The Status of the Arabic Language in Islam: Scriptural Foundations and Scholarly Perspectives

This study examines the status of the Arabic language in Islam by analysing Qur’anic discourse and selected statements by Muslim scholars on the relationship among Arabic, revelation, and religious understanding. The study addresses the assumption that Arabic is merely one language among many and therefore carries no special religious significance for non-Arab Muslims, an assumption the article argues is inconsistent with the scriptural and scholarly tradition of Islam. Using a descriptive-analytical approach, the study analyses Qur’anic verses on revelation in the language of the prophets’ peoples, especially the repeated designation of the Qur’an as an Arabic revelation, and relates them to the views of major scholars such as al-Sh??ib? and Ibn Taymiyyah on the role of Arabic in understanding the Shar??ah. The study finds that Arabic occupies a distinctive status in Islam not because of ethnicity, but because it is the language of the Qur’an, the Prophetic Sunnah, and a major part of the Islamic intellectual tradition. It further concludes that adequate understanding of Islamic revelation requires meaningful engagement with Arabic, making the language central to the preservation, interpretation, and transmission of Islam across generations.