Mistranslations of Islamic Scripture (English): Difference between revisions

===(23:14) Fetal development===

{{Quran|23|14}} presents a schema regarding the development of the human fetus. The following translations are taken from Pickthall and Yusuf Ali.

{{Quote|1=[http://www.islamic-council.com/qurane/def1.asp Quran 23:14]|2=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.}}

{{Main|Dhul-Qarnayn and the Sun Setting in a Muddy Spring - Part One}}

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

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

{{Main|Satanic Verses (Gharaniq Incident)}}

{{Quran|22|52}} is said to have been revealed after the incident with respect to the Satanic Verses. This verse absolves Muhammad of responsibility for the Satanic Verses. The verse says that Satan influenced the recitations of all previous prophets. The text literally says "when he recited Satan threw (something) into his recitation." (إِذَا تَمَنَّىٰٓ أَلْقَى ٱلشَّيْطَٰنُ فِىٓ أُمْنِيَّتِهِۦ)  

{{Quote|{{Quran|3|54}}|'''M.A.S. Abdel Haleem:''' The [disbelievers] schemed but God also schemed; '''God is the Best of Schemers.'''}}

{{Quran|9|29}} tells Muslims to fight the People of the Book until they pay [[Jizyah|jizya]] with their hands (عَن يَدٖ) ('an yadin) while they are humiliated/belittled (صَٰغِرُونَ) (Saghiroon).

Several translators mistranslate 'an yadin as willingly and Saghiroon as humbled.

{{Quote|{{Quran|9|29}}|'''Saheeh International:''' Fight against those who do not believe in Allāh or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allāh and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth [i.e., Islām] from those who were given the Scripture - [fight] until they give the jizyah '''willingly''' while they are '''humbled'''.}}

The Quran calls the moon a light (نُورٗا) in {{Quran|10|5}}. In reality, the moon only reflects sunlight. Some translators have tried to incorporate this in their translation, but it is not mentioned in the Arabic.

{{Quote|{{Quran|4|11}}|'''Al-Hilali & Khan:''' Allâh commands you as regards your children’s (inheritance): to the male, a portion equal to that of two females; if (there are) only daughters, '''two or more''', their share is two-thirds of the inheritance; if only one, her share is a half. [...]}}

{{Main|Shooting Stars in the Quran}}

{{Quran|67|5}} discusses the [[jinn]] (mythical creatures that are described in Islamic scriptures as living among humans)<ref>Mawdudi, Sayyid Abul Ala, Tafhim ul Quran, Markazi Maktaba Islami, Delhi, 1995, vol. 6, p.110</ref> and stars from the "lowest heaven" which are used as missiles against any mischievous jinn that attempts to eavesdrop on conversations between angels.<ref>"...''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)''..." - [http://www.islamawareness.net/Jinn/world.html The World of Jinn] - Invitation to Islam, Issue 4, January 1998</ref>

*ٱلسَّمَآءَ (''as-samaa'a'') means heaven or sky.<ref>https://www.almaany.com/en/dict/ar-en/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%A1/</ref>

**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 in Islamic Law|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).

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

{{Quote|{{Quran|67|5}}|'''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.}}

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:

{{Quote|{{Quran|67|5}}|'''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.}}

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.  

{{Quote|{{Muslim|1|297}}|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.}}One can see the inconsistent way these terms have been translated on Quranx (and other sites) by searching for '[https://quranx.com/Search?Q=sun+place+setting&Context=hadith 'sun' 'place' 'setting']' in the hadith, compared to the {{Bukhari|4|54|421}} hadith.

'Aisha lived with her parents before her marriage to Muhammad was consummated at the age of 9 ({{Muslim|8|3310}}). The following mistranslation is often presented as evidence that she reached puberty while she still lived there.{{Quote|{{Bukhari|1|8|465}}| Narrated `Aisha:

=== Hadith in which Aisha menstruated===

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).

{{Quote|{{Abudawud||4915|hasan}}|Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin:

===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.

{{Quote|{{Bukhari|3|50|891}}|[...] Then `Urwa said, "O Muhammad! Won't you feel any scruple in extirpating your relations? Have you ever heard of anyone amongst the Arabs extirpating his relatives before you? On the other hand, if the reverse should happen, (nobody will aid you, for) by Allah, I do not see (with you) dignified people, but people from various tribes who would run away leaving you alone." Hearing that, '''Abu Bakr abused him''' and said, "Do you say we would run and leave the Prophet (ﷺ) alone?" `Urwa said, "Who is that man?" They said, "He is Abu Bakr." `Urwa said to Abu Bakr, "By Him in Whose Hands my life is, were it not for the favor which you did to me and which I did not compensate, I would retort on you." [...]}}

===Muhammad wears Aisha's garment/dress===

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) came to me and I told him about the slave-girl (Barirah) Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Buy and manumit her, for the Wala is for the one who manumits." In the evening the Prophet (ﷺ) got up and glorified Allah as He deserved and then said, "Why do some people impose conditions which are not present in '''Allah's Book (Laws)'''? Whoever imposes such a condition as is not in '''Allah's Laws''', then that condition is invalid even if he imposes one hundred conditions, for Allah's conditions are more binding and reliable."}}

The following hadith contains two narrations. The second of these has not been translated into English. It says that people should not be first to enter the marketplace, nor the last to leave it, because it is where Satan lays his eggs and hatches them.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Do not, if you can help, be the first to enter the market and the last to leave it because it is an arena of Satan and the standard of Satan is set there."[Muslim].There are other narrations with some variation in the wordings.}}

In the following hadith Muhammad says that if ten Jews (عَشْرَةٌ مِنَ الْيَهُودِ) followed him, all Jews would embrace Islam. The hadith has been mistranslated by Abdul Hamid Siddiqui so that it says 'ten scholars of the Jews'. In Muhsin Khan's translation of a similar hadith 'amongst their chiefs' has been added in brackets.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Had only ten Jews '''(amongst their chiefs)''' believe me, all the Jews would definitely have believed me."}}

The following hadith from Abu Dawud was not translated. Instead, it is said that it is basically the same as the previous one.

However, in the previous hadith Muhammad makes it clear that a slave should be manumitted after being beaten by his owner, while in this hadith it is said that the narrator did not mention manumission. In addition, this hadith explicitly mentions the slave being black, while the previous one does not.

The tradition mentioned above has also been transmitted by al-A’mash in a similar way to same way to the same effect through a different chain of narrators.}}

In the following hadith Ibn Abbas recites a verse of the Quran as "‏‏وَأَنْذِرْ عَشِيرَتَكَ الأَقْرَبِينَ‏‏ '''وَرَهْطَكَ مِنْهُمُ الْمُخْلَصِين'''" (And warn your tribe of near kindred '''and your chosen group from among them''') The first part corresponds to {{Quran|26|214}}. But the second part (in bold) is not part of the Quran nowadays. This part is not included in the English translation on quranx.com or sunnah.com, but it is part of [https://archive.org/details/the-translation-of-the-meanings-of-sahih-al-bukhari-translated-by-dr.-muhammad-muhsin-khan/page/n2869/mode/2up Muhsin Khan's translation].

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "I have been sent with the shortest expressions bearing the widest meanings, and I have been made victorious with '''awe''' (cast in the hearts of the enemy), and while I was sleeping, the keys of the treasures of the world were brought to me and put in my hand." Abu Huraira added: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) has left the world and now you, people, are bringing out those treasures (i.e. the Prophet (ﷺ) did not benefit by them).}}

In the following hadith Muhammad prophesies that Arabia becomes or reverts to (تَعُودَ) meadows and rivers. Sunnah.com uses Abdul Hamid Siddiqui's translation for Sahih Muslim which uses the word 'becomes', yet this translation has been altered such that it says 'reverts to'. The altered translation implies that Muhammad knew Arabia once was not a desert. Both translations can be used, but the translation was altered without informing the reader. The original translation can be found [https://archive.org/details/SahihMuslim-IslamicEnglishBook.pdf/page/n561/mode/2up here].