Aga Khan on Arabic as National Language of Pakistan

[flameboard]

Arabic as a Pakistani national language is a bit too much. Though Persian might be worth considering. I consider Persian because the Pakistani nation is literally killing Urdu, the nation has started replacing Urdu words with English ones, even though the words we have are much better words in comparison mainly in terms of expression. The pride in speaking Urdu is dying we need to either revive it or replace it with Persian. But replacing the national language with Persian should be more of a back up plan.

Urdu is a young language and many works of Urdu literature were destroyed in its Golden ages, so that the British could introduce Christianity and impose their ideas. Our language was weakened. If we must preserve our language and our nation we must eliminate all traces of English from Urdu as possible. Replace them with Persian, Arabic and the indigenous languages of Pakistan. We must also revive our culture, our film industry is failing, most of our songs and our movies are mostly a copy of Indian or American works, such things don't satisfy us and therefore do not work. Poets can play a great role in this. If we revive our language and improve it and work on, it will sound nothing like Hindi, if we are successful in doing this our language will be among the greatest in the world.


Here are steps you can take:

*Learn to read and write Urdu
*Learn to write at least basic Urdu poetry
*Limit your exposure to Indian media, play songs sung by Pakistani musicians
*Watch Pakistani movies, (old Pakistani movies contain a lot of Urdu/Pakistani culture)
*When speaking Urdu eliminate all traces of English, (buy an Urdu dictionary) if there is no Urdu for word whatever you want to say, use the internet and translate those words into Persian.
* Do what you can to encourage Pakistani media culture, that doesn't copy others.
*Encourage others to do the same, make them feel ashamed of speaking English with Urdu whenever there is an alternative to it
* Never be ashamed of being a Pakistani
*I saved the most important for last, ELIMINATE CLASS SYSTEM. Just because somebody is poorer than you doesn't make that person any less of a person. Treat everyone as equals. The class system destroys any and every society it touches.

A large part of Urdu has been to promote peace be respectful and to create art. Please remember these things when socializing with people.

Eventually our language will make a come back.

Fact:
*If Urdu had been given more time to develop it could become equal to or exceeded Arabic, Persian and English
*Even English copied a lot of things from Arabic, Persian and Urdu

Lets nurture this language, culture, and nation to be one of the greatest.

One last thing I want to add is that many foreigners are trying to influence Pakistani culture so be on the look out for them, sometimes such influences can destroy a nation, many are doing it for their personal benefit whatever it may be, the British have done this many times successfully.

 

[Kambojaric]

Think we should in future maybe if things improve and the education sector recieves more money, then have the choice to choose one of several foriegn languages in high school like they do here in europe. We had to choose between French, Spanish and German in Sweden. Why not have Persian, Arabic as second language choice in school?

But Urdu IS a big part of of the identity of Pakistan. Urdu was the language of Indias muslims and this land was made for the muslims of India. Hence it is only natural that Urdu should be its language.

 

[waraich66]

Think we should in future maybe if things improve and the education sector recieves more money, then have the choice to choose one of several foriegn languages in high school like they do here in europe. We had to choose between French, Spanish and German in Sweden. Why not have Persian, Arabic as second language choice in school?

But Urdu IS a big part of of the identity of Pakistan. Urdu was the language of Indias muslims and this land was made for the muslims of India. Hence it is only natural that Urdu should be its language.

Arabic is language of Quran , Pakistan was made for Muslims of India so better Arabic should be national language .

 

[Patriot]

Sorry but your half baked theory won't be accepted by large part of our population>We're not arbi slaves.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Arabic is language of Quran , Pakistan was made for Muslims of India so better Arabic should be national language .

well why Pakistan then --why not all Muslim countries?

do you really think an Azeri, or a Turk, or Senegalese or especially a Persian will surrender their language --which is a huge part of their culture????

Not a chance! Even if by force, they would resist.

so why on earth should we adopt Arabic as our national language? We arent Arabs!!


we have similar vocabularys and alphabet/writing. Arabic can by all means be taught in school, we should encourage that. But to adopt it as our national language is a ridiculous idea. I personally would resist such a move.

 

[Patriot]

So would i..this guy has a crush on arabs!

 

[DESERT FIGHTER]

Well urdu is not our mother tongue?
But i dnt buy this crap...

On the lighter note lets make spanish our national lingo.

Such b.s makes me very bukin angry!!
Im happy with urdu,balochi or any other regional language of Pakistan...

Most of us r proud of our culture.

buk east,west,south,north we da best!

PAK SARZAMEEN.

 

[Arch Angel]

Arabic is language of Quran , Pakistan was made for Muslims of India so better Arabic should be national language .

Mjhe nhi lgta k Quran me aisa kahin bhi likha he k muslims ko sirf arbi hi bolni chaie

 

[waraich66]

well why Pakistan then --why not all Muslim countries?

do you really think an Azeri, or a Turk, or Senegalese or especially a Persian will surrender their language --which is a huge part of their culture????

Not a chance! Even if by force, they would resist.

so why on earth should we adopt Arabic as our national language? We arent Arabs!!


we have similar vocabularys and alphabet/writing. Arabic can by all means be taught in school, we should encourage that. But to adopt it as our national language is a ridiculous idea. I personally would resist such a move.

Better if all muslim countries accept Arabic as national language , then we can think about single currency and defence also

Unity is strength , EU is better example to understand .

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Better if all muslim countries accept Arabic as national language , then we can think about single currency and defence also

Unity is strength , EU is better example to understand .

my brother;

first of all -- Eid Mubarak to you and to others.

I would first ask you to think realistically and less idealistically. Yes -- ideally -- it would be IDEAL if all Muslims spoke the same language. But language is a huge part of culture. And given the size of Muslim world --there is HUUUUGE array of cultures within.

Just look at Pakistan where Mashallah we have so much diversity and heritage. How can we negate that by adopting a foreign tongue. We dont have those sounds in our language, we dont have those accent.

We cannot surrender the words and sounds which we have been hearing since our birth. That is like surrendering our manhood and honour; our identity.



by the way even in EU there is no common language. You have Greek, German, French, Swedish, etc. Single market/currency yes, but that is due to common borders and proximity. Muslim world exists on several continents. There is a larger gap between Islamic/Muslim majority countries and the levels of industrialization and economic/political stability within


as for defence -- that wont happen since there is too much internal politics (e.g. Iran & Saudi Arabia; Egypt & Sudan; etc. etc.)...lets first build our own countries and make them strong. Unite. Fortify ourselves.


before delving into language, lets first reform education and make it easily accesible to the poor

 

[khanz]

Better if all muslim countries accept Arabic as national language , then we can think about single currency and defence also

Unity is strength , EU is better example to understand .

yes lets help erode our culture and get rid of our native languages and replace it with a foreign one just coz we share the same religion whats next lets start calling ourselves arab too oh wait........

 

[T-Faz]

Better if all muslim countries accept Arabic as national language , then we can think about single currency and defence also

Unity is strength , EU is better example to understand .

I find your reasoning for this suggestion to be devoid of any logic, how can accepting Arabic as a national language lead to a single currency and/or unified defense.

All the Arab nations in the Middle East share the same language but they have neither been able to unite or work together to achieve something substantial.

If we were to accept Arabic as a national language, we would be internationally ridiculed and once again the whole identity crisis issue would be raised. But this time it would be confirmed with such an illogical and useless move.

Unity is strength only when all the parties involved have equal and fair say in the matters that have to be dealt with. The Arabs have would give others no such chance and neither would any other self respecting nation for e.g.Turkey.

We are Pakistani's, Urdu is our national language and an official language too with English. Similarly our provinces have their own respective national languages. We have our own culture and our own identity, we must and forever uphold it for our own sake.

Arabic can be taught in schools as a compulsory or optional subject. Nothing more than that.

 

[AbubakrOmarUthmanAli]

Agha khan is a man of vision and always seeks new ideas for muslim unity. I agree Pakistan and Arabs are brothers they share same religion which is more important than culture.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

what about non-Muslims in Pakistan??? we'll just leave them out?

common yaar, cant do that.

 

[Quwa]

Fas'ha (classical/scholarly) Arabic is the best means to the goal of developing a potent Islamic intellectualism in the sense of fully understanding Quran, developing Islamic law, and cementing full access to most Classical Islamic works. Even when it comes to understanding how Islam tries to harmonize Muslim relations with non-Muslim minorities in the fairest manner, fas'ha Arabic is the best key. Why? Because to date most of the works of the classical scholars remain in fas'ha Arabic.

The fas'ha Arabic language should never be tied with the current culture with the Arabs, but rather the fact that it was the language in which the Quran was conveyed to for all of humanity, and for the fact that Prophet (saw) spoke this language. I am not saying that learning fas'ha Arabic will make us good Muslims, but I do know that if good Muslims learn fas'ha Arabic, they will become much stronger in their convictions and knowledge - and their confidence to work for change.

That said, Arabic need not replace Urdu. If Arabic is the language of state and governance, then Urdu is the language of correspondence and protecting Islamic identity in South Asia.

In any case, here is the tafsir (scholarly interpretation) of Surah Yusuf (Quran 12:2) about Quran being sent in Arabic by ibn Kathir:

(Verily, We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur'an in order that you may understand.) The Arabic language is the most eloquent, plain, deep and expressive of the meanings that might arise in one's mind. Therefore, the most honorable Book, was revealed in the most honorable language, to the most honorable Prophet and Messenger , delivered by the most honorable angel, in the most honorable land on earth, and its revelation started during the most honorable month of the year, Ramadan. Therefore, the Qur'an is perfect in every respect.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir - Quran Tafsir - Qualities of the Qur'an

And a contemporary tafsir of the same exact verse:

http://quran-tafsir.org/yusuf.pdf

In the next part of the ayah Allah (swt) says “so that you may understand”. So we see here that the reason why Allah (swt) has revealed this Quran as an Arabic Quran is so that we may understand. All of the other languages in which the previous scriptures were revealed are now dead. People do not speak Aramaic or Sanskrit anymore, these languages are dead. But the Arabic language today is still alive, it is still spoken by many in the way that it was spoken when the Quran was revealed. The same Arabic that the Quran was revealed in is still present in the world today. Although the Arabic of the Ummah has weakened significantly, it is still there and so the Quran can still be understood. Allah (swt) has preserved this beautiful language over the centuries and thus preserved the understanding of His (swt)’s Book.

So we see that any attempt to understand the Quran, any attempt to approach the Quran, must be made through the Arabic language. One of the attributes of the Quran is that it is an Arabic Quran so the way to understand the Quran must be through the Arabic language. Not only the Arabic language but the Arabic language as it was spoken at the time of the Prophet (saw). The pure Arabic language. We know that the Arabic language became corrupted over the centuries and this corrupted Arabic is not what we use to understand the Quran. Rather the Quran must be understood with the Arabic that was spoken when it was sent down. So for you to understand each word in every ayah you have to look and see how the Arabs at the time of the Prophet (saw) used that word. This is an Arabic Quran and so this is the way to understand it.

Of course the lesson that we can take from this part of the ayah is to see how important it is for us to learn the Arabic language. Learning Arabic must be a lifelong endeavor for every Muslim. If you are serious about doing any kind of work for Islam, if you want to serve this Din, if you want to receive the Pleasure of Allah (swt), then you must spend a significant portion of your time learning Arabic. Umar (ra) commanded us to learn Arabic and he (ra) reminded us that it was surely a part of our Din. The people to whom Umar (ra) spoke at that time probably already knew a great deal of Arabic and he (ra) still encouraged them to learn the language. Think then how pressing is the need for us to learn the language.

And then the opinion of Imam Shafi'i rrh:

Imam Al-Shafii outlined in his celebrated book of Usul (foundations of jurisprudence) entitled Al-Risalah the following: “Allah (swt) has made it an obligation upon all nations to learn the Arabic tongue following their address with the Qur'an and their worshipping by it.”

http://islamicsystem.blogspot.com/2008/10/...n-of-draft.html