Articles

The Language Unjustly Treated in Media
Author : Dr. Hassan Abu_Arqoub
Date Added : 12-10-2022

The Language Unjustly Treated in Media

 

World Arabic Language Day is celebrated every year on 18 December. The date coincides with the day in 1973 that the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted Arabic as the sixth official language of the Organization.

If we ponder upon the situation of the Arabic language in media, we will be extremely saddened by the amount of negligence and abuse it has experienced despite being an official language of United Nations. 

Instead of reinforcing this language, instilling it in the minds of the younger generations, and straightening their tongue with it, media is waging undeclared war against it.

 

First Model: As heard on some radios and satellite channels, colloquial Arabic is used. This deprived listeners from tasting the sweetness of this mother tongue and gave prevalence to the non-standard version.

Even more astounding is that some broadcasters working for Jordanian radios speak non-Jordanian dialects. You would hear, for example, Natrinkum, Khalikun Ma`na, La Tfillo, Haida, and Laik. We respect every dialect but this eliminates our Jordanian dialect and adds insult to injury. Therefore, it isn`t strange that some shop owners were affected by this colloquial Arabic to the extent of writing (Ahwah) instead of (Gahwah).

 

Second Model: Speaking a foreign language. Some Arab media persons try to give the impression that they are educated and civilized through speaking different languages. When he/she coughs, he/she says: "Sorry." When he/she interrupts someone, he/she says, "Excuse me" and so on. Even more gruesome is that names of foreign programs are transliterated. For example, (اراب ايدول), (سوبر ستار), (اكس فاكتور). As if we are unable to translate their meanings, with my own reservation on the content of such programs for this is another story.

 

Third Model: Linguistic and Grammatical Errors. This is like an open-ended sea. I remember correcting my language through listening to BBC broadcasters of the Arabic section. However, now I have to correct their mistakes so that my own children don`t learn them, because media is an effective tool in either educating or making people ignorant. One linguistic mistake is using the word (Nalfit) in the expression "Nalfit Enayat Assadah AlMoshahideen" to mean "Attract" while it means the opposite. An example on a grammatical mistake is the word (جميلةٍ) in the sentence "شهدت عمان مبارياتٍ جميلة. This word should be (جميلةً), not (جميلةٍ).

Since language expresses the identity of its speakers, it is imperative that we re-embrace our beloved language and learn it better, in addition to conducting proofreading on language used in media. This is because media makes generations, builds their intellect, and corrects their language. Actually, assassinating language is as bad as assassinating character. Rather, it is worse since it destroys the identity and civilization of a whole nation.

Non-Arabs have even given respectable testament to the Arabic language. The famous German literary figure Goethe said: "No other language has ever achieved this degree of harmony between the spirit, the word and the calligraphy as the Arabic language; a strange consistency in the same body."

I`m definitely a lover of this language, and call on everybody to be as such.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on performing dry ablution (tayammum) instead of the ritual bath due to severe cold?

Whoever is sick such that he cannot use water, or finds the water cold and heating it is not possible, and the person would be harmed by using cold water, it is permissible for him to perform tayammum. He must make up what he prayed with tayammum, because this is a place where there is water. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on a menstruating woman (ḥā'iḍ) reciting the Islamic ruqyah (Qur'anic/spiritual healing)?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is permissible for a person in a state of janābah (major ritual impurity), or a menstruating woman (ḥā'iḍ), or a woman in postpartum bleeding (nufasā'), to recite for the purpose of ruqyah (spiritual/Qur'anic healing), even if this includes some verses of the Noble Qur'an — whether recited from memory or by looking at the Muṣ-ḥaf (the physical copy of the Qur'an) without touching or carrying it — provided that the intention behind the recitation is ruqyah, protection (taḥṣīn), and remembrance (dhikr), not the intention of tilāwah (Qur'anic recitation as an act of worship in itself). This remains permissible even if what is recited is an entire sūrah, such as Sūrat al-Mulk.
Imam al-Khaṭīb ash-Shirbīnī (raḥimahullāh) said: "It is lawful for a person in janābah to utter its [the Qur'an's] remembrances and other content — such as its admonitions, its narratives, and its rulings — so long as it is not with the intention of [reciting] Qur'an. [This is] like his saying upon mounting [a vehicle]: 'Glory be to Him Who has subjected this to us, and we could never have accomplished this [by ourselves]' [Sūrat az-Zukhruf: 13] — meaning, [could never have] been capable of it — or upon a calamity: 'Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we shall return'... In fact, my teacher, ash-Shihāb ar-Ramlī, issued a fatwā that even if he recited the entire Qur'an without the intention of [reciting] Qur'an, it would be permissible." [Summarized from Mughnī al-Muḥtāj, Vol. 1/P.217] And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

Who is "the poor" entitled to receive Zakah (obligatory charity)?

The poor is the one who has neither money nor a source of living, or has either of them, but it isn`t sufficient such as being in need for a hundred/JDs, and having an income of forty/JDs only.

Does the intention (niyyah) of the principal (muwakkil) suffice for the sacrifice (dhabḥ) of the udhiyyah?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
If a person appoints an agent (wakīl) to perform the slaughter (dhabḥ) on their behalf, the intention (niyyah) of the principal (the one appointing the agent) suffices, and there is no need for the agent to have this intention himself. In fact, even if the agent is unaware that he is performing the sacrifice on someone's behalf as an udhiyyah (sacrificial offering), this does not affect its validity. And Allah, the Most High, knows best.