Noble Quran (Hilali–Khan): Difference between revisions
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The '''''Noble Qur'an''''' (with those words understood here as referring to this particular translation, rather than the Quran itself - also commonly called 'Noble' by Muslims) is a translation of the [[Qur'an]] by [[Muhammad Muhsin Khan]] (Arabic: محمد محسن خان, ''muḥammad muḥsin khān'') and [[Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali]] (Arabic: محمد تقي الدين الهلالي, ''muḥammad taqiyyu-d-dīn al-hilālī''). |
The '''''Noble Qur'an''''' (with those words understood here as referring to this particular translation, rather than the Quran itself - also commonly called 'Noble' by Muslims) is a translation of the [[Qur'an]] by [[Muhammad Muhsin Khan]] (Arabic: محمد محسن خان, ''muḥammad muḥsin khān'') and [[Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali]] (Arabic: محمد تقي الدين الهلالي, ''muḥammad taqiyyu-d-dīn al-hilālī''). |
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This English translation comes with a seal of approval from both the University of Medina and the Saudi ''Dar al-Ifta''.<ref name="Khaleel">{{cite web|last=Mohammed|first=Khaleel|title=Assessing English Translations of the Qur'an|url=http://www.meforum.org/717/assessing-english-translations-of-the-quran|work=[[Middle East Quarterly]]|year=2005}}</ref> The Saudi-financed translation |
This English translation comes with a seal of approval from both the University of Medina and the Saudi ''Dar al-Ifta''.<ref name="Khaleel">{{cite web|last=Mohammed|first=Khaleel|title=Assessing English Translations of the Qur'an|url=http://www.meforum.org/717/assessing-english-translations-of-the-quran|work=[[Middle East Quarterly]]|year=2005}}</ref> The Saudi-financed translation tries to impose the commentaries of [[Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari|Tabari]], [[Qurtubi]], and [[Ibn Kathir]].<ref name="Khaleel"/>. The translation is steeped in [[Wahhabi]] theology<ref>{{Cite book|title = Denver journal of international law and policy|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=c3RLAQAAIAAJ|date = 2004-01-01|language = en|page = 240|volume = 30}}</ref> and has been described by academics and Muslim scholars as "repulsive"<ref name="errors"/>, "repelling"<ref name="errors"/> and a "distortion of the message of the Qur'an"<ref>Shiela Musaji: [http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/through_the_looking_glass_hilali_khan_quran_translation/ ''Through the Looking Glass: Hilali-Khan Qur’an Translation'']</ref>. |
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==Criticism== |
==Criticism== |
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Many academics have criticized the Hilali-Khan translation on stylistic and linguistic grounds.<ref name="errors">{{cite web |title=The Noble Quran: A Critical Evaluation of Al-Hilali and Khan’s Translation |url=http://www.academia.edu/6608930/The_Noble_Quran_A_Critical_Evaluation_of_Al-Hilali_and_Khan_s_Translation |website=www.academia.edu |access-date=2016-01-14 |publisher=International Journal of English and Education |issn=2278-4012 |volume=3 |issue=2 |last=Jassem |first=Zaidan Ali |page=269}}</ref> |
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[http://www.zoominfo.com/p/William-Peachy/1939149855 Dr William S. Peachy], an American professor of English at College of Medicine, King Saud University at Qasseem, commented: ''"Nobody likes it except the Saudis who don’t know English, whose native language is not English". He also said: "It’s repulsive."''<ref name="errors"/> |
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The Hilali-Khan translation has been criticised by several prominent Western Muslim academics as well. [[Khaleel Mohammed]],<ref name="Khaleel"/> [[Sheila Musaji]],<ref>Shiela Musaji: [http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/through_the_looking_glass_hilali_khan_quran_translation/ ''Through the Looking Glass: Hilali-Khan Qur’an Translation'']</ref> Robert Crane,<ref>Robert D. Crane, [http://www.irfi.org/articles/articles_301_350/quran_playing_into_the_hands_of.htm QUR'AN: Playing into the Hands of the Extremists? (Khan Qur'an) ]</ref> and [[Khaled Abou El Fadl]]<ref>Khaled Abou El Fadl: ''Corrupting God's Book'', in ''Conference of the Books''</ref> has taken the translation to task for supposed Muslim supremacism and bigotry. |
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[[Muhammad Abdel-Haleem|Dr. Abdel-Haleem]], Arabic Professor at SOAS, London University, noted that he found the Hilali-Khan translation "repelling".<ref name="errors"/> |
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On the other hand, there have been some defenses of the translation from academia. Malaysian scholar [[Fathul Bari Mat Jahya]] claims that the work doesn't promote hostility toward other religions, "since the translation preserves Quranic verses that tells Muslims to make peace with other religions "since the translation preserves Quranic verses that tells Muslims to make peace with other religions" and the ones that prohibit denigrating other faiths.<ref name=malay/> Not surprisingly, there have been defenses of the translation from organizations suspected of Wahhabism as well.<ref>Muslim World League Journal, vol. 23, 1995. [[Muslim World League]] Press and Publications Department, [[Mecca]].</ref> The translators themselves defended their version as an alternative to the popular [[The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary]], charging that the charm of the English language is useless if meaning is not conveyed.<ref name=Yusuf/> |
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The Director of King Fahd International Centre for Translation, King Saud University, Riyad, Dr. A. Al-Muhandis, expressed his dissatisfaction with the translation’s style and language, claiming that it was too poor and simplistic.<ref name="errors"/> |
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The Hilali-Khan translation has been criticized for using sustained interpolations to insert the interpretations of the [[Wahabi]] school directly into the English rendition of the Qur'an. It has been accused of inculcating Muslims and potential Muslims with militant interpretations of Islam through parenthesis, as teachings of the Qur'an.<ref>{{Cite book|title = The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Violence|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=5UsYuiIkZXoC|publisher = OUP USA|date = 2013-01-01|isbn = 9780199759996|language = en|first = Mark|last = Juergensmeyer|first2 = Margo|last2 = Kitts|first3 = Michael|last3 = Jerryson|page = 483}}</ref> |
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The Hilali-Khan translation has been criticised by several prominent Western Muslims. |
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[[Khaleel Mohammed]] has taken the translation to task for |
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<blockquote>"[reading] more like a supremacist Muslim, anti-Semitic, anti-Christian polemic than a rendition of the Islamic scripture,"<ref name="Khaleel">{{cite web|last=Mohammed|first=Khaleel|title=Assessing English Translations of the Qur'an|url=http://www.meforum.org/717/assessing-english-translations-of-the-quran|work=[[Middle East Quarterly]]|year=2005}}</ref></blockquote> while [[Sheila Musaji]] complains that it <blockquote>"is shocking in its distortions of the message of the Qur’an and amounts to a rewrite not a translation."<ref>Shiela Musaji: [http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/through_the_looking_glass_hilali_khan_quran_translation/ ''Through the Looking Glass: Hilali-Khan Qur’an Translation'']</ref></blockquote> |
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[[Robert Dickson Crane| Robert (Farooq) D. Crane]] states that it is <blockquote>"Perhaps the most extremist translation ever made of the Qur’an."<ref>Robert D. Crane, [http://www.irfi.org/articles/articles_301_350/quran_playing_into_the_hands_of.htm QUR'AN: Playing into the Hands of the Extremists? (Khan Qur'an) ]</ref></blockquote> |
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[[Khaled Abou El Fadl]] attacks what he calls "grotesque misogyny" in the translation.<ref>Khaled Abou El Fadl: ''Corrupting God's Book'', in ''Conference of the Books''</ref> |
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[[Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad]], head of Bethesda's [[Minaret of Freedom Institute]], an Islamic think tank stated that, <blockquote>''"I couldn't find an American Muslim who had anything good to say about that edition. I would call it a Wahhabi Koran."''<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/04/AR2006090401107_3.html</ref></blockquote> |
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Accorging to Dr. Ahmed Farouk Musa, The Hilali-Khan translation was being distributed by Saudi religious authorities with money from its oil-rich government and is a major cause of extremism. He stated that: |
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<blockquote>''"I believe that propaganda such as the Hilali-Khan translation and other materials coming out of Saudi Arabia are one of the major root causes that feed extremist ideas among Muslims, violence against Christians and other minorities"''<ref>{{Cite web|title = Muslim extremism found in problematic Quran translation, forum told - The Malaysian Insider|url = http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/muslim-extremism-found-in-problematic-quran-translation-forum-told|website = www.themalaysianinsider.com|access-date = 2016-01-17}}</ref></blockquote> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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Revision as of 13:15, 19 January 2016
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The Noble Qur'an (with those words understood here as referring to this particular translation, rather than the Quran itself - also commonly called 'Noble' by Muslims) is a translation of the Qur'an by Muhammad Muhsin Khan (Arabic: محمد محسن خان, muḥammad muḥsin khān) and Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali (Arabic: محمد تقي الدين الهلالي, muḥammad taqiyyu-d-dīn al-hilālī).
This English translation comes with a seal of approval from both the University of Medina and the Saudi Dar al-Ifta.[1] The Saudi-financed translation tries to impose the commentaries of Tabari, Qurtubi, and Ibn Kathir.[1]. The translation is steeped in Wahhabi theology[2] and has been described by academics and Muslim scholars as "repulsive"[3], "repelling"[3] and a "distortion of the message of the Qur'an"[4].
Criticism
Many academics have criticized the Hilali-Khan translation on stylistic and linguistic grounds.[3]
Dr William S. Peachy, an American professor of English at College of Medicine, King Saud University at Qasseem, commented: "Nobody likes it except the Saudis who don’t know English, whose native language is not English". He also said: "It’s repulsive."[3]
Dr. Abdel-Haleem, Arabic Professor at SOAS, London University, noted that he found the Hilali-Khan translation "repelling".[3]
The Director of King Fahd International Centre for Translation, King Saud University, Riyad, Dr. A. Al-Muhandis, expressed his dissatisfaction with the translation’s style and language, claiming that it was too poor and simplistic.[3]
The Hilali-Khan translation has been criticized for using sustained interpolations to insert the interpretations of the Wahabi school directly into the English rendition of the Qur'an. It has been accused of inculcating Muslims and potential Muslims with militant interpretations of Islam through parenthesis, as teachings of the Qur'an.[5]
The Hilali-Khan translation has been criticised by several prominent Western Muslims.
Khaleel Mohammed has taken the translation to task for
"[reading] more like a supremacist Muslim, anti-Semitic, anti-Christian polemic than a rendition of the Islamic scripture,"[1]
while Sheila Musaji complains that it
"is shocking in its distortions of the message of the Qur’an and amounts to a rewrite not a translation."[6]
Robert (Farooq) D. Crane states that it is
"Perhaps the most extremist translation ever made of the Qur’an."[7]
Khaled Abou El Fadl attacks what he calls "grotesque misogyny" in the translation.[8]
Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, head of Bethesda's Minaret of Freedom Institute, an Islamic think tank stated that,
"I couldn't find an American Muslim who had anything good to say about that edition. I would call it a Wahhabi Koran."[9]
Accorging to Dr. Ahmed Farouk Musa, The Hilali-Khan translation was being distributed by Saudi religious authorities with money from its oil-rich government and is a major cause of extremism. He stated that:
"I believe that propaganda such as the Hilali-Khan translation and other materials coming out of Saudi Arabia are one of the major root causes that feed extremist ideas among Muslims, violence against Christians and other minorities"[10]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Mohammed, Khaleel (2005). "Assessing English Translations of the Qur'an". Middle East Quarterly.
- ^ Denver journal of international law and policy. Vol. 30. 2004-01-01. p. 240.
- ^ a b c d e f Jassem, Zaidan Ali. "The Noble Quran: A Critical Evaluation of Al-Hilali and Khan's Translation". www.academia.edu. International Journal of English and Education. p. 269. ISSN 2278-4012. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
- ^ Shiela Musaji: Through the Looking Glass: Hilali-Khan Qur’an Translation
- ^ Juergensmeyer, Mark; Kitts, Margo; Jerryson, Michael (2013-01-01). The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Violence. OUP USA. p. 483. ISBN 9780199759996.
- ^ Shiela Musaji: Through the Looking Glass: Hilali-Khan Qur’an Translation
- ^ Robert D. Crane, QUR'AN: Playing into the Hands of the Extremists? (Khan Qur'an)
- ^ Khaled Abou El Fadl: Corrupting God's Book, in Conference of the Books
- ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/04/AR2006090401107_3.html
- ^ "Muslim extremism found in problematic Quran translation, forum told - The Malaysian Insider". www.themalaysianinsider.com. Retrieved 2016-01-17.
External links
- Al-Quran (includes the translation of Hilali and Khan)
- Compared Translations of the meaning of the Quran