Assalamu’alaikum,
Wr. Wb.
The
honorable judges, committees, and all participants of English Festival 2017. My
name is Hanif Abdur Robb Alamsyah and I am speaking as the delegate of MA
Husnul Khotimah.
Hello,
friends. How are you? Bagaimana kabarmu? Ogenqidesuka? كيف حالك؟ Cooment ça va? Macam mana khabar awak? Kumaha damang? Pie
kabare?
There
are many ways to tell one simple thing in this world, just like the sentences
that I have mentioned at the beginning. Actually, they have the same meaning,
which is ‘how are you?’ You see? I have proven to all of you that I can ask you
guys a simple question in many ways. How can I do that? Of course, there’s only
one way to do that, which is by language.
Brothers
and sisters,
Does
anybody here know what language is? Anybody? Well, I’ll just tell you the
answer. Language is an arbitrary vocal symbol that allows human to communicate
and cooperate with one another. Based on the data taken from UNESCO, there are
approximately 6.912 languages used for human communication in the world, such
as Mandarin, Hindi, Spanish, English and Arabic. That number also includes the
local languages in our country, such as Sundanese, Javanese and Betawi. The
question is, why did Allah SWT create so many different languages? Allah SWT
stated in the Holy Quran:
يَأ يُّهَا
النَّاسُ إنَّا خَلَقْنَكُمْ مِّنْ ذَكَرٍ وَّ اُنْثَى وَ جَعَلْنَكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَّ
قَبَآ ئِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوْا
“O
people! Indeed, we have created you from a man and a woman, then we made you in
nations so that you know each other. (QS. Al-Hujurat:13)
From
the verse of the Holy Quran before, we can find out that Allah SWT has made all
humans in nations, where every nation speaks different language, then we can
learn the cultures, languages and ideologies of other nations so that we can
know and communicate with others. But, I’m really sure that there’s another
purpose behind that. As a Moslem, our main duty in this world is for dakwah,
preaching; to ask people who are lost in the darkness to believe in Allah SWT,
so they can go to the right path. It means that the main purpose of the
creation of languages is to spread Islam to all nations, so that no one and
nothing lives in this world except saying لا اله
الا الله; no god other
than Allah SWT.
Brothers
and sisters,
We
all know that the country which has the biggest Moslem population is Indonesia.
It’s stated that the Moslem population in Indonesia is 85% from total 257.9
million Indonesian citizens. This huge number can absolutely spread Islam
around the world. Unfortunately, most of the Indonesian Moslems don’t really
care about learning foreign languages, whereas the most important thing in
spreading Islam around the world is mastering foreign languages. Some of them
even think that foreign languages, especially the western languages, are not
accepted in Islam, because those are the languages of kaafiriin. This must not
happen. This is wrong mindset.
Indonesian
Moslems must learn foreign languages, because they have a very big potential in
spreading Islam around the world. So, how can we make them learning and
mastering foreign languages? Here are some ways that I think we can do:
First,
we must change the mindset that foreign languages are the language of
kaafiriin. We must encourage them to learn more about Islam, to read al-Quran
more and understand its meanings. Why? Because there are a lot of verses that
order us to learn foreign languages. So, why should we say that foreign
languages are not accepted in Islam?
Second,
the government must encourage them by giving policies that order them to learn
foreign languages. For example, there must be a subject of foreign languages in
every school where students can choose which languages they want to learn. By
doing this, I’m sure that many young generations can master foreign languages.
Last
but not the least, after they have understood that learning foreign languages
is told in the Quran and they have mastered foreign languages, they have to use
it in their daily life, because we know that the best way to master language is
by practice. They can find friends from other countries through social media to
practise their foreign languages. Therefore, they will be accustomed to use it.
Brothers
and sisters,
Islam
is not for Arabians and Indonesians only. Islam is not only for someone who has
a beard. Islam is not a religion that is stuck by the territorial boundaries of
a country. Islam is for those who want to believe in Allah SWT. Islam is for
those who love peace and mercy. Islam is for everyone around the world. We must
learn other languages to spread Islam around the world. We must learn other
languages to invite our friends in the other side of the world to Islam. We
must learn other languages so that we can save all people from the darkness.
Allah
SWT will not create something without purpose and so language will not be
created without purpose. Allah SWT stated in the Holy Quran:
وَ مِنْ
ءايَتِهِ خَلْقُ السَّمَمَثِ وَاللْأَ رْضِ وَاخْتِلَفُ أَلْسِنَتِكُمْ وَأَلْوَنِكُم
إنَّ فِى ذَلِكَ لَآيَتٍ لِلْعَلِمِيْنَ
“And
among the signs of His power is to
create the heavens and the earth and the difference of your language and skin
color. Thereby, verily in that are indeed signs for people who know.” (QS.
Ar-Ruum:22)
Brothers
and sisters,
Language
is very important. Without language, we cannot communicate with others at all.
Without language, the world will be really quiet and silent and even though the
world is beautiful, it will be meaningless.
My
last message, please learn foreign languages as much as you can, because it
really benefits you in your life.
Thank
you very much for your attention.
Wassalamu’alaikum,
Wr. Wb.
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