INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION (IJRSI)

ISSN No. 2321-2705 | DOI: 10.51244/IJRSI |Volume XII Issue XI November 2025

A Study on the Impact of Arabic Language on Persian Language

Md. Isphakul Haque

Research Scholar, Department of Persian, Gauhati University

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.51244/IJRSI.2025.12110011

Received: 07 November 2025; Accepted: 14 November 2025; Published: 28 November 2025

ABSTRACT:

Arabic and Persian languages have interacted closely throughout history because of the ongoing communication

between the Arab and Iranian peoples, and as a result, the two languages impact has produced works that moved

from one to the other, something that might not be observed in any other pair of languages. Iranian civilization

and Persian language, while accepting Arabic, did not give up at once and established a two-way interaction

with it from the very beginning, in contrast to civilizations like Egyptian civilization, which forgot its previous

language in front of Arabic and Islamic civilization. Numerous words have been borrowed between these two

languages. The majority of legal, religious, and jurisprudential terminology in Persian is borrowed from Arabic.

However, the Arabic language has also borrowed many words in a muddled form and some words in an intact

form from Persian. The purpose of this article is to analyze and highlight various characteristics of the Arabic

language's influence on Persian. However, the majority of research and studies have acknowledged or

exaggerated the Arabic language's influence on Persian; this article explores the actual boundaries of this

reciprocal influence.

Keywords: Arabic language, Persian language, language interaction, influences etc.

INTRODUCTION:

Spoken and written language are two forms of language used in social communication. Due to the influence of

contemporary societal factors, these two forms are continuously undergoing successive changes. Additionally,

a language experiences erosion and waste because it changes as a result of contact with other languages, losing

its purity, and the loss of corruption and change of both (writing and speech) results in the loss of change in a

culture. But we must not overlook the fact that languages are beautiful and productive because of their ability to

communicate with one another. Since language serves as a bridge between a country's past and present as well

as a symbol of its existence and identity, it should be preserved and protected. Military conquests are one method

of language permeation. The defeated nation will unavoidably adopt its language and be engulfed by the

dominant culture if the dominant nation's reign is prolonged and its culture and civilization are superior to those

of the vanquished nation. Additionally, the host people's language will be used (Tal, 1373). Similar to this, after

spending some time in Iran, the Turkish invaders the Seljuks, Khwarezm Shahi, and Mongols—lost their bravery

and primal disposition and adopted Iranian manners and morals. They also became ardent champions of

civilization and the language of culture. They turned Iranian. In other ways, the military's dominance is linked

to the influence of the new religion's propaganda on language. For example, the language of some countries

changed as a result of the Islamic caliphs' ongoing rule, endangering the thousands-year-old culture and language

of the people of Fars and Khorasan.

However, this risk did not materialize. For example, Iranians adopted Islam and changed the script, which

enriched and perfected the Persian language and produced the most beloved artistic, scientific, and mystical

written works of Iran and Islam. In this way, Qarsi became the second language of the Islamic world.

Additionally, Iran brought its Iranian-Islamic culture to the shores of the Black Sea and the Mediterranean from

India, Western China, and Asia Minor. To the extent that the Ottoman sultans and the Mughal Empire of India

wrote letters in Persian to Persians. The dialect used for immigration, trade, and the exchange of products, as

well as the translation of technical and religious terms, is other factors. Of course, one should keep in mind that

a language may borrow words from other languages in accordance with its demands. Take Furthermore, over

the course of fourteen centuries, thousands of words and idioms from Arabic gradually made their way into

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION (IJRSI)

ISSN No. 2321-2705 | DOI: 10.51244/IJRSI |Volume XII Issue XI November 2025

Persian, adding to the language's richness and enabling it to express the most nuanced intellectual and spiritual

details as well as adapt to the most complex cultural and scientific issues of the modern world.

With forty centuries of literary and historical background, Persian is one of the easiest and most fluent languages

in the world. It has many foundations that all languages must develop over time. It needs to go through them; it

has been polished, shaved, and walked, and anything unnecessary has been discarded. Persian was not a literary

language in the southern and western parts of Iran, Khorasan, and Trans-Nahr during the eighth and ninth

centuries A.D., It took a while for its influence to spread beyond the boundaries of Western Asia, India, and

Turkestan. It eventually became the official language of many Middle Eastern nations and had a significant

impact on the historical and cultural lives of the aforementioned peoples. It is clear that the Persian language did

not attain its position overnight.

Persian writing and literature declined during the Arabs' dominance in the early centuries of Islam. Arabic was

proclaimed the official state language starting in 81 AH (701–700 AD), and the Caliphate grew stronger over

time. Arabic was also used in other social and personal matters. Arabic became the international and scientific

language and served the same function in the Middle and Near East as Latin did in medieval Europe in nations

where Islam has triumphed over other religions.

Problem Statement:

Languages can be a source of mutual prosperity as well as corruption and erosion when they influence one

another. Persian is one of the languages that, for centuries after Arabic, was regarded as the language of religion

and Islamic and human sciences. Persian is used in a wide range of sources, works, and sciences, including

mysticism, speech, philosophy, medicine, astronomy, and more. It was stated and written; in this piece, an effort

has been made to look at the concerns expressed by specialists and significant works that have looked at the

topic of cross-national cultural interchange through Persian literature and language.

A few impacts of Arabic on Persian are examined. This study demonstrates that even though Persian has

influenced other languages, words from Persian have found their way into other languages, and the works of

great poets like Hafez, Saadi, Ferdowsi, Parveen Etisami, and Nima have been translated into English, French,

Kazakh, Bosnian, Irish, and Lebanese and have been successful in fostering cross-cultural and cross-linguistic

communication. However, the Arabic language's influence on Persian has been acknowledged or overstated in

the majority of publications and study.

Thus, the fundamental issue of this study is how Arabic affects Persian and the actual degree of interaction

between the two languages. In light of this, the article explores the actual boundaries of this bilateral influence.

A nation that does not use its native language and culture to define itself in this world is destined to give up its

identity-building components and lose its color in the dominant culture, according to the current interaction

process based on the creation of a global village and foreign civilizations. By viewing language as a soft

technology and examining how people impact and are influenced by one another, the current essay aims to

investigate the conditions necessary for the realization of this vision.

Significance of the Study:

It is clear that the Persian and Arabic languages became somewhat entangled once Islam arrived in Iran and

Khorasan. Some claim that Persian is the 33rd dialect of Arabic due to the complexity of this topic. There was a

need for a study in this area that would examine the true boundaries and gaps of the influence and efficacy of

these two languages without bias and prejudice, facts expressed cultural and linguistic interaction, because the

majority of research and studies have acknowledged or exaggerated the Arabic language's influence on Persian.

As a result, I began investigating this issue by watching Chenban Khala. However, another advantage of this

investigation is the expansion of knowledge in this area. Such research is essential and contributes to the richness

of literature and cultural interaction in the sphere of pertinent subjects, given the lack in our literary studies

surrounding this issue.

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION (IJRSI)

ISSN No. 2321-2705 | DOI: 10.51244/IJRSI |Volume XII Issue XI November 2025

METHODOLOGY:

The goal of the current descriptive-comparative study, which is based on library resources, is to regularly and

objectively characterize the research topic. Data collection and recording will be the approach used to obtain

information for the current study (by referring to library and online sources such as books, articles, newspapers,

banks, and databases, etc.). The data used in this study is gathered from library documents. The current study

will use a qualitative and descriptive data analysis method, which will first identify the problems associated with

the primary debate before analyzing the obstacles that lie ahead.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:

The study's findings demonstrate that linguistic communication contributes to its beauty and productivity. The

language has an impact in a number of ways, including military victories, trade and the flow of products,

migration, and translation. Arabic and Persian had an interacting relationship from the start, both in terms of

religious and technical words. Numerous words have been borrowed between these two languages. The majority

of legal, religious, and jurisprudential terminology in Persian is borrowed from Arabic. However, the Arabic

language has also borrowed many words in a muddled form (in the form of Arabic forms) and some words in an

intact form from Persian.

The influence of Islamic civilization in general and the Arabic language in particular on the growth of Persian-

speaking scientists' abilities is another aspect of this research that may be comprehended. At times, political

leaders ask them to complete their scientific writings. Without a doubt, the variables that contribute to the birth

of genius such as friendship culture, political stability, and economic prosperity are mostly responsible for the

rise of elites and scientists in any culture or civilization. We discuss some time the features of the Arabic

language and Islamic civilization at other times. It is accurate to state that Islamic civilization played a significant

role in the development of the brilliance of Iranian scientists during the Golden Age of Islam, as Islamic sciences

like interpretation, jurisprudence and theology, astronomy and medicine, etc., emerged and knowledge from

outside the Islamic world was translated into Arabic. Regarding the Arabic language's influence on Persian, it

should be mentioned that mutual word borrowing is a perfectly normal occurrence because of the 400 years of

Arab political dominance and the Islamic religion's rule over Mesopotamia, Iran, and other countries during the

Islamic era.

In any case, Arabic was the common and official language of the Islamic world at the time, including Iran. This

study also demonstrates the influence of the Islamic caliphate and the Arabic language's leadership on the

advancement of science and technology in non-Arab contexts. The Islamic caliphate developed into a center of

science during the Abbasid caliphate, commonly known as the Golden Age of Islam. And it turned into a study.

Through translation into Arabic, science and technology from Greece, Rome, and other civilized and

technologically advanced nations found their way into the territory of the Islamic administration. It is important

to remember that after the Arabs learned about other civilizations and new military, artistic, medical, and other

technology.

Words that were previously nonexistent in the Arabic language were discovered, and as a result, Arabic language

scholars began coining new words. In this sense, the Arabic language has led the Persian language in learning

cross-border scientific terms and coining new words since the second century. It is also important to note that

Iranian scientists were eager to share their knowledge and science in the Islamic world's international language

in order to take advantage of the opportunity for scientific interaction with other scientists; at that time, the

Persian language had not yet developed this capacity.

All languages have shortcomings, but this study also shows that Arabic has a positive impact on Persian. Even

the so-called "perfect" Arabic language has evolved over time to reflect new information. As a result, this

beneficial influence is present in all languages. There have been instances where attempts have been made to

revitalize the Persian language through the discussion of the etymology and rules of the Arabic language. One

example of these efforts is the revision of the Persian language's plural form. Why should Persian words be

pluralized in accordance with Arabic when the Persian language has suffixes and signs for pluralization? For

instance, "spy" is a Persian word that appears to be Arabic, but it was pluralized as "javasis" in Persian. The

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION (IJRSI)

ISSN No. 2321-2705 | DOI: 10.51244/IJRSI |Volume XII Issue XI November 2025

Arabic-specific subordination of adjectives and adverbs to one another is one of the other instances of the rules

of the Arabic language being incorporated into Persian. The terms "executive power" and "foreign affairs," for

instance, have feminine adjectives in Arabic; therefore, a more thorough revision and cleaning of the Persian

language at the level of linguistic rules is required to rectify these items.

Public acceptance typically goes hand in hand with such actions. I want to argue and go over the problems

pertaining to the linguistic interactions between Arabic and Persian in this section, as well as how these two

languages affect one another. In my view, the following topics can be discussed: The first contentious issue is

the Persian language's accent; historically, Arabic and Persian have been closely related languages. However,

some people (like Pan-Turks) frequently hear in their language that Persian is one of the Arabic dialects.

To begin with, it should be checked where this saying comes from. The phrase "Persian language is one of the

dialects of Arabic language" comes from an event that happened a long time ago. UNESCO was asked to

recognize Persian as the eighth language in the world, but they said it was the thirty-third dialect of Arabic and

didn't need to be registered as a separate language because of its unique features and abilities. What do they

mean by accent in this case? In linguistics, accent is based on rhythm and song, and there are no special rules

or words in a language. According to this definition, UNESCO's response is scientifically unfounded. But if

"accent" means the different parts of a language's sub-category, then that is a wrong idea. Linguists should

answer this question: does the claim have a scientific basis?

There should be a logical answer to these kinds of disagreements in the international setting. I think that the

linguists who study Persian literature are the best people to answer this question. The Indo-European language

family includes Indian and Iranian languages, and Persian is one of them. This is despite the fact that the Arabic

language is considered one of the Semitic languages and belongs to the family of African and Asian languages.

With a simple analogy, we can see that from the point of view of language families, there is no linguistic

kinship between Persian and Arabic languages, let alone saying that Persian language is a sub-branch of

Arabic language.

The fact that they consistently favor Arabic influence over Persian and fail to take Persian influence into account

is another contentious issue. It must be acknowledged that languages typically lend and borrow words from one

another. Approximately 3,000 Arabic words that have been translated from Persian to Arabic are compiled in

the book "Al-Ma'ajm Al-Farsiyyah fi Al-Ma'ajm Al-Arabi." Based on the previously discussed principles of

sovereignty and governance, the Iranian empire prevailed over the Arab world, particularly Hira, Bahrain, and

Yemen, during the Achaemenid period through Jewish religious literature, and during the Sassanid period

through Iranian dominance. Words with non-Arabic origins that have been translated into Arabic are referred to

as "Arabic," but it is difficult to distinguish them since they are entirely mixed up in the Arabicization process.

We are familiar with a large number of Persian words. words that appear to have Arabic origins but are actually

Persian in origin. For example, the word "Sabah," which means "morning," is believed to be Arabic. However,

etymology reveals that it is actually Persian, and etymology knowledge is what can demonstrate to us that such

claims are accurate.

I propose that identifying this set of terms, investigating their Pertinacity, and presenting the findings to the

public should be one of the academy's initiatives. In any event, a large number of Persian words have been

translated into Arabic in the fields of science, the military, and nature. Although this borrowing is generally

reciprocal, the Arabic language has the upper hand because of the manner in which words are transferred from

Persian to Arabic and because of the features of the Arabic language. Another contentious issue, in my opinion,

is that there is a misconception or a negative perception regarding the influence of languages on one another. All

living languages in scientific and specialized fields undoubtedly have an impact on one another, which is

undoubtedly a blessing and useful. However, care must be taken to ensure that these discussions take place

within the framework of the Persian language's structure and rules, and equivalency must be done as much as

possible. In any case, I think that the Persian language has benefited from Arabic in the areas of Islamic sciences

and the transmission of that era's knowledge to Persian.

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION (IJRSI)

ISSN No. 2321-2705 | DOI: 10.51244/IJRSI |Volume XII Issue XI November 2025

CONCLUSION:

Language is a living entity. Similar to how people undergo racial and ethnic shifts as a result of political,

economic, and occasionally co-cultural migrations, there is a perspective on language that observes the migration

of these languages from various regions due to economic, political, scientific, or cultural governments,

particularly in countries and regions that are adjacent to one another. Linguistic connections have occurred in all

languages if we look at the history of languages. The findings of this study suggest that there have been historical

connections between the Arabic and Persian languages. Arabic is a member of the African and Asian language

families and is regarded as one of the Semitic languages. From the perspective of language families, there is no

linguistic relationship between Persian and Arabic, despite the two languages having influenced one another.

We gradually saw the Arabic language and speech expand throughout our nation with the arrival of Islam in Iran

and Khorasan. Prominent Iranian and Khorasani scientists frequently see this process.

Regarding the Arabic language's influence on Persian, it should be noted that the mutual borrowing of words is

a complete phenomenon because of the 400 years of Arab political rule and the Islamic period's rule over

Mesopotamia, Iran, Khorasan, and other countries. It was organic. In any case, Arabic was the common and

official language of the Islamic world at the time, including Iran. Naturally, scientists from Iran and Khorasan

wrote in Arabic throughout that time, and occasionally they finished their scientific publications at the behest of

political authorities.

All of the world's living languages undoubtedly have influences from one another in scientific and specialized

fields, which is undoubtedly a good thing. However, care must be taken to ensure that these discussions take

place within the framework of the Persian language's structure and rules, and equivalency must be done to the

greatest extent possible. According to the research summary, the Persian language has benefited from the Arabic

language, which has increased its richness in the areas of Islamic sciences and the transmission of knowledge

from that era to Persian.

REFERENCES:

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Tehran, Payam, Ch 2.

2. Miftah, I., & Ali, Wahab. (1374). A Look at The Influence and Spread of Persian Language and Literature

in Turkey, Afghanistan: Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.

3. Imam, Muhammad Ali (1347). Dictionary of Persian words in Arabic, Tehran.

4. Tal, Karim, (1373). The Influence of Languages on Each Other, Shahrivar: Ashna Publications.

5. Hazrami, Abu ZaydAbd al-Rahman Ibn Khaldoun. (1377). Introduction, Tunis, Al-Mattabah Al-

Azhariyya.

6. Khatibi, Hossein (1366). Fan Prose, Tehran, Zovar Publications.

7. Khalili, Abbas (1336). Iran and Islam, Tehran, Ministry of Culture

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