http://www.gulf-times.com/2001/02/13/islam.htm
Beware of ‘thank goodness’
By Abu Khalid al-Bangsamori
Indeed, all praises are for Allah subhaanahu wa ta’ala. We praise Him,
we seek His help, we seek His forgiveness, and we seek refuge in Allah
from the evils of our souls and our evil actions. Whosoever Allah guides
then none can misguide and whosoever Allah misguides then none can guide
aright. I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except
Allah alone, having no partners, and I bear witness that Muhammad
sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam (peace be upon him) is His servant and
Messenger.
Perhaps every Muslim who has a grasp of both English and Arabic
languages knows that the English translation of the Arabic word
‘al-Hamdulillah’, is ‘Praise be to Allah or All praises and thanks are
to Allah alone’ or something similar to them. However, today, we find
stickers on the cars and vehicles of people, used as decoration or
perhaps as a sort of reminder, with the word ‘al-Hamdulillah’ written in
Arabic and immediately below or above it the words ‘thank goodness’ are
placed. In this article, we shall endeavour to prove that the
translation is not accurate both in its literal sense and in its
meaning. And we shall also, Insha-Allah, try to unveil its contradiction
with the principles of Islam.
Before we do that, it is important to note that the Qur’anic
‘translations’ we read in English are not the Qur’an. “Neither the
translator nor his audience believe that the translation is the Qur’an.”
This is because the Qur’an itself, in about 11 references, explained
that it was revealed in the language of the Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu
alaihi wa sallam, which is in Arabic. With this in mind, whenever we say
the English translation of ‘al-Hamdulillah’, we mean the translation of
the meaning of ‘al-Hamdulillah’ translated as ‘thank goodness.’
Interestingly, in a span of two centuries of translation of the Qur’an,
none of the translators rendered ‘al-Hamdulillah’ into English as ‘thank
goodness’. In the 18th century, George Sale translated
‘al-Hamdulillahi-Rabbil-’alameen’ as “Praise be to God the Lord of all
creatures”. Likewise, in the 19th century, J M Rodwell translated it as
“Praise be to Lord, Lord of the Worlds”. Also, in first half of the 20th
century, M Pickthall translated it as “Praise be to Allah, the Lord of
the Worlds”. In recent times, The Interpretation of the Meanings of the
Noble Qur’an in the English language by Al-Hilali et al translated
‘al-Hamdulillah’ as ‘All the Praises and Thanks be to Allah.”
The English translation of the Araword ‘al-Hamdulillah’, is ‘Praise be
to Allah or All praises and thanks are to Allah alone’ or something
similar to them. However, today, we find stickers on the cars and
vehicles of people, used as decoration or perhaps as a sort of reminder,
with the word ‘al-Hamdulillah’ written in Arabic and immediately below
or above it the words ‘thank goodness’ are placed.
Also if one looks through Arabi-English dictionaries, the Arabic word
‘Hamd’ is translated as ‘praising’ or ‘thanking’ or something similar to
them, and I have yet to find a dictionary that translate the word
‘Allah’ as ‘goodness.’
Due to this unusual translation, the intended meaning of
‘al-Hamdulillah’ has been severely corrupted.
To know the intended meaning of ‘al-Hamdulillah’, we quote some of the
Tafseer (Explanation of the Qur’an) of the scholars.
Al-Haafidh Ibn Kathir, rahimahullah, in his Tafseer of the Qur’an,
quoted at-Tabari (Tafseer of the Qur’an by at-Tabari 1:135) regarding
the meaning of ‘al-Hamdulillah’ as follows:
The meaning of ‘al-Hamdulillah’ is “All thanks are due purely to Allah,
alone, not any of the objects that are being worshipped instead of Him,
nor any of His creation. These thanks are due to Allah’s innumerable
favours and bounties that only He knows the amount of. Allah’s bounties
include creating the tools that help the creation worship Him, the
physical bodies with which they are able to implement His commands, the
sustenance that He provided them in this life, and the comfortable life
He has granted them, without anything or anyone compelling Him to do so.
Allah also warned His creation and alerted them about the means and
methods with which they can earn eternal dwelling in the residence of
everlasting happiness. All thanks and praises to Allah for these favours
from beginning to end.”
Shaykh Muhammad Ameen Shanqeetee, rahimahullah, explained in his Tafseer
of the Qur’an, Adwaa’ul Bayaan, the meaning of ‘al-hamdulillah’ as
follows:
“The saying of the Exalted, ‘all the praises and thanks are for Allah’:
there is no mention here as to when this praise is said or where this
praise comes from, but in Surah Ar-Rum there is mention that from
amongst the ‘wheres’ are the heavens and the earth – in His saying, ‘
and His is all the praises and thanks in the heavens and the earth.’
(30:18).
And in Surah Qasas there is mention that from amongst the ‘whens’ are in
this world and in the Hereafter – in His sayings, ‘And He is Allah, none
has the right to be worshipped besides Him. To Him belongs all praise in
the beginning (ie this world) and in the end (ie the Hereafter).’ (28:70
).
And He said in the beginning of Surah Saba’a,
‘His is all the praise in the Hereafter, and He is the All-Wise,
All-Aware.’ (34:1).
The Alif (letter A) and Laam (letter L) (ie the definite article ‘the’)
in al-Hamd is so as to include all the different manners of praise, and
it is an extolling with which Allah has praised Himself and ordered His
servants to praise Him with.”
It is clear, without any doubt from the above translations of the Qur’an
(by Muslims and non-Muslims), and as well as from the Tafseer of the
Mufassiroon, that translating ‘al-Hamdulillah’ as ‘thank goodness’ is
not accurate both from the linguistic point of view or from the meaning
of the Tahmid (al-Hamdulillah). It is absolutely clear that nothing
deserves ‘al-Hamd’ except Allah alone.
In addition, regarding ‘al-Hamd, Dr Muhammad Khalil Harras in his
commentary of Aqeedat-il-Waasitiyah by Shaykh-ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah,
rahimahullah, says:
“Hamd means praising orally a grace regardless of being benefited by it,
be it a favour or anything else, such as a sfavour or anything else,
such as a statement that ‘I did hamd of a certain person in connection
with the prize he had been awarded or for his feat of boldness.’ Shukr
(thanking) is that praise which is done orally or emotionally or by any
other organ of the body in lieu of some favour. This shows that the word
hamd is commonly used in one situ.”
If ‘al-Hamdulillah’ means to praise and thank Allah for His bounties,
therefore, the translation should mention Allah being thanked and
praised or else we would be praising or thanking someone or something
other than Allah. If Allah should be acknowledged first when being
grateful for some fortune, then all the more so the translation should
mention the word Allah or at least put the word ‘God’ for those who
don’t know the word ‘Allah.’
In the translation, however, Allah is not mentioned, instead, ‘goodness’
is mentioned.
The danger in translating ‘al-Hamdulillah’ as ‘thank goodness’ has this
implication: That the translation of the word ‘al-Hamd’ is ‘thanks’ and
the English word for ‘Allah’ is ‘goodness.’ It is obvious that both
words ‘al-Hamd’ and ‘Allah’ don’t mean ‘thanks’ and ‘goodness’ as the
conscious translation of the meaning of ‘al-Hamdulillah’ in the English
language is like saying thanks for the bounties we receive to some
abstract idea like ‘goodness.’ This is because ‘Allah’ does not mean
‘goodness.’
Moreover, some might say that goodness could be one of Allah’s names. If
this is the case then we say ‘produce your proof.’ We describe Allah the
way He describes Himself and the way His Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa
sallam) described Him.
Imaam Aboo ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Abdur-Rahman As-Saboonee in describing what the
people of the Sunnah believe concerning the names and attributes of
Allah, says:
They affirm what Allah, the Most Majestic, has affirmed for Himself in
His Book or through the tongue of His Messenger, (sallallaahu alaihi wa
sallam).
Imaam Ibn Qudaamah says about the obligation of sticking to the Qur’an
and authentic Hadith concerning the names and attributes of Allah:
We are obliged to believe in and to welcome with submission and
acceptance everything that is mentioned in the Qur’an or that is
correctly transmitted from the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam)
concerning the attributes of Allah. And we must not oppose it (which is
done) by radd (rejection), ta’weel (distortive interpretation), tashbeeh
(comparison) and tamtheel (representation).
Furthermore, Shaykh ‘Umar Sulaiman al-Ashqar says:
“It is not permitted to talk about the unseen except with a clear proof
.”
And do not follow that of which you have no knowledge. Surely the
hearing, the sight and heart, about each of these you will be
questioned. (17:36)
In addition, Allah criticised those who claimed that the angels are
female and He made what they said a testimony about which they are going
to be asked when He brings them to stand in front of Him.
And they made the angels, who themselves are slaves to the Most
Merciful, females. Did they witness their creation? Their testimony will
be recorded and they will be questioned? (43:19)
If such matter of speaking about the angels without knowledge is such,
then consider the seriousness of speaking about Allah without knowledge.
It is a sin, considered as one of the major sins according to the scales
of Truth and His Law.
Say: What my Lord has forbidden you are all acts of indecency, whether
committed openly or in secret, sin and wrongful oppression, that you
associate with Allah that which has not been sanctioned by Him and that
you say concerning Allah something about which you have no knowledge.
(7:33)
THE reliable and safe way that will lead us to knowledge of Allah, the
Most High, is through revelation, which brought this knowledge to light
in the clearest possible manner. It is the clear and distinct method
whose results are reliable and trustworthy because the source of it is
the All-Knowing the All-Aware and His Messenger (sallallaahu alaihi wa
sallam).
There is no-one more knowledgeable about Allah than Allah Himself just
as no-one in creation is more knowledgeable about Allah than His
Messenger (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam).”
The names of Allah are the matters of al-ghaib (unseen) and as such that
they can’t be known except through revelation from Allah. Hence we
require proof from the revelation – the Qur’an and authentic Hadith –
that says that ‘goodness’ is one of the Names of Allah.
It must be emphasised, however, that in no way we mean that Allah is not
“good”. No doubt that Allah is the Creator and the Source of all good.
In fact, there is a hadith in which Allah is described as At-Tayyib, The
Good. But ‘The Good’ is entirely different from ‘goodness’.
One of the Names of Allah is Ar-Rahman (The Merciful) but we don’t say
that Allah is Rahmah (mercy). And Allah is Al-Hakeem (The All-Wise), but
we don’t say that Allah is Hikmah (wisdom). Likewise, Allah is At-Tayyib
(The Good) but we don’t say that He is ‘goodness’. Ar-Rahman, Al-Hakeem,
At-Tayyib are Names of Allah, therefore we may say At-Tayyib is Allah.
However ‘mercy’, ‘wisdom’, and ‘goodness’ are characteristics ascribed
to Allah, but we don’t say ‘mercy’ is Allah. ‘wisdom’ is Allah, or
‘goodness’ is Allah. And besides the meaning of At-Tayyib is closer to
mean “Pure’ than to the meaning of ‘goodness’. Hence, we can say ‘all
praises and thanks to Ar-Rahman;’ but we can’t say ‘all praises and
thanks to Rahmah’. Likewise, we can say ‘all praises and thanks to
At-Tayyib’ but we can’t say ‘all praises and thanks to ‘goodness’.
Thus, the final analysis is, neither the word ‘Allah’ means ‘goodness’,
nor can ‘goodness’ be established from any angle to mean ‘Allah’. Hence,
saying ‘thank goodness’ instead of saying ‘thank Allah’ is close to
committing Shirk (polytheism) because ‘goodness’ doesn’t deserve the
thanks and praises of the creatures between the heavens and earth. Even
though we may thank someone who’s done something good at the same time
we must recognise or acknowledge that ultimately all good comes from
Allah. Therefore, He is the One Who deserves to be praised.
It could tantamount to Shirk because ‘goodness’ replaced the word
‘Allah’ as if ‘goodness’ is the translation of the word ‘Allah’, or as
if ‘goodness’ is Allah Himself! This, by necessity, gives a connotation
that ‘goodness’ can avert or inflict harm or can grant good or wishes
when undoubtedly this Ability is the prerogative of Allah. Allah says in
the Qur’an, the English translation of its meaning is:
Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the Wakil (Trustee,
Disposer of affairs, Guardian, etc) over all things. (39:62)
The Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam), the one sent to
explain the Qur’an in detail, says in a hadith reported by Ibn Abbas
(radi-allahu-anhuma):
Know that if the whole nation united in an effort to benefit you with
something, they would only be able to benefit you with something that
Allah has destined for you. Likewise, if the whole nation united to harm
you with something, they would only be able to do so if Allah had
destined it to happen to you.
If this could be Shirk, then, Muslims must be very far from this because
Shirk is the greatest Zulm (Wrong). 17 Allah doesn’t forgive Shirk if
one did not repent before death. Allah says in the Qur’an:
“Verily, Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him in
worship, but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He pleases,
and whoever sets up partners with Allah in worship, he has indeed
invented a tremendous sin.” (4:48)
In addition, ‘al-Hamdulillah’ is a Speech of Allah, His Word, and should
be considered with utmost care when translating and not taken lightly.
Saying ‘al-Hamdulillah’ is the best form of supplication as was recorded
in this hadith: “The most excellent dhikr (remembrance) is [the
statement] laa ilaaha illallaah and the most excellent du’a
(supplication) is [the statement] al-Hamdulillaah.”
Therefore, we must translate it in the best possible manner.
The origin of the expression ‘thank goodness’
The origin of the expression ‘thank goodness’ is from Western societies
in which the predominant life’s philosophy is atheistic in nature, and
science is the ultimate yardstick in life (ie what can’t be proven by
science is non-existent). Instead of saying the word ‘God’, they
replaced it with the word ‘goodness’ or with other words, since ‘God’
according to science can’t be proven by physical experiment. They do
this even though the whole of Creation points to the existence of God.
And belief in God in these societies is not something that one can
really be proud of, instead, religion is viewed as a shackle to one’s
mind (the opium of the masses).
The danger in imitating the Kuffar (disbelievers)
The Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam said: “Whoever
imitates a people, then he is from them.”
This expression (thank goodness) is actually an imitation of the Kuffar
because this is what some of them say when something good happened to
them or some harm was removed from them. While in Islam, Allah is
acknowledged first as the ultimate cause of everything. Meaning if
something good happens then it is from Allah, and if some calamities
happen, then they are tests from Allah. That is why there are words to
say in times of happiness (ie alhamdulillah) and in times of disaster
(Qaddarallah, it is Allah’s decree).
Perhaps the one who translated this had in mind: That the reason for the
translation is for the non-Muslims – who don’t believe in God – to
understand the expression ‘al-Hamdulillah’ in a frame of mind they are
familiar with. If he (the translator) is a Muslim he must understand
that He is required to speak about Allah and His Greatness. If he is a
non-Muslim, then he has blundered in his translation.
Conclusions
Trivial as it may be to non-Muslims, translating ‘al-Hamdulillah’ to
‘thank goodness’ has grave implications to Muslims because it strikes at
the very foundation of Islam, which is Tawheed (Islamic Monotheism,
Affirmation of the Uniqueness and Perfection of Allah). That is because
the expression ‘thank goodness’ as the English for ‘al-Hamdulillah’ is
not accurate, and because of that, and at the least, it is ascribing an
inappropriate name to Allah, or carries some form of Shirk.
Lastly, this saying ‘thank goodness’ has deep psychosocial roots in
Western societies that are permeated with, and anchored upon, atheism
and upon the belief that religion is divorced from mundane life, and
Muslims must be aware of this
Negahe Marde Momin Se Badal Jate Hai Taqdeeren