How essential is it to learn arabic to understand hadith and quran?

Arabic is not my first language, so I have to rely on translations which is fine if you want to get an idea of what is in the Quran. In most Qurans, there are explanations to help explain details of certain words to help clarify certain ayats or words. To actually understand the Quran though, I'd say its pretty important to know Arabic. Its not just a matter of knowing Arabic. Even those people whose first language is Arabic need years to study and learn the Quran.

When someone uses the word pig to describe a polie officer, that's called a "slang" and is used as a derogatory term. That example is a little extreme but I do get what you're saying! Meanings can be lost through translations because not all words can be directly translated, so the word that closest represents what is meant will be used even if it isn't the correct word. Even translating a word without knowing the meaning of its se can be pretty significant.

Assalamu Alaikum

format_quote Originally Posted by TDWT

I was wondering, for example, someone gave me this example:

That means, to understand what they look like, you must understand the description as given in Arabic and the words as they mean in Arabic, not as they mean in English. Let me give you an example of what I mean. The Qur'aan says Khinzeer is Haraam. Khinzeer is translated in English as "pig". Now, one modern day meaning of "pig" is "policeman". Can a person now come along and say that, "I'm going to understand the Aayah as it means in English. Each person must understand it as it means in their own language. In English, pig means a policeman. So, the Aayah is saying you can't eat policemen

Is this quote true?

Bro you really focus your attention on the weirdest things. Who told you that Khinzeer means police officer?

Are you a native speaker by any chance?

format_quote Originally Posted by TDWT

I was wondering, for example, someone gave me this example:

That means, to understand what they look like, you must understand the description as given in Arabic and the words as they mean in Arabic, not as they mean in English. Let me give you an example of what I mean. The Qur'aan says Khinzeer is Haraam. Khinzeer is translated in English as "pig". Now, one modern day meaning of "pig" is "policeman". Can a person now come along and say that, "I'm going to understand the Aayah as it means in English. Each person must understand it as it means in their own language. In English, pig means a policeman. So, the Aayah is saying you can't eat policemen

Is this quote true?

A'salamu alaykum.

No, it is an ignorant and illogical statement. The Qur'an is clear for the people of Truth. And those upon falsehood will misinterpret even the clearest of text. So leave them. Allah has blinded them, and only He can make them understand. Allah knows best.

format_quote Originally Posted by TDWT

No. The person is not saying that it means police officer, they are giving an example of what things mean in different languages. What they mean is that the quran says pig(khinzeer) is haram right? According to the arabs, pigs mean pigs. But for example, in english, pig is say, slang for police officer? So they point the person is saying is you have to understand the words of how they mean in arabic if that makes sense.

To answer your initial question, its essential to learn the language of the quran by the way it's preserved, which is in Arabic. You can always get the gist of it from translation, but it's not ideal to study it in this manner. There are soo many words in the Arabic language that do not have an exact translation in other languages. One good example of that is the word "salaam" which has several meanings such as peace, surrender, tranquility (and if we were to venture into other cultures, it's used as an expression to mean beauty or wonderful). So can you see how easily this word becomes diminished when it's translated? Words in arabic connote and denote different meanings. This is how beautiful the language of the Quran is...when you read an ayah, it's truest essence can only be captured when you have knowledge of it's language. Every time you reread it, you kinda discover something new each time. Another thing is, arabic unites people from all different parts of the globe. So even if one does not know the language, he can recognize quran when it's recited. It's unlike anything else to be honest..find any arabic poem, song, etc. and you will know it's not quran no matter how popular or "great" it is. It was revealed in a way which is easy to memorize and which is soothing to the heart.