format_quote Originally Posted by
SZShaikh
God has chosen the Arabic language to convey his everlasting and global message. Because Arabic is the richest and comprehensive language and has special features and ability to convey the different meanings and concepts in short peotic form. The underlying principle for appointment of messaenger from God, the practice (i.e. Sunnah) of God was that He appointed Messengers based on the languages of the people of such communities.
In the Qur’an, it is said: "And We did not send any messenger except [speaking] in the language of his people to state clearly for them, and Allah sends astray [thereby] whom He wills and guides whom He wills. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise". (Qur’an 14: 4) .......
:sl:
:jz: for your participation and input,
i would like to add a few humble opinions in a constructive way if possible - i hope you will consider them as advice rather than belligerent undermining argument.
Firstly, Allah :swt: knows best exactly why Arabic was chosen. Although it is true that it is a very eloquent language containing material which facilitates jawame al kalim, there are multiple other factors which can possibly taken into account -including but not limited to: al qadr which caused arabic evolve into the eloquent language that it is - although the absences of the letters "p" and "t" can be used to argue that it was possibly more of a human endeavour over generations which God chose with much more taken into account in His unequalled Wisdom.
Let us also consider that the Quran is aimed at the whole world despite the thousands of different mother tongues of various tribes and nations.
We do notice that it's means of speech include casual phrases that are directly translatable into other international languages eg. What's with you? Maa la kum? and this is useful during familiar communication and closes a psychological distance. The region itself is at the central crossroads of the globe - ensuring that it is always a reliable and familiar means of international communication which isn't scrubbed out very easily.
Secondly there is the poitical/social factor.
The barren arabian peninsula with sparse greenery and very sparsely dispersed and usually poor goat-herding tribes with no central governing system made it unprofitable and unenticing for heavyweight kings to invade and govern, or even pay heed to its political situation despite their military prowess, and we know that it is the corrupt class of " al mala- " who stand against the prophets and make work difficult for them due to the fact that corrupt al mala consider the lands in which they live as their own absolute dominion and themselves as the exclusive rulemakers and priests over the common masses whose rights become non-existent at a single conflict of interest., -this was an important factor in ensuring that events formed naturally and without the difficulty of dealing with inter-continental tyrants and their police and soldiery. This is also a reason why the prophet :saws: was able to establish a new government in al-Madinah without having to worry too much about the soldiers of ceasar or khosroe coming and demanding allegiance and submission to their respective dominions. Abu jahl was a micro-pharaoh and example in a bigger and much longer story, this is possibly a better comparison for the people of today living under a plethora of rulers in a global age.
Thirdly, the arab tribes were illiterate despite their land being at the centre of old civilizations which were way ahead in literacy and record keeping (the arabs would use poetry to convey, and their moneyed classes used poets to change public opinion, and the physical document which was Quran caused the false fables and flawed logic to disappear without much effort, this would have been a difficult task amidst people spouting dodgy rules from dodgy constitutions accepted by millions, whereas the bedouin arabs had very few commonly accepted rules, and had many tribal wars as a result, a bonus was that they had a natural inferiority complex resulting from their lack of civilization as can be seen from their respect for the people of the Book and their common justice process even if it went against the self (something unimaginable for a big-headed leader of a tribe of a few hundred people), and would therefore be more receptive to simple reason and exalted logic just as a newborn is accepting of milk.
Fourthly, Allah :swt: clearly indicates that the messenger was destined to be from the stock of Isma'eel :as: even if the Book was to be revealed in a different language - although the wisdom in choosing it is continually confirmed:
Allah SWT said:
مَّا يُقَالُ لَكَ إِلَّا مَا قَدْ قِيلَ لِلرُّسُلِ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ ۚ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَذُو مَغْفِرَةٍ وَذُو عِقَابٍ أَلِيمٍ
"Nothing is said to you, [O Muhammad], except what was already said to the messengers before you. Indeed, your Lord is a possessor of forgiveness and a possessor of painful penalty."
Allah SWT said:
وَلَوْ جَعَلْنٰهُ قُرْءَانًا أَعْجَمِيًّا لَّقَالُوا لَوْلَا فُصِّلَتْ ءَايٰتُهُۥٓ ۖ ءَا۬عْجَمِ ىٌّ وَعَرَبِىٌّ ۗ قُلْ هُوَ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا هُدًى وَشِفَآءٌ ۖ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ فِىٓ ءَاذَانِهِمْ وَقْرٌ وَهُوَ عَلَيْهِمْ عَمًى ۚ أُولٰٓئِكَ يُنَادَوْنَ مِنْ مَّكَانٍۢ بَعِيدٍ
"And if We had made it a non-Arabic Qur'an, they would have said, Why are its verses not explained in detail ?
Is it a foreign [recitation] and an Arab [messenger]?
Say, It is, for those who believe, a guidance and cure. And those who do not believe - in their ears is deafness, and it is upon them blindness.
Those are being called from a distant place."
(QS. Fussilat 41: Verse 44)
* Via Qur'an English
http://quran-en.com
And Allah :swt: knows best, we can only attempt to understand His wisdom and some of the possible reasons that point to the wisdom behind the choice, but we cannot say for certain that Allah :swt: did such and such action due to such and such reason since no vision can comprehend/compasd Him whereas He comprehends and compasses all vision.