Language, in
general, is a shared code, tacitly known by “all” speakers of a language and
linguistics is the study of human languages and natural language in general. Where
language is seen as a mere means of communication among members of human
communities, Islam considers language far beyond than that, where language is
one of the uncountable blessings of Allah as well as a distinctive quality of
humankind. It is with language that enables a normal human-being to proclaim
his faith in Allah and the religion of Islam.
Ali Ibn Abi Talib narrated from the Prophet S.A.W:
“Iman (faith)
is established by a knowledge in heart, utterance in tongue, and action of
organs.”
In comparison
to other creatures, language acts as a complement to the mind as to establish
the human’s superiority over other creations of Allah. The Qur’an too (Surah Ar-Rahman:
4 -1) has referred to language as a means of expression in the context of enumerating
various types of mercy of Allah. It also relates the blessing of language expression
together with revelation of the Qur’an and creation of humankind.
الرَّحْمَٰنُ
﴿١﴾ عَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ﴿۲﴾
خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ
﴿۳﴾ عَلَّمَهُ الْبَيَانَ﴿٤﴾
“The Most Gracious. It is He who has taught us the Qur’an. He
has created man. He has taught him an intelligent expression.”(55: 1 – 4)
The position of
linguistic expression has been allocated from the time of the human creation
where Prophet Adam was taught the names of all things so that he may explore
the world.
In Islam, as
mentioned before, language is a gift from Allah and it is also under His
control that enables human beings to have the ability to use language, or be
granted the organs for this ability, especially on the Day of Judgment. The Qur’an
says:
الْيَوْمَ
نَخْتِمُ عَلَىٰ أَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَتُكَلِّمُنَا أَيْدِيهِمْ وَتَشْهَدُ أَرْجُلُهُم
بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ﴿٦٥﴾
“The Day shall
we set a seal on their mouths. But their hands will speak to us, and their feet
bear witness to all that they did.”(36:65)
Needless to
say, Allah has the sole power and control to grant the capability to communicate
through language be it the ability to speak in early childhood like the story
of Isa a.s. (5:110), still creatures and other non-human speaking a human
language (27:82), and such as the case of Sulaiman a.s. where was given the
opportunity to understand communications among animals and converse with them
(27:16).
Prepared by: Ida Nadirah
Prepared by: Ida Nadirah
References:
Abdussalam, A. S. (1999). Islam and Language. Kuala Lumpur:
Al-Hilal Publishing.
Fromkin, V. A., Rodman, R., & Hyams, N. (2007). What is
Language?. An Introduction to Language (8th Edition ed., pp. 3-28). Boston:
Thomson Wadsworth.
