Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
57 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Important information not presented earlier to the world., April 19, 2000
In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.I Praise God. This translation of Quran by Dr. Rashad Khalifa is absolutely unique in many ways from all other English translations I have seen. It is a most revealing translation, boldly presenting information from Quran which the world has been kept in the dark about for the past few centuries. Finally, the correct answer to Why we were Created, secrets of the mysterious alphabets revealed, physical proof that God exists and that Quran is from Him etc., are among the many things a student will learn from this translation. Suddenly this translation puts to rest many of the doubts which other translations have been vague about. A noticeable feature of this translation is that it is straightforward using simple English, and is completely devoted to the Worship of God Alone. The translator's commentaries are appropriately supported by verses from the Quran itself. This goes along with the teaching (in Quran) that Quran is sufficient as a source of religious guidance. When actually comparing others, it becomes distinctly obvious that this is perhaps the only English translation that does not rely on traditional understandings based on the Hadith and Sunnah which Muslims use as other religious sources besides Quran. These "other sources" were written 200 years after prophet Muhammad and cannot be proven as genuine --- a fact largely not disputed by Muslims. While the case against use of Hadith is adequately covered and supported by verses in this translation, I also recommend a study of Dr. Khalifa's other book "Quran, Hadith & Islam" for more details on this subject. I would encourage everybody to adopt this translation by Dr. Khalifa. Verses 39:18 and 17:36 ask us to verify and examine all words and follow the best. Readers must also keep in mind that Dr. Khalifa's mother tongue was (native) Arabic, which may not be the case with others who may have learnt colloquial Arabic. I quote below 2 samples of the clear differences between Dr. Khalifa's translation and two other popular translators. An objective examination will demonstrate the profound differences, God Willing. [22:15] (Rashad Khalifa 22:15) If anyone thinks that GOD cannot support him in this life and in the Hereafter, let him turn completely to (his creator in) heaven, and sever (his dependence on anyone else). He will then see that this plan eliminates anything that bothers him. (M. Marmaduke Pickthal 22:15) Whoso is want to think (through envy) that Allah will not give him (Muhammad) victory in the world and the Hereafter (and is enraged at the thought of his victory), let him stretch a rope up to the roof (of his dwelling), and let him hang himself. Then let him see whether his strategy dispelleth that whereat he rageth! (Abdullah Yusuf Ali 22:15) If any think that God Will not help him (His Apostle) in this world And the Hereafter, let him Stretch out a rope To the ceiling and cut (himslef) Off : then let him see Whether his plan will remove That which enrages (him)! [56:79] (dealing with access to Quran.) (Rashad Khalifa 56:79) None can grasp it except the sincere. (M. Marmaduke Pickthal 56:79) Which none shall touch it save the purified. (Abdullah Yusuf Ali 56:79) Which none shall touch But those who are clean.
|
|
|
70 of 81 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
The Questionable Translation, February 26, 2000
This English translation of the Qur'an is translated in contemporary English which is comprehensive for average readers. Rashad has succeeded in translating the Qur'an into plain American English, thus makes it accessible to readers of all level. This could be the main reason for the non-arabic speaking readers state out their remarkable comments here. However, it is crucial for me to express that as a native Arab who was born and brought up in the Arabian Peninsula, I umpire that this piece of English Translation by Dr Khalifa has failed to convey the message of the original Qur'an which was divinely revealed through the medium of human language, the traditional patois of Qureish Arabs, the tongue of Prophet Muhammad. Every reader should realise that simple translation of Qur'an doesn't guarantee its accuracy. It doesn't necessarily mean that such translation is correctly translated without any errors just because it appears comely unto us. Honestly, this translation hasn't been faithfully translated in accordance to its original Arabic text. Simple grammatical rules have been violated thus it is apparent that Khalifa didn't possess an instinctive feel of traditional Qur'anic Arabic. Ellipticism is an integral characteristic of the Arabic idiom, and, therefore, of the language of Qur'an, so much so that it's impossible to understand its method and inner purport without being able to reproduce within oneself, instinctively, something of the same quality of elliptical, associative thought - an indispensable factor in translating the Qur'an which was disregarded in its entirely by Khalifa. It's quite manifest that Khalifa was either ignorant of linguistic usage prevalent at the time of the revelation of Qur'an (the dialect of Qureish), which could be the main reason he didn't bother to refer to primary sources OR he purposely employed his own method to suite the Qur'an with his notions. Let's take a simple error made in 2:58, in which Dr Khalifa translated the Arabic term: "HiTTah" as "treat the people nicely". Bear in mind that this term occurs only twice in Qur'an, and as agreed by consensus of most lexicographers, it has been used during the time of Prophet Muhammad to denote: Remove us the load of our sins. This maybe a frivolous error, but when even the correct rendition of a simple word like this couldn't be understood, how could one expect such person to translate the Magnanimous Qur'an? Let's quote another grammatical breach in this translation. Refer 75:17 & 18 where Khalifa translated it as: [17]It is we who will collect it into Quran.[18] Once we recite it, you shall follow such a Quran. There are at least 2 errors. Firstly, in verse 17 he has interpolated "into Quran" into the text which don't exist in the original Qur'an. The text ought to be translated as: "Verily, it is upon Us its collection and its recitation." It's manifest that Khalifa has failed to distinguish between proper & verbal noun. Qur'anaho in verse 17 isn't a proper noun to be translated as Qur'an but it's a verbal noun which simply means 'its recitation'. The same correction goes for the next verse which employs the word Qur'anaho in its verbal noun, thus it should be translated as: "Thus, when we recite it, you shall follow its recitation." Should the term Qur'an in 75:17 & 18 intended as a proper noun, God wouldn't use the personal pronoun "Ho" (IT) in the oblique case, for it signifies possession. I have read other translations of Qur'an in the English language, both by Muslims and non-muslims. Though there are mistakes in their translations, but the mendacity of those translations are not obvious enough to potray the ignorance of the translators in traditional Arabic. It would be better for Dr Khalifa to utilise primary sources such as classical Arabic lexicons, Lisanul-'Arab, Al-Mufradat Fe Gharibul-Qur'an, etc for the classical terms which he was unaware of rather than simulating his own connotations. Finally, I believe that this translation is inaccurate and severely corrupted in many aspects and therefore it's not suitable for scriptural studies and totally impracticable for scholarship erudition. Even the title is a blasphemy against Qur'an. Authorized English Version of the Quran? While claiming to be a strict follower of Qur'an only, Dr Khalifa unconsciously repudiated his claim by giving his translation this title for Quran clearly states that there is no version of the Quran, there is only ONE Qur'an ever revealed by God to mankind, the Arabic Qur'an - this is the only 'version' authorised by God [qur'an 16:103, 26:190, 41:44, 12:2, 13:37, 20:113, 39:28, 41:3, 42:7, 43:3, 46:12]. I have only stated 3 erros here, and there are more tangible mistakes which can only be perceived by a person whose daily speech mirrors the genuine speech of the traditional Arabic but the limited space don't allow me to quote all of them. It's sufficient to know that this translation is definitely not close to the original. I don't blame the non-arabic speaking people and the mosta3rib (i.e. Arabianized - refers to the people who aren't originally native Arabs the Hijazi, but being Arabized by language and culture, such as Egypt, Morrocco, Tunisia, and Algeria), but I sympathise them that they could hardly verify the correct rendition of particular verse in the Light of Traditional Arabic. I'm not saying that only native Arabs could understand the Qur'an but what I'm trying to impart here is that a person who really wants to fathom the essence of Qur'an, would make his effort to learn Arabic. Therefore I suggest all readers to have a reliable lexicon such as Edward William Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon when comparing all the translations. The only modern English translation of the Qur'an which is safe and accurate with its free flowing style is the one by Majid Fakhry. Succinctly, Dr Rashad Khalifa has used different basis (which is totally foreign and don't agree with the traditional Qur'anic Arabic) for translating numerous classical terms. It may be concluded that this translation has no scholarship value for it hasn't been eruditely translated.
|
|
|
38 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Nothing but a Plain Distorted Translation, August 28, 1999
By A Customer
A non-arabic speaker might deem this translation as a comprehensive and good translation of the Holy Quran, however the case is the reverse when it is diligently compared under scrutinuous observations by an arab-speaking person. The manifest errors including solecism, etc are so obvious, showing the translator's nescience in capturing the classical patois of Al-Quran in its original Arabic tongue. The translator also failed to keep to the format of the perscpicious Arabic parlance of the Prophet (i.e., Qureishi dialect), in which the Glorious-Ever Divine Scripture was revealed. Hence the only conclusion could be deduced here is that the translator has translated the Holy Quran without any solid erudition and scholarship of the Divine Writ. The Phd in Biochemistry which the translators possess does not guarantee anything on his competency in Classical Arabic Tongue of the Qureish, in fact his translation of the Quran is sufficient enough to prove his unfamiliarity with the patois. This point would not be seen except by Arabic speaking people. In my humble opinion, this translation should be totally avoided as most Quranic verses are translated out of context. God's Guidance be upon you, A native arab
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
by Rashad Khalifa
by The Monotheist Group
by Abdullah Yusuf Ali
