It is narrated from Sayyiduna Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: "Do you have mastery of the Syriac language? Letters of this kind come to me." I said: "No," so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then learn it." I learned this language in seventeen days.
Hadith Referenceالفتح الربانی / كتاب العلم / 263
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:صحیح
Hadith Takhrij«حديث حسن ۔ أخرجه ابوداود: 3645،و الترمذي: 2715، وعلقه البخاري في صحيحه : 7195 بصيغة الجزم، (انظر مسند أحمد ترقيم الرسالة: 21587 ترقیم بيت الأفكار الدولية: 21920»
Brief Explanation
Benefits: … The wording of one narration of this hadith is: ((Yā Zayd! Ta‘allam lī kitāba Yahūd)) … O Zayd! Learn the writing of the Jews. From this narration, it is understood that Syriac was the language of the Jews. Adopting enmity with a people does not mean that one should also hate their language, because the languages present in the world are among the great signs of Allah’s power. There is Arabic, Turkish, English, Urdu, Hindi, Pashto, Persian, Sindhi, Balochi, etc., and then within each language there are various dialects and styles. The statement of Allah, the Exalted, is: {وَمِنْآیٰتِہٖخَلْقُالسَّمٰوَاتِوَالْاَرْضِوَاخْتِلَافُاَلْسِنَتِکُمْوَاَلْوَانِکُمْاِنَّفِیْذٰلِکَلَاٰیٰتٍلِّلْعٰلِمِیْنَ} … And among His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your languages and your colors; surely in that are signs for those of knowledge. (Surah al-Rum: 22) If there is a need, any language can be learned. First and foremost, the Arabic language should be learned so that the Shari‘ah can be understood with ease.