The eternal present tense (The Qur'an: A New Translation)

[Ghost Dog]

Thought I'd see if people read this in General Discussion this morning.

The Qur'an: A New Translation
by Tarif Khalidi
530pp, Penguin Classics, £25
Saturday June 21, 2008
The Guardian

We look for two things in any new translation of the Qur'an. How close does it get to communicating the meaning of the original, that inimitable oral text, the very sounds of which move men and women to tears and ecstasy? And does it offer something more: a new perspective, perhaps; or an innovative rendering?

Tarif Khalidi, a professor of Islamic studies at the American University of Beirut, scores high on both these criteria. He manages to capture the allusiveness of the text, as well as something of its tone and texture. While being faithful to the original, he succeeds in conveying linguistic shifts, from narrative to mnemonic, sermons to parables. And there is an innovative component: it is the first translation that tries to capture both the rhythms and the structure of the Qur'an.

The best way to demonstrate its newness, and how close it is to the original text, is to compare it with an old translation. ... The change can be detected with the name of the sacred text itself: we move from "Koran", the older anglicised form, to the new "Qur'an", which is now accepted as the correct Arabic transliteration and pronunciation of the word. This is not just a trivial matter of linguistics; it signals a shift from the old Orientalist way of presenting the Qur'an in English to a new inclusive way that takes Muslims' appreciation of their sacred text into account.

Subtle differences in chapter headings signal significant change. The opening chapter of the Qur'an in Dawood is "The Exordium". In Khalidi, and indeed universally among other translations, it is "The Opening". Dawood translates Az-Zumar (chapter 39) as "The Hordes", suggesting bands of barbarian mobs; Khalidi renders it as "The Groups".

While Dawood's translation presents the Qur'an as a patriarchal, sexist text, Khalidi brings out the gender-neutral language of the original. A good example is provided by 2:21. In Dawood we read: "Men, serve your Lord." In Khalidi, it becomes: "O People! Worship your Lord." Dawood's translation of the famous verse 2:25, frequently quoted, is largely responsible for the current misconception that Muslim paradise is full of "virgins" - despite the fact that the Qur'an explicitly denies any carnal pleasures in paradise. This is because we find "men" in Dawood's translation in the garden of paradise who are "wedded to chaste virgins". Khalidi renders it correctly: "In these gardens they have immaculate spouses."

/review article continues... http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2286748,00.html

[timtom]

1. Fascinating.

I love stuff like this. I guess I'm a frustrated linguist. I need to check my copy of the Qur'an (a parallel text version) to look for sexist and patriarchal language.

Thanks for the post.

[alfredo]

2. I'd like to read it. If you do buy a Qur'an, pay in cash, checks and CC's

can be traced.

[Ghost Dog]

3. That sounds extremely paranoid...

What could be even slightly risqué about purchasing a book from Penguin, even in neocon USA?

[alfredo]

4. Because they do track the purchase of specific books. There have been

people questioned by the FBI because of purchases of books on Islam.

[Ghost Dog]

5. Well, the FBI should get busted for trying that on in the case of the Qur'an,

or indeed any legitimate study of Islam, is all I can say.

[alfredo]

6. They should be looking for criminals like the ones in the White House.