As the Qur�an is revealed in Arabic, reading it in its original language entails great merits. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: �Whoever reads one letter of the Book of Allah, will have one hasanah (reward) for doing so, and every hasanah will be multiplied by 10. I do not say that Alif, Lam, Mim is one letter, but Alif is a letter, Lam is a letter and Mim is a letter.�
Commenting on the above Hadith, Sheikh M. S. Al-Munajjid, a prominent Saudi Muslim lecturer and author, states:
�The reward mentioned in this Hadith is only for the one who reads the Qur�an as it is in Arabic, not for the one who reads the translation of the meanings in any other language. However, if a person reads a translation of the meanings in order to understand the meaning and benefit from what the Qur�anic verses are saying, then he will be rewarded for doing this, because the Muslim will be rewarded for reading tafsir (explanation and commentary of the Qur�an), and a translation is tafsir. But there is no indication that the person who reads a translation will earn the reward mentioned in the Hadith. The bounty of Allah is immense.�
Responding to the question in point, Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi, former President of the Islamic Society of North America, states:
�I am pleased to know that you would very much like to read the Qur'an. May Allah bless you and help you to read it regularly. The Qur'an is the word of Allah. It came to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) through the Angel Jibril in the Arabic tongue. It is very important that a Muslim read the Qur'an in its original authentic language. There is a great blessing in reading the Qur'an in Arabic.
The translations of the Qur'an are not called the Qur'an. They are only the translations of the meaning of the Qur'an. The translations are not the words of Allah, they are the words of human beings who explain the words of Allah in their own language according to their own understanding and ability to translate.
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