Perhaps one of the biggest questions a non Arab will have is why do we have to learn or speak Arabic?
The term "Arab" does not refer to a race or necessarily a religion, but rather to a language and a culture. An example is that there are Christian as well as Jewish Arabs.
On its formation in 1946, the Arab League defined an "Arab" as follows:
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"An Arab is a person whose language is Arabic, who lives in an Arabic speaking country, who is in sympathy with the aspirations of the Arabic speaking peoples."
The same notion was in fact proposed by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who, according to a hadith, stated: "To be Arab is not a question of race or geneology but of language. Whoever speaks Arabic is Arab."
In the Quran it is clear that all men were created equal regardless of nationality or geographic location.
"O Mankind, We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other. Verily the most honored of you in the sight of God is he who is the most righteous of you" (Quran 49:13).
Upon closer examination of the Quran we see reference to the Arabic language being sent to mankind, not to the specific people in the Arabian peninsula.
Allah (swt) chose Arabic to be the language of the Qur'an--His final Message to humankind: "Lo! We have revealed it, a Lecture in Arabic, that ye may understand." (Yusuf, 2)
"Thus have We revealed it, a decisive utterance in Arabic..." (Ar-Ra'ad, 37)
"A Scripture whereof the verses are expounded, a Lecture in Arabic for people who have knowledge." (Fusilat, 3).
Arabic is a language of words with precise, unquestionable meanings as well multiple nuances. Indeed, it is a language which can, in only a few words, address a very specific topic (e.g., who a man can marry) as well as convey diverse meanings (e.g., as-Samad, one of the names of Allah, cannot be translated into just one word; it can mean the Absolute, the eternally Besought of all, etc.) Classical Arabic has consistent, predictable rules of grammar, pronunciation, and spelling, making it actually a fairly easy language to learn.
The language itself was one of the miracles of the Qur’an. Allah challenges mankind.
“And if you are in doubt about what we have sent down to our servant, then produce a chapter like it and call your witnesses besides Allah if you are truthful. But if you do not do it, and you can never do it, then fear the Fire whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for the disbelievers (Surah Baqarah, aayaat 23-24)
Arabic unified the Muslim countries as it spread to every land that embraced Islam. This is why it is seen that those Muslim societies that are ignorant of Arabic are in general less knowledgeable about Islam. (Modern day Turkey is a classic example). This ignorance has in turn made them more prone to stray from the straight path.
Ibn Taymiyyah (ra) even went so far as to say that,
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The Arabic language is part of the Religion, and knowing it is an obligation.
Anyone fluent in more than one language can tell you how easily a translation can be lost, misunderstood and even changed if the proper understanding and use of the language is not applied when translating. This is why it is so important to learn the Arabic language as a Muslim.
(Even if that is just speaking and understanding).
