The Arabic language

Arabic is a Semitic language. It is very similar to Hebrew, but its pronunciation differs from most European languages, making it very difficult for foreigners to pronounce.

We do not know the history of the emergence of the Arabic language as we know it now, but we know from Arabic poetry that was written a century before the appearance of Muhammad that the Arabic language had reached its present level of perfection.

Indeed, the Arabic language includes many dialects, but Muslim writers unanimously agreed that the dialect of the tribe of Muhammad was distinguished by being the most eloquent of the Arab dialects. The influence of the Qur’an was such that it made the dialect in which it was written a common language.

The Arabic language is one of the most harmonious languages, and there is no doubt that it has different dialects in Syria, the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, Algeria, and elsewhere. This difference is only in form. You will see a Moroccan easily understand the dialect of the Egyptians or the dialect of the inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula, for example, even though the inhabitants of the northern French villages do not understand a word of the dialects of the inhabitants of the southern villages in France. Listen to what the traveler Burckhard said, who is considered an authority on this subject:

There is undoubtedly a great difference in the dialects of colloquial Arabic, more than in any other language, probably, but it is not difficult for you to understand them all if you learn one of them, despite the vastness of the countries in which its people speak it, which are located between the city of Mughadir (Al-Suwayrah) and the city of Muscat. The difference in the nature of the countries may have an effect on the difference in those dialects, which are sweet in the valleys of Egypt.

And Iraq is the lower part of the country, and dry in Syria and the mountains of the land of the Berbers, and the greatest difference, as I know, is between the dialect of the Moroccans in Marrakesh and the dialect of the Bedouins near Mecca in the Hijaz, but this difference between these two dialects is no more than the difference between the dialect of the peasants of Swabia (southern Germany) and the dialect of the peasants of Saxon (northern Germany) .

Figure 2-1 : A Persian-Arab style inkwell made of silver-inlaid copper (from

(Photograph by the author).

The Arabic language, then, has changed little since the time of Muhammad, but the script has undergone a major change. The first script known as Kufic, which is said to have been invented in the city of Kufa, was difficult to read because it lacked vowels. This script was transformed around the eighth century AD by introducing the basics of form and vowel signs while continuing to use Kufic script in writing. This made it very difficult to infer the antiquity of these writings from the letters engraved on them.

And what we said in another chapter about religion, we say the same about the Arabic language. Although the conquerors who appeared before the Arabs were unable to impose their languages ​​on the conquered nations, the Arabs were able, on the contrary, to impose their language on them. When the Arabic language became common in all the countries they conquered, it replaced the languages ​​that were there, such as Syriac, Greek, Coptic, Berber, etc., and the Arabic language had the same fate for a long time, even in Persia, despite the awakening of the Persians. That is, the Arabic language remained in Persia the language of the people of literature and science, and the Persians continued to write their language in Arabic letters, and what Persia knew of theology and other sciences was written in the Arabic language. The Arabic language in this part of Asia had a status similar to that of the Latin language in the Middle Ages, and the Turks, who conquered the Arabs, claimed it for themselves.

Arabic calligraphy, and you will not find in Turkey a person with some education who cannot easily understand the language of the Qur’an.

The only exceptions to this were the European Latin nations, for whom Arabic did not replace their ancient languages. However, the Arabic language has a profound influence on the Latin languages, and Dozy and Angelman compiled a dictionary of Spanish and Portuguese words derived from the Arabic language.

The Arabic language left an important impact on France itself. Sedillot stated, and it is true, that “the prevailing dialects of the French states of Auvergne and Limousin are filled with Arabic words, and that the proper names in them have an Arabic tinge.”

This author said: It is natural that France and Italy should borrow from the Arabs, who had been masters of the Mediterranean since the eighth century AD, most of the maritime terms such as: Amiral, Escadre, Corvette, Frégate, Flotte, Caravelle, Felouque, Chaloupe, Sloop, Barque, Chiourme, Darse, Calfat, Estacade, and especially the compass Boussole, which was unjustly attributed to the Chinese, and that their armies should borrow the titles of Muslim army officers, expressions of the rage of war, and the use of gunpowder, bombs, firecrackers, and shells, and that they should take from the government of Baghdad and the government of Cordoba administrative terms such as: Syndic, Aides, Gabelle, Taille, Tarif, Douane, and Bazar, and that the kings of the French Third Dynasty should imitate the Arabs in some way and take from them most of the fishing terms such as: Chasse, Maute, Laisse, Curée, Hallali, and Core de Chasse and Fanfares, as well as the word: Tournoi, which modern linguists consider to be derived from the word Torneamentium, and more important than all of this are the scientific terms that we have borrowed from the Arabs. Our astronomy is full of Arabic expressions such as Azimuts, Zénith, and Nadir, and with Arabic terms for the parts of the astrolabe such as: Alidade and Alancabuth, and with the names of the planets such as: Aldébaran, Rigel, Althair, Wéga, Acarnar, and Aghol. The same can be said about mathematics, where we took from the Arabs the terms: Chiffres, Zéro, Algébre, etc., and the same can be said about chemistry, where we took from them the terms: Alchimie, Alcohol, Alcali, Alambic, etc., and the same can be said about natural history and medicine, where we took from them the terms: Bol, Elixir, Sirops, Juleps, Sorbet, Mirobolans, etc., and the word: Haschich, from which the word: is derived. Assassins

The author of a recent French etymological dictionary claimed that the Arabs’ stay in southern France had no effect on the dialects or the language. The lack of value of this opinion is evident from what we have said above, and it is strange that some intellectuals would repeat such a claim.

The Arabic language is very rich, and its richness has increased with the constant addition of new expressions that have seeped into it from the dialects with which it has come into contact. Look at the dictionary compiled by Ibn Sidah, who died in 1065 AD, and you will find that it contains twenty volumes.