Question:
I’v seen Mufti Faisal’s fatwa on Khutbah being in arabic only.
Im wondering if the imam recites in arabic and translate at the same time for the people on non arab origin to understand what was being said, ayah by ayah, would it be considered wrong?
It is mustahib to follow the sunnah but I wonder how would simultaneous translation of abrabic khutbah make it biddah if it was done for the benefit of the congregation’s understanding?
Jazak Allah Khair
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
You refer to the question at : http://fatwa.ca/salah/what-should-be-language-of-friday-khutbah/
If you read the detail article of Hazrat Mufti Taqi Saheb attatched therein, you would realize that the purport of the khutbah in Jumu’ah is not teaching rather it is a form of dhikr. Consider the following paragraph from Mufti Taqi Saheb as well:
“The Khutbah of Jum’ah is not essentially a lecture meant for the people. Rather, it is a part of the prayer of jum’ah. It is evident that the numbers of rakaats in a zuhr prayer is four. On the day of jum’ah, the number of rakaat has been reduced to two only and the remaining two rakaats have been substituted by a khutbah, which is basically a form of Dhikr (ritual recitation of Allah’s name) and by this name it has been referred to in the Holy Qur’an (Surah al Jum’ah). Therefore, being a part of the prayer of dhikr, it can only be performed in Arabic, and just as the prayer of jum’ah cannot be performed in a local language, the khutbah cannot be given in any language other than Arabic. The companions of the Holy Prophet went to a number of places outside Arabia and preached Islam there, but they never used a local language while offering a khutbah of Jumah. They used the local language in other lectures and sermons, but not in the prescribed khutbah on Friday. This helps the Muslims being in at least verbal contact with Arabic the language of the Holy Qur’an and Sunnah. (Contemporary Fatawa Pg. 31)”
Hence, just like we do not start reciting the recitation of surahs in our salah into english, so that english speaking people may start to relate with it, similarly we will not start rendering khutbah in English.
This is why I had suggested that the way out is to render a talk before the khutbah highlighting the points of khutbah, and thereafter start the proper khutbah according to the sunnah of Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Faisal bin Abdul Hameed al-Mahmudi
www.fatwa.ca