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'Quran Alone' or 'Lord Alone in the Quran' - Verse 17:46
« on: May 29, 2012, 01:02:46 PM »
Salam Joseph

Some Quran followers claim that the following is a distortion in the traditional translation. Please see below a blog post with the claim:

Quranist belief has got nothing to do with Rashad Khalifa, this is The Belief which Allah has ordained us to believe,
see 39:23,17:46. we Concentrate on the Message,and not on individual 

17:46 وجعلنا على قلوبهم اكنة ان يفقهوه وفى ءاذانهم وقرا واذا ذكرت ربك فى القرءان وحده ولوا على ادبرهم نفورا
17:46 And we place shields over their hearts, that they should not understand it, and a deafness in their ears. And if you mention your Lord in the QURAN ALONE, they run away turning their backs in aversion.
Must note the DISTORTION of hadith followers

they translate onto the following

Yusuf Ali 
And We put coverings over their hearts (and minds) lest they should understand the Qur'an, and deafness into their ears: when thou dost commemorate thy Lord and Him alone in the Qur'an, they turn on their backs, fleeing (from the Truth). 
Pickthal 
And We place upon their hearts veils lest they should understand it, and in their ears a deafness; and when thou makest mention of thy Lord alone in the Qur'an, they turn their backs in aversion. 
Shakir 
And We have placed coverings on their hearts and a heaviness in their ears lest they understand it, and when you mention your Lord alone in the Quran they turn their backs in aversion. 
Sher Ali 
And WE put coverings over their hearts lest they should understand it, and in their ears a deafness. And when thou makest mention in the Qur'an of thy Lord alone, they turn their backs in aversion. 

have you detected the huge difference by replacing one word !

see the word القرءان وحده

how they have distorted word Wahdehu , let me explain

Those who do not acknowledge the hereafter with certainty will not understand the Quran, and they will claim that the Quran is difficult or even impossible to understand on its own. See 54:17,22,32,and 40. Traditional translations and commentaries somehow separate the word Quran from the adjective (wahdahu = alone, only) that follows it. They translate it as "Lord alone in the Quran." Though there are many verses emphasizing Allah's oneness (Wahid Allah) (see 39:45). the adjective wahdehu is used not after the word Rab (Lord) but after the word Quran. In Arabic if one wants to say ‘Quran Alone,’ the ONLY way of saying it is "Quranun Wahdahu." For instance, the word Wahdahu is used for God in 7:70; 39:45; 40:12,84 and 60:4.



Which is the correct translation brother in your opinion? Thank you so much

Offline Joseph Islam

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Re: 'Quran Alone' or 'Lord Alone in the Quran' - Verse 17:46
« Reply #1 on: May 29, 2012, 01:28:22 PM »
Salamun Alaikum,

The relevant phrase is "wa-idh dhakarta rabbaka fi-quran wahdahu'
 
The Arabic does not read 'wahda' or 'wahdatan'. It reads 'wahdaHU'. The 'hu' is a pronoun and is clearly grammatically linked to the accusative 'rabba' (Lord) and not the genitive noun 'Quran'. It makes no sense to link the pronoun 'hu' to the Quran as it was only the Quran that was advancing the notion of One God to the Mushrikeen. Therefore to understand it as 'Quran alone' would be superfluous. The 'hu' is clearly a reference to God and together with 'wahda' is referring to the One God (Lord).
 
So a more accurate translation which captures the sense of the Arabic would be:
 
"And when you mention your Lord in the Qur'an being the only one" or
"And when you mention your Lord alone in the Quran"

 
The word WahdaHu appears in the Quran in a number of places  such as verse 7:70 and 39:45. In each example, the pronoun 'Hu' refers to God. It is clear that the Quran's main focus was to get the Mushrikeen (idolatrous) audience to accept God Alone without any partners.

I hope that helps, God willing.
Joseph.
'During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act' 
George Orwell