Reading the Qur'an in English and converting?

Question

I've been thinking about Islam and, one thing that has been bugging me is, how can a person even convert and become a muslim if one can't even properly read the Qur'an? It is my understanding that it is not meant to be translated; this is part of why the Bible is not considered as accurate of a spiritual book as the Qur'an, right?, because the Bible has been through a number of translations and adaptations which may have been done so in a potentially manipulative manner. So, anyway, any translations are "not really" the official word from God since they're translated. But I get it, the five pillars of Islam are what are the foundation for the religion, and I already fast for Ramadan and give to charity, but this issue is bothering me about converting --how can I possibly even pray the Right Way if I can't properly read the sort of "official" holy writings (which are in Arabic, not English)?

Answer 1

Then learn Arabic.

Answer 2

You can still become a Muslim even if you haven't read the Qur'an. You can go to Mosques and learn the Qur'an there. Don't give up on converting to Islam. Salam Alaikum

Answer 3

Salaamu Alaikum,
wow I am glad to hear you have been thinking about it. Listen the Quran's translation is still accurate but like an english poem being cahnged to the language of Arab, rhetorical elements are lost and this changes the whole style. I too am Muslim and I have found many ways to try to understand the Quran in arabic. For one I listen to recitations and repeat and then look at the meanings. Through time one becomes accustomed. Remember Allah knows everything and he knew there would be converts who did not know Arabic. Either way the same values and ethics are conveyed.
Prayer will take memorization of the verses in arabic and their meanings but it is not as complicated as it seems and there are many books that teach you how to recite it in arabic but it is written in english.
ex:In the name of God the beneficient the Merciful, bism-allah-alrahman-alraheem
There are Qurans like this as well. Don't stop trying and try to find a mentror many muslims would be happy to help you in your community. Hope I could help. May Allah reward you for your efforts.

Answer 4

Assalaamu alaikum.

Sister let me tell you that, first of all, of course the english translation of Qur'an will not be as perfect and accurate as the one in arabic. However, the simple solution to your problem is to learn arabic if you feel that the translation is not good enough. start in small steps, take your time, it's not a problem. take as much time as you need to think about embracing Islam. If you have friends or neighbours that are devout muslims, they would be happy to share with you Yasul Qur'an (the basics --- alphabet, symbols, etc). As for prayers, they are easy to learn, believe me you don't need to know arabic if someone is willing to teach you how to pray. u can even get books that will help you learn as well.

If you wanted I could even send you through e-mail a website that sends you free islamic books, wherever you are in the world. this is up to you...whether you answer yes, no or nothing at all, i dont mind.

take care of yourself and good luck

Answer 5

While you have a good point, if that restriction held then almost no one could ever convert. Probably less than 1% of Christians have ever read the bible in other than English, and in fact many think that it was originally written in English. Most Christians understand very little of what the bible really says. If they were rejected, who would be left to contribute to their coffers?

Answer 6

Aside from having to learn Arabic in order to read the Do's and Don'ts in th Qur'an I would suggest you think long and hard about converting to a Religion you don't know that much about. As a woman are you sure you would be okay with becoming a second class person who has to jump when a man says hop. Are you sure you would dress in a burka if your husband demands it? Can you really say what inner peace you expect to find if you convert.

Answer 7

You talk to ppl who know. You read exegesis of the Quran. You have it explained to you....with time you start to pick up on the Arabic without even having to study (but you should). You study Arabic...you get dictionaries that explain the meanings of the world. You memorize the prayers with their meanings...you can be as specific as knowing the meaning of each word --it really is not THAT hard. With time, you learn...

In the Quran God tells us that if it was in any other language ppl would ask, "Why is it in THAT language?"

Answer 8

http://www.quranexplorer.com/quran/

Mohammad stated that his teachings contain the teachings of all the previous prophets and all the Divine commandments. When a person professes the belief in the truthfulness of Mohammad and pledges to follow his message, he, in fact, will be stating his readiness to obey the orders of God unconditionally.

No sacraments or procedures are prescribed for a person who likes to join the faith of Islam. One needs only to pronounce or to believe in the contents of the Declaration of the Faith:

"I bear witness that there is no God but the Almighty God and that Mohammad is a messenger of God."

When a person states that he believes in the truthfulness of Mohammad, he actually states that he believes in all what Mohammad introduced and in all his teachings. This includes all the Qur'anic teachings, all the deeds and all the sayings of Mohammad, whether in the matter of belief or in the area of practice.

When a person believes in the contents of the Declaration of the Faith, he automatically becomes a Muslim. His pronouncement of the Declaration is a proof to the other Muslims that he is a believer in Islam. Because of this, no Muslim can deny him the admission into the faith because he is a believer in Islam and needs nothing more beyond it.

A Muslim convert is equal to any other Muslim in the eyes of the Holy Qur'an. Furthermore, a convert has more advantages than a born Muslim for two reasons:


A convert deserves a bigger reward from God than a born Muslim. A convert becomes a Muslim usually after a great deal of research and some psychological crisis, because changing religion is not an easy task. It takes a great deal of courage and effort on the part of the convert, while a born Muslim receives his religion by inheritance.
A convert is considered, by his conversion to Islam, pure and free of any previous sin. All his previous sins are wiped out entirely. He will be responsible only for the sins which he commits after becoming a Muslim. Thus, if a person becomes a Muslim in the early morning, after sunrise, then he dies before noon, he is entitled to enter paradise without having practiced or performed any of the devotional duties which a Muslim is required to do. He did not have to perform morning prayer because his conversion to Islam took place after sunrise, nor did he have to perform the noon prayer because he did not live until noon, the prayer time.

"Deen-Al-Touhid" means the religion of the belief in the Oneness of God, and "Deen-Al-Fitrah" means the religion of the nature or the religion which is in accordance with human nature.

Islam is called the religion of One God because its main theme is the unity of God. The doctrine of One God is the most emphasized and repeated principle in the Holy Qur'an. When Islam was introduced to the world, people were mostly idol-worshippers. Some religions preached the Oneness of God but in an unclear form. Some of them ascribed to God an anthropomorphic image. The most important point of the contents of the new heavenly message was to correct the idol-worshippers and to remove whatever clouded the concept of One God.

Islam is called the religion of nature because its teaching is acceptable to the human mind when the human mind is freed from illogical thinking and superstition.

The Prophet Mohammad said:

"Every human being is born in a state of pure nature; but through the influence of his parents, he may become non-Muslim"

When a person is freed from illogical thinking, he can easily, just by looking at the order of the universe, conclude that the universe has only One Creator. It is easy to accept a teaching that calls upon us to believe that the over-four-billion-year-old universe had been created by an Infinitely Old Creator. But it is neither simple nor easy to identify that Creator with a mortal whose birth took place four billion years after the creation of the universe.

It is natural to accept a teaching that calls upon us to believe that the Creator of the universe is Absolutely Fair, Just, and Merciful, and that such a Just and Merciful Creator does not burden any soul with the sin of another; and that He does not require any person to pay for the sins of others.

The teaching of Islam seems to be acceptable to the human mind, unless the human mind has been exposed to illogical teaching. This is the reason why Islam is called the religion of nature.


If you need any other info sister just email me sallam

Answer 9

Collen , there's some translation for Quraán you can depened on , but from a trustfull source like al azhar
and you can't compare between the Bible and Qura'n in the translation issue and offcourse it's better to learn arabic in order to understand it , it's not to difficult .... just start .....
God bless you .

Answer 10

Many muslims will tell you that you MUST read the Quran in arabic in your prayers etc in order to consider them valid....these muslims seem intent on putting a limit on Gods understanding...they are saying that unless you speak in arabic, God wont understand or accept your prayers. How foolish are we to limit God in anyway. God says in the Quran that he made nations to know each other....that the Quran will be understood by those that read it with an open mind and heart and that He listens to the prayers of every believer that calls unto him....there is no mention that God only understands the arabic language. What about all those people that prayed to God before the Quran ever came about? they didnt pray in arabic so are their prayers invalid? Its true that the Quran in its original arabic form is unlike any other book on earth. arabic itself has a myriad of meanings in each and every word so to translate it into another language will never do justice to the original meaning....its just impossible...having said that.....God says he considers our Niya(our intentions) when doing or performing a certain act. If we intend to do good(even if it turns out wrong) we are rewarded for the good intention and vice versa. Same with our prayers etc. Arabic is the language of the Quran because the prophet it was given to spoke arabic....no other reason than that. arabic itself is not some holy language and is spoken by less then 20% of the muslim population world wide. How can we assume that God insists that every single person that is a muslim or becomes a muslim can only communicate to him through the arabic language...can only get some benefit from his Holy Quran if its read in its original arabic language...can only offer valid prayers if spoken in arabic? most people find it very difficult to learn a foreign language....God knows that better than anyone for sure....so he knows that humans are limited in what they can do....he does not punish us for our limitations...as long as our intentions are pure and good.

Most people that translate the Quran do their best to get as close to the original meaning as possible...for sure it wont measure up 100% but rest assured that your english copy of the Quran is an acceptable means to learn about Islam and discover Gods word. There are a few translation out there that really are terrible and completely unreliable but these are always caught and pointed out by the majority of muslims and then disregarded(all though you will always have followers that prefer to believe bad translations cause it feeds their male ego).

God understands our limitations in regard to learning arabic(many of us struggle with it for years...my hand is up...lol) but that shouldnt stop you from moving forward in your study of Islam. You can read your Quran in english, get as much meaning from it as you can.....and on the side start learning arabic(in classes etc) so you can one day read it in its original language. Dont let the language barrier stop you. Believe me...when you reach out to God...he reaches out to you with an even stronger grip....in any language you care to speak. Good luck.

Answer 11

if you believe in your heart there is no God except Allah and that the prophet muhammed (pbuh) is his last and final messanger then dont delay and become muslim.

as in the quran it says "do not die in any state other then islam".

you can learn after the arabic and read word for word. but if you believe that this testimony i said is true accept islam and then you can become more educated. if you believe islam to be from your creator you will accept whatever the quran tells you.