Muslims, is translating the Qur'an for other languages blasphemy?

Question

I'm curious, because a common argument is that the Bible was translated and thus unworthy of being infallible. I read English mostly and could not have read the original text. Does that make my copy of the Qur'an evil?

Answer 1

That would be a retarded, hypocritical rule.

Christians learned that the teachings of the Bible should NOT be kept to those who were educated or high up in social status.

Because the Bible was written in "dead" languages (Latin, Greek etc.), the common person couldn't read it, and thus priests were able to abuse their power saying that "God wants you to do this!"

A common argument against criticism of the Qur'an is:

"You don't know Arabic, so you can't quote the Qur'an!!!"

That's totally ridiculous.

Answer 2

It isn't. What these Muslims are cloaking as Ancient Arabic is nothing more than standard Arabic, in the post Islamic Age. And, only someone who totally ignorant of Arabic would claim that the word sun and ship etc are pronounced the same way or are homonyms. They are nowhere near that at all because the word for "the ship" is as safina, while that for "the sun" is besh'ams'sh, for example. There are no such homonyms used in the Koran because Mohammad was not an educated man but an illiterate who used the most common language and it wasn't even anything better than poor prose. And, as you have already said, the Arab scholars have already explained all that before. It's merely the weak attempt of the Muslims, almost all of whom don't know Arabic, to defend their beliefs. .

Answer 3

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim - In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

Hello. Translating the Qur'an is not blasphemy. Rather, it is encouraged as a means of helping more people all over the world understand the Message of Islam. While only the unchanged Qu'ran in the original Arabic can be referred to as "Qur'an", the translations, considered "targum", translation, or "tafsir", commentary, are vital in helping non-Arabic speakers learn about Islam.

Your copy of a translation of the Qur'an is a great tool to help you learn. As with any scripture, the Qur'an was not revealed in a vacuum, so learning about the background of Islam and the circumstances during which particular verses were revealed is important to help you in your understanding. There are some really good websites for learning about Islam, and of course any questions you have can be directed her or you can contact me personally.

May Allah guide you to that which is best in this world and the next. Ameen.

Fi Aman Allah,

Nancy Umm Abdel Hamid

Answer 4

The Bible use to be not translated to other languages. The Catholic Church use to maintain its power by not allowing people to read the Bible by not translating from latin. So, I am sure that moderate Muslims would not mind a very very good translation. But they also would want people to make an effort to learn to read it in the original language as all translations are not perfect.

Answer 5

Brother, translating the Quran is certainly not blasphemy, but it is just not possible to translate the Quran properly into another language as many underlying meanings are lost.

An obvious example is the Quranic verse that says "Do not take the Jews and Christians as your "WALI" over and above the Muslims. They are the WALIS of each other and will not be reliable WALIS for Muslims."

This verse is time and again translated by good scholars where the word WALI is translated as "FRIEND", when in fact the word WALI has many meanings. Wali means a friend also, which is one of the popular meanings in modern Arabic. But it is a much richer word than just friend. A father is called the WALI of his children and wife. Meaning a friend who would protect them at risk to his life and limb. The Lord Almighty is referred to as the WALI of the good people. Again the word WALI is used time and again in a context of friendship but not an equal friendship or love. Thus the word WALI is also translated as Guardian. WILA from which the word is derived comes from the Arabic word, INTENSE LOVE, to the point of not caring for your own well being.

Now tell me how can all these meanings be properly translated when you are translating that verse, without making the translation almost unreadable?

The real context of that verse was weak Muslim tribes were choosing stronger Jewish and Christian tribes and giving them protection money, so that these Muslims be saved from the pagan Arabs who were killing the Muslims wherever they could find them. The verse came to tell such Muslims to look for support among other Muslims rather than looking for the Jewish or Chrisitan tribes to protect them, as it was clearly understood that they would not risk themselves against the pagans to save the weak Muslims.

See how the whole meaning of that verse can completely misconstrued from what was the context and the meaning of the verse and the word WALI.

It is critical that Quran be read not only in Arabic but be taught by men of wisdom and knowledge who not only know a particular verse and its REAL meaning, but also its underlying context and the circumstances under which the verse was revealed. If not, there are good chances a person can completely misunderstand what one reads in his English, French or Russian translation.

In addition there are many cultural dimensions to certain words. I will always remember an older congenial white American gentleman asking me when I was a young new immigrant to America if I had ever gotten me a dog tag. He was a friendly funny person, but I remember becoming sad and bewildered, thinking Ettu.... for, I thought he was calling me a dog, when in fact he was asking me if I was ever a marine, as many people at that time used to migrate by joining the American marines and after serving for two years you could become an immigrant. This man used a lot of slang and often used to teach me slang and explain the meanings of things that would otherwise be lost to a new immigrant.

Thus misunderstandings can crop in any situation and only the people of knowledge, not half knowledge or not people with an agenda can translate the Quran or the Bible for you.

I hope this makes sense.

Answer 6

No. There are various translations of the quran and most say something just a little different then the other but the general meaning is close. The best one can be found at www.submission.org

Answer 7

As far as I know (I'm not Muslim), it's not blasphemy. A translation is simply considered to be less reliable than the original Arabic, but not everybody can read that, so it has been translated.

Answer 8

No, it is ok to translate the Quran into different languages. You may find different translations but that's only down to a different choice of words that mean the same thing. You won't find different versions like yo do with the Bible where certain verses and chapters have been taken out.

Answer 9

Once ANY book is translated, it becomes a "second generation" version of the original and therefore, not perfect anymore.

Answer 10

Hey! If it is, then I have another translation! What an ugly green color it is!