UN Arabic Language Day

Arabic, which first emerged in the northwest of the Arabian Peninsula, is a member of the Semitic family of languages which also includes Hebrew and Aramaic. Whilst very early manifestations of Arabic date back as far as the 8th century BCE, the language has been defined and refined over a considerable period of time.

There are around 280 million Arabic native speakers worldwide. There are about 14 words in Arabic that describe "love". Arabic has no capital letters. There are many differences between Arabic and English, the most obvious one being that it is written from right to left.

Arabic was chosen by Allah, and the Muslim holy scripture is written entirely in Arabic. Therefore, every Muslim must learn to read and speak Arabic, the language of the prophet, in order to be able to understand and interpret the word of Allah through prayer and reading the Quran.