Do You Have to Learn Arabic to Be Muslim?

Praise be to Allah.

Importance of prayer in Islam

Prayer is the greatest of the pillars of Islam after the Shahadatayn (twin declaration of faith). What is obligatory is five prayers during the day and night. This establishes a relationship between a person and his Lord, in which a person finds peace, happiness and contentment, as he stands before his Lord and speaks to Him, and calls upon Him and converses with Him, and prostrates before Him, complains to Him of his worries and sorrows, and turns to Him at times of calamity. 

Whatever has been said to you about the prayer, nothing can really describe how great and important it is , and no one can appreciate it except the one who tastes its joy and spends his nights in prayer and fills his days with it. It is the delight of those who believe in the Oneness of God and the joy of the believers. 

Allah has prescribed purification before the prayer, so that the body is cleansed of impurities and sins are washed away. For the Muslim does not wash any of his limbs but sins are washed away with the water, or with the last drop of water, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told us. 

How is prayer done in Islam?

With regard to how the prayer is done, it involves standing, saying “Allahu akbar (Allah is Most Great)”, reciting the Quran, bowing and prostrating. All you have to do is go to an Islamic Centre in your country to see how the Muslims pray and learn about it.  

Do you have to learn Arabic to be Muslim?

The fact that a person does not know Arabic does not affect his Islam, and it does not deprive him of the honour of belonging to the faith. How many people’s hearts are opened to Islam every day, who do not know even one letter of Arabic. 

There are thousands of Muslims in India, Pakistan, the Philippines and elsewhere who have memorised the Quran by heart, but not one of them can hold a lengthy conversation in Arabic . That is because Allah has made the Quran easy, and has made it easy for people to memorise it, as Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

{And We have certainly made the Quran easy for remembrance, so is there any who will remember?} [Al-Qamar 54:17]

What to do if you cannot read the Fatihah in prayer

In the prayer, the Muslim must recites Surat Al-Fatihah in Arabic , so he has to learn it. If he is unable to do so but he knows one verse of it, he should repeat it seven times, which is the number of verses in Surat Al-Fatihah. If he is unable to do that then he should say: “Subhan Allah, wal-hamdu Lillah, wa la ilaha illallah, wa Allahu akbar, wa la ilaha illallah, wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa Billah (Glory be to Allah, praise be to Allah, there is none worthy of worship except Allah, Allah is Most Great, there is none worthy of worship but Allah, and there is no power and no strength except with Allah).” 

The matter is easy, praise be to Allah. How many people have learned to speak a language other than their own very well, even two or three languages, so how can they be unable to learn thirty or forty words that they need in their prayers? 

If the language was really an obstacle, you would not find millions of Muslims who are not Arabs, who perform the acts of worship with ease, praise be to Allah. 

So hasten to enter Islam , for no one knows when his appointed time (i.e. death) will come. May Allah save you and keep you safe from His wrath and punishment. 

How to become Muslim

All you have to do to enter this great religion is to say, “Ash-hadu alla ilaha illallah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhu wa Rasuluhu (I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger),” and you will find people among your Muslim brothers who will help you to learn the prayer and other matters of Islam. 

For more details, please refer to the following answers: 219 , 12376 , 6389 , 6706 , 20239 , 10590 , 4319  

And Allah knows best.