Question: Is he sinful the one who reads the Noble Qur’an in other than Arabic? I read and translate the Book Tafsir Ibn Kathir for into English for my brother’s in Islam who are not ‘Arab . I hope I can receive a quick response. Jazakallahu Khairan.
Answer: “verily Allah sent His Noble Book in the Arabic language and it is an Arabic Quran. So it is not allowed to read it in other than Arabic. Its meaning is only translated to other languages in order to understand and learn it. So that they [the Non-Arabic] can benefit from the rulings of His Book. However, it is upon them to learn the wordings of the Quran until they can read it in and outside of prayer in the Arabic language. Verily a translation is the explanation of its meaning, that is, a clarification for those who do not know Arabic. For example, the meaning of the Exalted’s statement:
اللَّهُ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ
Allah! La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the Ever Living,
[2:255]
His statement:
إِلا مَا ذَكَّيْتُمْ وَمَا ذُبِحَ عَلَى النُّصُبِ
unless you are able to slaughter it (before its death) – and that which is sacrificed (slaughtered) on An-Nusub (stone altars).
[5:3]
Like this you explain the meanings of the rulings until they understand it in their language. It is not the language of Quran, verily it is the explanation and translation. Verily the Quran is in Arabic as Allah sent it down. The scholars who understand other languages should translate its meanings to our Muslim brothers so that they understand it. Also for the non-Muslims in order to call them to Allah and clarify the rulings of Allah until the non-Muslim understands the reality of the Quran and what is in it from knowledge. That can be a cause for him to enter into Islam”.
[Taken from Noor ‘ala Darb (26/330)]
Translated by
Faisal Ibn Abdul Qaadir Ibn Hassan
Abu Sulaymaan
