Best Translations of Qur'an
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I just wanted to disagree with GODsubmitter's post above. It is my opinion that Rashad Khalifa, PhD's translation is one of the bad ones - the man was clearly pushing his numerological agenda at the expense of all else, including fidelity to God's words.
Read many different ones, alternate between them is my advice. The variations between them will give you clues about which passages and concepts are difficult to translate, and will teach you not to trust translations.
Translations aren't useless, just untrustworthy. Approach them all with a healthy dose of skepticism and you'll learn what's true and what isn't in the end, God willing.
I agree with Magnum here. I use the Reformist Translation (Edip Yuksel and others) and although I find it easier to read, I question the explanations given for some ayats, simply because Edip too follows Rashad Khalifa. As for ease of reading, it is awesome, but I make it a point to ignore the promoting of "19 miracle" that is sprinkled into it. I also refer to the Free-Minds translation also.
Peace,
Amina
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I don't like traditional translations that inject foreign material and many non-english words into an ENGLISH translation... so 4 translations for me would be
Rashad Khalifa
Edip's translation
Free-minds.com
Laleh Bakhtiar
(http//www.altafsir.com/ViewTranslations.asp?Display=yes&SoraNo=1&Ayah=0&Language=2&TranslationBook=18&LanguageID=2) -
All translations lack consistency, cross-reference study, etc., best is literal choosing closest meaning...
21
22 that the book not doubt in it guidance to the mindful
23 the ones who they believe in the unseen and establish the prayer and from what we provided them they spend
24 and the ones who they believe in what descended to you and what descended from before you and in the afterlife they firmly believe
25 those on guidance from their Lord and those who they the successful -
The Language Game
Satan is a great deceiver. Satan's best game to keep the people from understanding the message of God is to keep them away from it. Quran was revealed in Arabic but God promised to be its teacher, 551-2 and the One to explain it, 7519. God told us in 4144 that language is irrelevant. and that only the sincere ones are going to understand the Quran irrespective of their language while those who are not sincere or failed to worship Him ALONE will fail to understand it, (even if they speak, read and write Arabic.) See 5679
5679 None can grasp it except the sincere.
**5679 The insincere who are not satisfied with the Quran alone are divinely prevented from understanding the Quran. This concept is repeated throughout the Quran (1745-46, 1857). Consequently, they cannot understand this verse. For example, compare this translation of 73, 1746, 4144, and 5679 with other translations.The Quran is a message, not just another beautiful language book. If you cannot read it in Arabic do not wait until the day you excel in your Arabic language, because this day may never come. Trust God and know that He is the teacher of the Quran. He will teach in any language and to any nationality, He created all things. Read your Quran today, (do not wait any longer,) in any language that you can understand and master and leave the rest to God.
the whole article
http//www.submission.org/#/d/Language_Game.html -
I agree with Magnum here. I use the Reformist Translation (Edip Yuksel and others) and although I find it easier to read, I question the explanations given for some ayats, simply because Edip too follows Rashad Khalifa. As for ease of reading, it is awesome, but I make it a point to ignore the promoting of "19 miracle" that is sprinkled into it. I also refer to the Free-Minds translation also.
Peace,
Amina
My goodness...I just realized I called Magnus "Magnum." I apologize brother... -[
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All translations lack consistency, cross-reference study, etc., best is literal choosing closest meaning...
21
22 that the book not doubt in it guidance to the mindful
23 the ones who they believe in the unseen and establish the prayer and from what we provided them they spend
24 and the ones who they believe in what descended to you and what descended from before you and in the afterlife they firmly believe
25 those on guidance from their Lord and those who they the successfulis there such a literal word by word translation?
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Maybe he too is tall, dark and.....
http//3.bp.blogspot.com/-MB8tq6mDxpk/T3QbkzQdJtI/AAAAAAAAAVA/CQSS9waef4s/s1600/Magnum-464x261_tcm25-263467.jpg
.... cool.
LOL! I actually thought about the 80's show "Magnum P.I." with Tom Selleck...but I like the Magnum Ice Cream bar much better!
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Quote from Noon waalqalami on Today at 104138 AM
All translations lack consistency, cross-reference study, etc., best is literal choosing closest meaning...21
22 that the book not doubt in it guidance to the mindful
23 the ones who they believe in the unseen and establish the prayer and from what we provided them they spend
24 and the ones who they believe in what descended to you and what descended from before you and in the afterlife they firmly believe
25 those on guidance from their Lord and those who they the successfulis there such a literal word by word translation?
Word by Word analysis and then comes the translation of text
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Word by Word analysis and then comes the translation of text
appreciated it, thank you for sharing )
Also, one can look at various side-by-side translations by using this site
http//www.islamawakened.com/quran/default.htm -
Sahih International.
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Peace All.
Who is able to translate Qoran better than the Author Himself?
Yes the Lord is the best translator of Qoran
" Al-Rahman, Allama Al Qoran".
Just pick up any copy of Qoran, whatever language it happens to written/ translated in, and
Ask your Creator for help , with conviction and honesty.Peace.
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Peace
Are there any English translations that don't insert the authors interpretation notes in the body of the Quran? I would like to read an English translation of Quran which includes the transliterated Arabic beside it, that is as close as possible to the most original Arabic Quran that exists- so it won't have chapter headings or verse numbers - from my understanding these were added in at the time of Uthman when the Quran was standardised.
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Shalom Aleikhem,
I don't think I ever discussed this issue before on this forum. Now people, please don't point fingers at me and start laughing as I confess the truth. My journey of learning Islam was based on the following translations
- Ahmed Raza Khan Mohammed Aqib Qadri (digital)
- Yusuf Ali (digital + hard copy )
- Pickthal (digital)
- Sahih International (hard copy)
The first one in the list, I found that so ridiculous that sometimes I used to read that just to see what not to make of the verse that I wish to understand. May be the translation isnt that bad, but for some reason, the ayaats I read from that translation was translated using the PSOUA method . ( Pulling stuff out of your a** method)
I don't know why, but I trusted Pickthal a bit more than the others, still to this day, I wonder why. But here is an example
Chapter 17 verse 1
Ahmed Raza Khan Mohammed Aqib Qadri
Purity is to Him Who took His bondman in a part of the night from the Sacred Mosque to the Aqsa Mosque around which We have placed blessings, in order that We may show him Our great signs; indeed he is the listener, the beholder. (This verse refers to the physical journey of Prophet Mohammed - peace and blessings be upon him - to Al Aqsa Mosque and from there to the heavens and beyond. The entire journey back to Mecca was completed within a small part of the night.)Yusuf Ali
Glory to (Allah) Who did take His servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless,- in order that We might show him some of Our Signs for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (all things).Pickthal
Glorified be He Who carried His servant by night from the Inviolable Place of Worship to the Far distant place of worship the neighbourhood whereof We have blessed, that We might show him of Our tokens! Lo! He, only He, is the Hearer, the Seer.I think the above excerpt demonstrates well what I am talking about.
Anyways, the reason I am talking about this is to point out something important. I did not have to depend on the FM translation or Sublime Qur'an or any other monotheist translations. I wanted to know the truth, I started with what was available to me. I reasoned, I questioned. Eventually, I was using these translations translated by traditional muslims to refute traditions of the traditional muslims.
Qur'an is just words and narratives. The translations are people's efforts of sharing these words and narratives with people who speak a different tongue. Without sincerity and the will to know the truth and the honesty to accept truth wholeheartedly, no matter which way the truth may point, one will remain in the dark forever despite whatever translation he/she may be reading.
Peace
Are there any English translations that don't insert the authors interpretation notes in the body of the Quran? I would like to read an English translation of Quran which includes the transliterated Arabic beside it, that is as close as possible to the most original Arabic Quran that exists- so it won't have chapter headings or verse numbers - from my understanding these were added in at the time of Uthman when the Quran was standardised.
Did you try the Qur'an hosted on this site ? I guess you are looking for a neat translation that displays transliteration along with the translations itself. Try this website http//www.quranix.net/ . That site should let you see many many translations along with transliteration. You also have to option to not view any particular translation, so simply pick the one you like along with transliteration. ) I hope that helps.
Peace
------------ Student of Allah -
Peace
Are there any English translations that don't insert the authors interpretation notes in the body of the Quran? I would like to read an English translation of Quran which includes the transliterated Arabic beside it, that is as close as possible to the most original Arabic Quran that exists- so it won't have chapter headings or verse numbers - from my understanding these were added in at the time of Uthman when the Quran was standardised.
Perhaps This Quran Translation Search Tool would be to your liking. With this you can choose any one or all seven of the translations included along with transliteration and Arabic Text.
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Perhaps This Quran Translation Search Tool would be to your liking. With this you can choose any one or all seven of the translations included along with transliteration and Arabic Text.
Thank you for the link
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I came to be convinced of Quran's miraculous structure with Reformist Translation, like the Authorized English version it is accurate yet nice to read as it employs modern English, however both translations are heavy on the footnote side and even though I m convinced of RKs messengership and the 19 structure, some of the calculations in several footnotes to be arbitrary or weak in support with the math used and wished he didn't include them.
MAS Haleem's translation is very minimal in footnotes and brackets and appears very accurate. The paperback is a nice travel size. and of course the monotheist group translation is nice with having no footnotes and brackets yet still provides accuracy and resembles AEV and Reformist Translation in the words chosen. -
Did you try the Qur'an hosted on this site ? I guess you are looking for a neat translation that displays transliteration along with the translations itself. Try this website http//www.quranix.net/ . That site should let you see many many translations along with transliteration. You also have to option to not view any particular translation, so simply pick the one you like along with transliteration. I hope that helps.
Peace
------------ Student of AllahThanks Student of Allah for the very helpful website reference.
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As I don't speak ancient Arabic I am someone who relies completely on translations. The problem is that due to the nature of Arabic, many different variations are possible and some are straight interpretations as diacritical marks were added only very late in the game, so words like "they defeated" and "the defeated" are impossible to distinguish without markings.
302 The Byzantines have been defeated
= Defeated
= VictoriousThen we have weird structures, such as 43, which is translated by Khalifa as
If you deem it best for the orphans, you may marry their mothers - you may marry two, three, or four.Wiki's definition
An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usually relevant.So how can anyone marry an orphan's mother when parents don't exist?
Looking at the translation by Shakir, he thinks it means
And if you fear that you cannot act equitably towards orphans, then marry such women as seem good to you, two and three and four;He bypasses the problem with the orphans and sticks to the Koran literally in 2nd half, where he says "two and three and four", unlike Khalifa who changes the words to mean "two, three, or four".
As anyone who has studied ancient Arabic will confirm, the Koran says
which is "and", not "or". So literally it's 2s and 3s and 4s.So we see that different translations have a personal flavour, which makes the sites with multiple translations better.
Personally, I use http//islam.thetruecall.com with multiple options and http//www.islamawakened.com/Quran/4/3/default.htm which consists of 42 different translations. A searchable version is here http//www.searchtruth.com
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So how can anyone marry an orphan's mother when parents don't exist?
Are you aware that in classical Arabic yatim/orphan can and does mean fatherless?
And if you are actually interested in some background reading, I recommend
http//misconceptions-about-islam.com/muhammad-married-young-girl.htm
