68:42 major differences in translations?

mike789

Can someone who knows Arabic explain how could there be so many different translated versions of a portion of 6842?

Muhammad Asad on the Day when man's very being shall be bared to the bone

Syed Vickar Ahamed The Day that when the Shin (Allah?s Divine Self) shall be laid bare,

M. M. Pickthall On the day when it befalleth in earnest,

Shakir On the day when there shall be a severe affliction

Yusuf Ali ( The Day that the shin shall be laid bare,

Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar On a Day the great calamity will be uncovered

Wahiduddin Khan On the Day when the truth shall be laid bare,

T.B.Irving Some day when their shinbone will be laid bare

Wait, a Day shall come when the truth comes to light and their records are exposed,

The Day will come when they will be exposed,

Abdel Haleem On the Day when matters become dire,

Abdul Majid Daryabadi Remember the Day whereon the shank shall be bared

Aisha Bewley On the Day when legs are bared

Shabbir Ahmed On the Day when they are confronted with the stark reality

Farook Malik On the Day of Judgment, when the dreadful events shall be unfolded,

Dr. Mohammad Tahir-ul-Qadri The Day when the ?shin? (i.e., the terrifying fierceness of the Hour of Rising) will be laid bare,

Dr. Kamal Omar The Day the covering is removed from the shin (i.e., a terror and anxiety is created in a person)

Wakas

You may find this helpful

From
http//mypercept.co.uk/articles/meaning-of-SuJuD-from-Quran.html

6842-43 The day the shin shall be exposed/uncovered/removed, and they will be called to the SuJuD but they will not be able. Their looks/eyes humbled/lowered, humiliation will cover them. And indeed they were called to the SuJuD while they were sound/well.

Commonly interpreted as "the day they will be in a state of exposure/panic/affliction".
For varying opinions of this expression see here Mawdudi, Keller, Ibn Kathir, Jalalayn
M. Asad i.e., when man's innermost thoughts, feelings and motivations will be laid bare.
Ibn Kathir refers to Bukhari saying it refers to God showing them His leg as some sort of authenticating display! As if them being in an afterlife is not evidence enough!
Mustansir Mir in "Verbal Idioms of The Quran" says it is derived from an expression relating to ferocity/intensity of warfare.
Lane's Lexicon states "...they mention the when they mean to express the difficulty of a case or an event, and to tell of the terror occasioned thereby. (K, TA.) Thus, the saying ... (S, K, TA,) in the Kur , (S, TA,) means (assumed tropical) on a day when difficulty, or calamity, shall be disclosed..."

There is an obvious mix of opinion regarding its meaning. The verse does not seem to obviously suggest a state of panic/fear, thus it is possible a simpler explanation fits better. Firstly, it may be worth noting that this is the only verse using "ila/to" (implying motion and/or direction) with SJD together, possibly implying they were called towards something. Note how it is used before SJD not after. Is it a mere coincidence that they are called TO something, yet are unable, and it mentions removing a mobility-related body part prior to this, and it implies at the end that they did not do so when they were sound/well (i.e. able-bodied)? It could be their shin testifies against them, similar to other verses in which hands etc testify against us on the day of requital/judgement, e.g. see 2424, 3665.
It is interesting "al SJD" is used here implying something well known to the audience, and it can be something they are called to in this life and the next. This could refer to God's guidance, for example, see 7193, 7198, 1857, or 323 when called to the book of God.
It should be noted that having one's shin removed is unlikely to prevent one from doing a physical prostration, hence some translators claiming they will be unable to prostrate simply due to their shame, but if this is the case, the obvious question becomes why mention a shin at all?

FreedomStands

I believe what Lane is saying, I think it is some kind of expression like that very probably, but otherwise I'd think it has something to do with the next part about the sujud and not being able to "when you were yet unhurt".

jkhan