Mistranslations of Islamic Scripture (English)

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Quran 15:9 declares that the Qur'an is Allah's revelation and that he promises to preserve it and protect it from corruption. In Quran 16:103, Quran 44:58 and Quran 54:22, 32, 40, it is emphasized that the Qur'an was revealed in straight forward, easy to understand, and pure Arabic. Sunni Islamic scholars agree that all that which is fundamental to Islam (particularly most of Islamic law) which is not contained in the Quran must have been preserved in the form of hadiths. However, translations of these scriptures have not always been rendered faithfully into other languages such as English, particularly in recent times and especially when the audience concerned is that of a developed, first-world variety which likely holds to modern notions of human rights and liberalism.

Some of the most prominent and officially recognized English translators of the Qur'an (like Yusuf Ali, Dr. Rashad Khalifa and Muhammad Asad), in particular, have often (seemingly deliberately, given their knowledge and skill) mistranslated the most controversial and problematic verses in Qur'an. That these inaccurate translations are most common with verses that would be considered contrary to modern liberal values in the West suggests that these mistranslations were not unintentional or due to some unique difficulty of the Arabic words used in these verses. Similar mistranslations have been observed in translations of the hadiths as well as in translations of other key Islamic texts, such as legal manuals.

Quran

(4:34) Wife-beating

Quran 4:34 famously instructs men to beat their wives and forms the basis of the Islamic legal ruling which permits as much. The below translation is taken from Yusuf Ali.

Yusuf Ali: Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in (the husband's) absence what Allah would have them guard. As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (Next), refuse to share their beds, (And last) beat them (lightly); but if they return to obedience, seek not against them Means (of annoyance): For Allah is Most High, great (above you all).

This verse states that men are in charge of women with what they spend on them, and have the right to direct them in life. Also in the same verse, women are told to obey men and if they don’t, then men have the authority to admonish them and if they persist in disobedience (or, read more literally, if the husband simply fears disobedience), then men may proceed to beat them. Yusuf Ali, a prominent translator of the Qur'an, adds the word “lightly” in brackets, after “beating them”, despite the fact that this word or connonation is not found in the source text.

(23:14) Fetal development

Quran 23:14 presents a schema regarding the development of the human fetus. The following translations are taken from Pickthall an Yusuf Ali.

Pickthal: Then fashioned We the drop a clot, then fashioned We the clot a little lump, then fashioned We the little lump bones, then clothed the bones with flesh, and then produced it as another creation. So blessed be Allah, the Best of creators!
Yusuf Ali: Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that clot We made a (foetus) lump; then we made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then we developed out of it another creature. So blessed be Allah, the best to create!

This verse is often used as an example of how translators (in this case Yusuf Ali, who is authorized by the Saudi Islamic authority and Al-Azhar University) have often mistranslated verses in ways that appear less objectionable liberal, Western audiences.

Yusuf Ali, in his translation, replaces the word "then" with "and". He also replaces “the best of creators” (plural) with “the best to create” (singular). The difference in the meaning is crucial because the word “then” suggests another and separate phase, while the word “and” means bones and flesh form simultaneously or during one phase, which conforms to modern science, even though this does not appear in the original Arabic text.

Likewise, the plural form of “creators” seems to affirm the existence of multiple creators (of whom Allah would be the best), which appears to contradict the key Islamic doctrine of tawḥīd (توحيد) regarding the oneness of Allah, the only creator. Similar mistranslations are given by the Rashad Khalifa and Muhammad Saad translations. By contrast, the Pickthal translation is more accurate in this case, conforming to the original Arabic text.

Similarly distorted translations are also presented by institutions such as al-Azhar, the Egyptian Ministry of Awqaf, and the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, as is seen on the Al-Azhar web site. The above verse is translated as below:

Then We created the nutfah (sperm-drop) into a clinging organism. Then We created the clinging organism into a bolus-like chewed-up mass of coherent body of matter. Then We created the bolus-like chewed-up mass into bones, and We dressed the bones flesh. Out of this We brought it forth as a different creation. So, blessed be Allâh, The Fairest of creators.

(18:86) Sun sets in a muddy spring

Quran 18:86 describes the story of Dhul-Qarnayn (Alexander the Great) wherein he is said to arrive at a location where he observes the sun setting in a muddy spring.

Till, when he reached the setting-place of the sun, he found it setting in a muddy spring, and found a people thereabout. We said: O Dhu'l-Qarneyn! Either punish or show them kindness.

Modern Islamic scholars have argued that the verse describes a visual representation of what Dhul-Qarnayn saw as the sun set into the “horizon”. Such explanations are frustrated by authoritative sources, themselves represented by the likes of Tafsir Al-Jalalayn (p. 251), and numerous classical authorities (which explain that the setting of the sun is in a well containing a murky mud). The same interpretation is found in al-Tabari’s commentaries (p. 339) as well as in the Concise Interpretation of al-Tabari (p. 19 of part 2) in which he remarks that the well in which the sun sets "contains lime and murky mud". The words “apparent” or “looks like” do not appear in classical explanations or commentaries. Indeed, the verse appears to reflect the cosmological views Muhammad would have been expected to have in seventh century Arabia. Furthermore, since the earth is in fact round, not flat (as the Qur'an appears to suggest), Dhul-Qarnayn could never have reached some "farthest point", since no such point exists on a globe.

The al-Azhar site confronts this challenge by mistranslating thisverse, specifiying that the "muddy spring" is in fact the Atlantic ocean, which appeared to Dhul-Qarnayn as a muddy spring. The Sahih International translations inserts a parenthetical [as if] which does not exist in the original Arabic text and is nowewhere implied.

Until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it [as if] setting in a spring of dark mud, and he found near it a people. Allah said, "O Dhul-Qarnayn, either you punish [them] or else adopt among them [a way of] goodness."

(86:5-7) Semen production

Quran 86:5-7 states that sperm originates from an area between the breastbone and the backbone.

5. Now let man but think from what he is created!

6. He is created from a drop emitted-

7. Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs

The al-Azhar site translates the origination point of sperm as from "between the pelvis and breast bone".

(67:5) Shooting stars

Quran 67:5 discusses the Jinn (mythical creatures that are described in Islamic scriptures as living among humans)[1] and stars from the "lowest heaven" which are used as missiles against any mischievous jinn that attempts to eavesdrop on conversations between angels.[2]

وَلَقَدْ زَيَّنَّا ٱلسَّمَآءَ ٱلدُّنْيَا بِمَصَٰبِيحَ وَجَعَلْنَٰهَا رُجُومًا لِّلشَّيَٰطِينِ ۖ وَأَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابَ ٱلسَّعِيرِ
Transliteration: Walaqad zayyanna alssamaa alddunya bimasabeeha wajaAAalnaha rujooman lilshshayateeni waaAAtadna lahum AAathaba alssaAAeeri
Literal: And certainly We have beautified the heaven (ٱلسَّمَآءَ, as-samaa'a) nearest (ٱلدُّنْيَا, ad-dunyaa) with lamps (بِمَصَٰبِيحَ, bi-masaabeeh) and We have made them (as) missiles (رُجُومًا, rujooman) for the devils, and We have prepared for them punishment(of) the Blaze.[3]
  • ٱلسَّمَآءَ (as-samaa'a) means heaven or sky[4]
  • ٱلدُّنْيَا (ad-dunya) is translated "the world" or "the lower". The world" is called "the lower", because according to Islamic cosmology the heavens appear one atop the other and the earth is the lowest in this structure.
    • So ٱلسَّمَآءَ ٱلدُّنْيَا can be understood as "the lowest heaven", "the heaven right above this flat earth", "the sky above The Lower".
  • بِمَصَٰبِيحَ (bi-masaabeeh) - this word means "lamps" and is still used as such in modern Arabic (see Google images for مصابيح)
  • رُجُومًا (rujooman) - it is from the same root as رجم (rajm), meaning "stoning", which is the Islamic punishment for sex outside marriage (Satan, or Iblis, is known as al-Rajeem or "the stoned one" - الرجيم in Arabic).

Accurate translations

Below are the three most popular and readily available translations of the verse from Islamic sources.

Pickthal: And verily We have beautified the world's heaven with lamps, and We have made them missiles for the devils, and for them We have prepared the doom of flame.
Shakir: And certainly We have adorned this lower heaven with lamps and We have made these missiles for the Shaitans, and We have prepared for them the chastisement of burning.
Yusuf Ali: And we have, (from of old), adorned the lowest heaven with Lamps, and We have made such (Lamps) (as) missiles to drive away the Evil Ones, and have prepared for them the Penalty of the Blazing Fire.

The below translations from non-Islamic sources are also generally accepted, albeit not frequently cited in Islamic circles.

Arberry: And We adorned the lower heaven with lamps, and made them things to stone Satans; and We have prepared for them the chastisement of the Blaze.
Palmer: And we have adorned the lower heaven with lamps; and set them to pelt the devils with; and we have prepared for them the torment of the blaze!
George Sale: Moreover We have adorned the lowest heaven with lamps, and have appointed them to be darted at the devils, for whom We have prepared the torment of burning fire:
JM Rodwell: Moreover we have decked the lowest heaven with lights, and have placed them there to be hurled at the Satans, for whom we have prepared the torment of the flaming fire.

A further twelve translations confirm the above translations.[5]

Mistranslations

The following two translations distort the idea of stars being used to stone jinn by describing the missiles as being made out of/from the stars, but not being the stars themselves.

Umm Muhammad (Sahih International): And We have certainly beautified the nearest heaven with stars and have made [from] them what is thrown at the devils and have prepared for them the punishment of the Blaze.
Ali Ünal: And, indeed, We have adorned the lowest heaven (the heaven of the world) with lamps (stars), and made (out of) them missiles to drive away devils; and for them We have prepared (in the Hereafter) the punishment of the Blaze.

Another two translations include their modifications without using brackets, which is even more misleading giving the impression that this text is literally part of the Arabic original:

Aisha Bewley: We have adorned the lowest heaven with lamps and made some of them stones for the shaytans for whom We have prepared the punishment of the Blaze.
Al-Muntakhab: And We decorated the lowermost heaven with lamps (or heavenly bodies), some of them adapted to be like weapons in pursuit of the evil ones for whom We have prepared torture in the blazes of Hell.

In two other translations, the lamps and the projectiles used against the devilish jinn are referred to as separate entities, though this disagrees with the Arabic text in which there is a pronoun used to refer to the "projectiles" whose clear antecedent is the plural word "lamps".

Khalifa: We adorned the lowest universe with lamps, and guarded its borders with projectiles against the devils; we prepared for them a retribution in Hell.
Progressive Muslims: And We have adorned this universe with lamps, and We made it with projectiles against the devils; and We prepared for them the retribution of the blazing Fire.

Reinterpretations presented as translations

The following translations depart entirely from the classical interpretations of the verse and, it would appear, the very wording of the verse itself.

Maulana Ali: And certainly We have adorned this lower heaven with lamps and We make them means of conjectures for the devils, and We have prepared for them the chastisement of burning.
Shabbir Ahmed: And indeed, We have beautified the sky of the world with shining lamps. And made them objects of futile guesses for the satans. (15:17), (37:6-9), (72:8). And for them We have prepared the doom of blazing flames.

Another three translations go a little further, asserting that the "devils/evil ones" refer to evil human cohorts and not to the jinn.

Asad: And, indeed, We have adorned the skies nearest to the earth with lights, and have made them the object of futile guesses for the evil ones [from among men]: and for them have We readied suffering through a blazing flame –
Farook Malik: And, indeed, We have adorned the skies nearest to the earth with lights, and have made them the object of futile guesses for the evil ones [from among men]: and for them have We readied suffering through a blazing flame.
Amatul Rahman Omar: We have, certainly, adorned the lowest heaven with (stars-like) lamps and We have made them as means of conjecture for the evil ones (and the astrologers who invent good or bad omens from the movement of the stars). (Remember) We have prepared for these (soothesayers) the punishment of the blazing Fire.

Incorporation of modern science into translation

The following translation attempts to incorporate modern scientific understandings of cosmology into its reading of the verse, though makes it a point to use brackets to differentiate words inserted to facilitate this understanding from the original Arabic text itself:

Bijan Moeinian: God has adorned the lowest universe with the sources of light [probably a reference to the Quasars], being used as missiles against the devils [perhaps the reference is to anti-matter which will be destroyed immediately in contact with the matter] and prepared for them a blazing fire.

Hadith

The sun will rise "in the West"

A sign of the last hour that appears in numerous hadiths is often mistranslated as the sun rising "in the West". This mistranslation occurs throughout the English translation of Sahih Bukhari by Muhsin Khan and sometimes in the translation of Sahih Muslim by Abdul Hamid Sadiqqui.


Narrated Abu Dhar: The Prophet (ﷺ) asked me at sunset, "Do you know where the sun goes (at the time of sunset)?" I replied, "Allah and His Apostle know better." He said, "It goes (i.e. travels) till it prostrates Itself underneath the Throne and takes the permission to rise again, and it is permitted and then (a time will come when) it will be about to prostrate itself but its prostration will not be accepted, and it will ask permission to go on its course but it will not be permitted, but it will be ordered to return whence it has come and so it will rise in the west. And that is the interpretation of the Statement of Allah: "And the sun Runs its fixed course For a term (decreed). that is The Decree of (Allah) The Exalted in Might, The All- Knowing." (36.38)

While the Arabic word al maghrib was commonly used to mean the West in general, in fact a much more specific form occurs in these hadiths. In every hadith narration of this prophecy, the Arabic phrase is always min maghribi-ha (مِنْ مَغْرِبِهَا), which means that the sun is told to go and rise "from its setting place", without the definite article and with the possessive suffix. In one narration in Sahih Muslim (which is accurately translated), there is in addition the phrase min maghribi-ki (مِنْ مَغْرِبِكِ), which means the sun is told to go and rise "from the place of your setting". Earlier in the same narration, the sun is usually commanded to rise min matli'iha (مِنْ مَطْلِعِهَا) which means "from its rising place". This uses the same word as occurs in the Dhu'l Qarnayn story, Quran 18:90, matli'a ash-shamsi, "the rising place of the sun", and was not the word used throughout the Quran and hadiths to mean the East in general, which was al mashriq (ٱلْمَشْرِق).

It is narrated on the authority of Abu Dharr that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) one day said: Do you know where the Sun goes? They replied: Allah and His Apostle know best. He (the Holy Prophet) observed: Verily it (the Sun) glides till it reaches its resting place under the Throne. Then it falls prostrate and remains there until it is asked: Rise up and go to the place whence you came, and it goes back and continues emerging out from its rising place and then glides till it reaches its place of rest under the Throne and falls prostrate and remains in that state until it is asked: Rise up and return to the place whence you came, and it returns and emerges out from it rising place and the it glides (in such a normal way) that the people do not discern anything (unusual in it) till it reaches its resting place under the Throne. Then it would be said to it: Rise up and emerge out from the place of your setting, and it will rise from the place of its setting. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said. Do you know when it would happen? It would happen at the time when faith will not benefit one who has not previously believed or has derived no good from the faith.

Aisha's age at consummation

'Aisha lived with her parents before her marriage to Muhammad was consummated at the age of 9 (Sahih Muslim 8:3310). The following mistranslation is often presented as evidence that she reached puberty while she still lived there.

Narrated `Aisha: (the wife of the Prophet) I had seen my parents following Islam since I attained the age of puberty. Not a day passed but the Prophet (ﷺ) visited us, both in the mornings and evenings...

The word أَعْقِلْ means to use thoughts or reasoning, but the translator Muhsin Khan has used the word 'puberty'. The meaning rather is that 'Aisha was never aware of a time when her parents were not Muslim. A literal translation would be "I was not aware of my parents other than that the two of them both acknowledged the religion" (لَمْ أَعْقِلْ أَبَوَىَّ إِلاَّ وَهُمَا يَدِينَانِ الدِّينَ). The same Arabic phrase is translated as follows in another hadith by the same translator:

Narrated `Aisha: (the wife of the Prophet) "I do not remember my parents believing in any religion other than the Religion (of Islam), and our being visited by Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) in the morning and in the evening....

See also the two other occurrences in Sahih Bukhari 3:37:494 and Sahih Bukhari 5:58:245.

The 'puberty' mistranslation also fails to achieve chronological sensibility. 'Aisha's father, Abu Bakr, was one of Muhammad's first followers. It would not have taken until puberty for 'Aisha to notice that her father followed the religion.

Hadith in which Aisha mensturated

A mistranslated hadith has a comment from Abu Dawud supposedly about Aisha menstruating when she was nine. This is Sunan Abu Dawud 4915 (Ahmad Hasan numbering; 4933 Dar-us-Salam).

Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) married me when I was seven or six. When we came to Medina, some women came. according to Bishr's version: Umm Ruman came to me when I was swinging. They took me, made me prepared and decorated me. I was then brought to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and he took up cohabitation with me when I was nine. She halted me at the door, and I burst into laughter. Abu Dawud said: That is to say: I menstruated, and I was brought in a house, and there were some women of the Ansari in it. They said: With good luck and blessing. The tradition of one of them has been included in the other.


Ahmad Hasan mistranslates Abu Dawud's comment as "That is to say: I menstruated". Aisha's phrase "I burst into laughter" is fa-qultu heeh heeh (فَقُلْتُ هِيهْ هِيهْ), "And I said heh, heh". The Dar-us-Salam English-Arabic edition of Sunan Abu Dawud translated by Nasiruddin al-Khattab (Hadith 4933) renders Aisha's words here: "She made me stand at the door and I started to breathe deeply".

Abu Dawud's comment is ay tanaffasat (أَىْ تَنَفَّسَتْ), which is "That is to say 'I breathed'". The verb nun-fa-sin is used here in Arabic form V with the ta prefix and shadda (doubled) middle letter, which Lane's Lexicon says means "breathed". Form I can mean menstruated, but that is not the form used in the hadith.[6]

Hit women without leaving a mark

Muhammad's 'Farewell Sermon' appears in various hadith collections and al-Tabari's History. A short version is found in Sunan Ibn Majah. The Arabic words here translated 'and hit them, but without causing injury or leaving a mark' are a mistranslation.

Then he said: 'I enjoin good treatment of women, for they are prisoners with you, and you have no right to treat them otherwise, unless they commit clear indecency. If they do that, then forsake them in their beds and hit them, but without causing injury or leaving a mark.

The highlighted phrase is fadribuhunna darban ghayra mubarrih (فَاضْرِبُوهُنَّ ضَرْبًا غَيْرَ مُبَرِّحٍ). A literal translation is, 'then beat them, a beating without severity'). The last word is defined in Lane's Lexicon as violence/severity/sharpness/vehemence[7]'.

The same Arabic phrase appears in the other versions of the farewell sermon. The translators of Sunan Abu Dawud and al-Tabari's History both renders it 'beat them, but not severely'.

Fear Allaah regarding women for you have got them under Allah’s security and have the right to intercourse with them by Allaah’s word. It is a duty from you on them not to allow anyone whom you dislike to lie on your beds but if they do beat them, but not severely.
"Now then, O people, you have a right over your wives and they have a right over you. You have [the right] that they should not cause anyone of whom you dislike to tread on your beds; and that they should not commit any open indecency. If they do, then Allah permits you to shut them in separate rooms and to beat them, but not severely. If they abstain from [evil], they have the right to their food and clothing in accordance with the custom. Treat women well, for they are [like] domestic animals with you and do not possess anything for themselves. You have taken them only as a trust from Allah, and you have made the enjoyment of their persons lawful by the word of Allah, so understand and listen to my words, O people.

The versions of the farewell sermon found in Jami` at-Tirmidhi 5:44:3087, translated as 'and beat them with a beating that is not painful', and Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2:10:1163, translated as 'and beat them with a beating that is not harmful, consist of the same Arabic words as quoted above and found in other versions of the farewell sermon.

In his tafsir, al-Tabari quotes Qatada clarifying that the phrase means ghayr sha'in (that is, 'without being disgraceful/outrageous/obscene/indecent').[8] while he records that Ibn Abbas explained it as 'Hitting with a siwaak and the like'. It appears that over time there were efforts to temper the abusive results of the Quranic verse. For further relevant hadiths and information see Wife Beating in Islamic Law.

See Also

External Links

  1. Mawdudi, Sayyid Abul Ala, Tafhim ul Quran, Markazi Maktaba Islami, Delhi, 1995, vol. 6, p.110
  2. "...The Jinns would go to the lowest heaven and listen to the Angels conversing amongst themselves about events of the Future which they heard from Allah. The Jinns would then inform the fortune-tellers. This is why before the time of the Prophet (saws) many fortune-tellers were very accurate in their predictions. However, upon the Prophet's arrival the heavens were guarded intensely by the Angels, and any Jinn who tried to listen was attacked by meteors (shooting stars)..." - The World of Jinn - Invitation to Islam, Issue 4, January 1998
  3. Word-by-Word Grammar - Verse (67:5) - The Quranic Arabic Corpus
  4. https://www.almaany.com/en/dict/ar-en/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%A1/
  5. Abdel Haleem: We have adorned the lowest heaven with lamps and made them [missiles] for stoning devils for whom We have also prepared the torment of a blazing fire.
    Muhammad Ahmed - Samira: We have adorned the lowest sky with lamps, and made them missiles against the devils, for whom We have prepared a torment of most intense fire.
    Qaribullah: We have adorned the lower heaven with lamps, and We made them a stoning for the satans, We have prepared the punishment of the Blaze for them.
    Faridul Haque: And indeed We have beautified the lower heaven with lamps, and have made them weapons against the devils, and have kept prepared for them the punishment of the blazing fire.
    Syed Vickar Ahamed: And indeed, We have decorated the lowest heaven with lamps, and We have made them (like) missiles to drive away the Satans, and have prepared for them the penalty of the blazing Fire.
    Muhammad Taqi Usmani: And We have decorated the nearest sky with lamps, and have made them devices to stone the devils, and We have prepared for them the punishment of Hell.
    Muhammad Sarwar: We have decked the lowest heavens with torches. With these torches We have stoned the devils and We have prepared for them the torment of hell.
    Hamid S. Aziz: And certainly We have adorned this lower heaven with lamps and We have made these missiles for Satan, and We have prepared for them the chastisement of burning.
    Muhammad Mahmoud Ghali: And indeed We have already adorned the lowest heaven with lamps and made them outcast (meteorites) for Ash-Shayatin (The ever-vicious "ones", i.e., the devils) and We have readied for them the torment of the Blaze.
    Ali Quli Qara'i: We have certainly adorned the lowest heaven with lamps, and made them missiles against the devils, and We have prepared for them punishment of the Blaze.
    Abdul Majid Daryabad: And assuredly We have bedecked the nearest heaven with lamps, and We have made them missiles for satans: and for them We have gotten ready the torment of the Blaze.
    Sher Ali: And verily, WE have adorned the lowest heaven with lamps, and WE have made them the means of driving away satans, and WE have prepared for them the punishment of the blazing Fire.
  6. nun-fa-sin - Lane's Lexicon
  7. Lane's Lexicon Book I page 182
  8. al-Tabari 4:34