The Qur'an: A New Translation
By Tarif Khalidi
530pp, Penguin Classics, £25
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 translation
I have in mind is Khalidi's predecessor in the Penguin Classics: The
Koran, translated with notes by NJ Dawood. First published in 1956,
Dawood's translation has been republished in numerous editions. It has
been a great source of discomfort for Muslims, who see in it deliberate
distortions that give the Qur'an violent and sexist overtones. It is the
one most non-Muslims cite when they tell me with great conviction what
the Qur'an says.
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."
The old Penguin translation uses rather obscurantist images throughout
to give the impression that the Qur'an is full of demons and witches.
For example, in 31:1, Dawood has God swearing "by those who cast out
demons". Khalidi translates the same verse as: "Behold the revelations
of the Wise Book."
So this translation is a quantum leap ahead of the old Penguin version.
But it also has a rather special character. Khalidi is not interested
in providing the context of the verses of the Qur'an. We therefore do
not always know who the Qur'an is addressing at various junctures or who
is speaking to whom in its internal dialogues. Here M Abdel-Haleem' s
translation (OUP, £7.99), published in 2004, is more useful. Neither is
Khalidi all that concerned with providing the reader with help.
Footnotes, for example, would have been useful for occasional
explanation of what is happening in a particular passage. Instead, he
takes a rather unusual attitude to the Qur'an. It is "a bearer of
diverse interpretation" , he says; and its ambiguities are deliberately
designed to stimulate thinking. Let the reader be "patient of
interpretation" and read at will. All that is needed is to approach the
text with sympathy.
Khalidi wants the reader to enjoy the experience of reading the Qur'an.
Of course, he wants to communicate the majesty of its language, the
beauty of its style, and the "eternal present tense" of its grammar. But
he also wants the reader to appreciate the Qur'an's unique structure,
how the language changes with the subject matter, how it swirls around
and makes rhythmic connections. He wishes to show how each of the seven
tropes of the Qur'an (command, prohibition, glad tidings, warnings,
sermons, parables and narratives) registers a change in the style of its
language. A lofty ambition, but one he pulls off with some success.
The shifts in style are presented in two ways. Linguistically, Khalidi
moves from literal translation, rendered in clear prose, via the use of
heightened language to deeply poetic renderings. Physically, the layout
of the passage changes, so each style looks different on the page. The
narrative passages, or sections dealing with social and legislative
affairs, appear in a prose format. The dramatic and metaphysical
sections are arranged in poetic style.
This translation manages to give a glimpse of the grandeur of the
original. Khalidi's poetic sections will be compared with AJ Arberry's
The Koran Interpreted (OUP, 1964), widely considered to be the most
poetic of all translations. While I still prefer Arberry, Khalidi
compares very favourably.
But, for the life of me, I cannot see why poetic translations cannot
number the verses consistently and consecutively. Like Arberry, Khalidi
provides verse numbers on the side margins non-consecutively. There are a
couple of other unforgivable omissions. In the main text, the chapters
have no numbers. While there is a short glossary, there is no index. I
found the translation very difficult to navigate.
These omissions notwithstanding, this is a magnificent achievement. And
Penguin, which had a rotten image among Muslims thanks to Dawood's
translation, has redeemed itself.
Saturday June 21, 2008, The Guardian, London
Buy The Qur'an: A New Translation at the Guardian bookshop
Ziauddin Sardar blogs on a different verse or theme of the Qur'an weekly at blogs.guardian. co.uk/quran
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