Do Arabs stand a better chance in getting into Heaven as the Holy Quran is written in Arabic?
What i'm trying to ask is that, since they know Arabic and the Holy Quran is written in Arabic, isn't it easier for Arabs to understand and comprehend the Holy Quran compared to other nationalities?
Other nationalities may not understand due to the language difference.
If Arabs have the advantage, is it fair to say, punishments will be greater due to their greater capacity to understand the Holy Quran?
Ponder upon the following for your answer (inshAllah)-
Surat al hujarat- 49/13
"O mankind, We have created you from a male and a female and have made you into nations and tribes for you to know one another. Truly, the noblest of you with Allah is the most pious. Truly, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware."
Surat al-qamar- 54/17
"And We have certainly made the Qur'an easy for remembrance, so is there any who will remember?"
Surat al-baqara- 2/286
"Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity. It will have [the consequence of] what [good] it has gained, and it will bear [the consequence of] what [evil] it has earned. "Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred. Our Lord, and lay not upon us a burden like that which You laid upon those before us. Our Lord, and burden us not with that which we have no ability to bear. And pardon us; and forgive us; and have mercy upon us. You are our protector, so give us victory over the disbelieving people."
Narrated in Musnad ahmad ibn Hanbal, the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him said-
"O people! Your God is one and your forefather (Adam) is one. An Arab is not better than a non-Arab and a non-Arab is not better than an Arab, and a red (i.e. white tinged with red) person is not better than a black person and a black person is not better than a red person, except in piety."
Yes, arabic speakers have an advantage, so learn arabic ! There is nothing stopping you as there are a plethora of ways to do that these days. Many of the shuyoukh/sheikhs are from non arab backgrounds, yet to fully understand the quran they all learned the quranic arabic. It is sort of like telling an english guy to go read some shakespear: it would be best for him to learn the shakespearean prose first before hand, so as to gain as much from it as possible, due to meanings lost in translation. We have many a dedicated scholars today in the tasfeer ul quran alhamdilullah. I implore a site for learning islamic studies for free created by Dr Bilal Phillips of Jamaica.
http://www.islamiconlineuniversity.com/
May Allah make it easy on you.
Every Muslim has a duty to learn about their deen and so it doesnt matter if you are Arab or not you will still have the same punishment. Also the arabic used in the Qur'an is very poetic and harder to understand than Fusha Arabic (most Arabs dont even speak formal Arabic so even Fusha is hard for them). And you can find the translation of the Qur'an in different languages anywhere you go. The answer: everyone will be judged according to their deeds and
@Newbie, Allah's Pleasure on His servants is concomitant with their efforts. So if you (as a non-Arab) find it difficult to read and understand the Qur'an vis-a-vis an Arab who can do so flawlessly, I guess you may have a better chance of pleasing Allah, insha Allah.
Yet another aspect of this question is that a native Arab will find it harder to answer to Allah when he or she is asked about (or lack thereof) their adherence to the Book, since they had no excuse of not being able to read and understand the Qur'an.
Ultimately, it's efforts that are counted with Allah. And Allah knows best.
As a revert I must agree with Ghasn. I think the answer is no as all Muslims have a obligation to lean about the Deen especially, it is the one of the most important requirements of any Muslim to acquire "ieelm" (knowledge) of the Deen and the Duniya.
It is said something to this effect that who ever reads a single letter of the Quraan even with out knowing its meaning receives the same blessing and reward as those who know what it means.
There is a hadith something to this effect : Qula Rarululahi SAllahu Alayhi wa selem inna'maal a'umalu binniyati - The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said verily actions are based upon their intentions.
Allah said in the Holy Quran in the latest Aya in the Al-Baqara Sura that He wasn't to order somebody to do what they cannot do. Thus, Muslim must do the best of what he can do to learn about obligations and prohibitions but if he could not, Allah will treat him only according to what he could do, as Allah is the Merciful, And Allah knows best.
I've started watching 'Arabic with Husna' by Nouman Ali Khan on Bayyinah.tv and in the very first lesson he teaches us to memorise and internalise, 'walaqad yassarnal qur'ana lithikri' - "And indeed we have made the Qur’an easy to learn and easy to remember". Allah doesn't say "...easy to learn and easy to remember for Arabs" - think about it insh'Allah.
