Comments on: The Way of Love

By: Kirana

Kirana — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 10:11:31 +0000

as a Malay speaker, I think many words were borrowed out of need/utility. theology words (tauhid, syariah, ihsan, iman, riyaa’ etc.) and legal words (riba’, zina, hudud, zakat) probably were borrowed for this reason. but there are also many words that were borrowed or adopted alongside existing similar words, and surely this must just be because they were liked, and I rather think it tells something, what sort of words were ‘adopted’ when there was no need. offhand, we borrowed sedekah (sadaqah), bakhil, ilmu (‘ilm), ibadat (‘ibadah), adil (‘adl), mesyuarat (musyawarah), surat (but exclusively meaning “missive/letter”), ayat, nahu, rahim (but exclusively meaning “womb”), aman (“peace”), selamat (“safe”). but we did not borrow ‘harb’. yet there were other ‘religious’ words that we did not borrow alongside similar words. for example, we still use the sanskrit word ‘puasa’ rather than adopt ‘sawm’ despite this being a pillar of faith. so i think there might be something to actually liking the words or category of words, rather than simply wanting to appear “Qur’anic”. it seems to me that from what we purposely adopted, the coming of Islam with the Arabic language was positively associated with peace and knowledge.

By: Hujrah Wahhaj

Hujrah Wahhaj — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 21:57:26 +0000

This was an interesting article. Inshallah more Muslims will learn the importance of this one little word: “love.” It can be so important in our lives and can sometimes make the difference between misery and happiness.

Of course, the best love is the love we have for Allah and His Messenger (pbuh).

By: Yasmin

Yasmin — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 18:10:34 +0000

Mashallah, very interesting and beautifully written post!

By: Keepin it real

Keepin it real — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 16:01:40 +0000

Peace sister Rachel,

The reason these languages all took the Arabic words was not because it was better or that they didn’t have words with those meanings but they took many words from it as a result of the Islamic Caliphate that ruled their lands for centuries and the original conquerors were Arabs.

Some of the farther lands from Arab lands which had quicker conversion rates and less Arab immigration only adopted some words which are mostly religiously related. This made them feel part of the Caliphate and more of a Quranic people. Whereas the closer lands to the Arab conquerors which weren’t primarily Arab speakers like Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Egypt had a lot of Arab immigration and Arabic was a second or third language for trade and commerce so they adopted the whole language.

Wudoo does have an English equivalent it is ablution.

By: Zaufishan

Zaufishan — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 12:28:50 +0000

Sweet.

Here’s something similar by Wilson, ‘The Lost Jihad – “Love” in Islam’, or Mahabba. Linguistics are amayzing subhan-Allah.

http://www.zaufishan.co.uk/2011/09/lost-jihad-love-in-islam.html