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The Language Unjustly Treated in Media
Author : Dr. Hassan Abu_Arqoub
Date Added : 12-10-2022

The Language Unjustly Treated in Media

 

World Arabic Language Day is celebrated every year on 18 December. The date coincides with the day in 1973 that the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted Arabic as the sixth official language of the Organization.

If we ponder upon the situation of the Arabic language in media, we will be extremely saddened by the amount of negligence and abuse it has experienced despite being an official language of United Nations. 

Instead of reinforcing this language, instilling it in the minds of the younger generations, and straightening their tongue with it, media is waging undeclared war against it.

 

First Model: As heard on some radios and satellite channels, colloquial Arabic is used. This deprived listeners from tasting the sweetness of this mother tongue and gave prevalence to the non-standard version.

Even more astounding is that some broadcasters working for Jordanian radios speak non-Jordanian dialects. You would hear, for example, Natrinkum, Khalikun Ma`na, La Tfillo, Haida, and Laik. We respect every dialect but this eliminates our Jordanian dialect and adds insult to injury. Therefore, it isn`t strange that some shop owners were affected by this colloquial Arabic to the extent of writing (Ahwah) instead of (Gahwah).

 

Second Model: Speaking a foreign language. Some Arab media persons try to give the impression that they are educated and civilized through speaking different languages. When he/she coughs, he/she says: "Sorry." When he/she interrupts someone, he/she says, "Excuse me" and so on. Even more gruesome is that names of foreign programs are transliterated. For example, (اراب ايدول), (سوبر ستار), (اكس فاكتور). As if we are unable to translate their meanings, with my own reservation on the content of such programs for this is another story.

 

Third Model: Linguistic and Grammatical Errors. This is like an open-ended sea. I remember correcting my language through listening to BBC broadcasters of the Arabic section. However, now I have to correct their mistakes so that my own children don`t learn them, because media is an effective tool in either educating or making people ignorant. One linguistic mistake is using the word (Nalfit) in the expression "Nalfit Enayat Assadah AlMoshahideen" to mean "Attract" while it means the opposite. An example on a grammatical mistake is the word (جميلةٍ) in the sentence "شهدت عمان مبارياتٍ جميلة. This word should be (جميلةً), not (جميلةٍ).

Since language expresses the identity of its speakers, it is imperative that we re-embrace our beloved language and learn it better, in addition to conducting proofreading on language used in media. This is because media makes generations, builds their intellect, and corrects their language. Actually, assassinating language is as bad as assassinating character. Rather, it is worse since it destroys the identity and civilization of a whole nation.

Non-Arabs have even given respectable testament to the Arabic language. The famous German literary figure Goethe said: "No other language has ever achieved this degree of harmony between the spirit, the word and the calligraphy as the Arabic language; a strange consistency in the same body."

I`m definitely a lover of this language, and call on everybody to be as such.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

Is it acceptable to perform the Aqiqah for a male child by slaughtering and distributing the first sheep, and bringing the second one cooked from the restaurant?

 

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.

It is permissible to slaughter the first sheep with the intention of Aqiqah (the newborn's sacrificial offering) and distribute it entirely [uncooked], and to slaughter the second sheep and have it cooked at a restaurant to bring home for the household. However, it must be noted that it is obligatory to give some portion of the Aqiqah in charity to the poor, even if it is a small amount, though it is preferable to send the food cooked to them.

Buying a pre-cooked, ready-made sheep from a restaurant does not suffice as an Aqiqah. However, if an agreement is made with the restaurant to explicitly slaughter a sheep with the intention of Aqiqah for the newborn, and then cook it afterward, this is permissible.

In conclusion, slaughtering the sheep and distributing it with the intention of Aqiqah is permissible, and through it, the foundational prophetic tradition (Sunnah) is fulfilled. As for simply buying a cooked sheep from a restaurant that was not specifically slaughtered with the intention of Aqiqah, it will not count as such. Conversely, if the restaurant owner is commissioned (Wakala) to handle both the slaughtering and the cooking as an Aqiqah, it is valid. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law regarding one who purchases a sacrificial animal (uḍḥiyah) and it then develops a defect before slaughter?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
If a defect that invalidates the sacrifice (uḍḥiyah) arises after its purchase — for example, if one purchased a sound, defect-free animal, and it then developed a limp, blindness in one eye, or a similar defect before slaughter — it does not fulfill the requirement of a valid uḍḥiyah, according to the Shāfi'ī school.
It is stated in Asnā al-Maṭālib fī Sharḥ Rawḍ al-Ṭālib (Vol.1/P.535): "Even if the limp develops [in the animal] while the knife is upon it, it still does not fulfill the requirement, because it is lame at the moment of slaughter — this is analogous to a case where a sheep's leg breaks and one hastens to slaughter it [in that condition]."
The Ḥanbalī school, however, held that if the one offering the sacrifice purchased the animal while it was sound and defect-free, and a defect then befell it afterward, the sacrifice remains valid and there is no obligation to replace it.
It is stated in Masā'il al-Imām Aḥmad, one of the Ḥanbalī reference works (Vol.8/P.4021): "I said: If a person purchases the sacrificial animal while it is sound, and it is then afflicted with illness, blindness in one eye, or a broken limb [before slaughter]? He [Imam Aḥmad] said: It is said that it still fulfills the requirement. Isḥāq said likewise, because he purchased it while sound, and the defect befell it only afterward, so it remains sufficient on his behalf." [End of quote]
Accordingly, a sheep afflicted with a defect that invalidates the sacrifice does not fulfill the requirement of a valid uḍḥiyah — whether the defect arose after purchase or during the slaughter itself — according to the Shāfi'ī school. However, there is no objection to following the Ḥanbalī position on this matter [as a valid alternative]. And Allah, the Most High, knows best.

What is the ruling on selling sacrificial animals (udhiyah) described with specific attributes and authorizing an agent to slaughter them?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
Selling sacrificial animals (udhiyah) that are described with specific attributes is permissible. This falls under the category of a salam sale (forward sale) if conducted using the terminology of salam, and under the category of a regular sale if not using the terminology of salam.
 
As for authorizing the seller to slaughter the sacrificial animal, the basic principle is that it is permissible, because the agent (wakil) stands in the place of the principal (muwakkil) in achieving his objective. This is a contract that the principal (the buyer) is entitled to perform himself, so authorizing another (the seller) to do so on his behalf is valid.
 
However, it is a condition for authorization to slaughter that the intention (niyyah) is present either at the time of slaughter or at the time of handing over the sacrificial animal to the agent. The basic principle is that the sacrificial animal must be specifically designated, as it is an act of worship. It is not required to designate it at the time of slaughter; rather, it is valid to do so before that.
 
It is permissible for the principal either to delegate the intention to the agent or to formulate it himself when authorizing the agent to slaughter. However, the sacrificial animal must be designated, even if at the time of slaughter, by the agent.
 
It is obligatory to designate the sacrificial animals so that each person offering a sacrifice receives his own specific animal. Therefore, charitable organizations and companies must take this into consideration and establish a specific mechanism that ensures no mixing of sacrificial animals occurs, so that each person offering a sacrifice receives his own designated animal. And Allah Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on using a patch to suppress hunger or a nicotine patch while fasting?

Fasting is a great act of worship and one of the pillars of Islam. If people knew the immense reward of Ramadan, they would wish for the whole year to be Ramadan.
Whoever eats Suhoor and breaks their fast according to the Sunnah will not experience extreme hardship, making such patches unnecessary.
However, using these patches does not break the fast because they are not a source of nourishment and do not enter the body cavity (jauf) through an open passage.

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