Honoring every language as holy reflects the diversity of God’s creation and promotes cultural appreciation, asserts Mujeeb Jaihoon

It is with great pleasure that I stand before you today to deliver this address, despite its impromptu nature. I would like to express my gratitude to your English Club for extending the invitation to attend this event, which I received only yesterday. I hope that you will bear with me as I share my thoughts with you. The success of my message, however, will ultimately depend on your understanding of it.

I consider it an honor to address an institution that is unique in its kind in this country. My first visit to this institution was in 1999, when I arrived here soaked in monsoon rain. Despite the unannounced nature of my visit, I was warmly received and given a tour of the campus, which ended with exceptional hospitality.

Talents as Blessings

We all embody the truth expressed in the Quranic verse, “I blew into him (man) of My Soul.” Our talents, whether of our body or intellect, are a blessing from Him. It is our responsibility to use them in His Way.

I propose four steps, modeled after a Quranic prayer, for the successful implementation of your creativity to yield better results.

Firstly, we must pray to sharpen our talents and broaden our thoughts. This is the intellectual aspect.

Secondly, we must request Him to make the task easy for us. This includes mastering the medium in which one is involved, such as the canvas for an artist, books for an orator, pen, and paper for an author, etc. This is the practical aspect.

Thirdly, we have natural shortcomings that hamper our creativity. Habits like impatience, anger, and intolerance soil our talents, tying “knots” over our senses. Satan takes advantage of these knots. Therefore, the third prayer is to release us from such knots.

Finally, it is imperative to present our “product” in a language that “they” can understand. Speak in contemporary language.
Remember, that each is granted only what is within his capacity. Moses begged the Lord to see a glimpse of Him, but he received a simple answer, “you cannot see Me.” This was because the Liberator of Children of Israel had asked for a favor beyond his capacity. The Creator did not use the words “I am not seeable.” However, in the case of His Beloved, the Lord invited him to His Throne and revealed “whatever he revealed.” Moreover, the Beloved saw it all with a smile, whereas Moses fainted at the mere ray of His Light!

Don’t dictate to God what is best.

Nevertheless, when you ask for something, seek the best, but do not dictate to Him its limits. The definition of “best” is in God’s domain. Don’t just aspire to be like someone else. You never know, there might be greater heights to reach beyond them. “If a good batsman contributes to the game, a great batsman changes the course of the game”. Your mission should be to change, not contribute to, the flow!

Every Language is Holy

Literature is the intellectual reflection of life, and it is natural for a writer’s beliefs to influence their thinking. Never believe those who say otherwise! Moreover, languages are among the signs of the Creator, as mentioned in the objective words of the Qur’an. Each language reflects the diversity of His creation, showing His wisdom and might. Therefore, every language is holy and deserves to be honored.

However, languages also inherit local influences from the people who speak them. That is why we have Malayalam vocabulary shaped by Dravidian culture, Arabic influenced by Islam and Hijazi lifestyle, and English shaped by Biblical and Western thoughts. To be more specific, we have hundreds of words in Arabic for the Arabian animal Camel, whereas Malayalam uses only one word to describe it!

Human Emotions are Neither Eastern Nor Western

Be not shy to use the language of the heart. Do not distract yourself with the norms of East or West. Your emotions are human emotions, not particularly Christian, Muslim, or Buddhist emotions. The affinity between your work and the reader in any part of the world is sure to be established simply because they too are humans. Seen from such an angle, globalization is a blessing to communicate human emotions and consequently bring about unity in the hearts of mankind.

I leave you with sincere advice to make the best use of your time. Time will not be as sweet in your future life as you find it during your student days. Now, when you are left with hours to perform something, the outside world will demand the same work within minutes.


Summary of Jaihoon’s speech at Darul Huda Islamic University – Chemmad – Kerala – India on May 08 2005