Shouman Opens General Secretariat of Senior Scholars’ Symposium Entitled “Immortal Language between Academic Heritage and Linguistic Renewal”

Prof. Abbas Shouman, President of the World Organization for al-Azhar Graduates and Secretary-General of al-Azhar Council of Senior Scholars, opened the 26^th Academic Symposium held by the General Secretariat of al-Azhar Council of Senior Scholars. The symposium entitled “Immortal Language between Academic Heritage and Linguistic Renewal” took place at al-Azhar Mosque under the auspices of His Eminence the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Prof. Ahmad at-Tayyeb. It was attended by Prof. Ahmad Hammam, General Director of al-Azhar Council of Senior Scholars, Prof. Hassan ash-Shafei, Member of al-Azhar Council of Senior Scholars and President of the Arabic Language Academies and Prof. Ahmad Abdul Azeem, Member of the Arabic Language Academy. 

In his opening speech, Shouman welcomed the attendees at al-Azhar Mosque on Arabic Language Day, conveying the greetings of His Eminence the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Prof. Ahmad at-Tayyeb. He wished success for all activities and events that benefit everyone, noting that al-Azhar is a humanitarian institution before being an Islamic one.

He also added that there is no dispute that the Prophet’s message (peace be upon him) came for all people, and in reality, it extends beyond that – it was sent to both humans and jinn. He pointed out that while every prophet came with an extraordinary miracle; our Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) was given the Quran as his miracle, in one language – Arabic.

In addition, he explained that since Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) was sent to all people, this means that Allah intended for all humans to speak Arabic. All people are required to know Arabic, as this was Allah’s will to be the way for people to learn about Islam’s tolerant teachings. This is an honor for the Arabic language, and what makes us proud is that this language is the language of the Quran. Therefore, we should treat it as the most noble of all languages. Perhaps these events, held by al-Azhar Senior Scholars Authority, will serve as a path for our societies to preserve the Arabic language.