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Question
Assalamualikum,
Answer Wa alaikum assalaam wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuh. We are not able to draw a parallel between reading too quickly and a language barrier, and worry that some may stop reading or reciting the Qur'an if they thought there was a parallel. We do not possess the qualifications needed to make such a comparison. At the same time, there is a lot to be said about reading the Qur'an and understanding it in Arabic. Allah ta'aalaa in the Glorious Qur'an explains that the Qur'an is a guidance for mankind. Some deomonstrative aayaat followed by the translation of the explanation of the meaning are:
Alif Lam Ra'. A book which We have revealed to you [O Mohammed], that you might bring mankind out of darkness into the light by permission of their Lord-to the path of the Exalted in Might, the Praiseworthy. Ar-Ra'd 1 (14:1)
O mankind, there has come to you instruction from your Lord and healing for whatis in the breats and guidance and mercy for the believers. Yunus 57 (10:57).
And thus We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur'an and have diversified therein the warnings that perhaps they will avoid [sin] or it would cause them remembrance. Ta Ha 113 (20: 113)
We see from these aayaat, that the Qur'an is in Arabic and is a guidance for us and a light. We need then, to understand it to apply it to our lives. The translations of the meanings of the aayaat are done by humans and never can do justice to the words of Allah. Our goal then should be to learn Arabic and increase our vocabulary so we can be affected by the Qur'an the way it was meant to affect mankind.
A question was asked of Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid at www.islam-qa.com about the Arabic language, and in part of his reply is the following quote: …"the Arabic language itself is part of Islam, and knowing Arabic is an obligatory duty. If it is a duty to understand the Qur’aan and Sunnah, and they cannot be understood without knowing Arabic, then the means that is needed to fulfil the duty is also obligatory. There are things which are obligatory on all individuals (fard ‘ayn), and others which are obligatory on the community or ummah (fard kifaayah, i.e., if some people fulfil them the rest are relieved of the obligation). This is the meaning of the report narrated by Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah who said: ‘Eesa ibn Yoonus told us from Thawr from ‘Umar ibn Yazeed that ‘Umar wrote to Abu Moosa al-Ash’ari (may Allaah be pleased with him) and said: ‘learn the Sunnah and learn Arabic; learn the Qur’aan in Arabic for it is Arabic.’ According to another hadeeth narrated from ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him), he said: ‘Learn Arabic for it is part of your religion, and learn how the estate of the deceased should be divided (faraa’id) for these are part of your religion.’ This command of ‘Umar, to learn Arabic and Sharee’ah, combines the things that are needed, for religion involves understanding words and actions. Understanding Arabic is the way to understand the words of Islam, and understanding the Sunnah is the way to understand the actions of Islam…”" End of quote from islam-qa.com. What can be done, and was done by some of the righteous predecessors, is that if you have a great portion of the Qur'an memorized, or all of it memorized, and you feel that you lack in the understanding the whole meaning, is have two review schedules. One for keeping up what you have memorized, which will be a large amount per day, and another for understanding and conteplating the meaning, in which you read an aayaah, try to learn the meaning of the words, and use a tafseer in the language of your choice to get a grasp on the meaning. This second schedule will be a slow one, at a pace you set for yourself. The more you do this, looking up words, and learning the meaning, the quicker you will understand what you recite in the quicker review schedule. The ultimate goal of our recitation should be understanding the meaning in Arabic and applying it to our lives. We know of many non-Arabs who have learned the Qur'an and Arabic to the point that they can read it and understand its meaning, some of these Muslims are converts. It took years of work, but they were able to accomplish it, by Allah's Will and Mercy. The following link has a good article about the importance of Arabic for the Muslim: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/4222/arabic.html
You seem to be an avid student of the Qur'an, and probably understand a lot more than you think of the Qur'an. Push forward in learning Arabic and insha' Allah you will be able to recite with complete comprehension. May Allah make it easy for you. Wa iyyaakum and you are most welcome, and pray that this of use to you and all non-Arabs learning the Qur'an.
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warned against reading the Qur'an without understanding the meaning". Here is
my concern; Multitude of Muslims who are not well versed in Arabic, myself
included, recite the Qur'an without understanding the meaning. Is there a
parallel between unable to understand the meaning of glorious Qur'an because
of the language barrier, and, unable to understand the meaning because the
Qur'an is read at a faster pace than it should be?
