bihat following the obligatory prayers, and frequently repeated Suras of the Qur’an like Fatiha and Ikhlas. For when the perpetual spring of the divine words and words of the Prophet (UWBP) are lost, the perpetual share of those perpetual subtle faculties is also lost. Also harmful are the loss of the minimum of ten merits for each word, and the heedlessness and darkness of spirit caused by the human terms of the translations, since the constant sense of the divine presence does continue for everyone throughout the prayers.
Yes, just like Imam-i A‘zam said that “There is no god but God” is the mark and sign of the affirmation of divine unity, so we say the following: the great majority of the words of divine glorification and praise, and especially of those of the call to prayer and obligatory prayers, have come to be marks and signs. Like signs, their usual Sharî‘î meanings are understood, rather than their literal meanings. So according to the Shari‘a, it is not possible to change them. Even an uneducated man can learn the gist of them, which all believers should know; that is, their meanings in summary. How can those people who pass their whole lives with Islam yet fill their heads with endless trivia be excused from learning in one or two weeks the gist of what these blessed words mean, which are the key to eternal life? How can they be Muslims? How can they be called “reasonable people”? It surely is not reasonable to destroy the protective cases of those springs of light for the sake of lazy loafers like them!
Furthermore, whatever nation a person belongs to, he understands from “Subhanallah! Glory be to God!” that he is declaring Almighty God free of all defect. Isn’t this enough? If he inclines towards the meaning in his own language, he will study it once with his intellect. But if he repeats it a hundred times a day in its proper form, apart from his intellect’s share of studying, the gist of it, which is derived from the words and spreads and blends with them, will produce many lights and much effulgence. The sacredness he receives from the words being divine speech, and the effulgence and lights proceeding from the sacredness, are especially important.
I n S h o r t : Nothing at all can replace the sacred divine words that are the protective cases of the essentials of religion, and nothing can substitute them, and nothing else can perform their functions. Even if they can express them temporarily, they cannot do so permanently or in sacred and elevated fashion. As for the words that are the protective cases of the theoretical matters of religion, there is no necessity for them to be changed. For such a need is met by preaching, teaching, advice, and other instruction.
T o C o n c l u d e : The comprehensiveness of the grammatical Arabic language and the miraculousness of the Qur’an’s words make them untranslat