Surah 41. Fussilat, Ayah 44

Sc., "in a tongue which we can understand". Since the Prophet was an Arab and lived in an Arabian environment, his message had to be expressed in the Arabic language, which the people to whom it was addressed in the first instance could understand: see in this connection note [72] on the first sentence of 13:37 , as well as the first half of 14:4 - "never have We sent forth any apostle otherwise than [with a message] in his own people's tongue, so that he might make [the truth] clear unto them". Had the message of the Qur'an been formulated in a language other than Arabic, the opponents of the Prophet would have been justified in saying, "between us and thee is a barrier" (verse {5} of this surnh

Lit, "from a far-off place": i.e., they only hear the sound of the words, but cannot understand their meaning.

 So they neither hear nor understand the call.

Cf. xli. 5, and vi. 25. They pretended that it was too deep for them, when they meant that they were superior to it! The fact was that by putting themselves in an artificially false position, they rendered themselves impervious to the Message. The voice of Revelation or the voice of conscience sounded to them as if it came from a far-off place! They themselves made themselves strangers to it.

Cf. xvi. 103-105; xii. 2; etc. It was most natural and reasonable that the Messenger being Arab, the Message should be in his own tongue, that he might explain it in every detail, with the greatest power and eloquence. Even though it was to be for the whole world, its initial exposition was thus to be in Arabic. But if people had no faith and were spiritually deaf or blind, it would not matter in what language it came.