"Hazrat Maulana Syed Asghar Hussain Sahib (Allah's Mercy be upon him) was a man of extraordinary spiritual qualities, and I was blessed with his loving affection. One day I presented myself to him and he said, 'Today let us talk in Arabic'. This rather amazed me because he had never before expressed such a desire. He then himself stated the reason why he wished to converse in Arabic. He said, 'Neither you nor I are able to speak Arabic fluently and freely, so we will talk less'. He then continued, 'Our case is like that of a traveller whose money is about to finish so he spends every penny very carefully'."
(Source: 'The World Within' by Mufti Muhammad Shafi (Allah's Mercy be upon him))
This quote is about avoiding meaningless talk. But it got me thinking nonetheless: It's been a long time since I spoke in Arabic (beyond "kayfa haaluk" and "alhamdulillah"). Maybe over a year. I really urgently need to find me an Arabic speaking partner.
4 comments:
I know an older man who wanted the exact thing. Let me know if you would you like me to put you in touch with him.
lol, thanks for the thought. I meant for me to make agreement with those (classical!) Arabic speakers who I bump into day to day to (try!) converse with them in Arabic only. Jazaak Allahu Khairan.
I read Qur'an with an Arab brother every Saturday and Sunday after Fajr prayer. Today, whilst we were talking (in English) after our reading, it suddenly dawned on me: "limaa natakallamu bi-al-inkileeziyyah?! anta tastaTee3u an tatakallama bi-al-lughati-al-3arabiyyati and anaa a7taaju ilayhaa!" I suppose the easy part is having an urge to start something. The difficult part is maintaining it.
Anonymous, about the man you suggested, that would be useful but I am reluctact because I know I would not be able to maintain it and there are already enough people in my life that I disappoint. As I said previously, I need to make speaking (thinking even!) in Arabic a part of my daily routine.
No worries, :). Enjoy, it's a beautiful language.
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