translation of quran

Society Religion & Philosophy
1

i have some questions…maybe you guys dont know the answers, but your opinions are welcome…

  1. is reading the quran only in arabic the “only way to read the quran”?

  2. what about if a person does not understand arabic? then how would they know what they are reading?

  3. therefore, if a person reads the quran in the language that they understand (i.e. english), isnt that better? since they can get more meaning of the quran…

the reason why im asking is that, I have read the quran (2x actually) but honestly i do not know what i am reading. arabic is not my first language. I never learned the meaning of arabic, all i learned is HOW to read it. I believe that pple should understand the meaning of the quranic language, then read the quran.
I would very much prefer to read the quran in english, since that is my first language.

Im asking this because of these pple that memorize the quran. they can go on and on and recite verses of the quran, but i can bet that a lot of them do not know what they are saying.

the reason im bringing this topic up, is that im interested in going back and reading the quran in english to fully understand what allah him/herself is telling us.

Let me know what you think.

2

Re: translation of quran

mfs555
THIS IS MY OPINION ABOUT YR QUERY;
1.YES THE PROPER WAY TO READING IS IN ARABIC B'COZ THATS THE LANGUAGE IT WAS SENT DOWN TO US IN

2.IF U WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE QURAN THEN U CAN READ IT IN ANY LANGUAGE U FIND EASY (I PERSONALLY READ IT IN ENGLISH B'COZ MY URDU IS A LITTLE WEAK)

  1. ITS ONLY BETTER TO READ THE TRANSALATION B'COZ U R FULLY UNDERSTANDING THE MEANING, WHIC IS SAWAB BUT NOT AS MUCH AS READING IN ARABIC

aCTUALLY I'VE NOTICED THAT THIS GENERATION OF MUSLIM ACTUALLY TRYING 2 UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY READ, WHEREAS THE LAST GENERATION WERE JUST READING AND NOT FULLY UNDERSTANDING WHAT THEY WERE READING
I HOPE THAT MAKES SOME SENSE!

3

^ can you tell me why reading in arabic is more sawab then the arabic?

I dont understand arabic either, and I usually read the english translation or my dad reads the urdu translation to us but I really dont see the difference in english and urdu, although I have heard that urdu is better than english because when translating some of the meaning of the real words are lost but there are tafseers to help (and I have heard there are no perfect english tafseers though :-s)

4

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by ~Tikhi Jalebi~: *
^ can you tell me why reading in arabic is more sawab then the arabic?

I dont understand arabic either, and I usually read the english translation or my dad reads the urdu translation to us but I really dont see the difference in english and urdu, although I have heard that urdu is better than english because when translating some of the meaning of the real words are lost but there are tafseers to help (and I have heard there are no perfect english tafseers though :-s)
[/QUOTE]

reading in Urdo is much better compared to english b/c Urdo
is closer to Arabic.

5

Dear mfs555

  1. The Holy Quran was revealed in a specially chosen language, which was Arabic.
  2. The Arabic was specially chosen because it is the most developed language in the world. A sentence in Arabic has to conform to a grammatical structure. In fact there can be no utterance in Arabic without a grammatical structure.
  3. The grammatical structure of other languages keeps changing with time, but that of Arabic has stood the test of time. Only the vocabulary has been extended over time.
  4. The Holy Quran, its language, its text, its organization, its rules of reading and the way of recitation have all been dictated by Allah through the Prophet Muhammad (Sallalla ho alaihay wa aalehi wasallam). So, we can not make any changes in these things by ourselves.
  5. The meaning of Holy Quran is deep. So that the translations or the tafseers can not do justice to it.
  6. Therefore, the Holy Quran remains what it is - i.e. in Arabic. And a translation remains what it is - i.e. a translation. A translation can not attain the status of the Holy Quran.
  7. Yes, it is most desirable that we understand the Holy Quran. For that purpose, we should read the translations. The practice should actually be to read the verse in Arabic and then to see its translation so that we understand its meaning.
  8. It is also desirable that we try to learn Arabic so that we can read the Holy Quran from our own eyes instead of through the eyes of the translator. And this is something long term. So, until then, translations are welcome. But keep in mind that a translation is not Quran.

Regards,
worried.

6

Quran is to be read in its original language choosen by almighty Allah swt. recitation for namaz should be in Arabic also.
I don’t remember the exact hadith and an aya in Quran which catgorically tell us to that we have up to age 12 or 14 to learn arabic and to recite our prayers in arabic as prefered and expected by Allah swt.
Untill that age its permissable to recite a translation in your language or the dialect may be,Allah knows better

Perhaps some one can give us an exact reference in Quran and Hadith.
:insha:

7

i am not saying that we should read the quran in the language that we understand as a SUBSTITUTE for not reading the quran in arabic. i believe reading the quran in (i.e) english is like reading for additional info.

because i know kids (and even myself as a child) being made to read the quran (and some kids even memorizing) first, and then after some of them learn the translations. I think most islamic schools/musjids do this practice. but shouldnt they learn the language first, and then read the quran?

in some ways reading the quran without understanding discourages because its just like reading "gibberish". I am in no way saying that the quran is "gibberish" (god forbid), but to someone who does not understand it, it sounds like nothing.

and i have this one beef..why do you guys think that reading in urdu is better than english? what makes urdu better? urdu is just a language, just like english. Urdu is not the "islamic" language....its the same priority of english. saying urdu is better than english...so tell me, do you think urdu is better than persian?
this reminds me of my mother who says roti salan is sawab to eat, (i.e better than eating "english" food)....which also makes no sense, since its just a cultural dish..not based on religion..(but this is another topic altogher).....

8

Read the quran in Arabic and English.

For reading it in Arabic youll get the extra reward, and for reading it in English (translation and commentary) youd get better understanding.

9

yeh kya reward reward laga rakhee hay.. koyee naheen hay "extra" reward.. paRh kay amal karnay ka sawab ho sakta hay.. whoever heard of a person with Urdu as their first language just reading an English text book without understanding a thing and then expecting to pass the exam or get 'extra reward' for "reading it in English"?

10

The Quran must be read in Arabic and the language that one understands.If a person is going to read it in only Arabic (and they dont know the language) , well then they wont understand a thing.Every person should read it in Arabic and get it translated so that they may be able to understand whats in it.If a person isnt sincerely willing to understand the Quran, then it doesnt matter if they speak, read, or write Arabic. And yes its important for a person to be able to read the Quran in Arabic...I mean would somebody say their prayers in English? Ofcourse not.The Quran was revealed in Arabic ,so naturally the importance of reading it in that language seems to be pretty clear.

11

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by I mean would somebody say their prayers in English? Ofcourse not.
[/QUOTE]

why not?? u seem to make it so matter of factly.. when it's not.. why this Arabic inferiority complex?

12

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by PakistaniAbroad: *

why not?? u seem to make it so matter of factly.. when it's not.. why this Arabic inferiority complex?
[/QUOTE]

Why not? What would be the point of the Quran being revealed in Arabic - if people could just go off and pray in English? And what complex? A statement made must have some sort of inferiority complex behind it?

13

what do you mean by "praying" in english? do you mean the surats, etc? cuz i do that, but i also pray for my family and life in english (u know, long happy lives....)I believe allah can understand all languages (which is why islam is a multicultural religion)

14

[QUOTE]
Originally posted by Muslim_Queen: *
Why not? What would be the point of the Quran being revealed in *Arabic - if people could just go off and pray in English?
[/quote]

The Qur'an was revealed in Arabic because it was the language of the people to whom the prophet was sent.... it's not Allah's "official language".. do u think the Torah and the Bible were revealed in Arabic too? and more importantly do u seriously think Allah wouldn't listen to your prayers and/or your supplications if you do it in a language other than Arabic?

if the answer to that is yes.. then you already have the answer to why it's all about an Arabic inferiority complex.

15

One can make duaa in any language that one wants.Thats completely different.In order for prayers "Nemaz" to be complete, a person must recite certains surahs.You have to do this in Arabic.You cant go off and read Nemaz in English or whatever language you want.If that was the case, then Im sure Allah would have sent some sort of message to the Prophet (SAW).Maybe the people knew only Arabic back then, but I assure you the Creator knew about the rest of the languages.And Allah listens to every prayer that is made to him.

(As for your Arabic inferiority complex, go jump off a cliff.)

mfs555--- Yes you can make duaa in any language you want.Ofcourse.

16

Hmmm, PA is right, logically it doesn't make any sense to use just Arabic, it's not as if God can't understand any other language. You're still saying the same thing right?

17

I can't read The Quran in Arabic i read the Quran in
Dutch my language.
But Insha'Allah i will learn read The Quran also in Arabic.
Coz i really want learn it.

18

AoA,

Allah does understand every language. For that matter he understands our emotions, senses, thoughts and other unsaid things. But this does not mean that recitation, especially in prayers, should be done in languages other than Arabic. It also does not mean that recitation should be done implicitly by thoughts!

The Holy Quran was revealed in Arabic. One reason for this is that the immediately addressed people to whom Quran made the first contact were Arabs. But Quran is here to stay. It is not meant only for the Arabs. It is meant as the message of Allah for all people till the judgement day-all people of all languages and nationalities and regions and etc.

Languages of the world are not equal. What is said in a language can rarely be translated fully into others. The connotations, the moods, the implications of a sentence in a particular language can rarely be conveyed in other languages. For a ready example, a movie dubbed in another language seems hollow.

Hence, a translation is not and will never be equivalent to the substance of Quran.

We, the human kind, have been evolving languages for thousands of years. The evolution of languages was not in our direct control previously. But we have been in control for the past fifty years or so. I am talking about the mastery over the design of computer languages which are a subset of natural languages (remember Chomsky hierarchy). Even in that subset of natural languages, hundreds of thousands (if not millions) participants have designed or helped design hundreds of computer languages. All of us here on this forum have had exposure to computers and some exposure to computer languages. Yet can you say that all are equally suitable for a task? Even in this subset such a sweeping statement is inappropriate.

Arabic is itself nothing less than a miracle. Linguistics books usually contain a section on the phonology of all the world languages and another equally massive section on the phonology of Arabic alone. If you doubt me, go and consult a good linguistic book in the local library.

Hence, the true substance of the Holy Quran is only rendered in Arabic. There is no substitute for it.

However, as I said before, a translation helps in understanding when you do not know Arabic. But it helps in understanding only the aspect it was able to translate. And there is no language that can translate all aspects of one language into itself.

Actually, we don't even know what are the "all aspects".

Regards,
Worried.

19

god cant communicate or undersatand non-arabic people
god cant that biased culturally. you are reducing god to such a simplistic
entity. what language god understood when there was not even arab
language ?

20

AoA,

Dear rvikz,

Nowhere in my text has it been remotely hinted what you explicitly suggest!

Regards,
worried.