The Holy Qor-aan 003:118
مَثَلُ مَا يُنۡفِقُوۡنَ فِىۡ هٰذِهِ الۡحَيٰوةِ الدُّنۡيَا كَمَثَلِ رِيۡحٍ فِيۡهَا صِرٌّ اَصَابَتۡ حَرۡثَ قَوۡمٍ ظَلَمُوۡۤا اَنۡفُسَهُمۡ فَاَهۡلَكَتۡهُ ؕ وَمَا ظَلَمَهُمُ اللّٰهُ وَلٰـكِنۡ اَنۡفُسَهُمۡ يَظۡلِمُوۡنَ
Ma-tha-lo-maa-yoon-fay-qoo-na-fee-haa-zay-hil Ha-yaa-tid-doon-yaa-ka-ma-tha-lay-ree-hin-fee-haa Ser-roon-asaa-but-hur-tha-qao-min Za-la-moo-un-fo-sa-hoom-fa-aah-la-kut-ho Wa-maa-za-la-ma-ho-mool-laa-ho Wa-laa-kin-un-fo-sa-hoom-yuz-lay-moo-n
Example of all that they spend in this Present life is like a fierce wind in it is A freezing cold that struck crops of the people Who wronged themselves, so it (the wind) destroyed that (harvest). And Allah never wronged them But they wrong themselves.
- مَثَلُ — Ma-tha-lo — Example (= Duplication; identical in nature; likeness; being the same way; resembling; similar; similitude. Of the same kind, looks quality, shape or type. Of comparable recital)
- مَاۤ — Maa — All that (= What; whatever; whatsoever; when; whenever)
- يُنفِقُونَ — Yoon-fay-qoon — They spend (= v., pres., pl., 3rd person. Contribute, donate, expend, give, invest, lay out, put or use. The Holy Qor-aan has used this word for any or all above acts done for any charity, good cause, noble purpose or poor person.
A/t/a ‘The wealth they spend’)
- فِىۡ — Fee — In (= Inside a duration, event, time, place, period, pursuit or situation)
- هٰذِهِ — Ha-zay-h … (il) — This (= This particularly pointed out; present right here; what is in front of you)
- لۡحَيٰوةِ — Ha-yaa-t … (id) — Life (= n., A creature’s condition of breathing by inhaling and exhaling. The quality shown by functions among other of growth and response to stimulation and reproduction by which living organisms are distinguished from dead organisms and inanimate matter. Extensions in living. Peaceful life with safety and security. Any measure to save and safeguard life)
- ٱلدُّنۡيا — Doon-ya — The present (= Close at hand. Life … on earth, in the near or short term. The near life, of this world. The near one. The World at hand with its benefits, happiness or pleasures. The Hither, the opposite of the Hereafter or Life after death)
- كَ — Ka — Like (= Identical; resembling; similar to the one stated in prior verse to. Take the example or similitude of)
- مَثَلِ — Ma-tha-lay — Like (= Duplicate; identical in nature; just like; the same way; resembling; similar; substitute. Of the same kind, looks quality, shape or type. Of comparable recital)
- رِيۡحٍ — Re-hin — Fierce wind (= n., Air; flows; freezing wind; storm; whirlwinds; wind; windstorm. Also, stream; wave. This word in different contexts also means gases from stomachs)
- فِىۡ — Fee — In (= In a duration, event, time, place, period or situation)
- هَا — Haa — It (= pro., s., f., 3rd person., Refers to aforesaid ‘curse’)
- صِرٌّ — Ser-roon — Freezing cold (= Biting icy wind; burning frosty blast; extremely and intensely cold that burns; freezing cold wave; nipping frost)
- اَصَابَتۡ — Asaa-but — Struck * (= v., past., f., 3rd person, Affected; afflicted; arrived; befell; came to; got hold of; landed upon; overtook; reached; smote; smut; struck)
- حَرۡثَ — Hur-tha — Crops (= n., Agriculturally cultivated and harvested edible plants and produce. Fruits. Vegetables. Also, cropland, fields, plantations, tillage, vineyards)
- قَوۡمٍ — Qao-min — People (= n., s., Addressees; attendees; fellows; followers; folks; nation)
- ظَلَمُوۡا — Zaa-la-moo — Wronged (= v., past., pl., 3rd person., Acted badly. Behaved wickedly. Caused evil. Committed crimes or cruelty. Did injustice. Harmed. Maltreated. Shortened. Transgressed. Treated improperly or unjustly. Violated rights of others)
- اَنۡفُسَ — Un-fo-sa — Selves (= n., pl., 1. Hearts; individuals; minds; own sake; persons; souls. Refers also to the loved one’s. 2. Fellow s; folks; followers; individuals; people. 3. Brethren; countrymen; kinsman; nation; tribe; tribesmen)
- هُمۡ — Hoom — Them (= pro., pl., m., 3 rd person. Refers to aforesaid wrongdoer)
- فَ — Fa — Therefore (= As a result; consequently; hence; so; then; thereafter; yet. A/t/a After all this; at the end; in the final analysis; in conclusion)
- اَهۡلَكَتۡ — Aah-la-kut — It destroyed * (= v., past., f., 3 rd person. Killed; laid waste; ruined; spent; squandered; wasted. Some translations have added the word utterly to create emphasis. Some translators narrowed it down to “the good deed of a person is only accepted if he is a monotheist and believes in all the Prophets of Allah, including the Christ (peace on him) and Muhammad (peace and blessings on him)”
- هُ — Ho — That (= pro., s., m., 3rd person. Refers to the aforesaid harvest)
- وَ — Wa — And (= Conj., links words, phrases or clauses; additionally; but; also; more over; though; when; while; yet; whereupon)
- مَاۤ — Maa — Never (= Absolutely not; no)
- ظَلَم — Zaa-la-ma — Wronged (= v., past., s., 3rd person., Acted badly; acted wickedly; committed crimes; did the evil; did injustice; harmed; maltreated; shorted; transgressed; treated unjustly and improperly; violated the right; were unrighteous and wicked; the evildoers)
- هُمُ — Ho-mo…(ol) –Them (= pro., pl., m., 3 rd person. All those people; any of them. Refers to aforesaid wrongdoers)
- اللّٰهُ — Laa-ho — Allah (= The One and the Only One Almighty God)
- وَ — Wa — And — (= Conj., links words, phrases or clauses. See وَ above)
- لٰـكِنۡ — Laa-kin — But (= However; instead; nevertheless; yet)
- اَنۡفُسَ — Un-fo-sa — Selves (= n., pl., 1. Hearts; individuals; minds; own sake; persons; souls. Refers also to the loved one’s. 2. Fellow s; folks; followers; individuals; people. 3. Brethren; countrymen; kinsman; nation; tribe; tribesmen)
- هُمۡ — Hoom — Them (= pro., pl., m., 3 rd person. Refers to aforesaid wrongdoers
- يَظۡلِمُوۡنَ — Yuz-lay-moo-n — Wrong (= v., present part., pl., Acting unjustly; doing injustice; harming; maltreating; shorting; treating people improperly; transgressing; violating. The word with reference to people also means the evildoers who keep on acting, behaving, committing or doing things badly, criminally, dastardly, unjustly or wickedly)
* Note 003:118. Translating the Holy Qor-aan requires fully knowing all rules of Arabic grammar. Not knowing the intricacies of the Arabic grammar has plagued many translations of this scripture. Translators who just dovetailed their works on the European model have repeated all those errors. Even Moslem leaders who shun or feign that knowledge are worse in spreading their ignorance further. See Commentary titled as Grammar 4 – Preciseness’
One big mistake is not knowing the difference between the meanings of one verb in the past tense and another in the present tenses when both verbs are used in the same one verse. The verb in the past tense describes an event that occurred in the past and anyone can see. The verb in the present tense is a forecast of a consequence that will continue to happen in the future.
Failure to recognize said rule leads to translations which in the very minimum may be innocent errors. But the wicked distortions of those errors has been depicted to develop them into conflicting doctrines. Creation or denial of the characters like Abdulla bin Saba and Shias allegedly out of Islam are examples.
An example of inaccurate translations of several words in the verse 003:113 are detailed in Note 00:113 [See the Commentary titled Arabic Grammar 4 – Preciseness]. Another example of similar inaccuracies is verse 003:124, and anther is the following verse 003:118.
- 1. People spending continually in the worldly pursuits is what the wordيُنۡفِقُوۡنَ describes as an act in the present tense and reflects a continuing process that will go on in the future. Said original text describes the effects of the act by verbs in the past tense اَصَابَتۡ and اَهۡلَكَتۡ since the doers in the past were punished that way.
— Dr Khan and Dr Al-Hilali correctly translated this part of the verse by saying, “What they spend .. is.. (like) wind .. (that) struck the harvest .. and destroyed it.”
— But A Yusuf Ali inaccurately translated the past tense effect of this part in the present tense by saying “which brings a nipping frost” and “It strikes and destroys the harvest.”
- The past tense ظَلَمَ inمَا ظَلَمَهُمُ اللّٰهُ (Allah never wronged them) described a prior act in past tense. Its present tense يَظۡلِمُوۡنَ in اَنۡفُسَهُمۡ يَظۡلِمُوۡنَ (They wrong themselves) is like a forecast that will keep on filling again and again as a Rule of Universal Application.
— A Yusuf Ali correctly translated this part of the verse by saying, “Not God that hath wronged them, but they wrong themselves” although inconsistently with his translation of the earlier part of the same verse.
— But Dr Khan and Dr Al-Hilali inaccurately translated the present tense of this part in the past tense by saying, “They wronged themselves.” And this was also inconsistent with their translation of the earlier part of the same verse.
- Such inaccuracies and inconsistencies to say the least provide ample fodder to the critics who look only at the translations by westernized translators or western translations of the Holy Qor-aan and allege inconsistencies in it.
Some people insist that such differences are miniscule which do not make a difference in the overall message. They would be right if one could ignore that there are hundreds of sects in Islam. And some sect have issued Fautwas (spiritual-cum-judicial decrees) to kill others who have a different comprehension of the Holy Qor-aan due to above-mentioned inaccuracies and inconsistencies in various translations.
Ask any Ahmadi in Pakistan, particularly those who survived after 98 of them were shot and killed in Lahore while offering their Friday prayers in two separate simultaneous attacks in two of their mosques located seven miles apart. See Commentary titled as the ‘Jihad Is Striving For The Good.’
No one could close eyes to the murders of millions of Moslems by Moslems in the last fourteen centuries under the label of Jihad and on the ground of conflicting interpretations of the same verse, or sometimes just one or two words like مُتَوَفِّيۡ and رَافِعُ as used in 003:056.
The Commentary titled Arabic Grammar 4 – Preciseness illustrates how the translations of the verbs in the past tense into those in the present tense — as well as doing the opposite — has confused and misled many good people.
003:118
The Holy Qor-aan 003:118
مَثَلُ مَا يُنۡفِقُوۡنَ فِىۡ هٰذِهِ الۡحَيٰوةِ الدُّنۡيَا كَمَثَلِ رِيۡحٍ فِيۡهَا صِرٌّ اَصَابَتۡ حَرۡثَ قَوۡمٍ ظَلَمُوۡۤا اَنۡفُسَهُمۡ فَاَهۡلَكَتۡهُ ؕ وَمَا ظَلَمَهُمُ اللّٰهُ وَلٰـكِنۡ اَنۡفُسَهُمۡ يَظۡلِمُوۡنَ
Ma-tha-lo-maa-yoon-fay-qoo-na-fee-haa-zay-hil Ha-yaa-tid-doon-yaa-ka-ma-tha-lay-ree-hin-fee-haa Ser-roon-asaa-but-hur-tha-qao-min Za-la-moo-un-fo-sa-hoom-fa-aah-la-kut-ho Wa-maa-za-la-ma-ho-mool-laa-ho Wa-laa-kin-un-fo-sa-hoom-yuz-lay-moo-n
Example of all that they spend in this Present life is like a fierce wind in it is A freezing cold that struck crops of the people Who wronged themselves, so it (the wind) destroyed that (harvest). And Allah never wronged them But they wrong themselves.
A/t/a ‘The wealth they spend’)
* Note 003:118. Translating the Holy Qor-aan requires fully knowing all rules of Arabic grammar. Not knowing the intricacies of the Arabic grammar has plagued many translations of this scripture. Translators who just dovetailed their works on the European model have repeated all those errors. Even Moslem leaders who shun or feign that knowledge are worse in spreading their ignorance further. See Commentary titled as Grammar 4 – Preciseness’
One big mistake is not knowing the difference between the meanings of one verb in the past tense and another in the present tenses when both verbs are used in the same one verse. The verb in the past tense describes an event that occurred in the past and anyone can see. The verb in the present tense is a forecast of a consequence that will continue to happen in the future.
Failure to recognize said rule leads to translations which in the very minimum may be innocent errors. But the wicked distortions of those errors has been depicted to develop them into conflicting doctrines. Creation or denial of the characters like Abdulla bin Saba and Shias allegedly out of Islam are examples.
An example of inaccurate translations of several words in the verse 003:113 are detailed in Note 00:113 [See the Commentary titled Arabic Grammar 4 – Preciseness]. Another example of similar inaccuracies is verse 003:124, and anther is the following verse 003:118.
— Dr Khan and Dr Al-Hilali correctly translated this part of the verse by saying, “What they spend .. is.. (like) wind .. (that) struck the harvest .. and destroyed it.”
— But A Yusuf Ali inaccurately translated the past tense effect of this part in the present tense by saying “which brings a nipping frost” and “It strikes and destroys the harvest.”
— A Yusuf Ali correctly translated this part of the verse by saying, “Not God that hath wronged them, but they wrong themselves” although inconsistently with his translation of the earlier part of the same verse.
— But Dr Khan and Dr Al-Hilali inaccurately translated the present tense of this part in the past tense by saying, “They wronged themselves.” And this was also inconsistent with their translation of the earlier part of the same verse.
Some people insist that such differences are miniscule which do not make a difference in the overall message. They would be right if one could ignore that there are hundreds of sects in Islam. And some sect have issued Fautwas (spiritual-cum-judicial decrees) to kill others who have a different comprehension of the Holy Qor-aan due to above-mentioned inaccuracies and inconsistencies in various translations.
Ask any Ahmadi in Pakistan, particularly those who survived after 98 of them were shot and killed in Lahore while offering their Friday prayers in two separate simultaneous attacks in two of their mosques located seven miles apart. See Commentary titled as the ‘Jihad Is Striving For The Good.’
No one could close eyes to the murders of millions of Moslems by Moslems in the last fourteen centuries under the label of Jihad and on the ground of conflicting interpretations of the same verse, or sometimes just one or two words like مُتَوَفِّيۡ and رَافِعُ as used in 003:056.
The Commentary titled Arabic Grammar 4 – Preciseness illustrates how the translations of the verbs in the past tense into those in the present tense — as well as doing the opposite — has confused and misled many good people.
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