Why Should a Muslim Offer Prayer in Arabic?
BEING a universal religion, Islam is meant for all people with their different languages. Although Arabic is the language of the Qur’an and Islamic heritage, Islam did not aim at eradicating other languages that are mother tongues of Muslims in some parts of the globe. Islam views the differences of human tongues as one of the Signs of Allah in His creation. This is proven by the fact that Arabic is not the native tongue of the majority of Muslims. However, 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 School of thought. It is well known that during their service of worship (Salat), Muslims employ only the Arabic language: They recite certain passages of the Qur’an and pronounce certain formulae to attest to the sublimity of Allah 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 t
