What does the following verse imply:
Had We sent down this Qur’ān in a language other than Arabic, they would have objected: Why are not these verses explained in detail? [A Book in] a non-Arabic [tongue] and [the addressees] Arabs. Tell them: ‘It is a guidance and healing for those who believe. And for those who believe not, there is a deafness in their ears and a blindness in their eyes.’ (41:44)
In order to comprehend this verse, its contextual background needs to be understood: The Jews would implant certain objections in the minds of the idolaters against the Muslims. One among them pertained to the language of the Qur’ān: they objected that since until then the language of Divine scriptures had never been Arabic, so what was the reason for revealing the Qur’ān in Arabic. The answer given to them is that since the addressees are Arabs so it is revealed in Arabic. Had it been revealed in a language other than Arabic, they would have raised the objection that why a Book in a non-Arabic tongue was revealed to the Arabs.
The Qur’ān goes on to assert that it is a guidance and a healing for those who have made themselves worthy of it by accepting faith. People who are not professing faith in it are a victim of their own evil nature. It is not that the Book has some deficiency that they are not believing in it. It is their own addiction to evil that has made them blind and deaf to its message.
1. The Prophet is reported to have said: ‘… Do Wudū thoroughly.’ (Muslim, Kitābu’l-Salāh)
2. It is the Merciful [Allah] who taught the Qur’ān; He [ the Merciful] created man. (55:1-3)