Muslims learnt to speak Hausa because Islam was propagated in West Africa by Hausas
Arabic is not the language of Muslims- Imam
The founder of Al-islaah Centre Ghana, Sheikh Kishk Bashir Yandu, has clarified that the Hausa Language is not the language of Muslims.
Sheikh Yandu indicated that most people have this misconception because they hear most Muslims speaking Hausa.
In an interview on GhanaWeb’s ‘The LowDown’ programme, Sheikh Yandu explained that most Muslims speak Hausa because they studied it from the Hausa people who propagated Islam in the West African sub-Region.
“Hausa is not the language of Muslims. The reason why people think Hausa is the language of Muslims is because Islam was spread across West Africa by the Hausa people, who were merchants and traders. So, when they come and settle at a place definitely that is the language (they speak).
“So, when the local people accepted Islam, … the people felt that since they are Muslims and Hausa is their language and Hausa is the language of Islam,” Sheikh Yandu told the host of ‘The LowDown’, Ismail Akwei.
Sheikh Yandu, who is also an Imam, also clarified that the Arabic Language is not the language of Muslims even though it was the language through which the Islamic faith was revealed.
“Not even the Arabic language is the language of Islam, the reason why I’m saying this is, a lot of people will disagree with me on this, you don’t need to understand the Arabic language before you become a Muslim.
“But the Arabic Language is the language with which Islam has been revealed. So, if you want to be a Muslim scholar you have to understand the Arabic Language but you don’t necessarily have to understate the Arabic Language for you to be a Muslim,” he explained.
He further explained that there are Muslims from every part of the world whose language is not Arabic.
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