sayyid Mawlānā ʾAbul Ḥasan ʿAlī Nadwī, teacher of my teacher. Although the commonly available English translation is not the most reader-friendly version ever, the Sayyid strikes a perfect balance between conveying facts and expressing his love for our Guide صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. Some books express love, but do not teach much, others are cold, analytical and emotionless, as if they had been written by orientalists.

One of the points discussed in “Muḥammad Rasūlullāh” is why Allāh’s Messenger صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ had to be an ʿArab. This discussion would of course link to the question as to why Allāh’s Speech was revealed in Arabic, bearing in mind that language is a clear map of the psychology of a nation. This post is not meant to address either question. Instead, these questions inspire recognition of the spiritual purity of the language of the final revelation. To demonstrate this, I shall gather a few examples of the spiritual depravity of English, which Arabic is completely innocent of.

Why English?

Well, obviously first and foremost, my writings and audience are English for historical and pragmatic reasons. English is also a medium to demonstrate that every language, other than Arabic, is imperfect. English is the child of both the Germanic and Romance worlds. Thus certain facets of English may be particular to it, but other facets may be shared by French, Latin, German etc.

English is decidedly pagan in vocabulary and outlook

Arabic words, like her Semitic sisters are very much mathematically derived from three root-letter structures, or equations as I think of them. K-T-B gives us kātib (scribe), kitāb (book) etc. Where words develop with added meaning, the outlook reflected is that of the wild, pure, untamed desert homeland, not the seemingly sophisticated paganism of Rome. For example, siyāsah, meant to tame a wild horse. When the loose Arab tribes became more politically organised, they saw a leader who had to tame wild politicians with different agendas to be doing a similar job. Thus siyāsah became used for “politics”.

Now let us look at the attitude of Pagan-Roman influenced English. With this influence alone, it is almost impossible to speak, write and - most importantly – think in English, without touching on its polytheism, something the language of the Qurʾān is certainly free of.

You would know that suicide is to kill sui (oneself). Homicide is to kill homo (a man). Regicide is to kill rex (a king). The list can go on, but you might be surprised to know that decide also fits into this list. So who exactly gets killed when one decides, when one makes a decision?

Before we look at the answer, let us first revise the Arabic and Islāmic concepts of decision. The Arabic root for decision is Q-Ḍ-Y, which simply implies completion. In other words, after a process of deliberation, a thought process is completed and a conclusion for action is reached. A pure, clean etymology for a word used in the Qurʾān. Over and above one’s personal thought process, is the instruction from Allāh’s Messenger صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ to offer the ʾIstikhārah (seeking good from Allāh) Prayer, in order to help us reach a decision. Surely this is a most pure and innocent language, used as a vehicle by the most excellent Messenger صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

Now let us revert to the language of the modern civilised world. Just what does decide mean? Who gets killed? It is Deus – God! How to explain the misguided, pagan Roman-English mind? Their outlook, as opposed to the teachings of Allāh’s Messenger صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, is that when one weighs various options and chooses one, one has seized the matter in one’s own hands and killed off God from the equation of indecision. Of course, we use such words innocently. The point however remains, ponder over the mentality of a people who deliberately construct such words. How satanic their thought processes must be! Praise be to Allāh who chose Arabic as the language of guidance. (By Arabic I mean the sweet language of Allāh’s Messenger صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, not the braying colonialist legacy one hears on the modern Arab street).

Days of the week

 The Arab named his days with the same simple desert mentality – Days One to Five, then the Day of Gathering and the Sabbath, a legacy of the Hebrew Prophets whom we revere.

Now how does the English world begin its week? The first day is the day dedicated to the worship of the sun. Monday is for worshipping the moon. Tuesday is Tiw’s day, the Germanic god of war. Wednesday is Woden’s day, the Germanic king of gods. Thursday is Thor’s day, the Germanic god of thunder. Freya’s day is dedicated to Woden’s wife! Saturday is Saturn’s day, the father of the king of the Roman gods!

Whilst the contemporary English-speaking Muslim does not associate the origin of “Friday” with ascribing a wife unto Allāh, we should see and appreciate the system and planning of Allāh, in keeping the language of the Qurʾān pure from such foolish pagan concepts.

Months and names

Some English months are neutral. December is simply the tenth month as per the original calendar. Yet the original first month is dedicated to Mars, god of war, and there are other months with pagan meanings as well. As for Mr Mars, he does not live on in March alone, but the name, Mark, means one dedicated to Mars. Why would a society supposedly worshipping the One God, not find such names offensive at the time when the meaning was well known? This again points to the unique value of Arabic, a language divinely chosen and whose every word was weighed, appreciated and understood.

The Self-centredness of English

Consider that “I” is the only pronoun compulsorily written with a capital letter. In what other language does this occur? The self-centredness of the English language perfectly complements the savage rape of the planet by the British Empire.

English is the only European language which does not have a pronoun of respect for the second person. There is just “you”. Whilst the same may be said to be true of Arabic, the comparison is not accurate. Firstly, English exists in a continent where it manages to isolate itself with egoism. Arabic does not originate amongst that place and peoples and hence the comparison is not applicable in this case. Secondly, Arabic in its very structure is anti-ego. Its starts with the third person and reaches the first person only at the end. English of course starts with I and leaves the third person for the end. It is the language of “I”. Neither the modern English child, nor the Germanic and Latin parents, could ever have been a candidate for the pure vehicle of mankind’s spiritual reformation. Allāh chose Arabic.   

A day in the life of pagan English

Did you have cereal for breakfast by any chance? Yet another dedication to Ceres the Roman goddess. Had it with natural orange nectar? Actually its impossible to drink nectar. It’s the drink of the Greek gods, sorry. As for your natural, Netjer were the Egyptian gods.

Now what cloth is appropriate for today’s weather? Just don’t ask goddess Clotho. Don’t find this amusing? Blame the Muses. Before you leave home, remember to take your medication for your chronic condition, named after Mr Chronos, god of time. Do remember to greet the janitor named after the god, Janus, especially if it is the month of January. If you are not polite he display fury, the spirit of vengeance. Then you will panic, a word from the goat god Pan.

In short dear reader, Allāh has chosen Arabic as His pure vehicle of transmitting guidance to mankind. It is free of the defects found in other tongues. If you are not in a position to learn and speak the language of Allāh’s Messenger صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, the least you can do is value and respect it, which includes correctly pronouncing Arabic names, instead of making Arabic subservient to your culture.

سليمان الكندي
Twitter: @sulayman_Kindi