alaikumassalam
I came into this thread to look about what other folks are regarding as needful. I am of the express veiw that it can be beneficial for a few folk whom are familiar with the depth of Arabic and also work well in English to provide some structure for discussing the comparions of various translations into English.
It is possible if your computer hardware can manage, to listen to an Arabic recital at the same time. That is the best way to engage in commentary upon translations.
I myself am very concerned to insist that any English speaking person whom is not yet understanding Arabic in their comprehension should be encouraged to find and compare at least three different English translations. There are often single words which have become unnecessarily marked as divergent with Christian belief, but when the original Arabic is not. Often an English word is considered to have multiple meanings and perhaps only in one facet of its meaning can it co-incide with one facet of an Arabic word's meaning.
I believe it could be good for discussions of the words being used in translations to commence in a committed and even larger scale way. But we must be very careful to refer back to the Arabic. That is why it is good for a non-Arabic speaker to be listening to a recital whilst thinking about the words that are in an English translation.
What we must remember is that for each of us in Allah the experience of comprehending Qur'an in unique. That is what makes it impossible to translate. Yet surely that fact also implies that when translation and transliteration are attempted, the more persons whom are able to contribute how their experience of Qur'an relates to specific words in use, then the better. Any such a discussion will need very strict monitoring and moderation. Perhaps that is the only reason it has not yet occurred in large amounts.
Dr. Jawad's offer is very generous, and I should like to participate in such work; but I worry that it could be futile if there are not enough persons contributing within the correct sentiment and attitude.
But here I ought also add that I have not yet myself entered into all the areas of these forums, and there might already be the sort of work I am looking for commenced by others, as the initial position of the site admin indicates that there is already ample space for in the forums already allocated among Load Islam.
Wasalam
