Q115 :It is a netmon belief among Muslims in a
non-Arabic speaking country that the sermon given before Friday prayers
must be in Arabic, saying that it is not permissible for any language
other than Arabic to be used on the pulpit. What imams do, therefore,
is to give a sermon in the local language prior to Friday prayer. When
the time for Zuhr is called, this is concluded and the imam gives a
short khutbah in Arabic. I shall be grateful for your netments .
A115 : Friday prayer is the one obligatory prayer
which we must offer in congregation. It is offered at midday on Friday,
and preceded by a sermon given by the imam. This sermon is meant to
discuss the situation of the Muslim netmunity and its problems.
Moreover, its purpose is to make worshippers aware of their obligations
towards their Lord and to remind them of the hereafter so that they may
be more conscious of their duties. It has, therefore, a dual purpose;
social and religious. It stands to reason, therefore, that it should be
given in the language which is netmonly understood by the worshippers.
When we say that something is forbidden or not permissible, we must
have a basis for our statement. That evidence can only be a statement
given in the Qur’an or by the Prophet. I can say without any fear of
ever being contradicted that there is nothing in the Qur’an or in the
Sunnah which states that to use any language other than Arabic on the
pulpit or minbar, is forbidden. Whoever makes this assertion cannot
substantiate his claim in any way. We have to remember here that there
is no sanctity for any language as such. It is true that the Qur’an is
in Arabic and the Hadith is also in Arabic. That does not make the
Arabic language sacred. It has been honored by the fact that Allah has
chosen it for His message, but to say that the words of the language
have any sanctity is to make a wild claim. Moreover, Allah tells us in
the Qur’an that He sent messengers to different people. Every messenger
addressed his people in their language. No one used a language which
was not understood by his people. How can we expect, then, an imam to
speak to a congregation of worshippers in a language which they do not
understand? If the congregation is netposed largely of people who do
not speak Arabic, then the imam must give the khutbah or sermon in the
language which they speak. When he quotes from the Qur’an or the
Hadith, he may give that quotation in Arabic and add its translation.
Nothing more is required. The practice which you have mentioned has
benete widely netmon in certain parts in the Muslim world. There is no
need or basis for it. I recognize, however, that it will be very
difficult to change such a habit, unless knowledge of Islam in that
part of the world spreads much more widely.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )