.:Bullet Proof Read:.

Repeat All. Recycle that knowledge.

Arabic is a most beautiful language. It is the language with which the Word of Allah was revealed, it is the language that the Messenger (sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam) and his companions conversed in (how beautiful it is just to imagine them speak with such faith, piety and humility!) and it is the language that is continuously being studied, kept alive amongst the Muslims. The issue of its deterioration in the community is however unfortunate and we must do our part to learn and help others learn the language, insha Allah.
[check out Arabic Gems for excellent bits and bobs of the language which will increase your love and appreciation for it!]

Part One: Indeed, verily, I must emphasise this.

One of the aspects of the language that I really love is at-Tawkid, the element of emphasis. It is employed through either literal repetition or meaning using letters/words of emphasis. In ‘Ilm al-Ma’ani (part of Balaghah), the level of a statement or khabr is determined by the usage or non-usage of emphasis. There are three levels:

1. Ibtida’i
- No emphasis is used.
- This is where the person spoken to is jahil (ignorant of the matter).
- eg. الإمتحان قريب [The examination is near]

2. Talabi
- Only one element of emphasis is used.
- This is where the person spoken to is in doubt of the matter (taraddud wa shakk).
- eg. إن الإمتحان قريب [Verily the examination is near] Where inna إن is harf tawkid.

3. Inkari
- More than one element of emphasis is used.
- This is where the person spoken to is munkir (informed but defiant towards the information he has).
- eg. إن الإمتحان لقريب جدا جدا [Verily the examination is really very, very near!] where inna, lam at-tawkid and jiddan jiddan are the emphases.

Ok, my explanation might be a bit off and make no sense to those who aren’t learning this part of Arabic. But look to the examples in the Qur’an itself where emphasis is used… And you’d understand the importance of knowing this. Here are just a couple of examples to illustrate the degrees of emphases:

إِنَّ عَذَابَ رَبِّكَ لَوَاقِعٌ
Verily, the Torment of your Lord will surely come to pass
(Surah at-Tur: 7)

وَآتَاكُم مِّن كُلِّ مَا سَأَلْتُمُوهُ وَإِن تَعُدُّواْ نِعْمَتَ اللّهِ لاَ تُحْصُوهَا إِنَّ الإِنسَانَ لَظَلُومٌ كَفَّارٌ

And He gave you of all that you asked for, and if you count the Blessings of Allah, never will you be able to count them. Verily! Man is indeed an extreme wrong-doer, - a disbeliever (an extreme ingrate, denies Allah’s Blessings by disbelief, and by worshipping others besides Allah, and by disobeying Allah and His Prophet Muhammad SAW).
(Surah Ibrahim: 34)

Indeed a lot of the emphasis is lost when we simply read the meanings of the Qur’an in a different language. Truly no other language is able to capture the true cadence, eloquence and magnificent beauty and power of the Word of Allah.

What of the literal repetitions then? We know of these examples in a number of Surahs, one that immediately comes to mind is Surah ar-Rahman, where Allah repeats (learn more about such questioning from this blog post):

فَبِأَيِّ آلَاء رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
Then which of the Blessings of your Lord will you both (jinns and men) deny?
(Surah ar-Rahman: 13)

Yes, we admire the very sound of such ayat from the Qur’an, just reciting them alone brings awe into the heart… But indeed, we are in a loss if we fail to understand the meaning, fail to understand the implications of why Allah says such and such in such a specific manner. When we lack in the understanding, we will certainly lack in the implementation. May Allah help us.

Part Two: Your point being? Your point being?

So what does repetition do to us? Some of us get bored, you see. I hear brothers complaining that the Friday sermons are alwaaaaaays the same thing. Is it always? And even if it is, have you heard the message enough? Is it in you yet? The honest, genuine answer would be a resounding NO.

If the best of Muslims needed to hear about iman, taqwa, sabr, etc. repeatedly, who are we to say we don’t? Have you ever wondered about the numerous, thousands of ahadith on the same subjects… They happened on different occasions and yet their audience are usually the same group of people. Why do they need to be constantly reminded and not us?

وما سُمي الإنسان إلا لنسيه ** ولا القلب إلا أنه يتقلب
“He’s only called man because of his forgetfulness, and it is only called the heart because it changes so rapidly.”

[Read this blog post for a differing view on the root word of al-insan]

When one gets forgetful or he has a very important matter which he must remember, he would go all out to remind himself of it… He puts a note in his diary, sticks up a post-it in his workspace and maybe even gets a family member to remind him. But when it comes to the deen, all these important matters… We sometimes shun the repeated reminders. “Oh, that lecture has been DONE before.”

Instead, we should remain positive and look out for the new information that is being given at this particular lecture, sermon and so on. It is easy for us to appreciate this more if we learn to humble ourselves before the Creator, the All-Knowing. If we are grateful for that knowledge, Allah will increase us in it and its understanding. And do realise as well, that if we’re failing to receive knowledge… That there might be some deficiency, some wrongdoing that is causing the barrier between us and knowledge.

There’s this hadith class that I truly love because even though the teacher would be speaking on a hadith that I’ve heard of before, his sharh of it contains so much knowledge that it’s as though I’m hearing that one hadith for the first time ever. So look out for those aspects in any similar gathering that has you thinking “Oh man, deja vu!”

And how about the very basics of our life? Our salah in which we repeat the Opening, Surah al-Fatihah at least 17 times on a normal day… There’s so much wisdom in that alone. The dhikr of Allah that we are taught to practise. All this and more become part of training our tongues to say that which is best in our everyday life… and more importantly when death approaches us.

I’ve mentioned before how when we constantly remind others, we find it easier to remember those reminders when we ourselves are in need of them.

فَذَكِّرْ إِن نَّفَعَتِ الذِّكْرَى
Therefore remind (men) in case the reminder profits (them).
(Surah al-A’la: 9)

And I remind and encourage myself, before you, to strive in learning the Arabic language. For indeed, with it lies the key to all knowledge.

In the words of a wise man: “The Arabic is so nice.”