The Qur'an-some requests about quoting

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

When people debate and wish to quote a source such as the Qur'an, I think it is important that they first give the title of their source (which translation) and that they quote the entire verse at the very least. What I have found is that some give partial quotations, and leave out some very important words which change the meaning of the verse entirely. I wish to now present some examples of this.

The first quotation comes from a poster who just says the words come from "the Koran". No translation citation was given. After that will come my translation, which comes from The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an- Abdullah Yusuf Ali, published 1993 by the Amana Corporation, Brentwood MD.

Excerpt K 24:055
Set 58, Count 123 Allah has promised to those of you who believe and do good that He will most certainly make them rulers in the earth


Sura 24, verse 55
Allah has promised, to those
Among you who believe
And work righteous deeds, that He
Will, of a surety, grant them
In the land, inheritance
(Of power) as He granted it
To those before them; that
He will establish in authority
Their religion--the one
Which He has chosen for them;
And that He will change
(Their state) after the fear
In which they (lived), to one
Of security and peace:
They will worship Me (alone)
And not associate aught with Me.
If any do reject Faith
After this,they are
Rebellious and wicked.

I add here the notes to be found in my edition, because it puts the verse in historic context
Notes: Three things are promised here, to those who have Faith and obey God's Law: 1) that they will inherit power and authority on the land, not for any selfish purposed of theirs by way of favouritism, but in order that they may maintain God's law 2)the the Religion of Right, which God has chosen for them, will be openly established, and will suppress all wrong and oppression 3)the that righteous will live in peace and security, instead of having to suffer persecution, or leave their hearths and homes for the cause of God, or practice the rites of their Faith in secret. This vers was revealed about the time of the Battle of the Ditch...we can imagine the comfort it gave to the Muslims who wer4e besieged in Nadinah by a force ten times their numbers.


Hmmm...."rulers of the earth" can sound a bit harsh. But when you read the entire verse, it becomes clear that God is promising peace and security, and power "in the land"-not as harsh sounding as the first quotation would have you believe.

Another:

Excerpt K 47:035
Set 71, Count 138 Rodwell: Be not fainthearted then; and invite not the infidels to peace when ye have the upper hand: for God is with you, and will not defraud you of the recompense of your works...


And from my Qur'an:

Sura 47 verse 35
Be not weary and
Fainthearted, crying for peace
When ye should be
Uppermost: for Allah is
With you, and will never
Put you in loss
For your (good) deeds

Note that no mention is made of "infidels"-and the stress of the verse is that God will "never put you in loss for your (good) deeds."

I could go on, but I think you understand why it is very important when quoting sources that you are able to give a complete citation and that anything you quote should be complete. Too much misinformation is out there that demonizes Islam based upon sources with no citation and only partial quotes.

[uppityperson]

1. k&r for information, not misinformation

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. Thank you

I appreciate it-I wasn't sure anyone would be interested, and I'm glad you were.

[Warpy]

2. Second shameless kick

because people need to know these things.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. Thank you

I appreciate the kick.

[Finder]

5. My translation is different as well...

47-35
Then sue not for peace because of your slackness; for you will certainly have the upper hand. Allah is with you, and He will not diminish aught from your works.

My translation is by M.Z. Khan.

[bryant69]

6. This could be a much larger project

Probably futile, but obviously the right wing right now are masters at pulling verses out of context, giving them the harshest possible interpretation, and then calling for nothing (because to actually say what they would like people to do would expose them for bigots). Guys like Prager or Cal Thomas.

But they'd probably just dredge up one of their tame islamic scholars to explain how the Koran really does call for Muslims to act like Doctor Evil.

I have the Essential Koran translated and presented by Thomas Cleary - i don't know how good or bad it is, but it seems ok. Good commentary.

Bryant

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

7. Most Americans don't understand how Islam is structured

For example, a fatwa can be issued by anyone who calls themself a religious scholar. There is no hierarchy of clergy in Islam-and they don't have the power over the believer that, say, a priest has-a Muslim finds his own salvation without an intermediary. That being said, there are spiritual/political leaders in Muslim countries that have followers-but they aren't followers in the sense of, say, Catholics and the Pope. And just because one imam or mullah or whatever says something, it doesn't mean every Muslim of his sect believes it and goes along with it.

[Danger Mouse]

8. Another kick...

For an interesting topic that needs to be heard more.
Most American know very little of Islam. Education would be very helpful.

[independentpiney]

9. Here are 4 translations of those verses including Yusuf Ali

The entire Quran with these 4 translators versions and transliteration of the Arabic is available here

http://www.universalunity.net/quran4/index.htm


024.055
WaAAada Allahu allatheena amanoo minkum waAAamiloo alssalihati layastakhlifannahum fee al-ardi kama istakhlafa allatheena min qablihim walayumakkinanna lahum deenahumu allathee irtada lahum walayubaddilannahum min baAAdi khawfihim amnan yaAAbudoonanee la yushrikoona bee shay-an waman kafara baAAda thalika faola-ika humu alfasiqoona

YUSUFALI: Allah has promised, to those among you who believe and work righteous deeds, that He will, of a surety, grant them in the land, inheritance (of power), as He granted it to those before them; that He will establish in authority their religion - the one which He has chosen for them; and that He will change (their state), after the fear in which they (lived), to one of security and peace: 'They will worship Me (alone) and not associate aught with Me. 'If any do reject Faith after this, they are rebellious and wicked.

PICKTHAL: Allah hath promised such of you as believe and do good work that He will surely make them to succeed (the present rulers) in the earth even as He caused those who were before them to succeed (others); and that He will surely establish for them their religion which He hath approved for them, and will give them in exchange safety after their fear. They serve Me. They ascribe no thing as partner unto Me. Those who disbelieve henceforth, they are the miscreants.

SHAKIR: Allah has promised to those of you who believe and do good that He will most certainly make them rulers in the earth as He made rulers those before them, and that He will most certainly establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them, and that He will most certainly, after their fear, give them security in exchange; they shall serve Me, not associating aught with Me; and whoever is ungrateful after this, these it is who are the. transgressors.

KHALIFA: GOD promises those among you who believe and lead a righteous life, that He will make them sovereigns on earth, as He did for those before them, and will establish for them the religion He has chosen for them, and will substitute peace and security for them in place of fear. All this because they worship Me alone; they never set up any idols beside Me. Those who disbelieve after this are the truly wicked.


047.035
Fala tahinoo watadAAoo ila alssalmi waantumu al-aAAlawna waAllahu maAAakum walan yatirakum aAAmalakum

YUSUFALI: Be not weary and faint-hearted, crying for peace, when ye should be uppermost: for Allah is with you, and will never put you in loss for your (good) deeds.

PICKTHAL: So do not falter and cry out for peace when ye (will be) the uppermost, and Allah is with you, and He will not grudge (the reward of) your actions.

SHAKIR: And be not slack so as to cry for peace and you have the upper hand, and Allah is with you, and He will not bring your deeds to naught.

KHALIFA: Therefore, you shall not waver and surrender in pursuit of peace, for you are guaranteed victory, and GOD is with you. He will never waste your efforts.


Another site with multiple translations and other great tools is the USC Compendium of Muslim Texts site:

http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/

[Igel]

10. For 47:35 I think I'd

have gone for "don't give up and settle for peace". But my translations are usually much less pretentious than the prose I generate on my own.

A lot of translators rely either on previous versions; some rely on their particular understanding of the text and translate the meaning; some decide to go for a more word-for-word translation, as though that could render the original adequately in the target language. And they do so on a case-by-case basis. Such is the practice of translation.

At least my Qur'aan has in parentheses the extra text that the translator considered necessary for interpreting the text in the way he wants. Now, the skewed word choice ... for that you need Lane (or Wehr at the least). But even that doesn't always tell you how it's understood in a given community.

I dislike non-Muslims citing partial verses or verses out of context. But more reprehensible is when Muslims' cite partial verses or verses out of context. They should know better.

I think the OP's "invite the infidels" is forced by his choice of the verb 'invite'. It needs a direct object. Given who the Muslims would have been actually been fighting, adding 'infidels' doesn't seem a big stretch to me, although 'non-believers' would have been a bit less loaded of a term.