I thought that learning the Quraan’s translation word-by-word might help people understand the Quraan when they read or listen to the Arabic as well as help them learn Arabic.
So I’m going to try writing the word-by-word translation in English.
How to use word-by-word translation:
Try to memorize a few words at a time. After learning a few verses’ translation, check how much of the Quraan you understand when reading or listening to the Quraan in Arabic.
Format: word-by-word translation of each verse followed by the actual verse translation.
Note: in the following, the Arabic of the Quraan is taken from Multilingual Quraan http://www.**************quran/ and the English translation of the verses is from the Noble Quraan, http://noblequran.com/translation/index.html . word-by-word translation is my own. Please correct if any word is not translated correctly.
I have read them and nothing leaps out at me in terms of explaining the issues about which we speak?
What is the issue you seem to be having in a nutshell?
the word أَوْلِيَاء denotes all the above closest to guardians..
When you say walyi amriha, usually denotes the parent of a girl or the guardian or a girl.. you need to read context to understand.. it isn't about mere words..
when I use the word season in English, do I mean spring and fall, or do I mean mrs dash as a substitute for salt?
when I use the word stem, do I mean the form of a word after all affixes are removed thematic vowels are part of the stem, or do I mean A slender or elongated structure that supports a plant or fungus or a plant part or plant organ, or do I mean The tube of a tobacco pipe or do I mean A turn made in skiing; the back of one ski is forced outward and the other ski is brought parallel to it or do I mean Grow out of, have roots in, originate in or do I mean Cause to point inward as in stem your skis or do I mean Stop the flow of a liquid "stem the tide" or do I mean Remove the stem from "for automatic natural language processing, the words must be stemmed"?
I think you'll need to read the entire passage to understand.. No one is asking you for a breslow vs clark's classifications here.. there is nothing mind boggling, if rendering a desired significance then it can be deemed as an innovation and there are certainly plenty who do that.. They are just not Ahel as'sunnah (traditional Muslims) only the folks who are fostered by the likes of spensor and pipes and their ilk. It is crystal for the rest of us or we seek knowledge from the folks of knowledge!
all the best
Text without context is pretext If your opponent is of choleric temperament, seek to irritate him
Actually, in Arabic there are also different words for friend, supporter, protector, etc. but the word awliya can mean any one of those meanings. It's a comprehensive word. and that's what makes Arabic superior. You only need to use just that one word to get all of those meanings. So all of those meanings are appropriate and I think the translation which gives all those meanings (and not just one of them) is the better translation. A person reading the translation would then know that this verse isn't just discouraging protecting the disbelievers but is also discouraging supporting the disbelievers, befriending them, etc.
3:28: Let not the believers take the disbelievers as Auliya (supporters, helpers, etc.) instead of the believers, and whoever does that will never be helped by Allah in any way, except if you indeed fear a danger from them. And Allah warns you against Himself (His Punishment), and to Allah is the final return.
Of course, you need to read the verse in context with the other verses as well as the rest of the Quraan and you need to learn how the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) applied these verses. You also need to know the circumstances when this verse was revealed.
This verse doesn't mean that you can't be friends with all unbelievers but those who are enemies of Muslims, those who wage war on muslims or who drive them out of their homes, etc. (as is proven from 60:1-9)
Even if the word meant friend, there would be still nothing wrong with it. There's even a saying in English "A friend's enemy is an enemy." I mean, if you were your friend's enemy's friend, what kind of a friend would you be? not a very loyal one for sure!
Wa – and
Min – from
Al naas – the people
Mun – the one
Yaqoolo – he says
Aamunnaa – we believe
Bi – on
Allah – Allah
Wa – and
Bi – on
Al yawm – the day
Al aakhiri – the last
Wa – and
Maa – not (do not)
Hum – they
Bimomineen – of the believers ?
And of mankind, there are some (hypocrites) who say: "We believe in Allah and the Last Day" while in fact they believe not.
***
yaqoolo is the present tense of the verb Qaala (he said). Yaqoolo means he says. In Arabic, the masculine present tense verb starts with the letter “ya” ي and normally has a damma on the last letter. Other examples are yo'mino (he believes), yonfiqo (he spends), yunziro (he warns), yubsiro (he sees).
Yokhaadioon – they deceive
Allaha – Allah
Wa – and
Alazeena – those who
Aamanoo – believe
Wa – and (but)
Maa – do not
Yukhdaoona – deceive
Illa – except
Anfosa – selves
Hum - them
(Anfosahom – themselves)
Wa – and
Maa – do not
Yushoroon – they realize
They (think to) deceive Allah and those who believe, while they only deceive themselves, and perceive (it) not!
yokhadaoona Allaha – they (think) to deceive Allah. Here if you note, Allah has a fathha on the last letter. This is because the word is an object and not the subject. In Arabic the object (the one receiving the action) has a fathha on the last letter if it is singular. Another object in the above is the word “anfosa” (selves). It also has a fathha on the last letter of the root word (anfos). “alazeena” is also an object in this sentence but this word doesn’t change form in the different positions (object, subject, etc).
Actually, in Arabic there are also different words for friend, supporter, protector, etc. but the word awliya can mean any one of those meanings. It's a comprehensive word. and that's what makes Arabic superior. You only need to use just that one word to get all of those meanings. So all of those meanings are appropriate and I think the translation which gives all those meanings (and not just one of them) is the better translation. A person reading the translation would then know that this verse isn't just discouraging protecting the disbelievers but is also discouraging supporting the disbelievers, befriending them, etc.
3:28: Let not the believers take the disbelievers as Auliya (supporters, helpers, etc.) instead of the believers, and whoever does that will never be helped by Allah in any way, except if you indeed fear a danger from them. And Allah warns you against Himself (His Punishment), and to Allah is the final return.
Of course, you need to read the verse in context with the other verses as well as the rest of the Quraan and you need to learn how the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) applied these verses. You also need to know the circumstances when this verse was revealed.
This verse doesn't mean that you can't be friends with all unbelievers but those who are enemies of Muslims, those who wage war on muslims or who drive them out of their homes, etc. (as is proven from 60:1-9)
Even if the word meant friend, there would be still nothing wrong with it. There's even a saying in English "A friend's enemy is an enemy." I mean, if you were your friend's enemy's friend, what kind of a friend would you be? not a very loyal one for sure!
Forgive me for labouring this point and becoming an irritant. I accept that there is much I do not know and that’s one of the reasons I pursue this and other questions – to learn. Of course I am a native English speaker but I do speak some other languages, not Arabic I hasten to add but I do understand that not all languages are structured in the same way as English. That said, it seems to me that language is all about communication and I might suggest that a better language is one which can communicate an idea unambiguously in as few words as possible. You say that Arabic does have words for support, helper, ally and friend and you say that Auliya can mean all or any of those words and so we must conclude that as a specific Arabic word was available to God he chose to use a word which meant 4 things and so the translation should include them all and thus read . . . . Let not the believers take the disbelievers as Auliya (supporters or helpers or allies or friends) instead of the believers and on the presumption that what you tell me about the meaning of the word makes absolute sense the problem is that many (if not all) of the translations I have read do not translate as supporters or helpers or allies or friend.
You go on to say that Muslims can take unbelievers as friends, unfortunately the scholars do not agree with you. The closest I have seen on any scholarly interpretation of this text is that Muslims are allowed be friendly with non-believers but being friendly with someone is not the same as being their friend.
Befriending and liking them. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “You will not find any people who believe in Allaah and the Last Day, making friendship with those who oppose Allaah and His Messenger…” [al-Mujaadilah 58:22]
“O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians as awliya’ (friends, protectors, helpers, etc.), they are but awliya’ to one another…” [al-Maa’idah 5:51].
You go on to say that Muslims can take unbelievers as friends, unfortunately the scholars do not agree with you. The closest I have seen on any scholarly interpretation of this text is that Muslims are allowed be friendly with non-believers but being friendly with someone is not the same as being their friend.
Befriending and liking them. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “You will not find any people who believe in Allaah and the Last Day, making friendship with those who oppose Allaah and His Messenger…” [al-Mujaadilah 58:22]
“O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians as awliya’ (friends, protectors, helpers, etc.), they are but awliya’ to one another…” [al-Maa’idah 5:51].
well i don't really know. the thing is, we aren't supposed to be friends with anyone who disbeys Allah intentionally whether they call themselves Muslim or not. There's a hadith about being friends with someone who does haraam. If you tell them not to do the haraam thing and the next day the person continues doing haraam and you continue being friends with them like normal, then you will have sinned. And I don't know the exact hadith. maybe someone can quote it. There's also a hadith that we should stop a wrong/haraam thing with our hands, if that's not possible then with our tongue, and if that's not possible then we should hate it in our heart and that is the weakest state of iman (faith). so if a person is doing a haraam thing (whether he/she is muslim or not) then we have to at least hate the haraam thing if we are true muslims. and we can't love a person who intentionally disobeys Allah. If a person continues to do a haraam thing and we can't stop them, then we should get away. If we don't then we may end up getting punished along with the person doing haraam, as the case with one group of ppl who continued being friends with the ppl who fished on Saturdays (Sabbath).
As for not taking kafirs as friends, there may be a reason for that. Allah knows everyone's hearts. Muslims are pure-hearted and will be sincerely friends with the kaafirs but kaafirs will always feel an enmity toward the muslims. The muslim will wholly trust the kaafir friend and will never think of harming them because Muslims fear Allah and will not harm anyone. On the other hand, the kaafir doesn't fear Allah and may harm the muslim. This was done in India in 2003. The Muslims lived like brothers and sisters with hindus, but the hindus didn't feel that way deep down. In 2003 they burnt muslim houses and trains and killed many muslims. So Allah knows whats best for us. If He says not to be friends with kaafirs, then it is for the muslims' own good.
last year the rabbis in Israel told the israeli soldiers to kill all muslims and not to show any mercy to them. The kaafirs are just not sincere to the muslims. now if a muslim trusts a kaafir, he may get harmed. So that may be the reason why Allah has told us not to become friends with kaafirs, if that's what He has ordered.
@sister
Muhaba , word-by -word translation of the Quraan by you is excellent . Each word is clearly translated and easily understandable . My request to you is word by word translation of the following :Emaan e Mufussil Emaan e Mujummil the Aazaan the entire Salah Surahs Iqlaas Falaq and Anaas Tashahhud Dua e Qunoot and Kalmaas 4 and 6 . I enjoy reading your word for word translations and am trying to memorize the words . God bless you . Please post a quick and positive reply . Brother Rashid Rafi @@
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