In sum, if poetry is permissible, there is nothing wrong with teaching it for a valid consideration, whether it is Arabic or Nabataean. Nabataean poetry contains wisdom, and it is valid for it to be made a bridal dowry, since the author stated the matter without qualification.

We never approve of people turning away from the Arabic language; rather, we strongly condemn it. We consider among the gravest wrongs committed against children the conduct of those who teach their children words from languages other than Arabic, such as greetings, replies, and the like.

Shaykh al-Islam says in Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm (The Requirement of the Straight Path) that language is among the greatest distinguishing features of nations, and it preserves for nations their foundations and the ways of their forebears. Umar would strike those who spoke in the jargon of the non-Arabs (1). May Allah reward him well. Those who take pride in these foreign languages—whether English or any other—and speak them among themselves ought likewise to be struck. Worse and more objectionable still is that they teach them to their children. This is a grave offense. All nations are obliged to learn the Arabic language, including the English, Americans, and Russians, because the message addressed to them is conveyed in the clear Arabic Quran, and the language spoken by the Messenger is Arabic. They must therefore learn this language. But unfortunately, because of our weakness and because we lack a distinct character, we have come to imitate them even in speech.

However, there is nothing wrong with learning English for a sound purpose—for example, learning it in order to become a caller who invites people to Islam.