Resolutions From the Fiqh Council in Makkah

The Third Resolution: It is not Permissible to Replace the Writing of Arabic Numbers With the Writing of Numbers Used in Europe

All praise is for Allâh Almighty alone, and may He grant peace and blessings upon the last Prophet, Muhammad, on his family, and on his Companions.

The Islamic Figh Council has reviewed a letter given to the General Trust from the Muslim World League from the Minister of Trusts and Islamic Affairs in Jordan, Professor Kamil Ash-Sharif. His research was forwarded to the Ministry Council in Jordan under the title: "Arabic Numerals from their Earliest History." Among the views he presented were that the standard Arabic numerals are actually Indian numerals, and that the modern European numerals are the original Arabic numerals. This mistake of his lead him to another, which is to claim that Arabic nations should depend upon the modern numbers used by the Europeans. This assertion is based on the claim that European numerals are used in the accounting offices of foreign countries and are common in social and organizational publications in the Arab lands, and that accounting equipment and computers use only these numbers, making the standardization of such numerals desirable to Arab nations.

The Council also reviewed the findings of the Board of Senior

Scholars in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in its twenty-first session in the city of Riyadh, between the 17 and 28th of Rabi' Al-Akhir of the year 1403 H. They concluded that it is not allowed to exchange the current Arabic numerals used with those currently used by Western nations. This is for the following reasons:

1) The people who are calling to this change have not proven that the numbers used in the West are the original Arabic numbers; in fact, the numbers we use today have been used for a number of centuries, through varying conditions which proves that they are Arabic. There are many words in the Arabic language that, though they are not Arabic in origin, have become a part of the language through use. Some of these words are even found in the Qur'an, and they are referred to as being "Arabized."

2) The ideas behind this movement have evil implications and are aimed at westernizing our Islamic societies, slowly but surely. This is apparent from the following report: "The Ministry of Information in Kuwait has issued a report, stating the necessity of using those numbers used in the West, for a number of reasons, the main one being the need of unifying intellectual and scholarly aims, and tourism on a global level.

3) This idea might lead, at some time in the future, to the change of Arabic letters for Latin ones.

4) The idea involves a sense of love and of blind following of the West and of its ways.

5) All copies of the Qur'an, books of Tafsir, dictionaries, and books in general make use of those numbers that we use today. Replacing our numbers with theirs will make it difficult for future generations to use those books.

6) It is not necessary to follow in the footsteps of those Arab countries that have already made the change, for those countries have abandoned something much more impor- tant: applying the Shari'ah as a way of life. So their actions. are not standards for us.

Based on what has preceded, the Figh Council has made these resolutions:

1) Endorsing the resolution made by the Senior Scholars of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, stating that it is not allowed to change Arabic numbers used today for European numbers that are used in the West.

2) It is not allowed to accept the view of those who call for the change; the people of the nation need not change something upon which they have agreed upon for many centuries.

3) Arab Leaders should denounce this change and they should warn others of the dangers of obliterating a part of our Arabic and Islamic heritage.

Allah is the Grantor of success. May He send peace and blessings upon Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.

Source:
The Permanent Committee
Fatawa Islamiyah, Vol. 8 Pages 399-400-401