Arabic:- Disputes, a hindrance in Islamic Ideology?[General]

[Talib]

Dear Respected All

Salamun Alaikum

I mostly put questions only. I hope it is alright. My questions might seem 'elementary' to the learned people here. Lets say I am a beginner and seek guidance. So have that perspective before you continue.

I recently got to read about a word/method called Tasreef. I wanted to know if Allah says or mentions the word or method of Tasreef. I am just a student of mechanical engineering and I do not know Arabic. So, I 'googled' it and could not locate it.

But I found something really disturbing. There was a blog dedicated to bring errors in a translation of Quran that I have. (I do not think appropriate to mention the name of that blog and the translation).

I do not know Arabic as a language. I do realize that I must know it so as to understand Quran even better. But as for now, I do not have proper resources to learn Arabic. But why is it that people who spend their entire lives learning about Quran differ? Is Quranic Arabic that complex ?

How are we to understand Quran when even those who know Arabic as a language, differ. I find only Quranic language having disputes over its formulation.

My understanding says that people differ because of the conspiracies against Quran after a few centuries of Muhammad(S). But the people who I differ with, while saying this, say the same thing for present.

The Quran describes some historic events. People ( jews, mullahs and imams etc of that time) used such verses and made their stories so carefully and strategically that now we see their work as an integral part of Quran for many people. Right ?

Now these verses of Quran, that describe a historic event(or even the events of Mohammad(S)'s time), do we take only the lessons from them? Thereby removing the confusion of history created by conspirators?

Ofcourse, I maintain that Quran is saying the Truth, when it describes these events, that they actually happened.

I think it is very important that we should have an Authoritative Body for Quranic Arabic. Do we have one ?

Continued...

Regards

Talib
(student)

P.S.  Dear Joseph Sir
        If you are reading this, I have read your article 'Unknown Towns and Names..' and it really helped me.
        Thank You

[Joseph Islam]

Salamun Alaikum Talib,

Please feel free to ask questions on this forum.

With regards your sentiments in the post, I would be extremely careful of those translations which heavily insert the author's opinion in brackets or render the Quran as the authors 'interpretation'.  I have come across such renditions of the Quranic verses with narratives which are clearly not present in the original Arabic.

The reader needs to be absolutely clear what he / she is reading.

The safest option if you do not understand Arabic directly is to make use of multiple translations to get a 'take' on a verse from the perspective of different commentators. Here, any outlandish translation or 'interpretation' will easily be picked up and it is up to the reader to then assess its merit.

Differences do not arise because the Arabic alters. It arises because the interpretation of a person is dependant on many factors, least not his or her ideological stance on a particular matter. A translation is a mere 'interpretation' of the original text. It can never replace the original nor is it intended to.

Better translations stay close to the Arabic words minimising 'interpolations' from ideological positions or secondary sources. Some are better than others and some are just simply completely out of kilter.

You respectfully hint at only using one translation. With respect, that will remain a weakness in your approach to the Quran particularly because you say you do not know Arabic as a language. I personally would advise that you consult different translations with a view to compare.

The following website has a good selection of translations for the English readership to compare.

http://www.islamawakened.com/quran/

I hope that helps, God willing.
Joseph.

[Talib]

Salamun Alaikum

Dear Joseph Islam Sir

Thank you for welcoming me to the forum and giving me the opportunity to interact with you and others on the forum. Firstly, I cannot help but notice in every article and post by you that you are so polite and humble in your words and way of writing. Each reply I got from you, apart from having brilliant clarification to my doubts, it also inspires me to be graceful in words and keep learning. Pretty much I recall the verse from the Quran.

16:125
Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knoweth best, who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance.

I have mostly lived in a city near Dar-ul-Uloom, Deoband, India. While I was there some years back, I tried to go and learn Arabic there so that I could ease my understanding of Quran. I met some 'Alim' who had been there since youth and asked how much time does it usually take to be good in Quranic Arabic.

And the reply was : "Waqt! Ye to sab Allah-hu-ghani ke haat mein hai. Agar vo chahega to aajayegi Arbi. Aur phir 18 uloom bhi to hain. Meri umr 56 saal hai aur main abhi tak Arbi seekh raha hoon."

Translation-
"Time! It is All upto Allah. If HE will want that you learn Quranic Arabic, you will understand it. And then, there are 18 Ulooms. I am 56yr old and I am still learning Quranic Arabic."

I could not bring any gesture on my face. As usual, I only got confusions from such so called "Maulana". I dont think that all of the people there are the same. But you know, they say that even Jins take classes from them. Ah! I can only wonder why these people give fatawas against people who watch movies like Harry Potter.

Sir I started my understanding of the Quran from translation by A. A. Yusuf Ali Sir. I still hold that translation as very helpul. I also have recently got Exposition Of Holy Quran by G. A. Parwez Sir and another by Dr. Shabbir Ahmed Sir. I sincerely agree to and will follow your advice to use different translations. The website you provided (islamawakened.com) pretty much has all the translations.

Dear Sir, if there are some books which according to you I should read, Please take some time to enlist them. Also your valuable advice on how should I proceed towards understanding Quranic Arabic and Islam as a Complete System of Life. Pleas do not assume that I will not read a lot of books. I have learnt that in the current prevailing system, it is very important that we should keep learning so as to have a wider scope of participation in Quranic System of life by practically implementing and sharing what we learn from Quran.

Thank You

Talib
(student)

[Truth Seeker]

Salaam and Welcome,

I think that you experience what so many people do when they embark upon their journey of learning. The hurdles you faced with the so called 'ulema' are so typical in that they just leave you with so many more questions than you started out with.

As Joseph said, you would really benefit from reading many translations at once and the link he provided gives you instant access to so many translators.

On a personal note however I have some advice for you. The two renderings that you have aquired ( "Exposition Of Holy Quran by G. A. Parwez Sir and another by Dr. Shabbir Ahmed Sir") MUST in my humble opinion be read alongside others. And you will insAllah see in time why I say that.

Thanks

[Talib]

Salamun Alaikum

Dear Truth Seeker

Thank you for your reply. About the translations, well, I really appreciate your opinion. I started off reading the translation by Yusuf Ali Sir. And it helped me understand and notice the difference in what I was told about/in Islam.

I see a difference in the approach of the translations I mentioned and the approach of the other translators. I preferred these two because these, unlike most others, do not use the Islamic Secondary Sources to explain the verses of Quran.

I have not started reading Exposition of Quran but started reading QXP first. I have noticed that QXP is pretty strict (so to say) in some terms like Saum and Salaat. I am still reading it and have not completed it. I hope to learn from it.

However, the link to the many translations at one time is REALLY helpful. I think it pushes me even more towards the holistic approach in learning.

May Allah guide me.

Regards

[Truth Seeker]

Salaam,

I am glad that you are finding the translations link helpful.

With regards to the 2 translations you mention as having a different approach, this is because the original translation by G.A Parvez is based on personal opinions of the author as is the QXP translation.

They may not have influence by secondary sources but what they have is a translation that is not true to the original Arabic and this is dangerous for readers who cannot read arabic.

However, by reading a wide variety of translations including the 2 mentioned above,you will be in a better situation in terms of your knowledge of the Quran and the status quo InshAllah.