Making allusions that Arabic is the
preferred way of the top authority, is simply a projection
of your mind.
The following passage does indicate that the language of Revelation has changed over time, and thus indirectly would seem to indicate that there is nothing permanently fixed about one language:
Subsequently Syriac became prominent among the existing languages. The Sacred Scriptures of former times were revealed in that tongue. Later, Abraham, the Friend of God, appeared and shed upon the world the light of Divine Revelation. The language He spoke while He crossed the Jordan became known as Hebrew (Ibrání), which meaneth "the language of the crossing." The Books of God and the Sacred Scriptures were then revealed in that tongue, and not until after a considerable lapse of time did Arabic become the language of Revelation....
(Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings, sec.
87)
However, there is, as Zaid cited, praise in the Bahá'í Writings for Arabic's eloquence (Persian is praised for its luminosity but not its eloquence--my father, who is Iranian and obtained a Ph.D. in Linguistics, states that Persian is not very exact, and I think Bahá'u'lláh's preference for Arabic in certain areas as legal matters (such as the revelation of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas in Arabic) would support this).
With regard to Arabic, in several Tablets Baha'u'llah praises the vastness and eloquence of the Arabic language...
(On behalf of the Universal House of Justice, an email dated 10 February 1998 to an individual)
The Qur'án, whose divine authority we also recognize, also speaks of Arabic as perspicuous (though it also refers to a reason for it being revealed in Arabic so that those receiving the Book could understand it (that it was immediately revealed for the Arabian peoples).
Many Arabic friends also say: the langage spoken
in paradise is Arabic. How can they know ?
While I for one would agree that it is silly to think that the next world will be constrained by our human conventions, I think there is probably a basis for this statement in the Hadith if not the Qur'án itself. If there is such a tradition, it is still possible of being authentic, I would think, in the sense that such a reference to "Paradise" would not need to be to the world after physical death, but could refer, for example, to the Paradise on earth brought by the next Manifestation of God (e.g., that fulfilled by the Paradise of the Báb's coming, who used Arabic in His writings and with His followers). One could also refer to the Paradise of being (directly) immersed in the words of Revelation.
This is so childish.
Languages are just codes that convey information.
Though linguists do insist that the speakers of all languages are capable of shaping language to express all forms of abstract thought, this does not mean that there are not great differences (some distinctions being relative of course to the type of discourse) in expressiveness. One aboriginal language, according to a linguist, Steven Pincker, has only 250 words, which are used in various combinations to adequately convey their (or anyone's) thought. But this does not mean that this language would be very succinct when one wished to discuss some very techincal matters, such as the inside of a computer! On the other hand, it might be very refreshing to see how such languages can assist in boiling down complex ideas to their essentials (without obfuscating things in complex language).
And though there is a recognition of the basic equality of all languages for being adaptable (rather than being unduly confining of thought), this need not mean that languages cannot be superior to others (for specific uses) in other ways besides expressiveness:
Persian, Arabic and Hebrew are all very beautiful when chanted.
(From an article based on instructions of the Guardian, Compilation on Service in Bahá'í Temples, no. 455,
10th question)
)
I think the following passage is insightful into reconciling both sides of this issue:
“...the Bahá’í parents from an Iranian background should endeavor to teach their children the Persian language, for Persian is one of the two languages of revelation in this glorious Dispensation. Bahá’u’lláh says: “In this Day when the sun of knowledge hath appeared and is resplendent from the firmament of Iran, whatever is said in praise of this language is meet and seemly.” He also says: “The Beloved of the world speaks in the Persian language. It would be praiseworthy in His eyes if His loved ones also converse and write in this language.”
(Universal House of Justice, to the Iránian believers throughout the world, 154 B.E. at
http://bahai-library.com/?file=uhj_hist ... _iran.html )
This selection indicates to me that:
1) It is beneficial to have greater access to a language of Revelation for the sake of its content (regardless of any absolute superiority the language may have)
2) One may or even should praise certain languages.
3) There is a kind of love in things associated with the Manifestation of God, regardless even of their intrinsic merits. There is a passage which indicates that although a relic of the Faith (as people keep a lock of hair of a loved one), has no intrinsic power or significance, it is only natural to love it for its association.
None of this is to say, however, that there is anything superior about the speakers of a given language. As a very generous-hearted instructor of Arabic at a local mosque told me that I would have double the reward for any efforts I made to learn the Qur'án in Arabic, because of the extra effort required.
Take care,
Brett