Language and Color: Two great signs of the power of Allah

Just today, Allah Ta`ala inspired me with great knowledge. To look down upon any language from the heart or to express any hatred through the tongue is an act, which may lead to kufr.

On the same note, once in Thana Bhawan, Hazrat Thanwi (may Allah have mercy upon him) read the letter of someone who came from Bangladesh in which the person wrote:

“I have the habit of laughing a lot; please give me the remedy for this..."

[Note: Because Urdu is not the mother tongue of the people of Bangladesh, he had written this statement in a distorted and ineloquent manner that exposed the writer's being foreign and unacquainted with the language.]

This prompted someone from Hazrat's majlis to comment:

"Sounds like it’s a Bengali to me!"

Hazrat Thanwi (rahmatullah alaihe) immediately retorted:

"From this statement of yours, I sense the stench of Tahqeer, as if you are trying to degrade or look down upon the people of Bangladesh. Therefore immediately go and renew your faith by rereading the kalima over again and perform two rakaats prayer of repentance."

So the reason it is forbidden to look down upon anyone's language is because Allah Ta`ala has said:

"And from His signs are the differences of your languages and colors..." [Surah Ar- Rum:22]

These differences in language are actually a means of the recognition of Allah Ta`ala.

I was in the African country of Malawi and one early morning, there was a dog barking. I said to my friends there, that because Allah Ta`ala has not created the animals for the attainment of His recognition, thus the language of animals throughout the world is one. Whether the dog is from Pakistan, Africa, U.S, or U.K, then regardless of where it is from it is going to make a barking sound. And regardless of where the cat is from, it will say "MEOW."

But the languages of mankind is different because He has created them as a manifestation of His signs and for the noble objective of His recognition.

In order for humankind to recognize the Power of Allah in the various languages, He has created. Thus looking down upon someone's language or skin color, one is in danger of losing one's Iman.

Someone looked at a dwarf and started to laugh, so the dwarf said to him, "Are you laughing at the pot, or the potter?" To laugh at the utensil is actually to laugh at the utensil-maker. To ridicule the object someone has made is tantamount to ridiculing the maker of that object.

The above-mentioned incident of the reviver of his time, Hakim ul Ummah (rahmatullah alaihe) supplemented to the above-mentioned verse, supports my view. Regardless of a person's race or language, every human being has the potential to become the friend of Allah.

If he embraces Islam and continues to fear Allah (by abstinence from all sins) then he has become a friend of Allah. It is not permissible to look down on such an individual. Unfortunately, Shaytan puts hatred & contempt in the heart for other languages in such a way that a person does not even perceive it. One should particularly be aware of this fact and not allow the hatred of anyone creep into the heart. Maulana Shah Muhammad Ahmad (rahmatullah alaihe) says:

“Neither should anyone find a way, nor should any stranger come near,

O Ahmad, always be watchful over the Harem of the heart.”