#1184: Explanation on Supplicating with other than Arabic Language in Salāt

QUESTION:

As Salam alaykum waramatullahi wabarakatu admin , pls can someone use any language to supplicate during prostration in solat? .I will be glad if the yes or No can be back with evidence.

ANSWER:

Wa Alaykum Salām Warahmatullāh Wabarakātuh

Know, may Allāh illumine my heart and yours, that there are 3 possibilities to your question from our understanding.

The first, that by supplication you mean recitations of the Qur’ān.

Second, that you mean the Adh’kār that are done in the Salāh such as Allāhu Akbar, Sami’allāhu liman Hamidah, and the likes.

The Third, that you meant the Du’ā that is done in Sujūd or in Qunūt

As for the First, which is the ruling of Reciting the Qur’ān with other than Arabic as it was sent down to the Rasūl Salallāhu Alayhi Wasallam in Salāh, then the verdict of the Fuqahā, past and present, across most of the Schools of the Cities of Islām is that this is forbidden. This is the position of the Mālikīs, the Shāfi’īs and the Hanbalīs without an iota of difference among them. And the reason for this is clear without a blemish, Allāh already alleviated for the one who haven’t memorized much of the Qur’ān to recite what is easy for him and what he is capable of Reciting when He said:

فَاقْرَأُوا مَا تَيَسَّرَ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ

‘Recite that which is easy (for you) of the Qur’ān”

Why then does someone have to take the burden of Reciting it with other than Arabic? Can’t you see that Allāh in the Qur’ān said:

إِنَّآ أَنزَلْنَٰهُ قُرْءَٰنًا عَرَبِيًّا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ

“We indeed sent it down as an Arabic Qur’ān that you may attain intellect and understanding”

If it were to be recited with an interpreted or translated wording of another language, that would not be the Qur’ān but an interpretation of the meaning. Why then would a person do that in Salāh while Recitation of some parts of the Qur’ān is a Pillar (Rukn) among the Pillars of the Salāh?

Imām Muwaffaquddīn Ibn Quadāmah Al-Maqdisī rahimahullāh said in Al-Mughnī:

“It doesn’t suffice for him that he should recite the Qur’ān in other than Arabic nor that he should change one of it’s words for another in Arabic. This ruling applies whether he knows Arabic well or not”.

As for Abū Hanīfah, rahimahullāh, Ibn ‘Ābidīn mentioned that he allowed it provided the person in question has no ability to recite in Arabic. We say: this position of Abū Hanīfah, even though it aligns with the Sharī’ah Precept of Taysīr (Alleviation during difficulty), it contradicts the Essence of the Qur’ān which is the fact that it must be recited the way it was sent down upon the Rasūl Salallāhu Alayhi Wasallam. For this reason, his Most prominent disciples Abū Yūsuf Ya’aqūb Al-Kūfī and Abū Muhammad Ash-Shaybānī, rahimahumallāh disagreed with him and aligned with the Jam’hūr.

The Second, that you mean by your question, the Adh’kār that are done in the Salāh such as the Takbīr and the likes. This is itself can be divided into two as was mentioned by Shaykhu Al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah rahimahullāh.

As for this category, the position held by Mālik, Is’hāq bn Rāhawayh and the more apparent postiion held by Ahmad is it’s impermissibility. Whereas Ash-Shāfi’ī and Abū Yūsuf held the position that he is free to say them on other than Arabic.

Then the Second Category, these are the Adh’kār that are not obligatory, as for these ones, the agreement is that there is no need for such a person to interpret into other languages for the reason that that Adh’kār was not requirement in the first place. Why then must any other requirement be bent for it’s sake.

Then they differed as to the ruling of the one who still goes ahead in this second category, whether his Salāh is valid or not.

The position held by Mālik, some of the Students of Ash-Shāfi’ī and Is’hāq bn Rāhawayh is that his Salāh becomes invalid if he so goes ahead to do this. Whereas Ash-Shāfi’ī does not consider the Salāh invalidated but deficient and the act to be Harām

And Allāh knows best.

The Third possibility, that you meant the Du’ā generally such as the Du’ā that is done in Sujūd.

As for this, the position of the Imams of Madīnah such as Mālik and Az-Zuhrī is that it is Makruh for the one who knows Arabic but permissible for the one who does not.

The position of Ash-Shāfi’ī and the Imāms in his School was that it was not permissible for the one who knows Arabic but permissible for the one who does not. The Shāfi’ī added that as for the Du’ā that are confirmed from the Rasūl Salallāhu Alayhi Wasallam that he did them, they are the ones that are permissible to be translated and interpreted and said in other than Arabic for the one who is not capable of saying them in Arabic. As for the Du’ā that are not, then it is not permissible entirely and such a person should allow for that outside his Salāh. This is the position favoured by the Hanbalīs too.

In summary, O beloved one, know that:

1. It is not permissible to recite the Qur’ān with other than Arabic, neither in Salāh or outside of it. Whosoever recites the Qur’ān in other languages is not Reciting the Qur’ān but saying it in his interpretation.

2. As for Adh’kār that are obligatory in the Salāh such as Takbiratu Al-I’hrām, the strong position backed by the Sharī’ah is the obligation of saying them in Arabic as the Rasūl Salallāhu Alayhi Wasallam said them and there is no Alleviation for otherwise.

3. As for those that are not Obligatory, there is neither need nor permissibility in saying them in other than Arabic.

4. In the case of Du’ā there is an Alleviation for those who have difficulty with the Arabic language to say them in other than Arabic.

And Allāh knows best.

Bārakallāhu Fīkum
Jazakumullāhu Khayran.

Abū Asīm

15th Safar, 1444AH

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