The 'translation' ('interpretation') I've had around the house for some time was by N. J. Dawood (an Iraqui Jew), The Koran, Penguin Books, 1978. Some of my Muslim friends say this translation is flawed. Our course syllabus had recommended Yusuf Ali or Arberry -- of which perhaps the former is best. A comment on Dawood taken from a soundvision website reads as follows:
N.J. Dawood is perhaps the only Jew to have translated the Qur'an into English. Available in the Penguin edition, Dawood's translation, The Koran (London, 1956) is perhaps the most widely circulated non-Muslim English translation of the Qur'an. The author's bias against Islam is readily observable in the Introduction. Apart form adopting an unusual Sura order in his translation, Dawood is guilty also of having mistranslated the Qur'an in places such as Baqara (Q.2:9) and A'raf (Q.7:31), etc.Other brief comments on various translations can be found on on this website. This website says that Dawood is "marred by serious mistakes of translation". (It also adds that Arberry contains no explanatory notes or background information and does contain some mistranslations; and that Yosuf Ali stands out as readable with copious notes "reflective of Yusuf Ali's vast learning" but that nonetheless it quarrels with his "Sufistic bias".
Dawood himself points out that "owing to the fact that the kufic script in which the Koran was originally written contained no indication of vowels or diacritical points, variant readings are recognized by Muslims as of equal authority." RJA comment: for example, some scholars ask: are the "70 virgins" waiting for martyrs in Paradise really "virgins" or "raisins"?
Notwithstanding the above comments, the Dawood translation is the one I have at hand. References such as [Q.55:57] refer to the sura (chapter -- here 55) and ayat (verse -- here 57) in the Qur'an and references such as (pp.20-21) refer to the page numbers in the Dawood translation.
Back to topThe Qur'an consists of 114 suras (chapters) and 6,236 ayats (verses). The chapters are not in chronological order (either by history or by date of revelation). Generally the longest chapters come first and the shortest chapters last. Dawood's translation arranges them in a different order -- for reasons he explains in his introduction (mainly ease of the uninitiated).
Back to topMy reactions are those of a lay amateur, not a scholar. Nonetheless, here are a few points that strike me:
In Dawood, Q.4:34 reads:
Men have authority over women because Allah has made the one superior to the others, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because Allah has guarded them. As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them and send them to beds apart and beat them. Then if they obey you, take no further action against them. [Q.4:34] (p.370)But an alternative translations from the Islamicity website is:
Q.4:34 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).While other translations from the UniversalUnity website are:
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).Of these, the Yusuf Ali wording seems the least offensive but they all make clear that a man can beat his wife -- and, as Irshad Manji points out, it's not when the wife is disobedient but when the man merely fears disobedience (like Bush's doctrine of pre-emptive aggression) (though Khalifa does say "experience" rather than "fear"). Back to top
PICKTHAL: Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women). So good women are the obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah hath guarded. As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and scourge them. Then if they obey you, seek not a way against them. Lo! Allah is ever High, Exalted, Great.
SHAKIR: Men are the maintainers of women because Allah has made some of them to excel others and because they spend out of their property; the good women are therefore obedient, guarding the unseen as Allah has guarded; and (as to) those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping-places and beat them; then if they obey you, do not seek a way against them; surely Allah is High, Great.
KHALIFA: The men are made responsible for the women, and GOD has endowed them with certain qualities, and made them the bread earners. The righteous women will cheerfully accept this arrangement, since it is GOD's commandment, and honor their husbands during their absence. If you experience rebellion from the women, you shall first talk to them, then (you may use negative incentives like) deserting them in bed, then you may (as a last alternative) beat them. If they obey you, you are not permitted to transgress against them. GOD is Most High, Supreme.
Mothers shall give suck to their children for two whole years if the father wishes the sucking to be completed. . . But if, after consultation, they choose by mutual consent to wean the child, they shall incur no guilt. [Q.2:233] (p.357)Back to top
re 2 women = 1 man --> Call in two male witnesses from among you, but if two men cannot be found, then one man and two women whom you judge fit to act as witnesses; so that if either of them commit and error, the other will remember." [Q.2:282] (p.364) [RJA comment: It should be noted that some argue that the general rule (as in Q.24:69) is that either gender's testimony is equal but that the specific case of Q.2:282 deals only with complex business matters where it is presumed that women will be less familiar (see the comments at this website in Section V) -- but this still leaves open the question about women's assumed incapacity for business -- was Muhammad's first wife the last female merchant? -- consider Irshad Manji's proposal for female entrepreneurship]
Allah has thus enjoined you concerning your children: A male shall inherit twice as much as a female. [Q.4:10] (p.367)
You shall inherit the half of your wives' estate if they die childless. . . . Your wives shall inherit one quarter of your estate if you die childless. [Q.4:12] (p.367) -- RJA comment: of course these inheritance rules are based on the desert-economy assumption that the male works to support the female (though what about Muhammad's first wife, the rich merchant Khadijah?)
By Him that created the male and the female, your endeavours have different ends. [Q.92:1] (p.24)Back to top
Does man think that he lives in vain? Was he not a drop of ejected semen? He became a clot of blood; then Allah formed and moulded him and gave him male and female parts. Is He then not able to raise the dead to life? [Q.75:40] (p.56)
Men, have fear of your Lord, who created you from a single soul. From that soul He created its mate, and through them He bestrewed the earth with countless men and women. [Q.4:1] (p.366)
They [those in Paradise] shall dwell with bashful virgins whom neither man nor jinnee will have touched before. . . . Virgins as fair as corals and rubies. . . . In each [garden in Paradise] there shall be virgins chaste and fair. . . . Dark-eyed virgins sheltered in their tents . . . whom neither man nor jinnee will have touched before. [Q.55:57] (pp.20-21)Back to top
who [true believers] restrain their carnal desire (save with their wives and slave-girls, for these are lawful to them: he that lusts after other than these is a transgressor. [Q.70:22] (p.58)
Prophet, enjoin your wives, your daughters, and the wives of true believers to draw their veils close round them. That is more proper, so that they may be recognized and not molested. [Q.33:55] (p.295)
They ask you about menstruation. Say: 'It is an indisposition. Keep aloof from women during the menstrual periods and do not touch them until they are clean again. Then have intercourse with them as Allah enjoined you. Allah loves those that turn to Him in repentance and strive to keep themselves clean. [Q.2:222] (pp.355-356)
Women are your fields: go, then, into your fields as you please. [Q.2:223] (p.356)
And theirs [those in Paradise] shall be the dark-eyed houris, chaste as hidden pearls: a guerdon for their deeds. [Q.56:15] (p.110)
We created the houris and made them virgins, loving companions for those on the right hand; [Q.56:36] (p.110)
They (those in paradise) shall recline on couches ranged in rows. To dark-eyed houris We shall wed them. [Q.52:20] (p.117)
The unbelievers among the People of the Book [Jews and Christians] shall burn for ever in the fire of Hell. They are the vilest of all creatures. [Q.98:1] (p.29) -- [RJA comment: I believe "unbelievers" means non-Muslims -- for the Qur'an argues that Jews and Christians do not believe in the oneness of God]Back to top
Those that disbelieve and debar others from Allah's path and in the end die unbelievers shall not be shown forgiveness by Allah. [Q.47:34] (p.126) -- RJA comment: i.e., their punishment is eternal with no hope for parole
We gave the Scriptures to the Isrealites and bestowed on them wisdom and prophethood. We provided them with good things and exalted them above the nations. We gave them plain commandments: yet it was not till knowledge had been vouchsafed them that they disagreed among themselves from evil motives. On the Day of Resurrection your Lord Himself will judge their differences. [Q.45:16] (p.131)
Mohammed is Allah's apostle. Those who follow him are ruthless to the unbelievers but merciful to one another. [Q.48:29] (p.278)
The Jews say Ezra [Dawood comments that there's no basis for this in Jewish teachings] is the son of Allah, while the Christians say the Messiah is the son of Allah. Such are their assertions, by which they imitate the infidels of old. Allah confound them! How perverse they are! They worship their rabbis and their monks, and the Messiah the son of Mary, as gods besides Allah; though they were ordered to serve one God only. [Q.9:30] (p.323)
but --> Believers, Jews, Christians, and Sabaeans - whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and does what is right - shall be rewarded by their Lord; they have nothing to fear or to regret. [Q.2:61] (p.338) [RJA comment: though I'm not clear if they have to repent from their concepts of Ezra and Christ and convert to Islam first?]
To Moses We gave the Scriptures and after him We sent other apostles. We gave Jesus the son of Mary veritable signs and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit. [Q.2:86] (p.341)
You will please neither the Christians nor the Jews unless you follow their faith. Say: 'The guidance of Allah is the only guidance.' And if after all the knowledge you have been given you yield to their desires, there shall be none to help or protect you from the wrath of Allah. [Q.2:121] (p.344)
They say: 'Accept the Jewish or the Christian faith and you shall be ruightly guided.' Say: 'By no means! We believe in the faith of Abraham, the upright one. He was no idolater.' Say: 'We believe in Allah and that which is revealed to us; we believe in what was revealed to Abrham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the tribes; to Moses and Jesus and the other prophets. We make no distinction betyween any of them, and to Allah we have surrendered ourselves.' If they accept your faith they shall be rightly guided; if they reject it, they shall surely be in schism. Against them Allah is your all-sufficient defender. [Q.2:135] (p.346)
Believers, take neither Jews nor Christians for your friends. They are friends with one another. Whoever of you seeks their friendship shall become one of their number. Allah does not guide the wrongdoers. [Q.5:49] (p. 393) [RJA question: so how is inter-faith dialogue possible in that case? But note, El Fadl argues that Wahhabi and militan puritanism read this and similar verses "literally and ahistorically"]
If the People of the Book accept the true faith and keep from evil, We will pardon them their sins and admit them to the gardens of delight. If they observe the Torah and the Gospel and what is revealed to them from Allah, they shall be given abundance from above and from beneath. Some of them are righteous men; but many of them do nothing but evil. [Q.5:66] (pp.394-395) [RJA comment: but perhaps this means observing the Torah and Gospel uncontaminated by the Ezra/Christ Son-of-God views?]
Unbelievers are those that say: 'Allah is one of three.' There is but one God. If they do not desist from so saying, those of them that disbelieve shall be sternly punished. [Q.5:70] (p.395)
You will find that the most implacable of men in their enmity to the faithful are the Jews and the pagans, and that the nearest in affection to them are those who say: 'We are Christians.' That is because there are priests and monks among them; and because they are free from pride. [Q.5:82] (p.396) [RJA comment: it's hard to see this as other than anti-Jewish racial bias -- those trickster Jews! -- and elsewhere the Christians are also damned for supposedly worshiping their priests and monks]
Had Allah not defended some men by the might of others, the monasteries and churches, the synagogues and mosques in which His praise is daily celebrated, would been utterly destroyed. [Q.22:41] (p.405) [RJA comment: one of the few passages that seems unequivocally tolerant! -- but compare to the following]
Had the People of the Book accepted Islam, it would have surely been better for them. Few of them are true believers, and most of them are evil-doers. [Q.3:110] (p.417)
We created man to try him with afflictions. [Q.90:1] (p.31) [RJA comment: the whole purpose of creation is the trial? -- truly most of the Qur'an seems to be a warning]Back to top
and yet: --> It was not to distress you that We revealed the Koran, but to admonish the God-fearing. [Q.20:1] (p.226)
Nor do We punish a nation until We have sent forth an apostle to warn them. [Q.17:8] (p.234)
Blessed is the reward of the righteous, [Q.39:72] (p.285)
Those who say: 'The Lord of Mercy has begotten a son,' preach a monstrous falsehood, at which the very heavens might crack, the earth break asunder, and the mountains crumble to dust. That they should ascribe a son to the Merciful, when it does not become Him to beget one! [Q.19:88] (p.37)Back to top
When you meet the unbelievers in the battlefield strike off their heads. [Q.47:3] (p.124)Back to top
Make war on them [unbelievers] until idolatry is no more and Allah's religion reigns supreme. [Q.8:37] (p.317)
When the sacred months are over slay the idolaters wherever you find them. Arrest them, beseige them, and lie in ambush everywhere for them. If they repent and take to prayer and pay the alms-tax, let them go their way. Allah is forgiving and merciful. [Q.9:4] (p.321)
Do not sin against yourselves by violating them [the 4 sacred months]. But you may fight against the idolaters in all these months since they themselves fight against you in all of them. [Q.9:35] (p.324)
Whether unarmed or well-equipped, march on and fight for the cause of Allah, with your wealth and your persons. This will be best for you, if you but knew it. [Q.9:41] (p.325)
Prophet, make war on the unbelievers and the hypocrites and deal rigorously with them. Hell shall be their home: an evil fate. [Q.9:73] (p.328)
Fighting is obligatory for you, much as you dislike it. [Q.2:216] (p.354)
Permission to take up arms is hereby given to those who are attacked, because they have been wronged. [Q.22:40] (p.404)
Nothing is said to you [Muhammad] that has not been said to other apostles before you. Your Lord is forgiving, but stern in retribution. [Q.41:43] (pp.161-162)Back to top
We gave the Torah to Moses, but before long men disagreed about it. [Q.41:44] (p.162)
There [in Hell] they [the unbelievers] will cry out: 'Lord, remove us hence! We will live a good life and will not do as we have done.' But He will answer: 'Did We not make your lives long enough for any one who would be warned to take warning? Besides, Our apostle did come to you; taste then the torment of Hell. None shall help the wrongdoers.' [Q.35:33] (p.181)Back to top
The unbelievers say: 'We will never believe in this Koran, nor in the Scriptures which came before it.' [Q.34:31] (p.185)
Do not split up your religion into sects, each exulting in its own beliefs. [Q.30:29] (p.194)Back to top
Let those who cannot afford to marry live in continence until Allah enriches them. [Q.24:33] (p.216) [RJA comment: but perhaps it is OK to lust in ancticipation of the virgins in Paradise?]Back to top
You shall not kill any man whom Allah has forbidden you to kill, except for a just cause. If a man is slain unjustly, his heir is entitled to satisfaction. But let him not carry his vengeance too far, for his victim will in turn be assisted and avenged. [Q.17:32] (p.236)Back to top
He has forbidden you carrion, blood, and the flesh of swine; also any flesh consecrated other than in the name of Allah. [Q.16:115] (p.312)Back to top
It ill becomes the idolaters to visit the mosques of Allah, for they are self-confessed unbelievers. Vain shall be their works, and in the fire of Hell they shall abide for ever. None should visit the mosques of Allah except those who believe in Allah and the Last Day, attend to their prayers and pay the alms-tax and fear none but Allah. These shall be rightly guided. [Q.9:14] (p.322) [RJA question: so how is it that we are allowed to visit the Oshawa Mosque -- and many others?]Back to top
Believers, do not befriend your fathers or your brothers if they choose unbelief in preference to faith. Wrongdoers are those that befriend them. [Q.9:19] (p.322) [RJA question: so how can there be an inter-faith dialogue given this order from Allah? Of course, Christianity asks a person to turn from their unChristian family too -- one of the reasons Betrand Russell advanced for his position in his book 'Why I Am Not a Christian']Back to top
Righteousness does not consist in whether you face towards the east or the west [cf. qiblah -- the direction Muslims face in prayer]. The righteous man is he who believes in Allah and the Last Day, in the angels and the Scriptures and the prophets; who for the love of Allah gives his wealth to his kinsfolk, to the orphans, to the needy, to the wayfarers and to the beggars, and for the redemption of captives; who attends to his prayers and pays the alms-tax; who is true to his promises and steadfast in trial and adversity and in times of war. Such are the true believers; such are the God-fearing. [Q.2:177] (p.350)Back to top
Believers, have fear of Allah and waive what is still due to you from usury, if your faith be true; or war shall be declared against you by Allah and His apostle. If you repent, you may retain your principal, suffering no loss and causing loss to none. [Q.2:276] (p.364)Back to top
Believers, do not approach your prayers when you are drunk, but wait till you can grasp the meaning of your words; nor when you are polluted -- unless you are travelling the road -- until you have washed yourselves. If you are ill and cannot wash yourselves; or, if you have relieved yourselves or had intercourse with women while traveling and can find no water, take some clean sand and rub your faces and your hands with it. Allah is benignant and forgiving. [Q.4:43] (p.371)Back to top
As for the man or woman who is guilty of theft, cut off their hands to punish them for their crimes. That is the punishment enjoined by Allah. [Q.5:37] (p.391) [RJA comment: but elsewhere Muhammad notes that such extreme punishment should be reserved for an ideal world where no one has an excuse to steal?]Back to top