Du'a in Arabic or English?
INsights 052, Friday 16th August 2024
Du'a in Arabic or English?
INsights 052, Friday 16th August 2024
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This is the first edition of a mini-series on the topic of language and how we might resolve the many oddities and errors in our linguistic perception and practice as believers, both in private and in public. To begin exploring this important theme, the specific subject of du’a felt like a useful starting point.
If it is the case that you mainly or exclusively write and speak to others in English, if you watch, read and listen to content in English, if you think and maybe even dream in English, if God Almighty created the English language – which He did – and if He decreed it to become the most spoken language on the planet – which He has – then here’s a question:
Why don’t you call upon your Lord in English?
Or to use a more common phrase of which I’m not a fan myself:
Why don’t you “make du’a” in English?
If you do, great. You’re one of a small minority amongst English speaking believers.
If you rarely or never do, and are therefore part of the majority, this piece should give you some food for thought… and action.
Why the change of direction?
If you’ve been following the recent editions of this newsletter, then this might seem like a sudden and random change of topic.
My latest writings have been about the importance of us all pursuing a collective vision of prosperous and harmonious societies built on a unifying foundation of monotheism.
So what’s du’a in English got to do with anything?
Well, just as the issue of a deep sense of belonging to one’s people – which I wrote about last week – is a critical pre-condition to a successful mission for monotheism in any society, so is our ability to use language in a way that is effective and relatable.
We need to find much better ways of conveying the principles and value proposition of our worldview and godly way of life in the language that those around us understand.
Linguistically appropriate advocacy is so important that our Lord makes a strong point about it:
“We have never sent a messenger who did not use his own people’s language to make things clear for them…” (14:4)
We also need to help those who are not yet believers feel that they can establish a meaningful relationship with their Lord from within the linguistic and, as far as possible, the cultural parameters to which they are accustomed.
This will be very hard to achieve if we put unnecessary language barriers between them and their Lord, further confirming the common suspicion that true submission to God – islam – is a foreign cultural phenomenon rather than a universal one that they can fully adopt and authentically make their own.
If it feels wrong or weird to you to do something as simple and intuitive as to ask and talk to your Lord in the language you know best, you are missing out on a huge opportunity to improve your connection with Him.
Furthermore, you’re also likely to struggle to bring that sense of connection to others who share the same language as you.
As I’ve been advocating recently, taking on this ambassadorial role isn’t just an option, it’s an obligation.
But the Prophet “made du’a” in Arabic!
Yes, but only because that’s the language he happened to know.
Is the sunnah to call upon God in Arabic specifically?
Or is it to call upon God in a truly heartfelt manner in the language with which you are most familiar?
We need to distinguish between the apparent sunnah – doing precisely what he did – versus the essential sunnah – doing what he most likely would be doing were he to have been sent in our time and place.
It’s not that the final messenger “made du’a” in Arabic, so we should do so in Arabic.
It’s that he called upon His Lord in his language, so we should do so in ours.
The prophets communicated to their people and to their Lord in the same language. If they received scripture, it was also in the same language.
It’s actually quite simple.
What we do nowadays, which is to relate to people in English – with which we are deeply familiar – but to relate to God primarily in Arabic – with which we are relatively unfamiliar or even clueless – seems to be a break from the consistent usage of language across all aspects of life that was the practice of prophets and people generally for thousands of years.
God Himself translates
Moses never said, “Rabbishrali sadri, wa yassirli amri, wahlul ‘uqdatam-mil-lisani, yafqahu qawli.” (20:25-28)
That’s because he didn’t know or speak Arabic. He spoke Hebrew.
So when he interacted with His Lord and was informed about his task to confront Pharaoh, he would have asked for His Lord’s help in Hebrew.
When God later revealed the details of this dialogue to His final messenger in Arabic, He Himself translated the original words of Moses so that the Prophet, peace be upon him, and his Arab contemporaries could make sense of them.
Are we saying that the Arabic translation of this supplication is inherently more meaningful or acceptable to God than the original words spoken in Hebrew by one of His greatest prophets?
Do we think that saying these words in Arabic today in a way that is likely to be unnatural to most of us is superior to simply saying, “My Lord, please lift up my heart, make my task easy and untie my tongue, so that they understand my words,” or something to similar effect?
The specific example of the supplication of Moses being a translation is just one of dozens in revelation. This is simply because most prophets of God and other historical characters found therein didn’t know or speak Arabic either.
A theological conundrum
To insist that there is an inherent superiority in calling upon God in Arabic rather than to convey the substance and meaning of one’s requests in one’s own language is to conclude something that seems quite perverse.
It would be to say that God created this amazing, rich and diverse array of languages as one of the great signs of His majesty and creative power (see 30:22) but then made Himself relatively inaccessible in all but one of them, one that is only spoken and understood well today by a tiny minority of the world’s population.
It would be to say that He gives preferential responses or maybe faster response times to those who call upon Him using this one language, even if they do so less meaningfully, than those who make their requests more naturally in their own languages.
Seriously?
I don’t think so.
Keep it real
Critically, when you read the verses containing the supplications of prophets and others in revelation, you really get a sense of how instinctive, spontaneous and simple their words were.
They were and are significant and magnificent because of their profound meaning, not because of their magical sounds.
As I’ve mentioned, this becomes absolutely evident when you consider that many of the supplications in revelation aren’t even the original words spoken by the individual who said them in the first place.
So the best way to reflect the example of past heroes is not to artificially search for and reel off particular supplications or indeed “du’a lists” in Arabic if you have little familiarity with that language.
Instead, it is to turn seamlessly to God in specific situations or indeed whenever you like, and to express yourself from your heart in a way that is natural, respectful and relevant to your circumstances.
Establishing a new normal
Do keep top of mind that this is all connected with the overarching theme of leadership and the mission of monotheism which is at the heart of my work and which I'm suggesting should be a massive priority for you in your own life. If the connection isn’t yet clear, it will hopefully become clearer in the coming weeks.
There is more to say on this subject of du'a so I’ll continue with this theme next time, God willing, before moving onto other matters relating to our use of language in subsequent editions.
In the meantime, on a very practical note, set aside a few moments right now or at some point today to turn to your Lord, to pour your heart out to Him and to ask Him for whatever you need, using your own words in the language you know best.
If you’re not used to doing this, it may well feel weird at first, but just push through. He’s listening and He understands you fully.
Be expressive in praising and thanking Him, in explaining what you’re going through, in describing your feelings, in asking for solutions to your problems and for whatever else you desire.
Share with Him like you’d share with your best friend.
After all, isn’t that who He is to you?
Appeal to Him like your life depends on it.
After all, isn’t that precisely the case?
When you really open up to Him, He can really open up everything for you.
Make this way your default.
Make it your new normal.
Then just notice what happens in you, for you and all around you as a result.
Until next time.
Iqbal
~~~
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