Quran - a new American Translation by Nasr

Quran - A new American Translation | www.WorldMuslimCongress.com

Indeed there are nearly 300 English translations in the market now, and each one reflects the experiences of the translator, as it should. Each translation slightly differs from the other, fulfilling what Prophet Muhammad wanted, to paraphrase him, " I am leaving this book for you to read and understand." The emphasis was “YOU,” Mind you, he did not assign an interpreter to refer to, and instead he expected each one will use his personal reference to understand the book while maintaining the central theme – building cohesive societies– Islam is also called the religion of human nature. 

Mike Ghouse

www.MuslimSpeaker.com 
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Courtesy - The Daily Beast

The American Quran Pissing Off the Saudis
The Study Quran puts this great religious work in historical perspective.

A new translation of the Quran, with commentary, is causing a stir—and maybe something of a revolution—in the world of English-speaking Muslims.

Why’s that? Because Salafists—adherents of a very conservative brand of Islam—have dominated the world market for Qurans for decades.

Funded by the oil-rich royal family in Saudi Arabia, which has an especially rigid Wahhabi branch of Islam, the Salafis have exported their teachers, their mosques, their audio and video productions, and religious texts across the Arab world and into Pakistan, Europe, and North America, quashing alternate interpretations that don’t fit their narrow views.

“In all these places, they funded the building of Saudi-style mosques with Wahhabi preachers and established madrasas that provided free education for the poor, with, of course, a Wahhabi curriculum,” religious scholar Karen Armstrong wrote about the Saudi export of religion in 2014. “At the same time, young men from the poorer Muslim countries, such as Egypt and Pakistan, who had felt compelled to find work in the Gulf to support their families, associated their relative affluence with Wahhabism and brought this faith back home with them, living in new neighborhoods with Saudi mosques and shopping malls that segregated the sexes.”

Seeing this new translation as a challenge to their orthodoxy in English-speaking countries, Salafis are none too pleased. In online discussions and reviews, influential Salafis are panning the volume, called The Study Quran,  as a soft-bellied facsimile that might be fine for academia, but not fit for following.

In fact, this no mere academic debate. Followers of the Saudi-Wahhabi-Salafi version of Islam in Europe and the United States are increasingly seen by law enforcement as a pool from which radical jihadis can draw recruits.

Some strains of this Salafi interpretation have popularized takfirism—the practice by which some Muslims declare that others are not true believers. The aftereffects are clear in fringe jihadi groups like the self-declared caliphate that calls itself the Islamic State, where those who believe differently are deemed apostates who can be, and are, slaughtered en masse. The vast majority of Salafis are not jihadis and not takfiris. But those who are use their understanding of their Quran to justify killing Shia Muslims, Yazidis, adulterers, gays, and anyone else who runs afoul of their zealotry.

Generations of the world’s Muslims have, now, grown up in the shadow of this Saudi religious empire, ignoring previous centuries of rigorous religious discourse, debate, and dissent.

The Study Quran, setting the record straight, may come as something of a revelation to Muslims and anyone else interested in Islam who speaks English. It is a formidable academic endeavor, and since it was published in November it has been flying off the shelves in a massive hardback edition. (It is also available now on Kindle.
The  editors have compiled a new translation, new commentary, and drawn on dozens of the most prominentmufassirs (interpreters or exegetes), many of whom have never before been accessible to an English-speaking audience. Indeed, “very few” of the sources cited in The Study Quran are available in English translation, head editor Seyyed Hossein Nasr told The Daily Beast.One soon comes across nuances that are unmentioned or ignored by extremists. The Study Quran notes, for instance, that verse 47:4—used by ISIS to justify beheadings—focuses on “the brevity of the act, as it is confined to battle and not a continuous command.” This interpretation would seem to challenge extremists who attempt to carry out such acts on civilians, whether on the streets of London or in Syria.

The Salafi scholars who have monopolized English-language Muslim resources are disturbed and even frightened by this textual revolution that puts them back in their place.

Salafism “was not in the mainstream of the Muslim tradition,” said Nasr. “It rejected centuries of Islamic thought.” The scholars contributing to The Study Quran, who are both Sunni and Shia, also break with the ultra-Orthodox animus against Shiism.

The Study Quran’s rich commentary, crowding around a few verses on any given onion-paper page of the hardback edition, seeks to remedy the previous absence of solid historical discourse. After all, Nasr said, even centuries ago the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca meant that exegetes, or interpreters of holy texts, were able to have a much richer exchange of ideas—and much more knowledge of one another—than European thinkers of the time.

It’s no surprise then, that Abu Eesa Niamatullah—a British Salafi with a large social media presence—cautioned followers tempted by The Study Quran to “avoid it. Like the plague.”

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“It doesn't just have mistakes, it's actually dangerous,” Niamatullah said. “This is advice to the 99 percent of people here, those who don't have the detailed tools necessary to separate the wheat from the chaff.”

Though Sunni Islam formally lacks a clerical class, Niamatullah expressed concern that those who lack proper religious or academic training might be swayed from the orthodox path by the new edition. 

“My point being that I see it as absolutely a threat to orthodox Sunni creed that such translations and commentaries, but more importantly, such deviated individuals such as Nasr being given a prominent platform to the hearts and minds of the basic masses who can't filter through the nonsense like you can,” he added in a comment.

A more moderate review, recommended by prominent cleric Yasir Qadhi to hundreds of thousands of followers on social media, acknowledges that the rigor of The Study Quran“is apparent after even a cursory reading,” but nonetheless it “is an academic and educational work, and as such includes commentaries from sources that may not be considered orthodox depending on one’s denominational orientation.” (Qadhi recentlydistanced himself from the Salafi label and critiqued some aspects of the movement.)

“Some of the Sufi commentaries can come off as uncomfortably esoteric,” the author Mobeen Vaid writes. “Khārijite positions are occasionally expounded upon, and not for the purpose of refutation.” (Kharijites were a rebel sect in the first century of of Islam.)

The differences that make it suitable for academia but not practice go all the way down to the understanding of the very nature of the Quran. “For believers,” says Vaid. “the Quran doesn't say anything, God does.”

And yet, The Study Quran fills part of what some scholars see as a perpetual hole in the study of Islam. Quranic translations abound, but centuries of commentary, debate, and context have long been the exclusive domain of those with a strong command of Arabic.

"We appear to be amidst a deluge of English translations of the Quran," Scott Lucas, a professor at the University of Arizona, wrote in 2014, reflecting on the proliferation of translations in the prior decade.

Amazon

‘The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary’ by Seyyed Hossein Nasr (Author), Caner Karacay Dagli (Author), Maria Massi Dakake (Author), Joseph E.B. Lumbard (Author), Mohammed Rustom (Author). 2048 p. HarperOne. $37.27

Pretty much any Quran given out in a da’wa, or religious outreach, program almost anywhere in the world has its roots in Saudi Arabia. Most of them use a translation completed by Yusuf Ali, an Indian-born, British-educated scholar who died in the mid-20th century. Published in 1938, it included not only Ali’s translation, but also parenthetical commentary on meaning—much of which has been stripped out by its Salafi adapters.

The first Quran ever owned by this reporter was an Ali translation, distributed through a Chelsea-based da’wa program to a bank teller, who unloaded it to this student of religion when she was still a teen. The thick hardcover has the scripture in two varieties: the original Arabic, as well as an English translation.

(Significantly, The Study Quran, already voluminous, does not include the original Arabic, the language in which Allah delivered his message to Muhammad. But the Arabic text is now readily available online and in many smaller volumes for comparison.)

Ali wasn’t the first translator of the Quran into English, of course. One of the earliest widely available translations was by George Sale, and it served as the standard for nearly two centuries. It’s rife with annotations that point to Sale’s Christian understanding of the “Mohammedan’s” holy scripture. More recent translations have come from feminists and creative translations that assign each Arabic word one—and only one—English equivalent.

And The Study Quran surely won’t be the last. The authors’ main goal, after all, is not a definitive translation—but a demonstration that different interpretations were “established, well known, and rigorously discussed over the centuries,” Nasr said.

This article has been updated.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) - the forgiver

QuraanToday.com | Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) the forgiver.


God loves those who forgive often and God loves the least who are arrogant. Everything God says in Quran is demonstrated by the prophet.

A few Muslims believe they have to defend the prophet, they are wrong, he is beyond all defending, same goes with God, he protects us and not vice versa.

Here is a list compiled by Muhammad Yunus about how forgiving the prophet was.

 The Meccans called the Prophet an impostor (30:58), insane (44:1, 68:51), and an insane poet (37:36), questioned why he could not show any miracles (6:37, 11:12, 13:7, 17:90-93, 21:5, 25:7/8, 29:50), and why the Qur'an was not revealed to a man of importance from the two cities (43:31), charged him of being coached morning and evening (25:5, 44:14). They also charged him with forging lies and witchcraft (34:43, 38:4), forging lies against God, forgery and making up tales (11:13, 32:3, 38:7, 46:8), witchcraft (21:3, 43:30, 74:24), obvious witchcraft that was bewildering (10:2, 37:15, 46:7) and of being bewitched or possessed by a Jinn (17:47, 23:70, 34:8). 

That was when he was in Mecca - the first 12 years of the revelation when he was not in a position to protest let alone revenge.He bore all these charges and insulting remarks with patience and without any protest and continued to love his people (42:23) 

Come Medinite period that saw the Prophet rising in power day by day and becoming the chief arbiter (Civil Head) of Medina who could punish anyone he wished, he remained no less forgiving:  : 

The Prophet forgave those who deserted him on way to a battlefield (Uhud) by saying: if they knew how to fight, they would have followed the Prophet (3:167).

The Prophet forgave those of his followers (3:159) who defied his orders in the battle of Uhud and ran off for booty at a crucial moment in the battle (3:153) leading to the defeat of the Muslims:

He forgave all his Meccan enemies upon integration of Mecca.

He forgave all the hypocrites who had persistently conspired against him and even planned to kill him 

He forgave the defenders at the Trench Siege who took excuse of him and left the defense line. 

He forgave the followers who declined to join him in his most risky mission to the first pilgrimage that ended in the Hudaiyba Peace Treaty.

Surah Taubah - chapter 9 verses 20-28 by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

www.WorldMuslimcongress.com | www.QuraanToday.com

The clarity of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad's tafseer is incredible. Those of you who may not know the Maulana – he was born and raised in Madinah and moved back to India - his ancestral land. He was a nationalist leader for all of Indians, the Hindu Majority and all minorities, and was the first education minister of independent India and laid the foundation for the educational institutions like IIT’s that rival MIT’s.  I believe Muhammad Yunus, a member and a Muslim scholar listed in the emails is a member of IIT.

Maulana was a pluralist, and an inclusivist, as is Islam  – the phrases like Rabbul Aalameen, Rahmatul Aalameen should lead us to become Mukhlooqul Aalameen. We need to consciously pull us out of the path of political Islam of self-interest and restore it to Islam for common good. It is in the same line of thinking, I believe the purpose of Islam is to build cohesive societies where no human has to live in fear of the other but God (deviation from truth). Islam is about restoring harmonious, peaceful and a well-functioning cohesive world, God had created.

Some of the statements that jumped at me are:

“It states that they rank the highest who have sacrificed everything in the path of truth and endure steadfastly the trials and tribulations that befell them on the way of truth. That is the criterion of goodness.” – and I will add to this from Sura Hujurat “the best ones among you are those who learn about each other – for knowledge leads to understanding and understanding to acceptance of another point of view.

In Hindu scriptures there is a powerful phrase “Satyamev Jayate - Truth alone triumphs” and Mahatma Gandhi popularized it, and now it is the national symbol of India... The Maulana has clearly distinguished the purpose of war was not victory or the conquest but bringing forth sustainable peace for “all”.

He pulled out the essence of the Sura – that is the truth alone triumphs and gives examples, “It therefore behooved the followers of the faith that they should have nothing to do with even their parents and brothers if they belonged to the enemy camp.” And elsewhere in Quran It lays down that you have to tell the truth even it goes against you or your interests. Indeed, there is no 5^th in Islam; truth is given the highest value.

I am presenting the following papers at Aligarh Muslim University:

1. http://www.worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2015/03/mike-ghouse-of-world-muslim-congress-to.html

2. http://www.worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2015/03/can-muslims-lead-conglomeration-of.html

3. http://www.worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2015/03/is-united-islam-possible-international.html

4. http://www.worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2015/03/does-islam-need-reform-or-we-just-need.html

Mike Ghouse, committed to cohesive societies.
www.MikeGhouse.net

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Mike Ghouse, committed to cohesive societies.
www.MikeGhouse.net

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Shared by Rafiq Lodhia

SURAH: AL-TAWBAH ( THE REPENTANCE) – CHAPTER: 9 – VERSES: 20-28

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad – The Tarjuman al-Qur’an – Year: 1968

The criterion of superiority of one over another in the sight of God is indicated in
verse 20. It states that they rank the highest who have sacrificed everything in
the path of truth and endure steadfastly the trials and tribulations that befell them
on the way of truth. That is the criterion of goodness. It is a lesson for the present
day Muslims who have developed an outlook on life and follow a way of living so
alien to the teachings of Islam. Even like the pagan Arabs of the Prophet’s time,
they prefer the traditional way as against the way of life laid down for them by
Islam. Whenever a rich man living a thoroughly un-Islamic life provides booths
(sabil) of cool drinks during the days of Muharram and arranges the celebration
of the Prophet’s Day (mawlud) on a lavish scale or pays for lightning a mosque
or a dargah on a particular day, the entire Muslim community exultingly applauds
him, and no one cares to know whether what he did was for the sake of God.
One should remember that such deeds do not constitute righteousness in the sight
of God. Goodness lies only in the purity of belief in God and sincerity in action and
steadfast endurance of trials in the way of God. That is the criterion of goodness
sponsored by the Qur’an.

It has been pointed out above that this chapter was revealed in the ninth year of
Hijra and that the earlier verses of it were publicly announced during the period
of Hajj that year. This was the time when Mecca had already been conquered
and strength of the enemies put down for ever on the field of Hunain. For the
expedition to Tabuk as many as thirty thousand Muslims, had assembled, so much
so that there remained no party in the Arabian peninsula to challenge the supremacy
of the followers of the Prophet. Still there lurked in the situation a few weaknesses.

Point A: A large number of Meccans who had opposed the Prophet but had been
pardoned by him at the time of his victorious entry into Mecca had joined the Muslim
fold. Being new converts to Islam, they could not fit into its way of life quickly. So
when war was declared on those who were still opposed to the Prophet in the
country and were giving no rest to its followers, a number of new Meccan converts
began to feel concerned about their relations who were in the enemy camps. In fact,
they could not rise above their sense of kinship with them or their tribal prejudices,
and so formed but a weak wing of the Muslim camp.

Point B: There were also in the Muslim camp quite a number of hypocrites and
timid people. They raised the cry that now that much had been gained for the
Muslims, there was no longer any need for them to engage themselves in further
warfare.

Point C: The victories which the Muslims had won on the battlefield had developed
in them a general sense of indifference to any possible danger lying ahead of them.
The majority of them thought that now that the Arab land had nearly yielded to the
call of Truth and that there was left no strength among those who had not yet
chosen to yield to the call, there was no imperative need to be on the alert. They
hardly could realize at the moment the height of power and influence that destiny
had marked them to reach. This development in the situation was clearly a source
of danger to the security of the Muslims not only at this hour but in the days to
follow as well.

The necessity therefore was felt to revive in the Muslims the spirit of sincere
attachment to their faith and bring home to them once again the high purpose for
which they were to live and work as earnestly as ever before. They were to be told
that the period of trials was not yet over and that on the other hand it was just to
begin. Of the task lying ahead of them, what was of primary importance at the
moment was the liquidating of whatever opposition that there still was to the
mission of the Prophet and to establish perfect peace and order in the land.

It is why verse 16 calls upon the Muslims to reflect over the situation and realize,
that that was not the hour when they should relax their efforts to reach their goal.
It states that the faith which they professed had yet to be tested in full. So in the
succeeding verses after drawing attention to the character that should distinguish
the Muslims, a significant observation is made in verse 23 that the sense of sincere
attachment to one’s faith and the sense of loyalty to those who were opposed to
the faith could not subsist together or felt simultaneously in one’s mind. It therefore
behooved the followers of the faith that they should have nothing to do with even
their parents and brothers if they belonged to the enemy camp.

Verse 24 is emphatic in asserting that in a conflict between faith and denial of faith,
he alone will be regarded as a man of faith or faithful whom nothing in the world,
and even one’s love for those near and dear to him, should weaken his attachment
or devotion to his faith. It is on this basis that the edifice of a civilized society can
be raised. It refers to all the essential ties which one has necessarily to respect in
life. But the principle of devotion to an ideology such as that which function for the
security and welfare of a society as a whole, demands from everyone professing
faith in his ideology that he should rise far above every other form of attachment
and let nothing detract him from serving whole-heartedly the cause of truth which
that ideology upholds.

The Qur’an also draws particular attention to the attachment one feels to one’s
worldly comfort in life and so might like one’s country not to involve itself in any
war. For instance, one might be gaining wealth by pursuing the avocation of
commerce. In a state of war, opportunities for commerce may be lessened. That
is a fear which is bound to stare in the face of every one living on commerce.
Further, in a state of war one stands the risk of losing one’s possessions. The
thought of the risk will naturally disturb one immensely. Before such as these who
are moved by considerations of this nature, the Qur’an places an abiding truth of
life and asks them seriously to reflect over it. The truth is this. When a people are
called upon by the force of circumstances to defend the cause of truth and uphold
it for the good of men, it should behoove everyone who sincerely believes in the
truth to be prepared to sacrifice everything dear to him, so that truth might prevail
and bring happiness to one and all.  The Qur’an gives the tiding to such devotees
of truth that whatever they might lose in the struggle would be repaid to them
manifold when truth shall triumph and bring peace and prosperity to one and all.
“Indeed with God lies the great reward,” says the Qur’an.

History has recorded for all times the glorious manner in which the companion of
the Prophet stood the test of devotion to their faith in God. It may be asserted
without exaggeration that there are few parallels in the annals of man to the
devoted support that they offered to the Prophet in his struggle in the cause of
truth. They sacrificed all that they had for the love of God, with the result that
they reaped in return what the pursuit of goodness always offers for the benefit
of man.

But what is our position today? Are we prepared to scrutinize our lives in the light
of this verse of the Qur’an.

Verse 26 refers to the battle of Hunain in eight year of the Hijra, when soon after
the conquest of Mecca, the tribes of Hawazin and Thaqif in co-operation with the
tribes of Bani Nadir and Bani Hilal attacked the Muslims. The Prophet issued forth
from Mecca into the valley of Hunain. In this engagement, the Muslims were thrice
in number. Naturally, therefore, they felt confident of success. But when the hour
of trial arrived, their superiority in numbers could not avail. It was only a handful
of staunch adherents of the Prophet, who, inspired by the example of their leader,
saved the situation and won the victory for the Muslims.

The Muslim force had to proceed through a narrow pass. The enemy force lay in
ambush awaiting the Muslims to enter this pass. They knew that among the Muslims
nearly as many as two thousand were new converts from Mecca. A good many of
these were allies of the enemy. The moment the Muslims moved into the narrow
defile, the enemy force showered arrows over them from their bows. It was a
sudden attack. A large section of the Muslim army took to their heels in a state of
alarm. The situation seemed clearly to go against the Muslims. It was at this juncture
that the Prophet ask, ‘Abbas, his uncle, to cry out to his old comrades of Samra who
had sworn allegiance to him at the time of the treaty of Hudaibiya to steady themselves.
The cry inspired a new courage in the hearts of the staunch among them who forthwith
returned to the Prophet and gave so stiff a fight to the enemy that they had to suffer
a defeat at the hands of the Muslims.

This incident was a great eye-opener for the followers of the Faith. It brought home
to them that mere numbers do not bring victory. The strength of numbers does
contribute to success in warfare. But success does not always depend upon numbers.
It is the strength of will and the determination not to yield which ultimately count and
help even a small band of determined fighters to rout a force many times strong in
numbers. The Qur’an addressing the Muslims points out that there were occasions in
the past when though they were few in numbers they had achieved victory over the
enemy. But that now at this hour in Hunain when they prided themselves over the
largeness of their numbers, mere numbers did not avail. That was a matter for them
to reflect over.

In verse 28 the Quran reverts to the order issued in an earlier verse of this chapter
prohibiting the polytheists to enter the Ka’ba any further. That House of Prayer had
been raised by the Prophet Abraham and his son Ismail for the worship of God, the
One, and was meant to serve as a center of spiritual activity for those who believed
in the unity of God.

In this verse the reference to the uncleanliness of the polytheists is not to their
physical condition but to the uncleanliness of their hearts. Islam does not regard the
person or the body of anyone as unclean. Every man as man stands on the same
footing as every other human being. It is why it has prohibited untouchability and
does not single out any section of humanity as untouchable. In fact, it is clear from
the recorded history of the Prophet that the Prophet maintained social relationships
with not only the People of the Book, the Jews, but with the polytheists of his time.
He used to dine with them and accept their invitations and also offer invitations to
them. History has recorded that he at times had allowed them to stay in his own
mosque at Madina.

The verse under reference has a limited application. It applies to the seat of Ka’ba
along and not to any other Muslim place of worship. In fact, after the issuing of
this order, the Prophet had allowed the Christians of Yemen, and the polytheists
from Ta’if to stay in his mosque.

Surah: 20 – They who have believed in God and abandoned their homes for the
sake of God and striven with their possessions and their persons in the way of
God, shall rank high in the estimation of God. These are they who shall attain
success (in life).

Surah: 21 – Tidings of mercy doth their Lord send them and of His good pleasure
and also of gardens in which lasting joy shall be theirs.

Surah: 22 – Therein shall they abide for ever. Surely (for such people) there is a
great reward from their Lord.

Surah: 23 – O Muslims! Do not take your fathers or brothers for friends if they
prefer unbelief to belief; and whoso of you shall take them for friends they shall
be regarded as those who have been unjust to themselves.

Surah: 24 – Say (to the Muslims, O Prophet!): If your fathers and your sons and
your brothers and your wives, and your kith and kin and the wealth that you have
acquired and the merchandise which ye fear may not have a proper sale, and the
dwellings of which you are very don, be dearer to you than God and His Apostle and
striving in the way of God, then, wait until God disclose what He wills to do. And it is
not in the manner of God to guide the impious.

Surah: 25 – (O Muslims!) This is a fact that God had helped you on many a previous
occasion (when you were few in number) and on the day of Hunain, when despite
the strength over which you had exulted availed you not, and the earth with all its
vastness had straitened on your and you to turn back in fight.

Surah: 26 – It was then, God infused into the Prophet and those faithful (to him)
the spirit of steadiness and self-assurance and succoured them with unseen hosts
and defeated the unbelievers, and that is what the unbelievers deserved.

Surah: 27 – Yet after this, God will turn in mercy towards whomsoever He pleaseth;
for indeed God is Forgiving, Merciful.

Surah: 28 – O ye Muslims! Surely those who ascribe partners to God are an unclean
lot. Let them not after this year approach the Holy Place of Prayer, and if (due to
lack of opportunity to profit by trading with them at the time of Hajj) you apprehend
poverty, (then, do not lose heart for), God, if He please, will soon give you riches
out of His abundance. Verily, God knows (your needs) and He will in His Wisdom
compensate you for your loss.

Quran’s emphasis on essence over rituals Q2:177

Quran’s emphasis on essence over rituals Q2:177
www.Quraantoday.com

Quran is a book of guidance, a manual for building cohesive societies where every one's space is respected. One of the commonest themes is God cares about those who care about their neighbors.  Examples have been given to compare a man who prays all the times and the one who does not, but takes care of his neighbor and in God’s he is the best among humanity. Quran is a book of Pluralism, you just have to shed your bias and read from the bird’s eye view, inclusive of humanity.  However, like every religion, society and group, Muslims have their own share of fanatics, who do not see the big picture.  We all have to figure learning to respect the otherness of others.  Mike Ghouse

The most reasonable translation of Quran is done by Muhammad Asad, most of them are ok, but there are two evil translations we all need to watch out.

2:177 (Asad) True piety does not consist in turning your faces towards the east or the west ^[143] - but truly pious is he who believes in God, and the Last Day; and the angels, and revelation, ^[144] and the prophets; and spends his substance - however much he himself may cherish - it - upon his near of kin, and the orphans, and the needy, and the wayfarer, ^[145] and the beggars, and for the freeing of human beings from bondage; ^[146] and is constant in prayer, and renders the purifying dues; and [truly pious are] they who keep their promises whenever they promise, and are patient in misfortune and hardship and in time of peril: it is they that have proved themselves true, and it is they, they who are conscious of God.

143 -Thus, the Qur'an stresses the principle that mere compliance with outward forms does not fulfil the requirements of piety. The reference to the turning of one's face in prayer in this or that direction flows from the passages which dealt, a short while ago, with the question of the qiblah.

144- In this context, the term "revelation" (al-kitab) carries, according to most of the commentators, a generic significance: it refers to the fact of divine revelation as such. As regards belief in angels, it is postulated here because it is through these spiritual beings or force's (belonging to the realm of al-ghayb, i.e., the reality which is beyond the reach of human perception) that God reveals His will to the prophets and, thus, to mankind at large

145 - The expression ibn as-sabil (lit., "son of the road") denotes any person who is far from his home, and especially one who, because of this circumstance, does not have sufficient means of livelihood at his disposal (cf. Lane IV, 1302). In its wider sense it describes a person who, for any reason whatsoever, is unable to return home either temporarily or permanently: for instance, a political exile or refugee.

146 - Ar-raqabah (of which ar-riqab is the plural) denotes, literally, "the neck", and signifies also the whole of a human person. Metonymically, the expression fi 'r-riqab denotes "in the cause of freeing human beings from bondage", and applies to both the ransoming of captives and the freeing of slaves. By including this kind of expenditure within the essential acts of piety, the Qur'an implies that the freeing of people from bondage - and, thus, the abolition of slavery - is one of the social objectives of Islam. At the time of the revelation of the Qur'an, slavery was an established institution throughout the world, and its sudden abolition would have been economically impossible. In order to obviate this difficulty, and at the same time to bring about an eventual abolition of all slavery, the Qur'an ordains in 8:67 that henceforth only captives taken in a just war (jihad) may be kept as slaves. But even with regard to persons enslaved in this or-before the revelation of 8 : 67-in any other way, the Qur'an stresses the great merit inherent in the freeing of slaves, and stipulates it as a means of atonement for various transgressions (see, e.g., 4:92, 5:89, 58:3). In addition, the Prophet emphatically stated on many occasions that, in the sight of God, the unconditional freeing of a human being from bondage is among the most praiseworthy acts which a Muslim could perform. (For a critical discussion and analysis of all the authentic Traditions bearing on this problem, see Nayl al-Awtar VI, 199 ff.

Thank you

mike
World Muslim Congress
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To be a Muslim is to be a peacemaker, one who mitigates conflicts and nurtures goodwill for peaceful co-existence of humanity. God wants us to live in peace and harmony with his creation; life and matter. Mike Ghouse is a Muslim speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, Islam, interfaith and other topics. He is committed to nurturing pluralistic values embedded in Islam and building cohesive Socieities and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day, all his writings are at www.TheGhouseDiary.com   

The Qur'an: A New Translation by Tarif Khalidi

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

URL: http://www.newageislam.com/books-and-documents/the-qur-an--a-new-translation---the-eternal-present-tense/d/195

Quran for living day to day

 
Injunctions for Social Living

Compiled by Muhammad Latif Chaudhery
 

Social injunctions are not generally included in the category of LAWS. But if any social evil becomes rampant in society, an Islamic Government can make them statutory. Some social injunctions are described as under:

1. Moderation in expenses.
i) "Eat and drink but waste not by excess." (7:31)

ii) Do not spend without reason (need). Those who do so are the brethren of Satan. (17:26-27)

2. Get-up.
a) Use of things that produce beauty and elegance is lawful. None can proclaim them as unlawful. Details have already been given under the heading 'Lawful and Unlawful'. (7:32)

b) Apparels provide cover for body as well as elegance for a person. (7:26)

3. Physical and Mental Capabilities.
Knowledge (mental capability) and physical strength, are both necessary. When Taloot was made commander of Israelites, they had objected to it for his not being a wealthy person and asked: "What are his qualifications for which he has been made a commander" The reply was as follows: (2:247)

"Allah has chosen him above you and has gifted him abundantly with knowledge and bodily prowess". That is why he is chosen as your commander.

4. Conversation.
a) Always converse in clear, straightforward and decisive language, which contains no ambiguity: (33:70)

b) Use language, which is recognised by society and commonly used. (4:5) "Speak to them in words that are commonly recognised and used."

Also adopt an elegant manner for speech: (2:83) "And speak to men in a charming way."

c) (22:30) "And shun the words that are deceitful and showy".

d) (6:153) "When you say something, say with justice and equity, even if it goes against your relatives."

"Do not shout, a shrieking voice is disliked by others". (31:19)

"Speak softly, for the harshest of sounds, without doubt, is the braying of any ass."

5. Absurd and immodest talk.
Avoid all absurdities. One of the qualities of the believers has been stated as (23:3) "They avoid vain talk". The word "Laghw" means vain as well as meaningless. In Surah Al-An'aam (6th Chapter of the Quran) it is said: (6:151) this includes all sorts of immodesties __ even an immodest talk __ as it arouses lewd passions.

6. Walking.
i) Do not walk in haughtiness, be moderate (31:18-19) also (17:37)

"Do not be haughty while walking, adopt moderation in your gait."

ii) When you go out, do not allow your gaze to become bold and daring. This has been ordained both for men as well as women.

For men: (24:30)

And for women: (24:31)

7. Thoughtfulness to ponder and to comprehend.
i) Do not follow a thing without an inquiry into it. (17:36)

"Remember! Pursue not that of which you have no knowledge (which you have not inquired personally). Personal inquiry means that you gain knowledge of it through your senses of hearing and sight and on this basis, decide by your own intellect. If any link of this manner is broken, your inquiry shall remain incomplete. Look! How great is your responsibility in this matter, because Allah has given you 'will' and the faculty of 'choice'; you are not a inanimate machine. For the use of this faculty, He has provided you means of investigation. One who does not make use of them, shirks his own responsibility.

This is an important injunction which if acted upon properly, turns all conspiracies and the intrigues into a complete failure and a peaceful atmosphere prevails in society."

ii) Always ponder over things: see, hear, comprehend and then make decisions intellectually. For those who do not do so, it is said: (7:179)

Many are (amongst) the people (both) civilised and uncivilised whom We have made for hell. "They have mind wherewith they understand not, eyes wherewith they see not, and ears wherewith they hear not; they are like cattle, _ nay more astray, (because cattle, at least, follow their natural instincts). These people are heedless of warning".

iii) When you hear a good thing, act upon it; and when you hear an absurd one keep yourself away from it. (2:285) "We hear and we obey", has been called the believers way. And also (28:55) "And when they hear vain talk, they turn away therefrom".

8. Spying.
"Do not spy on other people's affairs that concern you not". (49:12)

9. Knowledge.
i) A learned person and an illiterate one cannot be at par: (39:9) "Say: Are those who know and those who do not know, equal to each other"

ii) Never think that you have reached the final stage of knowledge and nobody knows more than yourself. Remember! (12:76) "And above everyone endowed with knowledge is another endowed with more knowledge."

Nor say that my cup of knowledge is full and I do not want to know any more. Such mentality has been attributed to the non-believers. (2:88) "They say: our hearts do not need any outside information nor is there room in them for anything more to enter".

Not to speak of others, in this respect even the Nabie was asked to keep praying. (20:114) "O My sustainer! Advance me in knowledge."

10. Social relations.
When you meet each other, offer good wishes and blessings for safety. Thus it is said: (4:86) "One who conveys to you a message of safety and security and also when a courteous greeting is offered to you, meet it with a greeting still more courteous or (at least) of equal courtesy."

When you enter your own house or the house of somebody else, compliment the inmates. (24:61) "As has been said earlier (24:27) enter not houses other than your own until you have sought permission; and then greet the inmates and wish them a life of blessing, purity and pleasure from the grace of the Almighty Allah."

11. Good behaviour.
i) Extend kind and good behavior to your parents kinsfolk, orphans, neighbors, friends, travelers and those serving under you: (4:36)

The words in this verse do not mean slave men and women only but also include those serving under you.

ii) Do not expect a return for your good behavior, not even thanks. Tell them: (76:9) "No reward do we desire from you, nor thanks". (because it has been prescribed by the Divine Law; and thus the question of thankfulness does not arise).

12. Co-operation (Mutual Assistance).
"Co-operate with one another in good and virtuous matters consistent with the Divine Laws and do not co-operate in evil and bad matters."(5:2)

13. Mutual Contacts.
"Do not behave bitterly when you meet each other". (31:18)

14. Promise (Commitments).
Always fulfill your promise (and commitments); (17:34) "Fulfill your commitments; remember! You will be questioned about them."

15. Visiting other people's homes.
Do not go to other people's home without permission. The Holy Quran has given detailed instructions in this respect: (24:27-29) "O you who believe! Enter not houses other than your own until you have sought permission and when you go in, extend your salutations to the inmates, wishing their safety and security. Observing these social etiquettes is best for you so that your society always manifests the finest. If you find no one in the house, enter not. In any case never enter until you have sought permission; if you are asked to go back, go back without feeling any displeasure. Keeping up such manners will keep improving your associations. Allah knows all that you do. There is, however, no restraint on you to enter houses not used for living, those which serve some (other) use for you (and if these are common godowns, enter not with bad intention). Always keep in mind that Allah has knowledge of what you reveal and what you conceal."

16. Etiquettes of assembly.
a) Observe assembly etiquettes while sitting in and leaving. (58:11) "O you who believe! These hypocrites when they come to your assemblies, sit close to each other for the sake of whispering together. Thus if you are asked to make room in the assemblies (spread out), do make room, (so that the hypocrites shall also have to spread out and you will not have to suspect that they are conspiring against you. This ought to be a routine in the assemblies). Thus Allah shall make way for broadmindedness amongst you. And when you are told to rise up, do so. (These are small matters but their effects are far-reaching; and if you obey these injunctions), Allah will raise those of you to suitable ranks (and degrees) who believe in such things wholeheartedly and are acquainted with the wisdom and purpose hidden in it. Remember! Allah's Law of Requital is well-acquainted with what you do."

b) When you are invited for a meal, do not go there before time and do not indulge in unnecessary talk, such things may cause inconvenience to the host: (33:53) "O you who believe! Do not go to the house of the Nabie, until he invites you to a meal (and then) not (so early) as to wait for its preparation; and when you have taken your meal, disperse without seeking familiar talk. Such behaviour causes annoyance to the Nabie: he will feel shy in asking you to depart, but Allah is not hesitant to tell you the right course."

Just imagine! The society in which the Quran was revealed to the Nabie, its level of civilisation was so low that they had to be taught etiquettes even in small matters of everyday occurrence. But after a few year's training by the Nabie they were in a position of bringing about improvement not only in the Roman and Persian civilisations but also taught ways of living to European nations.

17. Jealousy.
Do not be jealous of others. This attitude has been condemned, when it was said: (4:54) "They feel jealous of what Allah has bestowed on others out of His bounties."

18. Backbiting (Slandering).
(49:12) "Do not slander each other".

19. Nicknaming others.
Do not call others by nicknames, nor stigmatise them. (49:11)

"Do not defame each other; nor be sarcastic to each other; nor call each other by (offensive) nicknames. When after having professed Eemaan (belief) in Allah, you are determined to become the bearers of graceful manners, then why nickname each other"

20. Envy.
(4:54) "Do not envy mankind for what Allah has given them of His bounty."

21. Jesting.
Do not laugh at others: (49:11) "O you who believe! Let not one party among you laugh at others, may be they are better than those of your lot; nor let some women laugh at others, it may be that the latter are better than the former. Neither men nor women should do it."

22. Public exposure of others.
Unless you have been subjected to an excess, do not publicly expose others. (4:148) "Allah loveth not that evil should be made public, except when injustice has been done to somebody."

23. Mistrust.
Avoid suspicion and mistrust. (49:12)

"O you who believe! Avoid suspicion as far as possible; because some suspicion becomes sin."

When differences arise between you, some evil-mongers taking advantage of it, begin to create suspicion among you. Be careful about it. Always have a favourable opinion about others and avoid suspicion; some suspicions reach the degree of crime and sin.

24. Ridiculing of Divine System.
Deen (the Divine System) is a very important as well as sensitive matter. Those who do not take it seriously forsake their company: (4:140) "Friendly relations with the non-believers aside, Allah has ordained in the Book that when you hear the signs of Allah (verses of the Quran) held in defiance and ridicule you are not to sit in their company, unless they stop doing this and turn to a different subject. If you join them in such a congregation you would become the like of them, although there is nothing common between them and you."

Forsake the company of such people. (6:70) "Leave such people alone who, not to speak of the Divine System, do not give any importance to the Divine code of their own life which they have adopted and consider it as mere play and amusement."

25. Crooked reasoning.
Do not indulge in absurd reasoning. Present your case with clear arguments, reasons, wisdom and exhortation. (16:125) "Invite people to the way of your Sustainer with wisdom and exhortation; talk to them in an elegant manner, keeping before yourselves the aims and objects of the Divine Laws and of the moral values."

26. Anger (Rage).
Do not get into fits of extreme anger (3:133) "to control oneself when enraged" has been described by the Holy Quran as a virtue of the believers.

27. Forgiveness.
If anybody acts wrongfully in ignorance but regrets afterwards, if you think that if forgiven he shall mend himself, forgive him. Allah in most forgiving and merciful. (6:54)

28. Self-Correction (Mending one's ways).
a) You should try correcting others, but give preference to your own correction. The Jews were admonished:(2:44) "Do you enjoin right conduct on others and forget to practise it yourselves"

b) Your own correction includes correction of your own families as well. (66:6) "O you who believe! Save yourselves and your families from the fire (of hell)".

29. Do not bully people with your virtues.
Do not try to impress and bully people on account of self-proclaimed virtues.

Do not ascribe purity to yourselves. (53:32) "Do not keep calling yourself virtuous. He only knows best who it is who guards against evil."

Incompatibility of words and thought (something in the mind and another thing on the tongue), is the worst habit. The state of hypocrites is described as follows: (3:167) "They say with their mouths what is not in their hearts."
Should you like this collection kindly let me know to continue.

With regards
Muhammad Latif Chaudhery