Learning the Language of the Jews

Also during that time, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) called in Zayd ibn Thābit (may Allah be pleased with him) and told him, "O Zayd, learn the writing of the Jews, for I do not trust the Jews with my correspondence" — yā Zaydu taʿallam kitābata Yahūdin fa-innī wa-Allāhi mā āmanu Yahūdan ʿalā kitābī. He did not trust hiring any of them to be his assistant, to read the letters he received from them or to write back to them. Since the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was unlettered, he had to have such assistants to write letters for him and to read the letters he received. There was some correspondence between the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and the Jews, and he wanted a Muslim to be responsible for writing those letters and reading them for him. Zayd ibn Thābit said that he learned the Hebrew language in fifteen days — subḥānallāh, learning a new foreign language in fifteen days shows the persistence and the hard work of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all). Within fifteen days he was ready.

Anyone wishing to learn Arabic could learn a great deal from the example of Zayd ibn Thābit — it should not take years just to take the first step. It took Zayd only fifteen days to learn the whole of it. Learning Arabic is important, very important, and it is worth taking seriously: without the Arabic language, a barrier remains between a person and the understanding of the religion of Allah (swt), since the original text of this religion is in the Arabic language, whether the Qur'an or the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). So it is important to put in the effort to learn Arabic, and where the intention is made, and made sincerely, Allah (swt) will make a way; Allah (swt) will make it easy, and it will be possible to learn it. Only the effort has to be put in, the intention has to be made, and time and money have to be given to it, and Allah (swt) will help with that. If a foreign language that is not strictly necessary as a Muslim can be learned this way, what then of a language that is necessary — the Arabic language?

There is also this to be said: Muslims are not only going to need experts in foreign languages, linguists — Muslims will need people who are able to study the literature of other nations, the political situation of other nations, the economic situation of other nations. That is why it is important for Muslims to learn foreign languages, and to have Muslim experts in each and every important language of the world. Zayd was made to learn Hebrew because that was the language in which the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) had correspondence with the Jews at the time. In later times, correspondence runs to many more nations of the world, and it is important that Muslims learn these foreign languages too.