I should learn Arabic and translate the Qur'an into proper English

[crimsontide06]

I have a few Qur'an's. Since I don't know Arabic, when I do read, I read the English translation. However, when I read...some of it doesn't make sense. The English translation is not good,it's like a 3rd grader translated it..


In the English versions it says a lot "We have sent this....we have done this, that....etc" We???? Why is it "we"?


Are the differences in the English and Arabic languages so great that no one can make proper sentences that are easily understood??

 

[Insaanah]

"We have sent this....we have done this, that....etc" We???? Why is it "we"?

Are the differences in the English and Arabic languages so great that no one can make proper sentences that are easily understood??

Where it says "We" it is because in the original Arabic text, Allah has said "We", referring to Himself royally. So the translators will not change that to "I did this" instead of "We did this", but will try to retain the meaning of what the Arabic actually says.

I should learn Arabic and translate the Qur'an into proper English

Also remember that simply learning Arabic doesn't make a person qualified to translate the Qur'an. It requires an in depth mastery that even most native Arabs don't have, a scholarly understanding of the language and other aspects of Islam.

 

[bintYahya]

The royal "We" is used in English, too. Not like it's only a word-to-word translation.

 

[crimsontide06]

ok I understand now, ty both.

 

[Ramadhan]

I think a more immediate step should be for you to learn how to recite the Qur'an properly. And then after that learning arabic. You can also learn both at the same time.
I apologize if you are already fluent in reciting the Qur'an.

There many Qur'an verses and ahadeeth that espouse the goodness in reciting the Qur'an.

 

[ayesha.ansari]

Yes i think we need to learn tajweed with nazra of Quran kareem first of all then we can able to recite it properly. That is the perfect practice to learn and recite Quran. Quranreading.com provides excellent online teaching services to learn Quran online in all over the world.

 

[Sothis Girl]

my friend...."We" is a formal royal plural used by Allah to glorify Himself.

Even we use this practice in business or formal interaction. Saying "we" instead of "I" is very common...even if the one saying it is individual, and not representing any third party entity.
"we are convinced you'll be satisfied in our service" instead of :
"I am convinced that you'll be satisfied in my service"

it's really great if you're able to learn Arabic to deeply understand Qur'an. Arabic words are very rich in philosophical/spiritual depth and meaning. but in the meanwhile, why re-inventing the wheel? you can purchase Abdullah Jusuf Ali's "Holy Qur'an" while you're hiking your learning curve. It's a very good translation I've been using - you won't be disappointed

 

[crimsontide06]

Thanks, needed to find this thread again. I basically need to learn to speak arabic first THEN learn how to read it..


I know
Allah= God
Kef halek= how are you
mopsuit= fine(reply to above)
inta massnoon= you are crazy (lol yeah...)
seti/sedo= grandmother/grandfather
si-arra=car

Thats all LOL

 

[crimsontide06]

I am going to try and read the whole Qur'an this week, English translation of course. I have tried before but I get frustrated at the horrible English grammar and stop. These so called "scholars" who do translations clearly have no idea what they are doing.

When you translate something you do not HAVE to keep each Arabic word exact to its English counterpart if it does not make sense.

If a sentence(random sentence, not from the Qur'an) for example translates to; "House in she blue the lives" then the OBVIOUS thing would be to rearrange the words so it says; "She lives in the blue house". Or if the Arabic language didn't have the word "the"...then you add the word "the" so it makes sense.

See?

 

['Abd-al Latif]

I have a few Qur'an's. Since I don't know Arabic, when I do read, I read the English translation. However, when I read...some of it doesn't make sense. The English translation is not good,it's like a 3rd grader translated it..


In the English versions it says a lot "We have sent this....we have done this, that....etc" We???? Why is it "we"?


Are the differences in the English and Arabic languages so great that no one can make proper sentences that are easily understood??

Don't translate the Qur'an because you can't. No one can. Encourage people to learn Arabic and understand Qur'an in Arabic because it is obligatory.

The Arabic language has its own culture, its own context in which things are understood in and its own definitions of words so you can't capture the essence of Arabic in another language. Translating the Qur'an is actually diverting people away from the speech of Allah.

Take the Arabic words "aqeedah" and "eman", both of which are translated as "faith". In English "faith" means to believe in something without evidence, especially when it comes to religion (check the Oxford dictionary), whereas the word "aqeedah" in Arabic means to believe in something with evidence. The word "eman" is also translated as "faith" whereas "eman" in Arabic is the manifestation of one's aqeedah. Can this be captured in translation and understood in the correct meaning and context? Never.

My advice to you is to rid yourself of the thought of translating the Qur'an.

 

[ba51th]

Encourage people to learn Arabic and understand Qur'an in Arabic because it is obligatory

umm... do you know any online arabic class sir? not many in my town, people here have less interest on arabic...

 

['Abd-al Latif]

umm... do you know any online arabic class sir? not many in my town, people here have less interest on arabic...

:wasalamex

There are loads of Arabic classes online. There are loads of classes covering different beginner's Arabic books on YouTube, many people do free Arabic classes on PalTalk and other places. Ask around where you live if there are Arabic classes going on, many centres even air them live through the internet on their websites.

 

[Ibn Abi Ahmed]

I am going to try and read the whole Qur'an this week, English translation of course. I have tried before but I get frustrated at the horrible English grammar and stop. These so called "scholars" who do translations clearly have no idea what they are doing.

When you translate something you do not HAVE to keep each Arabic word exact to its English counterpart if it does not make sense.

If a sentence(random sentence, not from the Qur'an) for example translates to; "House in she blue the lives" then the OBVIOUS thing would be to rearrange the words so it says; "She lives in the blue house". Or if the Arabic language didn't have the word "the"...then you add the word "the" so it makes sense.

See?

You're right the translations out there, though well intentioned, don't convey the Qur'an in a the English language in way that is non-Shakespearean and according to the way English is spoken today. Fortunately however that's changing. I highly recommend you check out the translation by M. A. S. Abdul Haleem:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Quran-Oxf...1358293263&sr=8-1&keywords=quran+abdul+haleem

It is probably the best translation out there today. It is flowing, good readable English and unlike the other translations out there, it doesn't do it verse by verse or word by word, but rather passage by passage which is very helpful as it conveys the meaning while not compromising the verses themselves, i.e. it still remains a translation and not an explanation. I believe Amazon lets you look inside the book as a preview so check it out.

Don't translate the Qur'an because you can't. No one can. Encourage people to learn Arabic and understand Qur'an in Arabic because it is obligatory.

The Arabic language has its own culture, its own context in which things are understood in and its own definitions of words so you can't capture the essence of Arabic in another language. Translating the Qur'an is actually diverting people away from the speech of Allah.

Take the Arabic words "aqeedah" and "eman", both of which are translated as "faith". In English "faith" means to believe in something without evidence, especially when it comes to religion (check the Oxford dictionary), whereas the word "aqeedah" in Arabic means to believe in something with evidence. The word "eman" is also translated as "faith" whereas "eman" in Arabic is the manifestation of one's aqeedah. Can this be captured in translation and understood in the correct meaning and context? Never.

My advice to you is to rid yourself of the thought of translating the Qur'an.

I have to disagree with you here on the point about not translating the Qur'an. Yes, when the Qur'an is translated, it is no longer considered the Qur'an however I don't see anything wrong with translating it. There is a need today of good, solid, clear and flowing English translation because of the millions [if not more] of people that need access to it because they want to read the Qur'an, in particular the non-Muslims who need to be able to access the message of the Qur'an without having to deal with Shakespearean style English. In addition, even though it is better to learn and understand it in Arabic, we need to be mindful that there are a number of Muslims who don't have the capability due to time constraints or whatever - and until they can create that time, they'll go to the translations that are out there. Is it better that they come across one that is readable and helps them connect to the Qur'an or come across one that uses 18th century English? We shouldn't stagnate the efforts of people trying to grant people access to the Qur'an by limiting it to those who only understand Arabic. Fact is, majority of people won't learn it as unfortunate as that is - how can we keep the message away from them?

 

['Abd-al Latif]

I have to disagree with you here on the point about not translating the Qur'an. Yes, when the Qur'an is translated, it is no longer considered the Qur'an however I don't see anything wrong with translating it. There is a need today of good, solid, clear and flowing English translation because of the millions [if not more] of people that need access to it because they want to read the Qur'an, in particular the non-Muslims who need to be able to access the message of the Qur'an without having to deal with Shakespearean style English. In addition, even though it is better to learn and understand it in Arabic, we need to be mindful that there are a number of Muslims who don't have the capability due to time constraints or whatever - and until they can create that time, they'll go to the translations that are out there. Is it better that they come across one that is readable and helps them connect to the Qur'an or come across one that uses 18th century English? We shouldn't stagnate the efforts of people trying to grant people access to the Qur'an by limiting it to those who only understand Arabic. Fact is, majority of people won't learn it as unfortunate as that is - how can we keep the message away from them?

I've said what I've said duly taking this small benefit into account. The fact that the Qur'an is not even considered the Qur'an unless it's in Arabic says it all.

 

[Ibn Abi Ahmed]

I've said what I've said duly taking this small benefit into account. The fact that the Qur'an is not even considered the Qur'an unless it's in Arabic says it all.

Not really. Is alienating the majority of people, who realistically speaking, will never learn Arabic a benefit or is creating avenues of access to the Qur'an benefit? Let's be real please and not speak in terms of ideals. It's not a small benefit - it's a benefit that ranges in the millions in terms of the number of people it reaches on a constant basis.

For example, I don't know if you've ever dealt with the convert portion of the community and their struggles - some, if not most, get hit hard because of their conversion. The only connection they're left with is a translation of the Qur'an - the translation being the reason they became Muslim in the first place. There are so many converts who get discouraged by the lack of quality English material for them, foremost the Qur'an.

We need to move past this stagnating idealism the product of which (of its many products) is that we should stop effort which grant a vast population proper access to the Book of God because of an ideal that people should learn Arabic. Let's be real please. The two are not mutually exclusive. Learn Arabic and also create avenues of access such as translation so more people can access the Qur'an.

 

['Abd-al Latif]

إِنَّآ أَنزَلۡنَـٰهُ قُرۡءَٲنًا عَرَبِيًّ۬ا لَّعَلَّكُمۡ تَعۡقِلُونَ

Verily, We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur'ân in order that you may understand. (Yusuf, ayah 2)

Bro learning Arabic is not an "ideal" or a "stagnating ideology", it's obligatory. You can read a hundred different translation but if all you've ever read is a translation, you haven't read the Qur'an.

With a language comes culture, context, a community, a people, their understandings and their beliefs. English, as are all Latin/Romance languages, is by and large a subjective language that has no foundation or basis and comes with all the things that are largely disconnected with Islam. For any Muslim to be a truly learned Muslim he has to know Arabic because Islam has a language.

"After every hardship there is ease" will never give me comfort as the words "إِنَّ مَعَ ٱلۡعُسۡرِ يُسۡرً۬ا" do. Nor will "fear Allah" ever create the same effect as "وَٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تُفۡلِحُونَ".

You can stick to your translation but one will never attain closeness to Allah unless one can understand the words of Allah as they were spoken. That's the bottom line and you know it.

 

[Ibn Abi Ahmed]

إِنَّآ أَنزَلۡنَـٰهُ قُرۡءَٲنًا عَرَبِيًّ۬ا لَّعَلَّكُمۡ تَعۡقِلُونَ

Verily, We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur'ân in order that you may understand. (Yusuf, ayah 2)

Bro learning Arabic is not an "ideal" or a "stagnating ideology", it's obligatory. You can read a hundred different translation but if all you've ever read is a translation, you haven't read the Qur'an.

With a language comes culture, context, a community, a people, their understandings and their beliefs. English, as are all Latin/Romance languages, is by and large a subjective language that has no foundation or basis and comes with all the things that are largely disconnected with Islam. For any Muslim to be a truly learned Muslim he has to know Arabic because Islam has a language.

"After every hardship there is ease" will never give me comfort as the words "إِنَّ مَعَ ٱلۡعُسۡرِ يُسۡرً۬ا" do. Nor will "fear Allah" ever create the same effect as "وَٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تُفۡلِحُونَ".

You can stick to your translation but one will never attain closeness to Allah unless one can understand the words of Allah as they were spoken. That's the bottom line and you know it.

I don't disagree on this point here. I disagree with the part of your earlier post where you said:

My advice to you is to rid yourself of the thought of translating the Qur'an.

 

['Abd-al Latif]

I didn't say "translation should be stopped" I said that he should forget about thinking of being a translator of the Qur'an.

 

[Ibn Abi Ahmed]

I didn't say "translation should be stopped" I said that he should forget about thinking of being a translator of the Qur'an.

And that's what I disagree with. Why stop someone from doing something that will benefit him and potentially many others?

 

['Abd-al Latif]

And that's what I disagree with. Why stop someone from doing something that will benefit him and potentially many others?

I've said what I've had to say. I'm not going to repeat what I've been saying all along.