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| Quran:word-4-word translation? |
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| Shahida |
| 04/29/04 at 07:03:07 |
| [slm] I am looking for a word-4-word translation of the Quraan for a sister of mine. I have one (in 3 volumes), but it is not that easy to read i.e confusing about which word is meant, the one preceding or following the arabic word... ::) It is printed in Pakistan I think... Is there a better translation, word4word? I saw a copy of one with the Arabic and english in 2 columns next to each other, it was so much clearer...and do you know of any that come in just ONE volume, instead of 3? JazakumAllahu khairun for the help. Wasalam Shahida :-) |
| Re: Quran:word-4-word translation? |
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| salaampeaceshalom |
| 04/29/04 at 08:36:26 |
| [slm] Ok I have a feeling many ppl will disagree with wat I hv to write, but plz hear me out. If u disagree, then dont feel free to attack me. If u believe differently, then plz write courteously. I've read too many posts on here where ppl have disagreed with each other and the posts are filled with what can only be likened to venom :(, and I don't want that same sort of treatment, especially as it is not a characteristic of the muslims and how they behave with one another. So anyway :).... I have been taught (by my shaykh and others) that it is islamically unlawful to translate ayats of the qur'aan word for word into other languages. Allaah stated in Al-Taha, 113: "We have Revealed the qur'aan in the arabic language". Allaah has also stated this in other ayats too. The qur'aan is what was revealed to the Prophet (peace be upon him) in the arabic language. The richness of arabic terms cannot be found in other languages. For instance, one word in arabic can have a number of meanings, which I'm sure u know. The only Book to remain untouched and unchanged is the qur'aan, as we know that the bible and the torah, etc have been altered by man. Therefore there is a religious prohibition in translating the verses of the qur'aan word for word, because in doing so, u may give a word a meaning that in that context is not meant by it. By translating the qur'aan word for word, and by giving a word a meaning which it does not acually mean, you are altering the message of the qur'aan, and therefore it is no longer what was revealed to the Prophet (peace be upon him). You need to look at the whole of the ayat and so therefore can only give a *general interpretation* of each indivudal verse, and *not a translation of each word*. I hope what I've written makes sense insha'Allaah :) wa'salaam |
| Re: Quran:word-4-word translation? |
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| anon |
| 04/29/04 at 10:51:50 |
| [slm] There is a book by a Shakyh of al-azhar called "Kalimatul Quran" recently translated into english. Kalimatul Quran: A Dictionary of the Quranic words. Compiled by Ash-Shaikh Hasnain Muhammad Makhluf. 315 pp, HB [url]http://www.ibtsonline.com/catalog/item/417411/124730.htm[/url] It gives a meaning of all words/terms used in the quran in dictionary format. However the words are listed by surah. So it starts with al-Fatiha and al-Bakara and when you get to al-Imran it will only put in words that were not in al-Bakara. (i.e. words are not repeated... a word used in the quran many times appears only once in the book at the place it is first used..something like that)... The book is intended to help ppl learn the vocabulary of the Quran. The general accepted interpretation of verses has been kept in mind when writing the book. Someone told me that in a study some students were made to learn the ~ 5000 words in the book in 40 days. After that passages of quran were recited to the students and the students were able to tell the general meaning of them. The same person told me that the book is indespensible for non-arabs to improve khushoo in salat (esp tarawih etc) |
| Re: Quran:word-4-word translation? |
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| betason |
| 04/29/04 at 15:55:33 |
| [slm] Darussalam has a really nice set called Study of the Noble Quran. It is a set of three books. You can get it from most islamic bookstore or you can order it directly from them. Here is the their website http://dar-us-salam.com, just type of word for word translation of the quran in the search bar. I have it and it has helped me out a lot. [wlm] |
| Re: Quran:word-4-word translation? |
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| jannah |
| 04/29/04 at 17:33:26 |
| [slm] salaampeaceshalom, by your reasoning and those same arguments you could conclude that the quran should not be translated into any other language!!! yes it's true arabic has no true translation, the meaning is too deep, the original language of revelation is arabic etc etc.. but when it comes down to it.. translation is a rukhsa that is needed and allowed by the majority of scholars. the quran says "we have sent it down in the arabic language for a wisdom".. there is a wisdom that is in arabic.. but the Quran was not sent to just the Arabs. The Quran is for all times and all peoples...and there is a NEED that outweighs the harm in this case. no one is saying the translations ARE quran.. just that it is needed for people to understand the quran and the message of islam. let's be balanced here.. we are still preserving the quran and know the need for arabic is there in recitation, in prayer etc.. but we also aren't going to the extreme of thinking that the arabic language is required to be a muslim, so then how would one come to understand the quran and what it means? its interesting to note that the only arabic translation into english done by native arabic speakers has been within the last 10 years!! how sad.. for hundreds of years missionaries have been translating the quran and that's what the majority of people have read through the times. |
| Re: Quran:word-4-word translation? |
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| salaampeaceshalom |
| 04/30/04 at 05:14:53 |
| [wlm] jannah :) I think u missed the point sis. No one's debating whether nor not it should be translated, heck, how on earth would we understand then what it is we are meant to believe in and what are the boundaries of our religion? The point is that word-for-word translations can give a wrong meaning to a particular word, that is why instead of having such a translated qur'aan, it is better to have one which gives the *general interpretation* of an *ayat*. In this way you can see the whole context of the ayat. wa'salaam |
| Re: Quran:word-4-word translation? |
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| timbuktu |
| 04/30/04 at 06:27:03 |
| [slm] I do not know about English translations, but some fantastic work has been done in Urdu. I see nothing wrong with word for word, or phrase for phrase, translations, provided it is mentioned that the word may have other meanings, and this is the most appropriate one. I saw one translation in which there is word for word meaning in one line, then a phrase by phrase one, and then a smooth running one to make it clear. and now with the use of different colors, life has become even easier. I mentioned late Syed Shabbir Ahmed's translation in two colors (red and blue) published by the Quran Asaan Tehreek, and just recently I found two books by Abdur Rehman Tahir - Miftahul Quran (grammar in two color printing) and Misbahul Quran (The Quran in three colors published by Quran Club, Lahore. Two juzz have been published so far). ps: the bold words above are the corrected name for the publishers |
| 05/01/04 at 15:39:17 |
| timbuktu |
| Re: Quran:word-4-word translation? |
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| jannah |
| 04/30/04 at 11:28:34 |
| [wlm] yeah i just can't see the difference between word-for-word or verse.. it's all translation to me... if a word can be given a 'wrong meaning' certainly when the words are put together in a sentence it can be 'wrong' as well. |
| 04/30/04 at 11:35:36 |
| jannah |
| Re: Quran:word-4-word translation? |
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| humble_muslim |
| 04/30/04 at 12:30:12 |
| AA Sis Shahida, I have used this one : http://www.soundvision.com/shop/pview.asp?Item=425-022 Vocabulary of the Holy Quran Dr. Abdullah Abbas Al-Nadwi The vocabulary of the Quran. Qamus alfaz al-quran al Karim is a valuable asset for the scholars of the holy Quran. It meets a long felt need and fills the lacuna in this field. It is at once a dictionary of the words of the Quran and also a grammatical guide to their roots. It treats the words in their various verbal forms. Copious examples of the verses of the Quran are given. The aim of the respected compiler is that the book should be of advantage to the English speaking Muslims of the world who's mother tongue is not Arabic. The compiler has consulted the reputed commentaries on the Quran. We do not find any other dictionary of comparable volume ad content. An appendix lists the roots of the word's to facilitate those who are not aware of the Arabic etymological system o the words. I strongly recommend this book. This is an excellent book, I have used it to go thru various surahs. It does not leave out a single word in the Quran, as far as I can tell. You DO need to have a reasonable understanding of Arabic grammar to use this book, but it has really opened up the Quran for me and made me understand it in ways I hadn't seen before. |
| NS |
| Re: Quran:word-4-word translation? |
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| timbuktu |
| 05/02/04 at 11:11:36 |
| [quote author=salaampeaceshalom link=board=kabob;num=1083232987;start=0#5 date=04/30/04 at 05:14:53] ............. The point is that word-for-word translations can give a wrong meaning to a particular word, that is why instead of having such a translated qur'aan, it is better to have one which gives the *general interpretation* of an *ayat*. In this way you can see the whole context of the ayat.[/quote] you have a valid point but as I said one can find books which explain the meanings of the different words and the context in which they are used. I really wish someone would work on English translations like the ones I mentioned for Urdu. Then with time one can get a feel of the meanings. For those who are familiar with Urdu, do check out the translations of the meanings by Syed Shabbir Ahmed of Quran aasaan Tehrik, and the grammar and translation by Abdur Rehman Tahir of Quran Club. The website of the latter is: http://www.quranclub.org/ as a sample see this: http://www.quranclub.org/pages/miftha.asp http://www.quranclub.org/pages/miftahlink.asp?CurPageNo=2 http://www.quranclub.org/pages/miftahlink.asp?CurPageNo=3 http://www.quranclub.org/pages/namaaz.asp http://www.quranclub.org/pages/namaazlink.asp?CurPgNo=6 http://www.quranclub.org/pages/namaazlink.asp?CurPgNo=58 etc. The Misbah series is display in color of translations of the meanings with the concepts given in "Miftahul Quran". |
| Re: Quran:word-4-word translation? |
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| Rabia |
| 05/02/04 at 12:55:40 |
| [slm] I found great relief in word-for-word translations when I first embraced Islam. I had first learned to recite Al-Fatiha (like most I imagine), but I felt like a bit of a phony because I couldn't *really* tell you what I was saying. But once it was broken down, and I learned what the words meant (rabb'il...alamin...yaumi...mustaqim...) I felt more confident and at peace when it came time for me to perform salah. It began to cause me anxiety to make salah and not know actually know what I was saying. For those of us, who for whatever reason, haven't learned to speak/read arabi just yet, it's much needed. But Allahu a`lam. |
| Re: Quran:word-4-word translation? |
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| timbuktu |
| 05/08/04 at 08:45:25 |
| [slm] here is a word4word translation. please click on the paper clip (attachment icon) in the title of this post to view the attachment. also see an arabic-english dictionary of the Quran downloadable from: http://www.emuslim.com/quran/lughat.asp also the alhuda organisation i mentioned has started a new series of publication of the quran with word4word meanings. They have published 26 juzz so far, and the price of each juzz is Rs 150/=, I think. |
| 05/08/04 at 08:46:59 |
| timbuktu |
| http://www.jannah.org/board/attachments/LughatSample.bmp |
| LughatSample.bmp |
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