AN APPEAL
to the Publishers of the
'ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS 
OF THE QUR'AN'
Please do not DO
what the
 Bible Editors DID 

Last revised and updated September 29, 2000

THIS APPEAL is a humble attempt
by an ordinary everyday reader
of the various Translated English Texts of 
The Glorious Qur'an
to show the serious shortcomings...

IT IS NOT a scholarly criticism
done by a Scholar
who knows the language of the Qur'an...


Examples from the English Bible:

      In the fourth century CE, Jerome - the famous Christian scholar and apologist of the early Christian Church, translated the Bible into Latin. He took the liberty with John's Gospel to promote the enigmatic belief of his own Church for Jesus Christ. He translated the originally used Greek term "monogenes" (meaning, "of a single kind") as "unigeitus" (meaning, "only begotten") in his famous Latin Version called The Vulgate. Since that time the translators who have used Jerome’s Vulgate as their source document have inadvertently applied this INNOVATED term "only begotten", while translating John 1:18 and 3:16. The 19th ecumenical council held at Trent in 1562-63, chose the Jerome's Vulgate in Latin as the AUTHENTIC text in the matter of theology and that received the HOLY BLESSINGS from the Church to endorse this fourth century INNOVATION, as the HOLY TRUTH. Million Christians have since died believing with faith that Apostle John had himself written Jesus was "only begotten" in his Gospel, which the Apostle did not. 

       Here is another example. The authors of the Gospels had used the Greek word “Theos” for “The supreme divinity, God or god” and the word “Kurios” for “Master, Teacher, Owner or the Head of a house” in their manuscripts. One would expect that the translators of these manuscripts would also use two distinctly separate terms in English to describe these two separate terms. Surprisingly, that has not been the case with every translator. Some have used the word “LORD” for “Theos” and “Lord” for “Kurios”. The first LORD is in all capital types and the second Lord is in the upper and lower case. However, the translators who want to exalt the status of their Jesus as “God” have used the capital types for the term "Theos" as well as for "Kurios".

        In the ‘New American Standard Bible’ (1963), under the Book of Psalms, the opening sentence of the Psalm 110 appears like this:
THE LORD says to my Lord. When this same text is repeated in Matthew 22:44, in the same New American Standard Bible, the text appears like this: THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD. Such INGENUITY within the translated texts of the Bible is one of the reasons why the readers of the New Testament call their Teacher Jesus as MY LORD”, and do believe a Messenger of God, as “GOD”. Upon reading the "Sayings" of Jesus readers discover that Jesus himself had a GOD and he was not The God.



THE NOBLE QUR'AN IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

       Under study is the published text from a publication entitled; 'Interpretation of the meanings of THE NOBLE QUR'AN IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.  (Hard cover copy, summarized in one volume). 
The Interpretation of THE QUR'AN is done by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali. Published by DARUSSALAM, P. O. Box 22743, Riyadh 11416, Kingdom of 
Saudi Arabia. Tel:  (009 661) 4033962 Fax: (009 661) 4021659.

This is not a personal criticism but an attempt to show The Truth as I perceive it. This does not mean I cannot have a mistaken perception. 

ALLAH KNOWS THE BEST

SHAHADAH

     The first and the most important of the "Five Pillars of Islam" is the Shahadah or Kalimah Shahadah. The most essential and significantly imperative text of this Shahadah happens to be "La illaha-illallah".
One cannot enter Islam and become a Muslim unless that person comprehends the meaning of this Kalimah (word) and testifies. Hence, its translation should be very precise and its interpretation accurate. 

      On page 919 of the publication under study, Appendix I - Glossary, appears: La ilaha-illallah: (the arabic text)  None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.

     SHAHADAH is the creed that is fundamental to Islam. A Muslim does not ONLY bear witness or confess, while reciting his or her Shahadah that the reciter will not worship any another entity beside Allah. Even the conceptual admission of a thought or belief that there IS another entity beside Allah (The God), negates the Shahadah of a True Believer. In brief, the Shahadah goes much beyond worshipping. 

       This Arabic phrase appears, beside in other verses, in Surah Muhammad (47), verse 19. Below are the comparative translations:

Translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali:
Know therefore that there is no god but Allah...

Translation by Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall:
So know (O Muhammad) that there is no God save Allah,...

Translation by Farooq Malik
Therefore, you should know that there is no god but Allah;... 

Translation by Mohammad Asad:
Know, then, [O man] that there is no deity save God...

Translation by the publication The Noble Qur'an:
So know (O Muhammad s.a.s.) that La illaha illallah (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah),...

Note: The literal translations provided by the translators; Yusuf Ali, Pickthall, Malik and Asad, for the Shahadah La illaha illallah has the philosophy of  "double negation". My Appeal to the publishers, editors and the translators of the Qur'an is; Let us not part with the Sublime Perfection and Blissful Philosophy that is within the Revealed Text. 



What Allah has Truly Revealed about Jesus?

        I have first quoted the translations done by other Muslim Scholars and thereafter the translation from the publication; The Noble Qur'an.

      I have used the RED prints for the actual translated text and the BLACK prints for the bracketed text, which are the Interpretations.

         These TRANSLATED TEXT should not have words that are derived from the interpretations and not to be found in the Arabic Text. No reader of the translated text would expect any Addition or Deletion.

         I have underlined the variations, after comparing the other texts.
Readers can do their own research or seek more info from the editors.

         The Verses under study are from Surat An-Nisa, Chapter 4. The "other comparative texts" are copied from the ISL Software - Alim 6.0



Verses Number 156 and 157:

Transliteration of the verses:
wa- bi- kufr -him wa- qawl -him calaa maryam buhtaan(an) caz.em(an) 
wa- qawl -him 'in(na) -naa qatalnaa al- maseh. cesaa ibn maryam rasol 'allaah wa- maa qatalo -hu wa- maa s.alabo -hu wa- laakin shubbiha la- -hum wa- 'inna 'alladhena ikhtalafo fe -hi la- fe shakk min -hu maa la- -hum bi- -hi min cilm 'illaa ittibaac az.- z.ann wa- maa qatalo -hu yaqen(an). 

Translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali:
That they rejected faith: that they uttered against Mary a grave false charge. That they said (in boast) "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary the Apostle of Allah"; but they killed him not nor crucified him but so it was made to appear to them and those who differ therein are full of doubts with no (certain) knowledge but only conjecture to follow for of a surety they killed him not. 

Translation by Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall:
And because of their disbelief and of their speaking against Mary a tremendous calumny; And because of their saying: We slew the Messiah Jesus son of Mary, Allah's messenger They slew him not nor crucified, but it appeared so unto them; and lo! those who disagree concerning it are in doubt thereof; they have no knowledge thereof save pursuit of a conjecture ; they slew him not for certain,

Translation by Farooq Malik
They went in their unbelief to such an extent that they uttered terrible slander against Maryam (Mary). They even say: "We have killed the Messiah, Isa (Jesus), son of Maryam, the Rasool of Allah." Whereas in fact, neither did they kill him nor did they crucify him but they thought they did because the matter was made dubious for them. Those who differ therein are only in doubt. They have no real knowledge, they follow nothing but merely a conjecture, certainly they did not kill him (Jesus). 

Translation by Mohammad Asad:
and for their refusal to acknowledge the truth, and the awesome calumny which they utter against Mary, and their boast, "Behold, we have slain the Christ Jesus, son of Mary, [who claimed to be] an apostle of God!" However, they did not slay him, and neither did they crucify him, but it only seemed to them  [as if it has been] so; and, verily, those  who hold conflicting views thereon are indeed confused, having no [real] knowledge thereof, and following mere conjecture. For, of a certainty,  they did not slay him:

Translation by the publication The Noble Qur'an:
And because of their (Jews) disbelief and uttering Maryam (Mary, a.s.) a grave false charge (that she has committed illegal sexual intercourse); And because of their saying (in boast), "We killed Messiah 'Isa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), the Messenger of Allah," - but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but the resemblance of 'Isa (Jesus) was put over another man  (and they killed that man), and those who differ therein are full of doubts. They have no (certain) knowledge, they follow nothing but conjecture. For surely; they killed him not [i.e. 'Isa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary) a.s.]:

Note: The underlined text in the above translation happens to be the translators' own interpretation. And, some of the crucial words mentioned, e.g., "over another man" do not appear in the Arabic Text. 

Verses Number 158 and 159:

Transliteration of the verses:
bal rafaca -hu 'allaah 'ilay -hi wa- kaana 'allaah cazez(an) h.akem(an) 
wa- 'in min 'ahl al- kitaab 'illaa la- yu'minanna bi- -hi qabla mawt -hi wa- yawm al- qiyaamah yakon calay -him shahed(an) 

Translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali:
Nay Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power Wise. And there is none of the People of the Book but must believe in him before his death; and on the Day of Judgment He will be a witness against them.

Translation by Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall:
But Allah took him up unto Himself. Allah was ever Mighty, wise. 
There is not one of the People of the Scripture but will believe in him before his death, and on the Day of Resurrection he will be a witness against them 

Translation by Farooq Malik
Nay! The fact is that Allah took him up to Himself. Allah is Mighty, Wise. There is none of the People of the Book but will believe in this fact before his death; and on the Day of Resurrection Jesus will bear witness against them.

Translation by Mohammad Asad:
nay, God exalted him unto Himself - and God is indeed almighty, wise.
yet there is not one of the followers of earlier revelation who does not, at the moment of his death, grasp the truth about Jesus; and on the Day of Resurrection he [himself] shall bear witness to the truth against them.

Translation by the publication The Noble Qur'an:
But Allah raised him ['Isa (Jesus)] up (with his body and soul) unto Himself (and he a.s., is in the heavens). And Allah is Ever All-Powerful, All-Wise. And there is none of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) but must believe in him ['Isa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), as only a Messenger of Allah and a human being] before his ['Isa (Jesus) a.s., or a Jew's or a Christian's] death (at the time of the appearance of the angel of death). And on the Day of Resurrection, he ['Isa (Jesus)] will be a witness against them.

Note: Upon the comparison of the above five translated texts, one does notice that within the first four texts there is practically no text within the brackets. In the fifth translation, the text within the brackets [( )] practically equals that of the Revealed Text. And, some of these bracketed texts are of questionable nature. The separation of the "Unquestionable Divine Text" from the "Questionable Human Text" needs a better method of keeping them apart than the use of [( )].
The general impression created upon a reader's mind, after reading the entire text, could be what was not intended to be, by the Allah (S.W.T.).

Sheikh Ahmed Deedat: He gave us an excellent example in his famous booklet 'Resurrection or Resuscitation' to show how the decisive texts in the New Testament have been changed by the placing of a few words "within the brackets" and "without the brackets". He records that in the "most ancient" manuscript the text under Gospel Luke 3:23 reads; 

"And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being as was supposed the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli," 
This text was later edited, and it now reads;
"And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli," 
I have copy of the authorized Kings James Version wherein the phrase "as was supposed" is printed within the brackets. I also have a copy of the New American Standard Bible wherein the phrase is printed without the brackets. In other words, the [( )] keep appearing and disappearing.

Tafsir At-Tabari within the quotations (“)...(”)

It has been an age old accepted norm and practice to place the quoted texts or the actual spoken words within the Quotation Marks (“)...(”). The important question is; Should an implied text or a direct quote from any Tafsir (commentary), written by any scholar, be placed within the quotation marks (“)...(”) even though it is shielded with brackets [(...)]? 
Besides, in this instance the implied Tafsir Text from At-Tabari coveys a totally different Message than that which is provided by the reputable Muslim translators such as Abdullah Yusuf Ali, M. Asad and F. Malik.

Surah Az-Zukhruf (43), Verse Number 81:

Transliteration of the verses:
qul 'in kaana li- ar- rah.maan walad fa- 'anaa 'awwal al- caabiden 

Translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali:
Say: "If (Allah) Most Gracious had a son I would be the first to worship." 

Translation by Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall:
Say (O Muhammad): The Beneficent One hath no son. I am first among the worshippers. 

Translation by Farooq Malik
O Prophet tell the Christians: "If the Compassionate (Allah) had a son, I would be the first to worship him."

Translation by Mohammad Asad:
Say [O Prophet]: “If the Most Gracious [truly] had a son, I would be the first to worship him!”

Translation by the publication The Noble Qur'an:
Say (O Muhammad): “If the Most Gracious (Allah) had a son (or children as you pretend), then I am the first of (Allah’s) worshippers [who deny and refute this claim of yours (and the first to believe in Allah Alone and testify that He has no children)].” [Tafsir At-Tabari]



Sexually Explicit Texts &/or Commentaries !!!

     Here are just two examples, both from Surah Al-'Imran. Below is the translated text of verse 39 from the publication The Noble Qur'an:

Then the angels called him, while he was standing in prayer in Al-Mihrab (a praying place or a private room), (saying): "Allah gives you glad tidings of Yahya (John), confirming (believing in) the word from Allah [i.e. the creation of Isa (Jesus), a.s., the Word from Allah ("Be!" - and he was!)], noble, keeping away from sexual relations with women, a Prophet, from among the righteous."
    Here is a translation by Pickthall of the same verse. Please notice the "extended meaning" of one word from the Revealed Text that is underlined above and compare it with the dignified word used below. 
And the angels called to him as he stood praying in the sanctuary: Allah giveth thee glad tidings of (a son whose name is) John, (who cometh) to confirm a word from Allah. lordly, chaste, a Prophet of the righteous.
     In verse 46 Allah (swt) has glorified his righteous Messenger Isa (a.s.). Does the inserted sexually explicit commentary from a Hadith add to the "glory" of the Messenger or uphold the Exalted Dignity of the Revealed Words of Allah)? You be the judge after reading them.
"He will speak to the people, in the cradle [1] and in manhood, and he will be one of the righteous."
Commentary: [1] (V.3:46) Narrated Abu Hurairah (r.a.): The Prophet (s.a.s) said, "None spoke in cradle but three: (The first was) Jesus, (the second was) a man from Bani Israel called Juraij. While he was offering his prayers, his mother came and called him. He said (to himself), "Shall I answer her or keep on praying?" (He went on praying and did not answer her). His mother said, "O Allah! Do not let him die till he sees the faces of prostitutes." So while he was in his hermitage, a lady came and sought to seduce him, but he refused. So she went to a shepherd and presented herself to him to commit illegal sexual intercourse with her and then later she gave birth to a child and claimed that it belonged to Juraij. The people, therefore, came to him and dismantled his hermitage and expelled him out of it and abused him. Juraij performed the ablution and offered prayer, and then came to the child and said, "O child! Who is your father?" The child replied, "The shepherd." (after hearing this) the people said, "We shall rebuild your hermitage of gold," but he said, "No, of nothing but mud." (The third was the hero of the following story): A lady from Bani Israel was nursing her child at her breast when a handsome rider passed by her. She said, "O Allah! Make my child like him." On that the child left her breast, and facing the rider said, "O Allah! Do not make me like him." The child then started to suck her breast again. [Abu Hurairah further said, "As if I were now looking at the Prophet s.a.s. sucking his finger (in way of demonstration.")]. After a while they (some people) passed by, with a lady slave and she (i.e. the child's mother) said, "O Allah! Do not make my child like this (slave girl)!" On that the child left her breast and said, "O Allah! Make me like her." When she asked why, the child replied, "The rider is one of the tyrants while this slave-girl is falsely accused of theft and illegal sexual intercourse." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 3436).


"The Islamic Faith of Monotheism"

Surat Al-Ahqaf (46) Verse Number 13:

Transliteration of the verse:
'inna 'alladhena qaalo rabb -naa 'allaah thumma istaqaamo fa- laa khawf calay -him wa- laa hum yah.zanon 

Translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali:
Verily those who say "Our Lord is Allah" and remain firm 
(on that Path) on them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve. 

Translation by Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall:
Lo! those who say: our Lord is Allah, and thereafter walk aright, 
there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve. 

Translation by Farooq Malik
Indeed those who say: "Our Rabb is Allah, and then remain firm 
shall have nothing to fear or to regret.

Translation by Mohammad Asad:
for, behold, all who say, "Our Sustainer is God", 
and thereafter stand firm [in their faith] - no fear need they have, 
and neither shall they grieve: 

Translation by the publication The Noble Qur'an:
Verily, those who say: "Our Lord is (only) Allah," and thereafter 
stand firm on the Islamic Faith of Monotheism on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.

Note: The editors have added in their footnotes the details of what is meant by standing firm on "the Islamic Faith of Monotheism". The phrase "the Islamic Faith of Monotheism", which is mentioned above as the "translated text of the revealed verse", does not appear in the Revealed Arabic text. It is the editors' supposed stretched out extended interpretation and hence should be mentioned within the parenthesis. It gives rise to the false impressions that one has to enter the religion of "Islam"  or accept "the Islamic Faith". I am presenting below the translation of Verse 2:62 which conveys a similar Message to "...whoever believeth in Allah and the Last Day and doeth right". 

Translation by Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall of verse 2:62:
Lo! those who believe (in that which is revealed unto thee, Muhammad), and those who are Jews, and Christians, and Sabaeans 
whoever believeth in Allah and the Last Day and doeth right surely their reward is with their Lord, and there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve. 



PLEASE COVER-UP THIS TEXT My personal opinion

      Surah Al-Fatiha, Ya-Sin and Ar-Rahman are the ones that are the most often read Chapters of the Holy Qur'an by the Believers and their Family Members - old and young.  Please read the text that appears in the footnote of verse 56 of Surat Ar-Rahman (55), and if you are also of the opinion that it is so SEXUALLY EXPLICIT that it should not be read by your Family Members, please cover it up with a white sticker label or a black marker and replace it with any of the alternate texts that are reproduced below.  I repeat, is purely my personal opinion as one of the readers of the Holy Book. I am not a qualified learned scholar in the matter, so please you be the judge after reading below: 

Surah Ar-Rahman (55), Verse Number 56:

Transliteration of the verse:
Fii -hinna qaas.iraatut.- t.arfi lam yat.mith -hunna 'insun qabla -hum wa- laa jaann 

Translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali:
In them will be (Maidens) Chaste restraining their glances whom no man or Jinn before them has touched 

Translation by Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall:
Therein are those of modest gaze, whom neither man nor jinn will have touched before them, 

Translation by Farooq Malik
Therein will be bashful virgins, whom neither any man nor jinn has touched before. 

Translation by Mohammad Asad:
In these [garden] will be mates of modest gaze, whom neither man nor invisible being will have touched ere then.

Translation by the publication The Noble Qur'an:
Wherein both will be Qasirat-ul-Tarf [chaste females (wives) restraining their glances, desiring none except their husbands], with whom no man or jinni has had Tamth [1] before them.
[1] (V.55-56) Tamth means: Opening their hymens with sexual intercourse.

My Note: IF any of your Family Member - old or young, was to open an English Dictionary here it is what he or she may read (or, similar text) under the word hymen; "the thin fold of mucous membrane, stretched across external orifice, at the entrance to the vagina".

IF the editors had consulted any good Vocabulary of the Holy Qur'an, such as the ones compiled by Dr. Abdullah Abbas Nadwi or by Dr. John Penrice for the Arabic word Tamth or Yattamithu they would have found the dignified translation befitting to the Holy Scripture viz.; "to touch a woman in order to deflower her" or "to deflower a virgin". 



"Hadeeths"; i.e. "music and/or singing" ? 

Sura Luqman (31) Verse Number 6:

Translation by the publication The Noble Qur'an:

And of mankind is he who purchases idle talks (i.e. music, singing) to mislead (men) from the Path of Allah without knowledge, and takes it (the Path of Allah, or the Verses of the Qur'an) by way of mockery. For such there will be a humiliating torment (in the Hell fire).
The ARABIC phrase translated by the Editors as "idle tales" is 
"lahw al-Hadeethi", please see the Arabic text above. In the Dictionary and Glossary of the Qur'an the word "lahw" is translated as "ludicrous (ridiculous)" and the word "al-Hadeethi" is translated as "the narrative, the story, the tale, the event, the discourse, the saying, etc." In the literal sense the Verse tells us not to purchase (patronize) "ludicrous (ridiculous) Hadeeths" and mislead men from the Path of Allah, without knowledge of the real facts.

Note:  It is a normal practice with the majority of the translators to leave the commonly used proper nouns such as; "Allah", "Rasul", "Nabi", "Qur'an", "Hajj" and so forth, untranslated. Any attempt to translate such words may not convey their honestly intended accurate meanings. "Hadeeth" is also one such word that if left untranslated would convey the intended meaning. To indicate that the word "Hadeeth" means "music or singing" is leading the readers away from the truth. I did not find the word "music" or "singing" mentioned in the Arabic Dictionary. 



Insh'Allah , more text will be added.... 

FYI... so far I have not received any message or comment from the editors and/or the publishers of THE NOBLE QUR'AN.  Please do communicate if you have received any...  Akbarally Meherally



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