Earlier today, Hassan Radwan posted a brilliantly profound statement:
Have you noticed you don’t need to know Arabic to know the Qur’an is from God. But you need to be an expert in Arabic to know it’s not. (Even then you’re still wrong)
The statement is so succinct and so deeply true, that one is torn between forming tears and bellowing laughter.
So in all seriousness, how does this play out?
Well, let’s say you’re a born Muslim or a prospective convert to Islam. None of the Muslim establishment (or your Muslim family) will ever ask you to learn the meanings of the classical Arabic language first so that you could understand the Qur’an “properly” before you enter Islam or continue to identify as a Muslim.
However, when you’ve done your research and believe that Islamic theology just doesn’t add up, you’re told that since you don’t know Arabic, you couldn’t possibly critique the Qur’anic nuance and message, let alone weigh in on its broader commandments.
And if you happen to actually know Arabic, even to the point of having learned the classical Arabic of the Qur’an whereby you now believe that Islam just doesn’t add up – you are still deemed by the Muslim establishment as wrong.
Reminds me of the aphorism, “Heads: I win; tails: you lose”.
There’s no way out!