Arabic and the Golden Age!
Throughout our history, some languages have dominated the world for a long period of time. The languages that dominate the world change with time and another language takes their place. Greek and Latin were the most common languages during the classical and medieval periods and huge and was the language used by philosophers, scientists, scholars, kings and common people alike. Similarly English is the language of communication between different countries, communities and professionals in the modern world. Arabic has been the Lingua Franca during the Islamic Golden Age.
Global Language
Most languages become Global languages because of the societal success which enables them to dominate the world for a long period of time. With the rise of Islam, the Arabic language became the language of the common people of that time. The literary, scientific and cultural works of Greeks, Romans and Persians were translated into Arabic making the texts available for the world to read. The translations coupled with the centers of larning boosted the scientific learning enabling new discoveries and inventions.
Major Works
The number system and algebra was developed by AlKhawarizmi, Ibne Sina contributed immensely in the fields of optics, physics and medicine. Jabir Bin Hayyan is known as Father of Modern Chemistry while Al Razi is considered to be the greatest clinician of the Middle Ages. The Scientific works aside, the scholarly works of the Golden Age also encompass huge amounts of literary, historical, philosophical, administrative and religious works that are still relevant to this day.
Relevance Today
One of the most important advantage of learning Arabic today is that it opens an entire world of knowledge for the learner. For a student of religion, most of the important work on Islam is in the Arabic Language. For a student of science, Arabic opens up centuries of ground breaking works that have shaped the modern world. For a student of history, the language contains in itself records of various civilizations! Arabic does not only contain the works of Arab and Muslim authors, but also contains most of the prominent Greek, Roman and Persian works which were translated during the Golden Age. Many of the European readings of Aristotle don’t come from the original, but from the works of Ibne Rushd.
Modern Arabic Language
Modern Arabic is also a very rich and dynamic Language that is spoken by millions of people, and has its own Novels, short stories, magazines, films, television programs and newspapers. The fact that it is the language that has a centuries of literary heritage and is still relevant to this age makes it one of the most sought after language in the world. Most people learn Arabic to understand the Quran, many learn it to live in the Arab world, while some people also learn the language to improve their knowledge and understanding of the world we live in. For anyone who wants to learn a new language, Arabic is a very promising language to learn because of all the mentioned reasons, and the beautiful language can be a very fruitful addition to make you smarter, intelligent, knowledgeable and can help you in your career enabling you to have a prosperous life in this world and the hereafter!