The Qur'an
is one of the remaining miracles of the Prophet Muhammad ( may
Allah increase his honor). It is a major source of Islamic
information and deserves great respect. It is the book Allah
revealed to His last Prophet and Messenger Muhammad ( may
Allah increase his honor).
The Qur'an
is not like any other book. Allah 
forbid the Qur'an to be touched without wudu'¡§.
Also, it is not allowed to translate the Qur'an
according to one's opinion, and it is not allowed to explain
the Qur'an without knowledge. To translate the Qur'an
needs a great deal of knowledge.
There is
basic knowledge that every Mukalaf¡§ is required by
God to learn. Among this information is the Aquidat of
Ahlusunnah wal jama',¡§the Basic Belief of Muslims, and
what is related to Tahara and Prayer and so on. The
meaning of what one of the sahaba¡§ said was first we
learned how to have proper faith in Allah and his messenger,
then we learned the Qur'an and the Qur'an
strengthened our faith. This should indicate that one needs to
first learn how to have the proper belief in Allah and His
Messenger, since that is what the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah
increase his honor) first taught. With this knowledge one then
has at least a basis with which to distinguish between Kufr
and Faith.
It is a
great blessing to memorize the whole Qur'an and
understand it. To learn a single ayah with the proper
pronunciation and its meaning is better than praying one
hundred raka (certain steps of prayer) which are sunnah.
However,
understanding the Qur'an is different from reciting or
memorizing it. Understanding the Qur'an requires a
great deal of knowledge even for the native Arabic speaker.
Being able to read the Qur'an does not mean one can
explain it.
Know that
Allah ordered us in the Qur'an to ask those who are
knowledgeable about what we do not know. If reading the Qur'an
entitles the reader to explain it, Allah would have ordered to
keep reading, but instead Allah ordered to ask those who know.
After the
Prophet (may Allah increase his honor) died, the great sahabi¡§(a
person who met the prophet Muhammad became Muslim and died
Muslim) and the cousin of the Prophet Ibn Abbas used to go and
learn from the great sahabi Zayd ibn Thabit and he did
not say I am the cousin of the Prophet, and I speak the Arabic
language fluently, the language of the Qur'an, and I do
not need to learn; I'll use my opinion. Ibn Abbas didn't say
that. Ibn Abbas asked for knowledge from Zayd ibn Thabit.
Knowledge of the Arabic language is not sufficient to be able
to explain the Qur'an. By now it should be apparent
that explaining the Qur'an is not based on opinion.
There are
many, many factors that have to be taken into consideration
when one wants to understand the Qur'an. Among them are
the fact that there are different types of ayat in the Qur'an.
Some ayat (sudivions of surat) are what are
known as Muhkama¡§ and Mutashabiha.
Also, there
are ayat which are general in meaning and ayat
which are very specific in meaning. As well as ayat which
relate to rules and practices in the religion, and ayat
which tell about some of the things that happened during the
life of some of the prophets before Muhammad.
There are
may facets to be considered when explaining the Qur'an.
There is the Arabic language itself with its multitude of
meanings for so many words. Knowing which meaning is to be
used for any given word can require knowledge not only of the
Arabic language, but also a deep understanding of Islam. For
there are word in that have one meaning in the Arabic language
and another according to religion. There are the different
types of ayat. This is not work for the lay person who
does not know the Aquida of Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama' (the
basics belief of Muslims).
It is not
allowed to translate the Qur'an into another language
word for word because it is impossible to be translated. It is
however allowed to translate the meaning of the ayat into
another language. But before it can be translated, one first
has to learn what it means.
This means
translating the meaning of the Qur'an into another
language takes a great deal of precision. Some people's desire
either to harm Muslims or their ignorance of the knowledge of
the task they undertook lead them to produce books which do
not explain the Qur'an at all but rather cause people
to become lost in the lies of their own deception.
Do not let
the desire to understand the Qur'an which all Muslims
love so much push you to be careless, and in the end loose the
most precious gift, Islam. This has happened to others; don't
let it happen to you. The following demonstrates just how some
people claiming to be doing something good ended up doing
something bad, because they failed to first learn and apply
what Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) first taught.
While others, the enemies of Islam, tried to discredit Islam
by mistranslating the honorable Quran.
So that
Muslims can test the validity of a translation of the
honorable Qur'an they may come across, we are providing
the basic information to make such a determination as well as
specific examples from two widespread translations which
Muslims need to beware of and warn others about.
Often when
Muslims meet new Muslims from the West, they give them a book
that they think is a translation of the meaning of the Qur'an
in French or English, thinking that this will give them a
clear picture of Islam. In fact there is a great possibility
the opposite may happen. The reason being that the translation
given is an incorrect explanation of Islam. Being misled is
more likely to happen to the one who receives such a
translation, but did not first learn the proper information
about the basic belief of Islam, and the rules of the
religion, and therefore is unable to judge if this is a
correct or an incorrect explanation of the Qur'an.
The great
scholars and leaders of Islam did not give their opinion about
the meaning of the Qur'an, but only transmitted what
they learned about the Qur'an. The Scholars only said
about the Qur'an, what had been heard from the Prophet
Muhammad ( may Allah Increase His honor). Abu Baker, the first
khalifa (Islamic ruler) when asked to give the meaning
of an ayah¡§ said what means- What Earth will hold me
and what sky will cover me if I speak without knowledge. This
was related Ibin Hajar Al-AsQalani in his book, Amali.
Also the great khalifa Ali ibin abi Talib said what
meant- If Islam was by opinion then the khuf (a
specific type of foot ware)¡§ would be wiped from the bottom
instead of the top. This was related by Abu Dawud and Bayhaqi.
These are clear proofs that one needs to rely on the
explanation given by such great scholars and not on ones own
opinion.
If this is
the way that the great scholars and leaders of Islam
responded, it is obvious that the one who works in explaining
the Qur'an has to abide by the rules set forth by these great
scholars. Some of the rules that the one who wants to explain
the Qur'an need to follow are:
-
The
person has to firmly believe and trust everything that the
Prophet Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) taught.
The one who does not meet this condition cannot be trusted
at all in his explanation.
-
The
person must have a good comprehension of hadith
(saying, actions and tacit approval of the Prophet
Muhammad, May Allah increase his honor) diraya and riwaya.¡§
This is because the best explanation of the Qur'an
is what was related by the Prophet (may Allah increase his
honor). What he related about the Qur'an explained
it, showed the generalizations in it, showed the
specifications in it, and showed the applications of the ayat
of the Qur'an.
-
The
person needs to know the correct information about the
life of the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah increase his
honor), and when and where ayat were revealed. The Qur'an
is related to the life of the Prophet (may Allah increase
his honor) and the Muslims who lived at that time.
-
The
person needs to have a clear and deep understanding of the
Arabic language both Arabic grammar and a broad Arabic
vocabulary.
-
The
person needs to have memorized ayatul ahkham
¡§ and know which are general and which are specific, as
well as knowing which are nasikh and mansuk
(two classifications of some ayah)
-
The
person needs to have memorized the Ahadithul ahkham¡§
and know which are general and which are specific, as well
as knowing what the scholars have said.
The
person needs to be adal, thiqa and is known for his
piety.
These are
just some of the qualifications required of the one who wants
to explain the Qur'an.
It is very
clear that it is impossible to translate the Qur'an,
because it is a miracle that was revealed to the Prophet
Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) and cannot be
duplicated. It is a miracle that may still be seen today.
There is an ayah in the Qur'an which means that
if all the jinn and people worked together they would not be
able to duplicate the Qur'an.
The
greatness of the Arabic language cannot be encompassed by any
other language. Other languages simply do not have the
strength or power found in the words and grammar of Arabic.
So the
minimum requirements that someone needs to meet to be able
to explain the meaning of the Qur'an are:
-
The
person must be Muslim.
-
The
person has to meet the conditions mentioned above, or he
can quote someone who has met the above mentioned
conditions.
-
The
person has to have a deep understanding of the Arabic
language.
-
The
person has to have a deep understanding of the language he
is translating into.
Here is a
brief history of some of the attempts to translate the Qur'an
into French, English, and German. Then based on the scale
provided above, it is quickly discernible as to whether these
attempts and their translators were capable of transmitting
the correct meaning of the Qur'an.
This
discussion is about translations into the European languages
of French, German, and English, because most of the people who
speak these languages are not Muslim, and in general do not
have contact with large numbers of Muslims. So the negative
impact of reading these attempted translations of the Qur'an
is more extreme. The reason being because the translation
often acts as their primary source of information.
Before
these languages evolved into what is currently used, the
language of science and learning in the West was Latin.
Robertus Retenesis attempted to translate the meaning of the Qur'an
into Latin for the first time in 1143. It was commissioned by
the head clergy in Clugny. This attempted translation was not
spread for several centuries, until it was republished in
Basle.
This
attempt at translation was corrupt and full of many
contradiction, because it was translated by those who wanted
to increase the animosity toward Muslims, so Europeans would
not become Muslim. This was at a time when Islam was spreading
rapidly elsewhere.
The sad
state of affairs is that it was this attempted translation
made by the enemies of Islam that was used as a base, and was
translated into other European languages. It was translated
into German in 1616, and into French in 1647. The translator
of the French version was Du Ryer. It was translated into
Russian in 1776. After Du Ryer's translation, Savary
translated it again. In 1840 Kasimirski again attempted to
translate the meaning of the Qur'an after France had
made Algeria a colony.
The other
Latin source that attempted to translate the meaning of the Qur'an
was Moracci, who was the confessional priest of the Pope and
by profession opposed Islam. This translation was made in
1689. He included in his translation the Arabic text of the Qur'an
and next to it made up an explanation which gave the worst
picture of Islam that he could paint. In his introduction he
stated out right his purpose was to make the Qur'an
appear incorrect.
In 1647
Alexander Ross attempted to translate the meaning of the Qur'an
into English and he relied on the fist Latin translation.
Then George
Sale in 1734 attempted to translate the meaning of the Qur'an
which was translated from the second Latin translation. So,
this contained all the animosity and hate for Islam. This
translation became the example for other works such as Chandos
Clames.
The priest,
Rodwell, attempted to translate the meaning of the Qur'an
in 1861, He claimed that the Qur'an was authored by
Muhammad, when we know it was revelation. So here he attempts
to deceive people, and diminish the greatness of the Qur'an.
E.H. Palmer
attempted to translate the meaning of the Qur'an in
1876. He attempted to translate using colloquial English.
All these
translations were made by those who hate Islam and whose
ulterior motive was to weaken and try to harm Islam. They were
attempts by Christian Hierarchy to discredit the Qur'an.
So these
attempts cannot be trusted and are dangerous. The other danger
is the fact that they are available in the libraries and are
used by Muslim students in their books and research papers.
What is also disturbing is that you find so many Muslims
attending European universities to get degrees in Islamic
Studies! It is unsettling and bordering upon the ridiculous
for a person to learn Islam from the enemies of Islam, and in
the end helping to destroy Islam.
If someone
wants to become a doctor he goes to Medical school, not a
vocational technical school. If you needed open heart surgery,
would you trust someone who read and learned from an auto
mechanic? So if someone wants to become a Muslim scholar, he
should go to a Muslim scholar to learn, not the enemies of
Islam.
The meaning
of what Ibnu Syryn said is: "You need to know that this
science is the Islamic religion, so be careful from whom you
are learning it". So, it is important to learn Islam from
a trustworthy teacher who is taqi¡§ who learned from the
scholars of Islam, who have a chain of relaters to the Prophet
Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor). But, the person, who
is attending the European Universities, and learning from
Kuffar (non-Muslims), his teacher at the end will be Iblis
(the devil).
There were
many attempts at the beginning of the twentieth century to
translate the meaning of the Qur'an and other related
Qur'anic studies particularly into English. The result was
several translation. One of them is by Richard Bell, a teacher
of the Arabic language. His attempt to translate the honorable
Qur'an was published in 1936-1939. And during the end
of the first half of this century, another name appeared
Arthur Arberry. He called his book The Koran Interpreted.
There is no
doubt that it is impossible to translate the Qur'an
itself, because the book that Allah has revealed to his
beloved Prophet Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor),
cannot be duplicated or opposed, but it is possible to
translate the meaning of the Qur'an into other
languages.
Those who
rely on literal translation will often run into great
difficulty. For example the word Zakat in the Arabic language
means purity and correction. However, in Islam Zakat has a
very different meaning. Zakat deals with amounts of goods that
need to be paid if certain conditions are met, and is a very
broad and detailed subject. So, the one trying to translate
Zakat if he relies on literal translation will not come close
to the meaning of the subject being discussed.
There is no
doubt that the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor)
affected the Arabic language, and that the Qur'an and hadith
enriched the Arabic language. Following a literal translation
will not give a correct explanation of the Qur'an.
Certain guidelines need to be followed. Within the Qur'an
itself there are ayat which are relied upon to explain
other ayat. Also, the ayat Muhkhamat are relied
on to explain the ayat Mutashabihat. The hadith
are relied upon to explain the ayat of the Qur'an.
All this information needs to be is utilized to translate the
meaning of the Qur'an.
There is no
need for a literal translation. In fact, it is unacceptable to
translate the Qur'an literally, regardless of how many
commentaries are included, because the Qur'an cannot be
translated literally.
Nevertheless,
this did not stop some of the well known translators who
claimed to be Muslim such as Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall in
1930, and Abullah Yusuf Ali whose book was published the first
time at 1934.
The
following are examples of how these men tried to translated
the Qur'an literally and ended up mistranslating it.
We thank
Allah for giving us the gift of Islam. Such a precious gift
requires us to protect our faith at all times. To protect your
belief, you need to be educated as to how to have faith and be
a Muslim, as well as, what causes one to leave Islam.
Ignorance of the basic belief may make some people become
non-Muslims, and in some cases prevents people from becoming
Muslim.
An example
of such a person is Yusuf Ali, the author of a book called The
Holy Qur'an Translation and Commentary. Yusuf Ali tried to
translate the Qur'an, but he failed to follow that which the
Prophet Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) first taught.
The Prophet Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) first
taught the Sahaba to have faith, then he taught them
the Qur'an and learning the Qur'an strengthened
their faith. From Yusuf Ali's writing it is very obvious that
he did not do this.
Muslims
need to be warned about Yusuf Ali in particular, because his
terrible work has become so wide spread. The ignorant have
referred to his translation in their books, and in this manner
given him credibility when he deserves none. In this book,
there will be enough examples given of his misguidance to
prove that he is not someone to be trusted in explaining the Qur'an.
A further warning to those who like to read. Check the
references of the books you read. If the author sights Yusuf
Ali as a trustworthy source, how can you trust the author?
Yusuf Ali's deviation from Islam is undeniable and
undisputable. Those who accept his work as accurate have
demonstrated at least their ignorance, and depending on how
much they believe in Yusuf Ali's writing may have fallen into
his trap of kufr. So, Beware!
Today
ignorance is wide spread, just as in the past knowledge was
wide spread. In the days of the sahaba there were many
Islamic scholars. Today you need to search far and wide to
find one. In the absence of many of these great scholars it
has become easy for ignorant people to spread lies about our
great religion.
Remember
that committing kufr (any saying, deed, or belief that
denies, disrespects or makes fun of Allah, His Prophets,the
angels, the Qur¡¦an or the Islamic religion) in any of its
forms causes one to be non-Muslim. A building may have only
one small structural flaw, yet that one flaw may cause it to
collapse. It is not necessary for someone to criticize Islam,
fight Muslims openly or destroy mosques to be an enemy of
Islam. The meaning of what was said by the Prophet Muhammad
(may Allah increase his honor) was that Heaven is as close to
you as the sole of your shoe, and Hell is just as close.
That means
that it is easy to become Muslim, if someone was kafir
most of his life, and a short time before he died, he became
Muslim by saying the creedal statement of Islam (Ashahadatayn).
He accepted that Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) is
the last prophet and messenger of Allah, and believed that
Allah exists and does not resemble any of His creations, he
will be in heaven for eternity. And conversly if a person was
Muslim most of his life, and a short time before he died he
leaves Islam, he will be in hell forever.
On the Day
of Judgment God will not accept anything a non-Muslim has
done. So, how can people today value what a non-Muslim has
done. The non-Muslim when he dies is doomed to etenal torture
in Hell. All it takes to become non-Muslim is one act of kufr,
and if he does not repent and return to Islam before he dies,
he deserves eternal suffering in Hell no matter how many good
deeds he may have done otherwise as is proved in the Qur'an.
Due to
Yusuf Ali's ignorance of the basic belief he committed kufr,
therefore becoming non-Muslim. An example of Yusuf Ali's many kufr
is in the introduction to his book where he wrote "for
all are children of one God." This statement is found in
the introduction c.6 line 19. This contradicts the Qur'an,
and it is against Islam regardless of what he may mean by it.
In Surat Alikhlas there is an ayah which means
God has no children èîäîåò êïèäîÏ
. In the Qur'an the Christians are damned because they
claimed Allah had one son, so obviously Yusuf Ali with his
statement deserves at least the same damnation. There are many
other examples of kufr which are replete within Yusuf
Ali's book.
It is
necessary for Muslims to become educated in the basic
information every Muslim is required to know so that Muslims
are able to recognize and refute the ignorant. Here is how to
refute the ignorance of Yusuf Ali and those who would defend
him.
To have
faith in Allah there are attributes that every Muslim is
required to know. In Yusuf Ali's translation he wrote things
in complete contradiction with several of these attributes.
For example in the Qur'an there is an Ayah which
means God does not resemble any of His creations ( Surat
ashshurat ayah 11)
ÈcÈf . 11 Èwسورة الشورى، آيةÈrÈi{لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَىءٌ}ÈiÈy
This is one
of the Attributes of Allah that every Muslim is required to
know. It means that God does not resemble color, He Created
color; He is not color. God created spirit; He is not spirit.
God created light; He is not light. However, Yusuf Ali wrote
that "God is the light of the Heaven and the Earth";
this clearly contradicts the ayah which means God does
not resemble any of His creations, and therefore is kufr.
Kufr is any saying deed or belief that denies,
disrespects or makes fun of God the Prophets, the angels, the Qur'an
or the Islamic religion. Kufr makes someone a
non-Muslim. What Yusuf Ali wrote contradicted the Qur¡¦an.
Yusuf Ali
left a legacy of great danger for anyone who reads his book
without first learning what the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah
increase his honor) first taught. Without the knowledge of the
attributes of Allah and the Prophets that every Muslim is
required to know someone who reads Yusuf Ali's book might
believe some of the kufr which is in it, thereby
leaving Islam or not becoming Muslim. But to be able to
recognize kufr you need to first know what a Muslim
believes.
The science
of tawhid which is what the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah
increase his honor) first taught includes knowing what is
possible to attribute to God and His Prophets and what is
impossible to be attributed to Allah and His Prophets. It is
forbidden (haram ) for any Muslim to be ignorant of
this information. If someone has not learned the basic belief,
he is in great danger. Ignorance of this information will be
no excuse on the Day of Judgement when each person is being
asked for what he said, did, and believed.
So, if you
find yourself in the position that you do not know what tawhid
is and this is the first time you've ever heard someone warn
you of the ignorance that is so wide spread today, the advice
to you is search until you find someone who can teach the
¡¨Aquida of Ahlussunnah¡¨ (the basic belief of Muslims).
Further
examples of how far from the truth Yusuf Ali was, are found
throughout his commentary and in his foot notes. The page
numbers and references sited here are from the first edition
copyrighted by Amana Corp. in 1983.
First
realize that Muslims believe in the true Bible. The book which
was revealed to the Prophet Jesus. However, it is well known
that this book is no longer present. The book revealed to
Jesus was changed and Christians follow a book they call the
Bible, but in fact the majority of what they follow is merely
a collection of letters written by a group of men. As is
indicated by their titles i.e. Paul's letters to the Romans,
referred to simply as Romans. Note Paul was a man who never
even met Jesus, and yet he is the author of a main portion of
the New Testament. He was a Jew who used to zealously
persecute Christians. He then converted to Christianity and
went on to spread his version of Christianity. This
information on Paul may be found in The New Lexicon Webster's
Dictionary of the English Language, 1988 edition.
The reason
for mentioning this here is that in his commentary Yusuf Ali
often sites the book Christians follow as if it were a
reliable source for explaining the Qur'an. As in
footnote 26 on page 17 when he tries to explain taqwa
using what was said by the author of Proverbs, one of what is
called the books of the Bible. And on the same page at the end
of footnote 25 he mentions some of the Christian's kufr
in trying to explain Çäå©) as he
called it (A.L.M.). From the book they call the bible he
sights Rev. i. 8 which says " I am Alpha and Omega, the
beginning and the end, saith the Lord. which is and which was,
and which is to come, the Almighty. This is kufr
because Muslims know God has no beginning, and God has no end,
yet here is Yusuf Ali using kufr to try and explain the
Qur'an.
On page 29
he sites Exodus six times. Someone who reads Yusuf's
commentary would get the impression that what Christians call
the Bible today is a reliable source of information, which is
far from the truth. It is a book full of kufr and
danger for the one who reads it. Yet as you turn through the
pages of Yusuf Ali's book again and again you find him citing
what Christians call the Bible pages 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36,
38, 42, 43 and there are more. On page 43 however, when Yusuf
Ali sites the New Testament he sites Paul using the title St.
which is the abbreviation for Saint. This would indicate that
Paul was a very good man. Paul, however, was one of the main
authors of the New Testament and was responsible for spreading
Christianity which is condemned in the Qur'an. How can
Yusuf Ali site him and treat him with respect?
Not only
are many of Yusuf Ali's comments full of kufr so are many of
his translations. In Surat Nur ayah number 35 Yusuf Ali
wrote "God is the Light of the heavens and the
earth." This is kufr because it contradicts the ayah
which means God does not resemble any of His creations.
God is not
light. God created light. The word nur which Ali
translated can mean light, but this is not the only meaning of
the word nur in the Arabic language. It is clearly
incorrect to translate nur as light in this ayah,
because to do so gives a meaning which contradicts another ayah
from the Qur'an and to contradict that ayah is kufr.
Also translating nur as light in this ayah
contradicts the sound intellect.
What this ayah
actually means is that God gave faith (nur) to the
family of the skies (the angels) and the family of the Earth
(people and jinn who are Muslim). Instead of learning from an
Islamic scholar what this ayah meant, Yusuf Ali made up
his own explanation of the ayah based on his ignorance
of the Arabic language which by the way obviously disqualifies
him as a translator. Not only did he mistranslate; in his
commentary he expounded upon his error in note #2997 page 907
Yusuf Ali states his kufr very clearly; he wrote
"The physical light is but a reflection of the true light
in the world of Reality, and that true light is God."
Similarly,
Yusuf Ali mistranslated ayah 5 in surat Taha. Yusuf Ali
wrote "(God) Most Gracious is firmly established on the
throne (of authority). And again in his footnote he expounds
what he has translated so that there is no question as to his kufr.
In footnote #2536 on page 790 Ali writes " If things seem
to be wrong in our imperfect vision on this earth, we must
remember that God, who encompasses all creation and sits on
the throne of grace and mercy, is in command, and our faith
tells us that all must be right."
The Arabic
word istawa has some fifteen meanings in the Arabic
language. First understand what this ayah means God sustains
the arsh (throne). Since al-Arsh is the largest
creation in size and it acts as the roof of Heaven by saying
that God sustains the Throne it means Allah sustains
everything less than the Throne. Yusuf Ali in his ignorance
took the meaning of istawa as being sit. To do so in
this ayah is kufr, because it contradicts several of
God's attributes.
It
contradicts the fact that God exists without a place. God
always exists, and there is no beginning to His existence, and
His existence does not change. The meaning of what Ali ibn Abi
Talib said is God existed without a place and God still exists
without a place. In other words God existed before He created
place and since God does not change God still exist without a
place. When Yusuf Ali said "God sits on the throne"
it means he believed God's existence changed from not having a
place to having a place, since there is no question that the
Throne is a creation; this belief is kufr. The meaning
of what the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor)
said is that God existed and nothing else existed. Since God
does not change it is impossible for God to sit on the Throne
which did not exist. To claim that God now sits on the Throne
is claiming that God changed, and that is kufr. Also, to sit
one needs a body with a front and back, and there is an ayah
which clearly means God does not resemble any of His
creations, and this is one of God's attributes. So God does
not have a body to sit; it is impossible to the sound
intellect.
The Throne
(Arsh) is carried by Angels. To claim that God sits on it is
to claim indirectly that God needs the angels. There is an
ayah in surat Alikhlas that means everything needs God
and God does not need anything. Çääñîçï Çä'ñîåîÏï.
That God does not need anything is one of God's attributes. By
Yusuf Ali saying "God sits on the throne" is
indicating God needs the Throne. Not only that, the throne is
carried by four Angels and will be carried by eight on the Day
of Judgement. His saying indicates that God needs the Angels
which again contradicts the ayah in surat Alikhlas ,
and that contradiction is kufr.
Much of the
kufr committed by Christians and Jews come from
statements which indicate that God is like His creations. This
contradicts the ayah which means God does not resemble
any of His creations ( Surat ashshurat ayah 11). Yusuf
Ali has committed kufr which is like this by indicating
that God is like His creations and everyone should be warned
not to trust or spread his book called The Holy Qur'an
Translation and Commentary. Instead concentrate on
learning what the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah increase his
honor) first taught. Learn what it is to have faith, what is
possible to be attributed to God and what is possible to be
attributed to the Prophets.
Yusuf Ali
and Marmaduke Pickthall made grave and extensive errors in
their attempts to translate the Honorable Qur'an. The
following are just a few examples of some of their errors and
explanations of why they were incorrect.
Example
1:
About surat al qalam ayah 42 Yusuf Ali said:
¡¨The Day that the Shin Shall be laid bare, And they
shall be summoned
To bow in adoration, But they shall not be able,-¡§
The problem
is the literal translation of the word saq
¨ÓÇâ© as shin.
He definitely did not give the correct meaning of this ayah.
The ayah refers to the Day of Judgement. It was related by
Attabari that the sahabi Ibin Abas said this ayah means
the difficulties, terrors, and horrors of the Day of judgement
will become apparent.
Example
2:
About surat ^adiyat ayah 6 Yusuf Ali said:
¡¨Truly Man is, To his Lord, Ungrateful¡¨; Marmaduke
Pickthall said about the same ayah ¡§ Lo! man is an
ingrate unto his Lord¡¨
In both
cases the problem is the use of the word Man which means
mankind. However, in this ayah it refers only to the
non-Muslims. It does not refer to Muslims. In many places in
the Qur'an, the Arabic word insan (ÇäÇæÓæ)
is used to mean the non-Muslim only, and not all mankind. In
Arabic the word may mean either all mankind or only
non-Muslims, but there is a huge difference between the Muslim
and the non-Muslim.
Example
3:
About surat hud, Ayah 67 Yusuf Ali said:
" The (mighty) Blast overtook The wrong-doers,
and they
Lay..".
The problem
here is using the word "wrong-doers" where the true
meaning is ¡§disbelievers¡¨, or non-Muslim. To use
the word wrong-doer is incorrect, because not every wrong-doer
is a disbeliever (non-Muslim). However, every disbeliever is a
wrong-doer. Kufr (that which causes one to be
non-Muslim) is the greatest injustice, and in the Qur'an
Allah refers to the kuffar (disbelievers) as unjust
people. Kufr is the one sin (injustice) that God will
not forgive, so when compared to every injustice (sin) that is
not kufr, these injustices are considerably less. For
how can you weigh eternity in Hell to limited time?
Obviously,
Yusuf Ali misses the true meaning of this ayah. He is lost in
his own illusion, and leads others to be lost, because he is
not qualified to explain the Qur'an. And here again he
committed another huge mistake in his attempt to explain this
ayah. Definitely he did not explain it properly, and he
mislead those readers who trusted him.
Marmaduke
Pickthall made the same error of not designating that those
being mentioned in this ayah were non-Muslims. About surat
hud, Ayah 67 he said ¡§And the (Awful) cry overtook those
who did wrong, so that morning found them prostrate in their
dwellings,¡¨
Here again
saying ¡§those who did wrong¡¨ does not eliminate Muslims
who commit sins. So, Pickthall mislead his readers too.
Example
4:
About Surat Al-Ma'ida Ayah 44 Yusuf Ali said:
"If any do fail to judge By (the light of) what God
Hath revealed, they are (No better than)
Unbelievers".
About Surat
Al-Ma'ida Ayah 44 Marmaduke Pickthall said ¡§Whoso
judgeth not by that which Allah hath revealed: such are
disbelievers.¡¨
The correct
meaning of this Ayah as it was related by Hakim in Al-Mustadrak,
that Ibn Abbas, the cousin of our beloved Prophet Muhammad
(may Allah increase his honor), said it means is " It is
a large sin to judge by something other the Shari'a
(rules of the religion); however, if someone gives a judgment
other than according to sharia it does not make him a
non-Muslim".
Before
Yusuf Ali was born, the scholars of Islam have said that the
Muslim who gives a judgment that is not in accordance to Islam
because of money or friendship is committing a large sin (is
Fasiq), but, as long as he is does not believe that this
judgment is better or equal to the Islamic judgment, he is
still Muslim.
Yusuf Ali's
and Marmaduke Pickthall's explanations are rejected by the
unanimous agreement of the scholars. The scholars agree that a
Muslim does not become non-Muslim by committing a large sin,
as long as he believes it is a sin. So to accuse a Muslim, who
commits a sin, of being kafir is a big mistake.
This is a
clear example that Yusuf Ali and Pickthall are very far from
the truth. They rejected the explanation of the Sahabi
and followed their own opinion and propagate the belief of Al-'khawarij¡§.
Example
5:
In this Yusuf Ali has shown he is someone who is not only
ignorant, but also is willing to manipulate the truth. It
is related that the meaning of what the Prophet said is
"the one who explains Qur'an using his opinion
has committed a sin even his explanation was correct"
Yusuf Ali
in his attempt to mislead the reader in Ayah 142 of Sura Al-Baqara
says:
"The Fool among the people Will say: ¡§What hath turned
Them from the Qibla to which They were used?",
Pickthall
said about the same ayah "The foolish of the people will
say".
They have
shown a tremendous ignorance in Fiqh,Islamic knowledge,
as well as in Tafseer (explanation of the Qur'an).
The word Yusuf Ali has translated as fool and Pickthall
translated as ¡§the foolish¡¨ is sufaha' (
ÇäÓáçÇÁ) in the
first ayah means the Jews and disbelievers.
The word safeeh
is a terminology that is used by Islamic judges when talking
about the one who deals with the misusing money. The scholars
define safeeh as someone who cannot deal with money,
sometimes because he is crazy, sometimes because he is a
sinner, and sometimes as a man who may owe money to some
people, and he owes more than he has assets, his debtors can
ask the judge to prevent him from having control over his
money.
Neither the
word ¡§fool¡¨ nor ¡§the foolish¡¨ by themselves come close
to either the correct meaning or any other Islamic meaning.
Example
6:
Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall shows that he is ignorant in
almost every aspect of the Islamic religion. Even in Hajj,
he presented one of his illusions in Ayah 196 in surat Al-Baqara,
he stated: " And whosoever contenteth himself with
the Visit for the Pilgrimage (shall give) such gifts...¡¨
Who knows where Pickthall was headed?
This ayah
deals with Hajj At-tamatu', which means to do Ihram for
Al-'Umra in the months of Hajj and then do Hajj. The problem
with his explanation is that it does not even mention At-tamatu'.
Second, he uses the word "visit", where the meaning
is "'Umra". Umra is a very specific practice
and has conditions and requirements which need to be met to
perform it correctly. The word visit does not reflect any of
this.
It is
important to rely on sunnah to explain and understand
the Qur'an. Al-Imam Al-Bukhari and Al-Imam Muslim have
written about the explanation of the Qur'an. From what
they said, it is obvious that no one has the right to rely on
his opinion or the opinion of someone else, and disregard and
put aside what was taught by our beloved Prophet Muhammad (may
Allah increase his honor). Allah ordered us in the Qur'an
to follow what the Prophet (may Allah increase his honor) has
taught, and we obey Allah when we obey the Prophet (may Allah
increase his honor).
Example
7:
Muhammad
Marmaduke Pickthall in his attempt to explain Ayah 110
from Surat Yusuf, said: " Till, when the messengers
despaired and thought they were denied, then came unto
them Our help".
About the
same ayah Yusuf Ali said: ¡§Until, when the apostles Give up
hope (of their people) And (come to) think that they
Were treated as liars, There reaches Our help¡¨, In his
footnote 1795 he claims that the Prophets reached a
¡§breaking point¡¨
Allah
protected his Messengers from committing kufr and large
sins and small sins which contain meanness before and after
their prophethood. So it is impossible for the Prophets to
believe that Allah will not fulfill what He promised them. In
Sahih Al-Bukhari, the mother of believers Aisha, the wife of
the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) said what
meant: "I swear by Allah that the Prophet Muhammad knows
definitely that everything Allah promises him will occur
before his death". So to say that the Prophets
¡§despaired¡¦ or reached ¡¥a breaking point¡¨ contradicts
what the Prophet said.
Example
8:
Another problem with Pickthall is in explaining Ayah 79
from Sura Al-Isra', he said: " It may that thy Lord
will raise thee to a praised estate"
The first
problem here is with using the word "may", which
suggests that this may not happen which opposes the Hadith.
The second
problem is the use of "praised estate" the meaning
of which is obscure and misleading. In the books of Hadith, it
was related that Abdullah ibn Umar said: "in the Day of
Judgement, the Prophet is asked by the people to ask Allah for
Hiysab¡§ to be started.
Yusuf Ali
said about this same ayah
¡¨For thee: soon will thy Lord Raise thee to a Station
Of Praise and Glory!¡¨
In his
footnote 2278 he says ¡§the immediate reference may be to the
hope that the Meccan persecution will soon be over and the
glorious work in Medina will begin.¡¨ It is obvious he does
not know this is referring to the Day of Judgement.
Example
9:
In Ayah 78 in Sura Al-Isra', Yusuf Ali stated:
"And reading in the morning Carry their
testimony".
In Sahih
Al-Bukhary, it was related that the meaning of what the
Prophet said is: " The angels from the day and the angels
from the night will gather for the Subh prayer"
Example
10:
Yusuf Ali said in his attempt to explain Ayah 29 from
Surat Al-Hijr, he stated:
" When I have Fashioned him (In due proportion)
and breathed Into him of My spirit, Fall ye down in
obeisance
Unto him".
Marmaduke
Pickthall said about the same ayah ¡§So, when I have made him
and breathed unto him of My spirit, do ye fall down
prostrating yourselves unto him.¡¨
To say or
believe that Allah has a spirit is a clear deviation from
Islam. Allah created both spirits and bodies and God does not
have a body or spirit. The meaning of what Allah said in the
Qur'an in surat As-Shura, aya 11 is: ¡§He does not resemble
any of His creations¡¨. Anyone who believes that God is a
spirit or light is not Muslim, because he is does not believe
in that ayah. This ayah Yusuf Ali is trying to translate means
that God ordered Jibrail to blow into Adam a good spirit that
is honored and blessed and not a bad spirit. This is because
spirits are classified into two types, good spirits and bad
spirits. The spirits of the Prophets are good spirits.
Example
11:
Yusuf Ali said in his attempt to explain Ayah 22 from
Surat Al-Fajir, he stated:
"And thy Lord Cometh And His angels,
Rank upon rank"
Pickthall
said ¡§And thy Lord shall come with angels, rank on rank,¡¨
These men
do not believe in Allah. Allah does not have a place, He
exists without a place. So, moving from one place to another
is impossible to be attributed to Allah. So one who claims God
comes or goes from place to place is not Muslim. Allah existed
before he created place and He still exists without a place.
It is related in Sahih Al-Bukhary that our beloved prophet
said which meant: ¡§At no beginning, nothing existed except
Allah¡¨, which means that everything other than Allah did not
exist at no beginning, because everything other than Allah is
a creation and has a beginning. So the skies, the earths and
the stars, the sun, planets, heaven, hell, and place did not
exist at no beginning. Allah does not change, and He still
exist without a place as He did at no beginning.
It is
related by Bayhaqi that Al-Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal said what
means: "In the Day of Judgment, so many huge things will
occur by God's power." This is what this ayah means.
Example
12:
Pickthall in his attempt to explain Ayah 35 from Surat
Annur said ¡§Allah is the Light of the heavens and the
earth.¡¨
Yusuf Ali
said about the same ayah
¡¨God is the Light Of the heavens and the earth.¡¨
In Yusuf
Ali's attempt to explain Ayah 35 from Surat Annur, he stated
in his commentary # 2997: "The physical light is but a
reflection of the true light in the world of reality, and that
true light is God"
This is a
deviation from Islam. It is kufr to say that this world
is part of Allah. Allah is not part of this world, He does not
resemble any of His creations. Allah is not light; He created
light and darkness. Allah stated in the Qur'an in surat Al-An'am
in ayah 1 which means that He created both light and darkness.
And Yusuf
Ali goes further down the road of Kufr and claims that
"God is with all things, but some visions perceive Him
not on account of His very brightness". Yusuf Ali
propagated the kufr that was spread by some non-Muslims
who state that God is spread in everything, but some things
cannot see him because he is too bright!.
Yusuf Ali
goes on to what he calls "Mysticism" and uses
¡§Eastern literature especially in religious allegory¡¨, to
explain Surat At-Takweer. According to him, the sun is
"Our lower self", the stars are "human
wisdom", the mountains are "Our worldly
ambitions", and the camels are "Greed and love of
gain". This is his comment #5982. This commentary does
not have anything to do with Islam.
Example
13:
Pickthall in an attempt to translated ayah 5 of surat Ta
Ha said ¡§The Beneficent One, Who is established on the
Throne.¡¨
Yusuf Ali
said about the same ayah
¡¨(God) Most Gracious Is firmly established On the throne (of
authority).¡¨
Yusuf Ali
further spreads this poison. In his commentary #2536 where he
stated: " God sits on the throne", which contradicts
the Qur'an, because God does not resemble any of His
creations at all. Sitting is impossible to be attributed to
Allah.
This Ayah
means that God created the throne to show His power and not
sit on it. Sitting requires a body that has two parts, an
upper part and a lower part, and this is impossible to be
attributed to Allah.
In addition
to the above examples Yusuf Ali repeatedly uses the what is
called "the old testament" and "the
Gospel" and "Genesis" which and are against
Islam.
The meaning
of what Allah stated in the Qur'an is that the Jews and
Christian have written these books and claimed that they are
from God. Yusuf Ali is using the very books that Allah warned
against.
Yusuf Ali
said in his commentary #2739 on Ayah 83 from Surat Al-Anbiyaa',
he stated :" As a further Calamity he is Covered with
loathsome sore from head to foot. He loses his peace of mind,
and he curses the day he was born....and further loses his
balance of mind"
This is a
huge mistake and a great disrespect to the Prophet Ayub by
which Yusuf Ali deviated from Islam. The Prophet Ayub did not
have smelly sores from his head to his feet. If Yusuf Ali
learned Islam properly, he would know that it is impossible
for a Prophet to have any disgusting sickness. Allah chose the
Prophets to guide people to what is good for them in this life
and the hereafter, and to have sores from head to foot will
distract people from learning, or even coming close to him.
Prophet Ayub did not curse the day he was born. What is also
dangerous is to say that Prophet Ayub lost his balanced mind,
because God protected the Prophets and Messengers from
insanity or stupidity. These statements directly contradict
the attributes of the Prophets very Muslim is required to
know.
Also in
ayah 87 of Surat Anbiyaa' Yusef Ali committed kufr by saying
about the Prophet Yunus ¡§He imagined that We Had no power
over him!¡¨
The
Prophets were always Muslim and always believed that God has
power over everything. So there is no way that Yunus would
have believed that God had no power over him.
It is
important to remember that all the Prophets are Muslims. They
all were well mannered, intelligent, trustworthy, honest,
handsome, and courageous. They never committed kufr. They
never committed what are classified as large sins, and it is
impossible for them to have the opposites of these attributes.
Therefore, if someone claims a Prophet, any prophet, has an
attribute which opposes those mentioned above, he is not
Muslim. When Yusuf Ali said the Prophet Ayub had loathsome
sores he did just that. As well as when Yusuf Ali said Yunus
imagined God had no power over him. This shows Yusuf Ali did
not believe in the Prophets.
And what is
also dangerous is to compare the Qur'an to "Dante
paradiso" which refers to what is called "the breads
of angels" in his commentary # 4063. Muslims believe that
the Angels do not eat, do not drink, or have children.
Do not
forget the conditions one needs to meet to be trusted to
translate and explain. They Qur'an are:
-
The
person has to firmly believe and trust everything that the
Prophet Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) taught.
The one who does not meet this condition cannot be trusted
at all in his explanation.
-
The
person must have a good comprehension of hadith Diraya
and riwaya..¡§ This is because the best explanation
of the Qur'an is what was related by the Prophet
(may Allah increase his honor). What he related about the Qur'an
explained it, showed the generalizations in it, showed the
specifications in it, and showed the applications of the ayat
of the Qur'an.
-
The
person needs to know the correct information about the
life of the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah increase his
honor), and when and where ayat were revealed. The Qur'an
is related to the life of the Prophet (may Allah
increase his honor) and the Muslims who lived at that
time.
-
The
person needs to have a clear and deep understanding of the
Arabic language both Arabic grammar and a broad Arabic
vocabulary.
-
The
person needs to have memorized ayatul ahkham ¡§
and know which are general and which are specific, as well
as knowing which are nasikh and mansuk (two
classifications of some ayah)
-
The
person needs to have memorized the Ahadithul ahkham¡§
and know which are general and which are specific, as well
as knowing what the scholars have said.
The
person needs to be adal,¡§thiqa ¡§ and is known for
his piety.
These are just some of the qualifications required of the
one who wants to explain the Qur'an.
It can be
very frustrating not being able to read the Qur'an when
you are Muslim and you love it so much. However, like
everything else it takes work to achieve this goal. You first
have to learn how to recite it correctly. To understand it you
have to learn what the correct explanation is from someone who
has learned from a trustworthy source. This can be done, but
if one does not do this it does not affect their ability to be
a good Muslim.
The Qur'an
is one of the remaining miracles of the Prophet Muhammad ( may
Allah increase his honor). It is a major source of Islamic
information and deserves great respect. However, it is not
required of every Muslim to memorize the whole Qur'an,
but it is a great blessing to memorize the whole Qur'an
and understand it. In fact the Qur'an was revealed over
a period of twenty three years, and people were becoming
Muslim and dying Muslim before all of the Qur'an was
revealed. This proves that learning or memorizing the entire Qur'an
is not a requirement for being Muslim. There is no doubt as to
the greatness of the Qur'an. To learn a single ayah
with the proper pronunciation and its meaning is better than
praying one hundred raka which are sunnah
(something which if done deserves reward and if not done does
not deserve punishment).
However,
understanding the Qur'an requires a great deal of study
even for the native Arabic speaker. To understand the Qur'an
one needs to learn the explanation from an Islamic scholar or
someone who has learned it from an Islamic scholar. Remember
that not every Arab reads and understands the Qur'an.
There is a hadith ( saying of the Prophet Muhammad may
Allah increase his honor) which means that the Arab Muslim is
not preferred over the non-Arab Muslim except in accordance to
his taqwa (piety or obedience to Allah). So it is clear
what differentiates Muslims is how well they obey God. Also
not being able to recite or understand all the Qur'an
does not in any way prevent one from being a good Muslim.
One
solution is to be patient, learn Arabic if possible, at least
learn how to read Qur'an. Something that can be done
without understanding it. Then ask for explanations when there
is someone qualified to explain, or go to a trustworthy
Islamic scholar.
Do not let
the desire to understand the Qur'an push you to be
careless and read such authors as Yusuf Ali, and in the end
loose the most valuable gift God has given us, Islam. This has
happened to others don't let it happen to you. Learn and apply
what Muhammad (may Allah increase his honor) first taught.
We thank
Allah for the wonderful gift of Islam and we ask Allah to
let us die Muslim.
¡@
PROOF
THAT THE MEANING OF THE QUR¡¦AN HAS TO BE LEARNED.
The Translation of
the Qu'ran