ISLAM – 206
TRANSLATION SIMPLE STRAIGHTFORWARD
The Holy Qor-aan in Arabic lays down law and rules succinctly, concisely, precisely. It merits a translation in American English which about half of the seven billion world population today can understand [Acknowledgements-4th – To Scholars] as shown in the following three (3) sections.
I
Trueteachingsofislam.com translation is different from others which are with Author’s Whims, Different Ideas, Different Words, Additions and subtractions, Translations from other Translations. We do not hide behind the Lost-in-translation shelter;[3 – Mission Statement]. We wrote every single word in our translation and transliteration; [5 -This site – Why is it important].
Our work shows where others translated a noun into a verb [004:048] or vice versa [004:052], verbs in the present tense into past tense and vice versa [004:056, 004:066 and Note 003:150], and other mistakes in translations [003:153, 003:162. 003:165 and 004:065].
“This site won’t judge who was a better translator but will occasionally reproduce some quotes. Our sole object is to provide simple straightforward literal equivalents of Arabic words in American English and leave its translation, interpretation or extrapolation to the readers.” See Commentary The Holy Qor-aan is no joke.
Trueteachingsofislam.com Commentaries mostly amplify a single issue like Jihad, Marriages, Peace, Physical elevation of Jesus, Succession (Caliphate), Slavery, Usury, and many others.
II
Spellings on this site differ from many other translations. Spellings here are done phonetically as men speak and pronounce unlike others that spelled many words in Shakespearean English such as colour, defence, favour, favourites, honour, labours, honours, practise, prophethood, etc.
Examples cited here are from the middle one-third of the Soorah Un-nay-saa-aa [Chapter 4] and the verse # that its author assigned. Like the tip of an iceberg they show the huge mass of inaccurate translations which are being sold in the market. .
Author M M Pickthall has used the following words. Aileth for ails in #088, appertaineth for appertains in #139, arrangeth for arranged in #102, ascribeth for ascribes in #116, befalleth for befalls in #’s 079, etc, beguileth for beguiles in #143, belongeth for belongs in #’s 126, etc, canst for can in #088, careth for care in #143, causeth for causes in #144, chooseth for chooses in #119, cometh for comes in #141, committeth for commits in #’s 111 & 112, disbelieveth for disbelieves in #136, doth for does in #’s 110, etc, enjoineth for enjoined in #114, feareth for fears in #128, f olloweth for follows in #115, forsaketh for forsakes in #100, forgiveth instead forgives in #048, gathereth for gathers in #087, giveth for gives in #127, hast for ‘has’ in #049, hath for ‘has’ in #’s 102, etc, impedeth for impeded in #102, knewest for knows in #113, loveth for loves in #102, migrateth for migrates in #100, obeyeth for obey in #069, offereth for offers in #094, opposeth for opposes in #115, vertaketh for overtakes in #100, pardoneth for pardons in #116, prepareth for prepared in #102, promiseth for promises in #120, revealeth for reveals in #113, sayest for say in # 081, etc, seeketh for seeks in #110, sendeth for sends in #088, shalt for shall in #143, showeth for shows in #105, slayeth for slays in #94, standest’ for stand in #102, stirreth for stirs in #120, sufficeth for suffies #070, surrendereth for surrenders in #125, surroundeth for surrounds in #’s 108 &126, teacheth for teaches in #113, thou for you in #105, throweth for throws in #112, unto for to in #115, etc, wilt for will in #143, wrongeth for wrongs in #110 and ye for ‘you’ in #101 & 102.
Author A Yusuf Ali has used the following words. Art for are in #’s 084 &102, careth for care in #130, compasseth for compensates in #121, doth for do in #’s 108, etc, encompasseth for encompasses in #126, forgiveth for forgives in #116, hath for has in # 102, etc, heareth for hears in #’s 134 & 148, knewest for knew in #113, knoweth for knows in #’s 147, etc, loveth for loves in #’s 107, etc, mightest for ‘might’ in #105, pleaseth for pleases in #’s 048 & 116, recogniseth for recognizes in #147, seeth for sees in # 134, shalt for shall in #088, tellest for tell in #082, standest for ‘stand’ in #102, thee for you in #’s 078, 079 , 102 & 113, thou for you in #’s 084, 102, etc, unto for to in #113, wilt for will in #’s 143 & 145 and ye for you in # 102,
Author M Mohammed Ali has used the following words.. Art for are in #’s 084 & 102, knewest for knew in #’s 102 &113, leadest for leads in #102, mayest for may in #105, sayest for say in # 081, standest for stand in #102, thee for you frequently, thou for you in #’s 084, 102, 105, 113, 143 & 145 and ye for you in # 102,
Author M Sher Ali has used the following words.. Art for are in #103, knewest for knew in #114, leadest for leads in #103, shalt for shall in #144, mayest for may in #106, sayest for say in # 082, etc, thee for you in # 106, thou for you in #’s 082, 103, 106 & 114 and thy for your # 082.
Author M Zafrulla Khan has used the following words. Art for are in #103, leadest for leads in #103, mayest for may in #106, sayest for say in # 082, etc, thee for you in # 105 and thou for you in #’s 082, 103, 106 & 114,
Author Farid has used the following words. Art for are in #103, knewes for knew in 114, leadest for ‘leads’ in #103, mayest for may in #106, thee for you in #’s 103, 106 & 114, thou for you in #’s 082, 103, 106 & 114 and thy for your # 082.
Inconsistencies of many kinds glare out of some works. Author M Ghulam Farid put in you in verses #104 & #105, but thee and thou in #106 and 114 and again you in #110, Author M M Pickthall used ‘ye’ and ‘you’ for ‘you’ while translating the same one verse (#101 and again #102).
III
Arabic grammar helps to see if a word is a noun or verb, singular or plural, in male or female gender, in past or present tense, and that any text is translated with no rule of Grammar Violated. Preciseness – Hallmark of the Arabic infuses a pinpointed precision to translate all words. Punctuations and Vowels leads to a straightforward translation of every concept. The Holy Qor-aan and Different Translations is a natural outcome of following grammar.
Big issues were created when someone somewhere sometime mistranslated the Holy Qor-aan and then it was blown out of all proportions for hard-line Sect Formation and Sect Recognition.
Controversies some deliberately have tried to disfigure the beauty of Islam. One example is the story of a form of Abrogation of removing a verse from the Holy Qor-aan that had said that if Adam’s son had two valleys full of gold then he would want a third one also like the other two.
Distinctive improvements are done by copying from chronologically earlier works. Anyone can compare and see how subsequent authors changed or improved, copied or duplicated, enlarged or abbreviated, and used words or phrases, italics or parenthesis in their translations.
Even minor differences are rampant. The same one word in verse 086:015 (to say that the Holy Qor-aan was NOT) was translated as an amusement (A Yusuf Ali), vain talk (M Zafrulla Khan), joke (M Muhmmad Ali), flippant jest (N J Dawood), thing for amusement (Dr Khan), frivolity (Ahmad Zidan), pleasantry (M M Pickthall) and useless talk (M Sher Ali).
