Wait, wait! I'll look for a ruling insha Allah. I'm sure I read/heard somewhere you can. Please bear with me, for the life of me I can't remember where I saw it.
.....Muslims are required to perform prayer in Arabic with few exceptions, as in case of new converts until they become able to say their prayers in Arabic, according to the Hanafi Juristic School.
Explaining the wisdom behind this ruling, Dr. Muhammad Hamidullah in his well-known book,Introduction to Islam, states the following:
"(1) It is well known that during their service of worship [Salaat], Muslims employ only the Arabic language: They recite certain passages of the Qur’an and pronounce certain formulae to attest to the sublimity of God and humility of man. This is done both by the Arabs and the non-Arabs, even by those who do not know a word of Arabic. Such was the case in time of the Prophet Muhammad and such has been the case (since to this day, whatever the country and the tongue of Muslims.
(2) At first sight it may seem normal and even desirable that the faithful should address his prayer to the Lord in a way that he is fully conscious of what he says. Of course, the mother-tongue is the medium best suited for the purpose, the worship being performed in as many languages as are spoken by the Muslim community. But a little deeper consideration shows that there are reasons that militate strongly against such a solution.
(3) It is noteworthy that according to the Islamic belief the Qur'an is the Word of Allah, the recitation of which is considered as something meritorious. This is evident from the spiritual point of view. It stands as the faithful journey's unto the Lord through the sacred word of the Lord Himself.
His Word is the path towards Him, something like a wire to conduct the electrical current that illuminates the bulb. The journey unto the Lord is of course the ultimate goal that every soul aspires to reach. The original Word has been revealed in Arabic: any translation would be a human work and human word, and this can scarcely serve the purpose of this mystical journey.
(4) For those who would seek more mundane reasons, let us recall first that a clear distinction is to be made between prayer, in the sense of supplication (Du`aa'), and the prayer in the sense of the service of worship (Salaat), in so far as Du`aa' is concerned -- i.e., the prayer in general and outside the formal way of worshiping Allah, the tête-à-tête with the Lord (munajaat)-- nobody has ever raised the slightest objection to the liberty of the individual to address one's need, one's petitions to the Lord in any language and in any physical posture one prefers.
It is purely personal and private affair and concerns the relations of the individual creature directly with the Creator.
The Salaat [prayer], on the contrary, is a collective and public affair, where the needs and requirements of other companions of the congregation are evidently to be taken into consideration. It is pointedly to bring into relief that the Salaat is in principle and preferably to be performed in common along with others (congregation): the Salaat individually and in isolation is only tolerated and never recommended, the preference going to the congregational service.
Let us see now more closely the diverse aspects of this collective and public act which is performed in the company of others.
(5) Had Islam been a regional, racial or national religion, one would certainly have employed the current language of the region, of the race, of the nation. But quite different are the requirements of a universal religion, whose members speak hundreds of regional languages -- of which each is incomprehensible to all the rest of the human groups -- belonging to all the races and inhabitants of all the regions of the earth. Our life today is getting more and more cosmopolitan, and practically every town has Muslims belonging to several linguistic groups, both from among the permanent residents and the travelers in transit, and has to take into consideration the aspect of courtesy and hospitality to strangers.
Supposing an Englishman goes to China and knows not a word of its language, and supposing he hears in the street something like "chen chu chih shan", evidently he would not understand what is meant by that; and if it is the regional translation of the well-known call to prayer, the Allahu Akbar, he would fail to perceive it and would miss the weekly prayer on Friday, or the congregational prayer of the moment.
Similarly a Chinese Muslim, traveling through other countries, would find nothing in common with his co-religionists if these others said their congregational worship in their local tongues
I have become Muslim, al-hamdu-Lillaah, but I do not know Arabic. What should I do with regard to the adhkaar (phrases praising Allaah) in the prayer and reading Qur’aan in Arabic? Praise be to Allaah.
The majority of fuqaha’ say that if the non-Arab can speak Arabic, he should not recite Takbeer (saying “Allaahu akbar (Allaah is Most Great)”) in any other language. The evidence for this is that the texts instruct this particular wording, which is Arabic, and that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not do it any other way.
But if a non-Arab cannot speak Arabic and is unable to pronounce it, then according to the majority of fuqaha’ it is OK for him to say the Takbeer in his own language after it has been translated from Arabic, according to the statements of the Shaafa’is and Hanbalis, no matter what the language is. The Takbeer is remembrance or mentioning of Allaah, and Allaah can be remembered or mentioned in every language, so a language other than Arabic is an alternative, and the person has to learn how to say it in the other language. There is some controversy as to whether all of the adhkaar of the prayer, such as tashahhud, qunoot, du’aa’, and the tasbeehaat in rukoo’ and sujood may be said in languages other than Arabic.
With regard to reading Qur’aan, the majority say that it is not permissible to read it in any language other than Arabic. The evidence for this is the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’aan…” [Yoosuf 12:2]
Moreover, the Qur’aan is a miracle in its wording and its meaning; if it is changed, this is no longer the case, and it is no longer Qur’aan but an interpretation (tafseer). (al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah, part 5: A’jami).
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
“Section: It is not right to read it in any language other than Arabic, or to substitute other words in Arabic, whether the person can read it well in Arabic or not, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “…an Arabic Qur’aan …’ [Yoosuf 12:2] and ‘In the plain Arabic language’ [al-Shu’ara’ 26:195]. The Qur’aan is a miracle in both its wording and its meaning, but if it is changed this is no longer the case, it is not Qur’aan or anything like it. It is only an interpretation (tafseer), and if the interpretation were like the Qur’aan itself, they would not be unable to meet the challenge of producing a soorah like it.
If a person cannot read well in Arabic, he has to learn. If he does not learn when he is able to, his prayers are not valid. If he is not able, or he fears that he does not have time to learn before the time for the next prayer is over, and he knows one aayah of al-Faatihah, he should repeat it seven times… If he can recite more than that, he should repeat it as much as he needs to make his recitation equivalent to the length of Soorat al-Fatihah, or he could make it up by reciting other aayaat. If he knows some aayaat he does not have to repeat, he could recite another aayah instead, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded the one who could not recite Qur’aan well to say ‘Al-Hamdu Lillaah (Praise be to Allaah)’ and other phrases, which is part of an aayah, but he did not command him to repeat it. If he cannot do anything, but he knows some of the Qur’aan by heart, he should recite whatever he can, and nothing else will do, because of the report narrated by Abu Dawood from Rifaa’ah ibn Raafi’, who said that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When you get up to pray, if you know some Qur’aan, recite it, otherwise say al-hamdu Lillaah (praise be to Allaah), and La ilaaha ill-Allaah (there is no god but Allaah), and Allaahu akbar (Allaah is Most Great).” This is more like Qur’aan, and is more appropriate (than any other words). He should also recite as much as he needs to make it equivalent in length to Soorat al-Faatihah. If he cannot recite anything of the Qur’aan, and cannot learn before it is too late to pray the current prayer, he should say Subhaan Allaah wa’l-hamdu Lillaah wa Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah wa Allaahu akbar wa Laa hawla wa laa quwwata illa Billaah (Glory be to Allaah; praise be to Allaah; there is no god but Allaah; Allaah is Most Great; and there is no strength and no power except with Allaah). Abu Dawood reported that a man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: “I cannot learn anything of the Qur’aan. Teach me something that will suffice me.” He said, “Say Subhaan Allaah wa’l-hamdu Lillaah wa Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah wa Allaahu akbar wa Laa hawla wa laa quwwata illa Billaah.”
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