Muslim Prayer for English Speaking Converts What to Say when You Don't Speak Arabic

Muslim Prayer for English Speaking Converts What to Say when You Don't Speak Arabic

  Most people who know anything about Islam know that Muslims pray in Arabic. I converted 3 1/2 years ago, and one of the first things I was told was that I would have to learn to pray in Arabic. I accepted what I was told (about how to pray) without asking any questions. That was sort of strange for me, because I asked about two million questions when I was learning about Islam and deciding whether to take the leap of faith and convert. Not only did I ask the questions, but I insisted on seeing the answers somewhere besides the Quran. After all, how can you expect a person to be convinced using evidence that they don't necessarily accept as the truth?

Anyway, once I converted, I broke from my own pattern and neglected to ask the few questions that so many people have since asked me. Why do the prayers have to be said in Arabic? What if you don't speak Arabic? Is there something you can say while you are learning Arabic? If you are speaking a foreign language, then how do you "connect" with God? Is there any part of the prayer that I can say in my own language? If the words mean nothing to me, do the prayers still count? Instead of asking questions, I allowed my own spirituality to suffer by forcing myself to learn the entire prayer in Arabic. I learned to perform salat as an act of obedience instead of the true worship that it is meant to be.

Recently, a dear friend of mine converted. She (and her husband) started asking these questions of me. I had learned a few months ago that there were words that could be said while learning the Arabic, but I finally decided to do some real research myself in order to give my friend the best possible answer. So, here are the answers, all rolled in together: