In the name of Allah,
Most Gracious, Most Merciful,
Praise be to Allah,
the Cherisher and Sustainer of the Worlds,
and Peace and Prayer be upon the Final Prophet and Messenger. Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Quran
***
While I was reciting the Quran, I came across this hadith,
It got me thinking about how we tend to focus on using the Arabic jargons whenever we talked about Islam. For those who are involved in the weekly circles or halaqah, perhaps they would understand and they would be able to relate pretty easily but how are those who didn't join such circles would react?
Personally, before I joined usrah myself, I have zero knowledge pertaining Islam back in my early days of being a Muslim. I got bored so easily and to ask about the meaning of those terms is too much of a hassle because it was just too abundant. And sometimes those terms are used so redundantly that I fail to grasp the message that the person is trying to deliver because I was so focused on trying to figure out the meaning of the jargons used. And also because those terms sounded so alien to my ears, I feel more alienated and demotivated to want to know more. Is that the real aim of tarbiyyah (education)?
What is so wrong with using the term 'berusaha' or 'struggle' instead of 'jihad'? Does it make the message less Islamic? I don't think so.
The purpose of talking about religious matters in the first place is to educate the listener. So when we say we want to educate of course we would want them to understand what we're saying right?
So yeah, it does sound pretty cool using Arabic terms, sounds more Islamic (I guess), but for non Arab speakers, especially those who are still new in trying to become better Muslims, usually instead of focusing on the 'ilm or knowledge, they focus more on the matters pertaining the heart. So in order to reach the heart, we should deliver the message using the 'mother tongue' of the listener, as long as it does not involve cussing or inappropriate words.
I am not saying that it is wrong to use usrah jargons, but I'm just saying, let it be at the level of the listener. We shouldn't expect them to be of the same level of tarbiyyah (education) that we had. Just imagine, is it fair to use Add Maths terms to a kid who just recently learned how to count? It's not, isn't it?
It's okay to use those terms, only if you explained about it afterwards.
After all, we want to educate, not complicate.
Salam alaik and peace out~
Most Gracious, Most Merciful,
Praise be to Allah,
the Cherisher and Sustainer of the Worlds,
and Peace and Prayer be upon the Final Prophet and Messenger. Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Quran
***
While I was reciting the Quran, I came across this hadith,
Ali r.a. berkata, "Hendaklah kamu menasihati orang lain sesuai dengan tingkat kemampuan mereka. Adakah kamu semua senang sekiranya Allah dan Rasul-Nya didustakan sebab kurangnya pengertian yang ada pada mereka itu?" (HR Bukhari, 84)
It got me thinking about how we tend to focus on using the Arabic jargons whenever we talked about Islam. For those who are involved in the weekly circles or halaqah, perhaps they would understand and they would be able to relate pretty easily but how are those who didn't join such circles would react?
Personally, before I joined usrah myself, I have zero knowledge pertaining Islam back in my early days of being a Muslim. I got bored so easily and to ask about the meaning of those terms is too much of a hassle because it was just too abundant. And sometimes those terms are used so redundantly that I fail to grasp the message that the person is trying to deliver because I was so focused on trying to figure out the meaning of the jargons used. And also because those terms sounded so alien to my ears, I feel more alienated and demotivated to want to know more. Is that the real aim of tarbiyyah (education)?
 |
| Merely for illustration purposes |
What is so wrong with using the term 'berusaha' or 'struggle' instead of 'jihad'? Does it make the message less Islamic? I don't think so.
The purpose of talking about religious matters in the first place is to educate the listener. So when we say we want to educate of course we would want them to understand what we're saying right?
So yeah, it does sound pretty cool using Arabic terms, sounds more Islamic (I guess), but for non Arab speakers, especially those who are still new in trying to become better Muslims, usually instead of focusing on the 'ilm or knowledge, they focus more on the matters pertaining the heart. So in order to reach the heart, we should deliver the message using the 'mother tongue' of the listener, as long as it does not involve cussing or inappropriate words.
I am not saying that it is wrong to use usrah jargons, but I'm just saying, let it be at the level of the listener. We shouldn't expect them to be of the same level of tarbiyyah (education) that we had. Just imagine, is it fair to use Add Maths terms to a kid who just recently learned how to count? It's not, isn't it?
It's okay to use those terms, only if you explained about it afterwards.
After all, we want to educate, not complicate.
Salam alaik and peace out~
"Sometimes we can't just say "Allah has a better plan for us."
We have to believe He does."
true that!
ReplyDeletethis is the same problem in every other field too. not just in Islamic matters.
it is so frustrating to see someone going on 'oh but that hadith is weak because of *jargon* and the other one is better due to the *jargon* and so we conclude that this is the correct way based on *jargon*'.
study not so high but talk with mouth muffled in the clouds. pfft.