Teaching Arabic to one’s children

Yes, if possible, it is better to learn Arabic. Especially when trying to read and understand the Quran. As you know translations change the meaning resulting in inaccuracies when compared to the original Arabic. Furthermore, Syed Ahmed Alhasan (as) has advised Arabs living in non-Arab countries to teach their child Arabic so that they know their religion.

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“Unfortunately, many Arab expatriate parents far from Arab countries abuse their children when they neglect to teach them the Arabic language, reading and writing. while parents can save an hour of their time a day to teach their children the Arabic language which they need to read their religion in detail, and I do not think that it is difficult in this time when all books and educational curricula are available online and easily accessible”(Jurisprudential Answers – Various answers – vol 2)

وللأسف كثير من الآباء العرب المغتربين بعيداً عن الدول العربية يسيئون لأبنائهم عندما يهملون تعليمهم اللغة العربية والقراءة والكتابة، بينما يمكن أن يوفر الوالدان ساعة من وقتهما يومياً لتعليم أبنائهم اللغة العربية التي يحتاجونها في قراءة دينهم والاطلاع عليه بالتفصيل، ولا أظن أنّ الأمر فيه صعوبة في هذا الزمن الذي تتوفر فيه كلّ الكتب ومناهج التعليم على الانترنت، ويمكن الوصول لها بسهولة …) الأجوبة الفقهية – مسائل متفرقة ج2

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It is better to deliver the Friday sermon in Arabic and translate it into the language of the listeners, as Syed Ahmed Alhasan (as) indicated in one of his answers, as follows:

“It is permissible for the sermon to be in the language of the majority of attendees at the prayer, but he must praise God and pray over the Prophet and his family and read something from the Quran in Arabic. It is better for the sermon to be in Arabic and translated to non-Arabs even if they are the majority of the attendees at the prayer. It is permissible for someone who is fluent in Arabic to lead the prayer (i.e. be the Imam) as opposed someone is not fluent in Arabic. It is better for the preacher to be fluent in Arabic and to deliver the sermon in Arabic: nationality does not count in this matter, hence, the imam can be from any nationality, as long as is fluent in Arabic.” (Jurisprudential Answers – Book of Salat)

(يجوز أن تكون الخطبة بلغة أكثر الحاضرين للصلاة، ولكن يجب أن يحمد الله ويصلي على النبي وآله ويقرأ شيئاً من القرآن بالعربية، والأفضل أن تكون الخطبة بالعربية وتترجم لغير العرب حتى وإن كانوا أغلب من يحضر الصلاة. ويجوز أن يأتم من يجيد العربية بمن لا يجيدها، ولكن الأفضل أن يكون الخطيب يجيد العربية ويخطب بالعربية ولا علاقة للقومية بهذا الأمر، فيمكن أن يكون الإمام من أي قومية وهو يجيد العربية ) الأجوبة الفقهية – كتاب الصلاة .