An honest question about published versions of the Quran

[TruthSeeker]

Dear PDF Muslim Members,

I just read a post by luffwaffe on the thread (http://www.defence.pk/forums/members-club/22507-allah-supreme-but-god-different-other-religions.html) :

"049.013 O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things)."

I assume this quote comes from the Quran. What I don't understand is where the text words in parentheses come from. I have read a few different translations in English of the Quran and they all have extra text phrases in parenthesis to "improve understanding". If you read the Quran in Arabic does the text also have these parenthetical "amplifications" of the original Quranic text? Who added these extra words or phrases? Who has the authority to add words to the Quran to "improve understanding"? Have these added phrases been included in published versions of the Quran for many centuries? Are the same "explanatory phrases and words" found in all Arabic and English publications of the Quran?

Please advise. Thank you.

 

[dabong1]

Dear PDF Muslim Members,

I just read a post by luffwaffe on the thread (http://www.defence.pk/forums/members-club/22507-allah-supreme-but-god-different-other-religions.html) :

"049.013 O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things)."

I assume this quote comes from the Quran. What I don't understand is where the text words in parentheses come from. I have read a few different translations in English of the Quran and they all have extra text phrases in parenthesis to "improve understanding". If you read the Quran in Arabic does the text also have these parenthetical "amplifications" of the original Quranic text? Who added these extra words or phrases? Who has the authority to add words to the Quran to "improve understanding"? Have these added phrases been included in published versions of the Quran for many centuries? Are the same "explanatory phrases and words" found in all Arabic and English publications of the Quran?

Please advise. Thank you.

Its a english translation of the koran and there are bound to be different interpretations of the arabic in the koran given by the translator according to what he thinks.
The best advice i was given was that i should learn arabic if in want understand the koran in its true form.

Think if you had to translate something from english into urdu.....99% of the translation will be correct but the last 1% only a english speaking-wrinting person would understand properly.......if you get my drift?

 

[ajpirzada]

also whenever arabic is translated into someother language, many well versed scholars who know the language go through the translation many times to make sure nothing is added or subtracted. there is a possibility that one translation is more clearer than the other but both the copies will be communicating the same msg.
then there are explainations available for each verse of the Quran but those explainations can be different and are not part of Quran

 

[BATMAN]

I strongly suggest to change Pakistan's official language to Arabic or be made compulsory.
There is no harm in studying more than one language in school.
It will not only benifit us from the understanding of religon but also it will help us economically. We can literary take over Arabian market.
today, Egypt is the leading arab nation taking over key bussiness and positions in middleast.
This will also help us to distant from indian cultural invasion.

 

[dabong1]

I strongly suggest to change Pakistan's official language to Arabic or be made compulsory.
There is no harm in studying more than one language in school..

I thought arabic could be studied as a second or third language with english in pakistani schools?

This will also help us to distant from indian cultural invasion.

I think we should promote our own culture.......the arab culture is not superior or better then our culture.

What do you think we should do during weddings.........keep our customs and traditions just as long as they do not conflict with islam or follow arab customs and traditions.

 

[Kharian_Beast]

The Arabic of today is slightly different than the Arabic of old. Slightly like Olde English and the newer English.

 

[qsaark]

If you read the Quran in Arabic does the text also have these parenthetical "amplifications" of the original Quranic text?

You have a good question here an the answer is No.

 

[qsaark]

I thought arabic could be studied as a second or third language with english in pakistani schools?

To be honest with you, for the sake of understanding the Quran, Hadith, and Fiqh, Arabic must be mandatory for every Muslim. A lot of problems we see regarding Islam are because a majority of us doesn't know Arabic; hence rely heavily on the translation or interpretations from the Islamic Scholars. Islamic scholars have their own understanding. And this is a reason of lot of differences and even clashes.

I think we should promote our own culture.......the arab culture is not superior or better then our culture.

There can’t be two opinions on that. However, when it comes to understanding of the Quran, we should read it and understand it in Arabic. It is like any piece of work, in order to get the real taste of it, you have to read it in the language it was originally produced. Read Manto's short stories in Urdu and read the translations, there is a huge difference.

Once and Indian Muslim asked Sir Syed Ahmed Khan "What if I say my salat in Urdu?", Syed replied, you can say it in Urdu, except that it wont be THE salat.

 

[TruthSeeker]

Thank you all for your answers. So, as I understand from qsaark, the added explanatory clauses that I always find in English translations of the Quran have been added by the translator because a word for word translation from the Arabic isn't possible, or the meaning accurately understandable without these added phrases. Is that correct? For example, in the passage I quoted at the start of the thread:

"Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things),"

the two parenthetical phrases: "(he who is)" and "(with all things)" , would not be added to an Arabic copy of the Quran. They have been added by the English translator, by his own authority, to the translated text because he (the translator) thinks the Quranic passage is better understood in English with these parenthetical phrases. Is that correct? Does an Urdu translation also have added parenthetical phrases to help the understanding in Urdu? Thank you again for your attention to my questions.

 

[Super Falcon]

which version u are takin about any way i think Quran is far far better in its orignal postion why made versions of it which is honestly crime in ALLAH"S Law and very very big sin any way we should read it in arabic and translate it too know what it says

 

[TruthSeeker]

By "version" I just mean "translation". There are many different translations of the Quran into English and into other languages. I'm calling these translations "versions" of the Quran. I don't know any Arabic so I must use an English translation if I want to read the Quran. I question how one could learn Arabic well enough to read the Quran without many years of study. Presumably the people who translate the Quran into English understand Arabic far better than I ever could unless I spent most of my life trying to learn Arabic.

 

[Awesome]

Dear PDF Muslim Members,

I just read a post by luffwaffe on the thread (http://www.defence.pk/forums/members-club/22507-allah-supreme-but-god-different-other-religions.html) :

"049.013 O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things)."

I assume this quote comes from the Quran. What I don't understand is where the text words in parentheses come from. I have read a few different translations in English of the Quran and they all have extra text phrases in parenthesis to "improve understanding". If you read the Quran in Arabic does the text also have these parenthetical "amplifications" of the original Quranic text? Who added these extra words or phrases? Who has the authority to add words to the Quran to "improve understanding"? Have these added phrases been included in published versions of the Quran for many centuries? Are the same "explanatory phrases and words" found in all Arabic and English publications of the Quran?

Please advise. Thank you.

I'm no fan of these "interpretations" within these parenthesis. I've seen some really awkward "explanations" given within them. The Quran should be left as it is and if someone's reading it in English, then it should be a literal translation. I usually skip the parenthesis parts. I repeat, those words are NOT in the Quran. The translator has added them (without properly explaining that these words are added in).

I think any where, the parenthesized versions are used, there should be a pretty big disclaimer along.

 

[TruthSeeker]

Thanks, Asim Aquil. You answered ^^^ precisely what I was puzzled about. I wondered if the added parenthetical phrases might have been "approved" by some consensus of English-speaking ulema. But, it seems that they are an opinion of the individual English translator as to what he thinks the Quran would have said had it been revealed in English. Of course, the English translators should be given the benefit of the doubt that they are sincerely trying to convey the precise meaning of the Quran to the English speaking mind, to the best of their ability. But, still, I understand that your point is that since the words in parentheses are the translators' words, and not the Quran's, they should be treated with caution or ignored.

 

[Awesome]

which version u are takin about any way i think Quran is far far better in its orignal postion why made versions of it which is honestly crime in ALLAH"S Law and very very big sin any way we should read it in arabic and translate it too know what it says

Understanding Quranic Arabic is no joke. I have many Emirati friends who can barely translate the Quranic Arabic accurately who are native Arabic speakers and well versed in English too.

Today's Arabic has a lot slang and local dialects mixed into it. Some African countries have the closest Quranic dialects still in practice. Kuwaitis don't call Kuwait any more, its now pronounced, Chuwait, adding the CH sound in every other word is the IN thing amongst the Arabs. Funny thing is they don't officially even have a CH letter/sound in Arabic. Other than this they can't even properly say Cheese, or Chocolate, it will be more like tsheez or tshocolate.

So anyway the point was, let the brother read whatever he wants to. I think these guys have done a decent job, minus the parenthesis. These are very conservative, Muslims who have done these translations. You'll notice that the parenthesis always "lead you" towards a conservative, rigid, interpretation of the verses.

For example, in the Quran you'll not find a single Ayat condemning Music, singing, etc. However if you google for it, you'll find lots of references from the Quran. Which are what? These translators have subtly added the condemnation for music in their explanation of phrases like "idle talks".

 

[Luftwaffe]

One thing to note is that this is the English translation of the meaning of the Quran , not the Quran itself. The Quran is in its original, pristine Arabic as it was revealed from Allah (the word for God in Arabic). Someone new to these verses may not fully understand the verses and may take them out of context. One must look into all the verses in relation to each other and the Sunnah and Hadith (example and traditions of the prophet (s)), the context of revelation, Tafsir (commentaries), the original lexical Arabic and scholarly understanding to fully interpret the Quran's meaning.

However, it is highly encouraged for every Muslim to read the Quran and hopefully this English translation will be a good reference. As Abdullah Yusuf Ali says, "It is the duty of every Muslim - man, woman, or child - to read the Quran and understand it according to his own capacity."

The English translators are trying to be as literal in their translation as possible. They could've simply added their additions without including them in parenthesis. They're just trying to be as accurate and as honest as possible, because they fear Allah Almighty, for they know they are dealing with His Holy Words.

Another reason why words in parenthesis are added is because sometimes Allah Almighty talks about something in a Noble Chapter, and continues to talk about it and refer to it in the Chapter without mentioning its name. The addition of a clarification in parenthesis is then appropriate to have. Let us look at few examples with words in parenthesis added to them:

"All that they do is noted in (their) Books (of Deeds). (The Noble Quran, 54:52)"

"The the people of Pharaoh picked him up (from the river): (It was intended) that (Moses) should be to them an adversary and a cause of sorrow: For Pharaoh and Haman and (all) their hosts were men of sin. (The Noble Quran, 28:8)"

As we clearly see in the above examples, the addition of the words in parenthesis is to help straighten the grammar of the sentence from Arabic to English, or to help the reader know which person or object Allah Almighty is referring to, or to clarify what the Noble Verse really means because as I mentioned above, the Arabic grammar is quite different and complex.

Also its not about being a fan or not a fan of Quranic interpretations because for a native English speaker who doesn't understand Quran in Arabic there is no choice yes he is advised to learn arabic to read Quran in arabic but for the time being he will read Quran in English for his/her understanding so its is strictly not about being a fan of these Quranic Interpretations thanks Asim but its your decision or thinking I respect it.