Offering prayers in Arabic versus one's native language

Question:
I believe we as Muslims should make every effort to learn the language of the Holy Qur'an and the Prophet (saw), as did the non-Arab Sahabah, including Salman al-Farisi and Suhaib ar-Rumi (ra). However, until one is capable of understanding the Qur'an in the original Arabic should he or she not be allowed to pray in his or her native language? Or is one obliged to utter sounds in an alien tongue? I myself believe people would be able to concentrate better and enjoy it more if they were to pray in a language intelligible to them. What is your opinion on this issue?

Response:
Although it's important that we should understand the Qur'an when we are reciting it during prayers, it cannot be done in a language other than the Arabic of Qur'an. The reason is that it is a part of the sunnah of the prayer given to us by the prophet, alaihissalaam, that we should recite surah al-fatiha and a part of the Qur'an, which can be nothing but the Arabic text which is the very word of Allah. Translations can go wrong and they can't take the status of the word of God. However, you can express yourself in your own language in ruku, sujud, and tashahhud, if you feel like, because these parts of the prayers haven't been confined to any one form by the prophet.

You are very right in pointing out that we should do our best to learn the Arabic of the Qur'an. That's the real solution to the problem.

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