What they said about Arabic

[Shajaa3ah]

The language of the Arabs is reckoned as one of the greatest and most wonderful products of the human mind in the field of language construction.

~Dr. Eduard Sachau in an inaugural address delivered before the Academy of Sciences, Berlin, on the 30th of June, 1887,

[Shajaa3ah]

Turning to the far West, we find that in Moorish Spain, too, the Christian subjects had fallen under the 'spell' of Arabic Language and literature. Many of them were so deeply imbued with the Arabic culture that we find a contemporary writer, Alvaro, Bishop of Cordova, bitterly deploring this state of affairs. "My fellow Christians delight in the poems and romances of the Arabs; they study the works of Mohammedan theologians and philosophers, not in order to refute them, but to acquire a correct and elegant Arabic style. Where today can a layman be found who reads the Latin commentaries on Holy Scriptures? Who is there that studies the Gospels, the Prophets, and the Apostles? Alas! The young Christians who are most conspicuous for their talents have no knowledge of any literature or language save the Arabic; they read and study with avidity Arabic books; they amass whole libraries of them at a vast cost; and they sing everywhere the praises of Arabian lore. On the other hand, at the mention of Christian books they disdainfully protest that such works are unworthy of their notice. The pity of it! Christians have forgotten their own tongue, and scarce one in a thousand can be found able to compose in fair Latin a letter to a friend. But when it comes to writing Arabic, how many there are who can express themselves in that language with the greatest elegance, and even compose verses which surpass in formal correctness those of the Arabs themselves!

~ Spanish Islam- English translation by F.G. Stokes Page #268 (London, 1913)

[Shajaa3ah]

When Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), the dominating literary figure of the 18th century, was granted a pension by the British Government in 1762, he is reported to have exclaimed the following:

"Had this happened twenty years ago, I would have gone to Constantinople to learn Arabic as P. Edward did."

~ http://www.wikiquote.org/wiki/Samuel_Johnson

[Shajaa3ah]

What a noble people were the Arabs. We are indebted to them for a great deal of knowledge and many inventions of great utility; and we should have still more to thank them for, were we fully aware 0f the benefits we have received from them. What a pity that their great works should be suffered to molder into dust, without being made available to us; what a shame that those conversant with their rich language should meet with little encouragement. Had I still twenty years to live and could hope for an abundant supply of Arabic works, I WOULD GLADLY LEARN ARABIC.

~John Beckmann (1739-1811), who wrote a history of inventions, in reference to the scientific achievements of the Arabs and to the importance of Arabic in this connection

[Bro Hus]

Edward Benson wrote, " The Basis of Islam is the Arabic Language. If it is lost, Islam is lost!"

Aboo Ubaadah, Ibraaheem ibn Muhammad. Lughat al-Qur'an. Daar al-Watan, Riyadh 1993. Page 59

[Bro Hus]

During the French occupation of Algeria, the French government was advised by its consulate in Algeria, "We will never be able to overpower the Algerians as long as they read the Qur'aan and speak Arabic. Therefore, we must remove the Arabic Qur'aan from their midst, and abolish the Arabic language from their tongues."

Aboo Ubaadah, Ibraaheem ibn Muhammad. Lughat al-Qur'an. Daar al-Watan, Riyadh 1993. Page 44

[Shajaa3ah]

Jazakumullaahu khairan.

Do you have references for them, especially the first?

[Bro Hus]

wa iyyaki
Let me edit the posts
Both quotes are taken from 'An Introduction to the Sciences of the Qur'aan' by Abu Ammar Yasir Qadhi.

[Shajaa3ah]

"A legal scholar once said: 'Only a prophet is able to have perfect command of the Arabic language.' This statement is bound to be true since, as far as we know, no one has ever claimed to have memorised this language in its entirety."

~Ibn Faris, al-Sahibi fi Fiqh al-Lughah p26