What others said about Arabic Read in the original
In the conclusion of his book on the conquests, explaining why the language of the first Muslims became that of the state and of learning:
“The early Muslims brought with them a great cultural self-confidence. God had spoken to them through His Prophet, in Arabic, and they were the bearers of true religion […] It is interesting to compare this with the Germanic invaders of western Europe in the fifth century. When they occupied the lands of the Roman Empire, they abandoned their old gods and converted to Christianity, the religion of the empire they had just conquered […] This cultural self-confidence meant that Arabic became the language of administration and the language of the new high culture.”
Hugh Kennedy
b. 1947
British historian of early Islam, Professor of Arabic at SOAS, University of London.
In Arabic
وقد جاء المسلمون الأوائل بثقةٍ ثقافيّةٍ عظيمة. فقد كلّمهم الله على لسان نبيّه، بالعربيّة، وكانوا حملةَ الدين الحقّ […] ومن الطريف أن نقارن هذا بالغزاة الجرمان في غرب أوروبا في القرن الخامس. فحين احتلّوا أراضي الإمبراطوريّة الرومانيّة تركوا آلهتهم القديمة واعتنقوا المسيحيّة، دينَ الإمبراطوريّة التي فتحوها لتوّهم […] وهذه الثقةُ الثقافيّة هي التي جعلت العربيّةَ لغةَ الإدارة ولغةَ الثقافة الرفيعة الجديدة.
Source
The Great Arab Conquests, Conclusion, Philadelphia: Da Capo Press, 2007, p. 375
He wrote in English; the Arabic is ours. The passage is abridged.
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