Mistranslations of Islamic Scripture (English): Difference between revisions

{{Quote||'''M. Pickthall:''' Never sent We a messenger or a prophet before thee but when He recited (the message) Satan proposed (opposition) in respect of that which he recited thereof. But Allah abolisheth that which Satan proposeth. Then Allah establisheth His revelations. Allah is Knower, Wise;}}

===(67:5) Shooting stars===

{{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>

*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.

====Accurate translations====

{{Quote||'''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.}}

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

{{Quote||'''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|{{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.}}

'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:

In his tafsir, al-Tabari quotes Qatada clarifying that the phrase means ''ghayr sha'in'' (that is, 'without being disgraceful/outrageous/obscene/indecent'),<ref>[https://tafsir.app/tabari/4/34 al-Tabari 4:34]</ref> 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#Additional_attempts_at_moderating_severe_beatings|Wife Beating in Islamic Law]].

In a hadith found in Sahih Bukhari a Meccan polytheist at Hudaybiyyah tries to discourage Muhammad from fighting. In response Abu Bakr tells him to suck on al-Lat's clitoris (فَقَالَ لَهُ أَبُو بَكْرٍ امْصُصْ بَظْرَ اللاَّتِ). This has been covered up in the English translation by Muhsin Khan. In this translation the incident is translated as 'Abu Bakr abused him'.