Dear Areebuddin
Salaam,
In addition to what has been hitherto shared, I would like to present a brief overview of the interpretation of 18:27 and why I would theologically and syntactically push for the majority translation.
From my humble perspective, to corroborate the majority translation of verse 18:27 over Rashad Khalifah's rendition, I would argue (1) the syntactical flow of the verse - with respect to the pronoun 'hi' (him/ it) as well as (2) the meaning of 'multahada' and its Qur'anic usage.
(1). In my view, the pronoun 'hi' in 'likalimaatihi (in His word) refers back to the immediate preceding noun 'rabbika' (your Lord) as well as the subsequent 'hi' in 'duunihi' (apart from him/ it). From its flow, it is clear that the verse takes a bearing to centralize the theme of its injunction on God. Thus, I find no syntactical reason to append the reference of the second 'hi' to its immediate preceding noun 'kalimat' in 'likalimaatihi' but rather, it continues the original syntactical reference to 'rabbika.'
(2). 'multahada' is a noun from the Form VIII verb form of the root 'LAM-HA-DAL.' See the citation below.
"...lahad, INF. lahd, dig a niche in an older tomb and bury the dead in it, bury; lean towards; II. INF. talhid, id.; —IV. INF. ilhad, id.; swerve from the right way, from faith, become a heretic; —VIII. INF. iltihad, lean to." [1]
Basically, it would refer to 'that which one would 'incline/ lean/ resort/ take recourse/ turn aside to.' In religious terms, and for matters of faith, this would apply to God as well as it would for His word - Qur'an. See the following citation from Lane's lexicon as regards the term.
"...A place to which one has recourse for
refuge, protection, concealment, covert, or lodging; a place of refuge; an asylum: (S, Msb, K : )
so called because one turns aside to it. (S.)" [2]
Thus, from a theological perspective, the 'multahada' referred to by the second pronoun 'hi' in 18:27 could as well be God's word (kalimatihi) as it is God Himself. However, the Qur'an does not only define the context in which the 'multahada' in 18:27 is used by the preceding verse 18:26 (ma lahum min duunihi min waliyyin) to refer to God Himself but also confirms it in 72:22 where the same term 'multahada' is used specifically for God. 'walan ajida min duunihi multahada' - 'and I will not find besides Him any refuge/ protection (multahada)' (72:22) would be hammering the preceding remark 'innii lan yujiirani mina Allahi ahadun' - 'I, no one can protect me (yujiira) from God.'
Therefore, in view of the above observations, I find the following English translation to best generally literally capture the Arabic of the Qur'anic verse 18:27. Thus, I would in this case respectfully find Rashad Khalifah's rendition somewhat wanting.
"And convey what has been revealed to you of the Book (of) your Lord. None can change His Words and never will you find besides Him a refuge." [Qur'an, Al-Kahf 18:27]
Hopefully that helps. And God knows best.
Regards,
Athman.
REFERENCES:
[1]. F. STEINGASS, Ph.D., The Student's Arabic-English Dictionary 1884; London Crosby Lockwood and Son, Pp 911-912
[2]. LANE. E.W, Edward Lanes Lexicon, Williams and Norgate 1863; Librairie du Liban Beirut-Lebanon 1968, Volume 7, Page 2654