The purpose of this article is to help clear up some of the primary misconceptions about Islam, in the hope of promoting better understanding of this religion.
by Deborah Birkett
1. Allah is God. The great majority of the non-Muslims I meet believe that Allah is a kind of personal name for some kind of small-"g" god, perhaps like Jupiter or Vulcan (gods of the Roman pantheon). I've even heard people refer contemptuously to the God of Islam as a "desert god," as if Judaism and Christianity originated in Yankee Stadium or something. The fact is that Allah is simply a compound word made from the Arabic words al (the) and lah, (god): the God. Monotheism -- the belief in a single, supreme, divine creator -- is the central and most important aspect of Islam. (And it's pronounced uh-LAH, not "Al, uh?") Even most English translations of the Qur'an I've seen do not translate the word. I believe it is really problematic and misleading not to translate such a key word for which there is an exact English equivalent.
Along these lines, I've taken several Muslims to task for using the Arabic term for God when they're speaking in English: all it does it serve to confuse those for whom it's never been made clear that Allah is the same God worshipped by Jews and Christians. Muslims may differ on various points with Jews and Christians, but this is not one of them. You'd never know, though, from the way these groups act with each other much of the time, that they each hold dear the same belief in the God of Abraham, Moses, and of Jesus (for Christians and Muslims) and, for Muslims, of Muhammad. (Muslims accept all the prophets prior to Muhammad, including Jesus. More on Jesus shortly.)
2. The biggest sin is Islam is shirk: "associating partners with God." Shirk may be generally defined as polytheism, but also includes such things as the Christian concept of a triune God, or the worshipping of anything other than God, whether it's a human being, any natural/human creation or phenomenon. This tends to create quite a theological abyss between Muslims and polytheists, but also with Christians and certain other religious groups.
You can imagine from this that expressions such as "Holy Mother of God!" give most observant Muslims the theological willies.
3. Muslims don't believe that Jesus was the son of God. As mentioned in #1, Muslims accept Jesus (in Arabic, "Isa") as a prophet, and an extremely important one at that. Following from #2, however, they do not accept the Christian belief that Jesus was the son of God (literally or metaphorically), although they do believe he is the son of Mary (in Arabic, "Maryam"). They further believe that at the time of the Crucifixion, another man was substituted for Jesus and made to look like him. Jesus was then raised up, "body and soul" by God into heaven.
This is probably the most significant point of difference between Christians and Muslims. Some Christian theologians and clergy believe that Christians err by placing too much emphasis on Jesus and elevating him to God's level, but that's an argument for another time and place.
4. Muslims don't worship the Prophet Muhammad. This naturally follows from #2, but, I suspect because of the extreme emphasis on Jesus in much of Christian practice, many assume that Islam parallels this with Muhammad and Muslims. While the Prophet is considered by Muslims to have been the human being with the best character, he is still regarded as a human being, albeit an exceptional one. And while he is regarded as the final prophet of God, he is not the only one. He does not have divine status, although Muslims hold him in the highest regard and are expected and encouraged to try to emulate his habits and characteristics, those being of the highest quality.
Muslims were for years incorrectly referred to as Mohammedans (spelled variously). This has generally become archaic, but you still see it now and then. It's actually profoundly offensive, since it implies shirk. (And while we're on it, it's Muslim, not Moslem, and Qur'an or Quran, not Koran.)
5. Translations of the Qur'an are not the Qur'an. It's well-known that something is always lost in translation. For those English speakers who don't ever expect to read the Bible in Hebrew, Aramaic, and whatever other languages in which its component texts originally appeared, it seems to be accepted that translations of the Bible are all more or less equally valid, although one may have a preferred translation. But only the Qur'an in its original Arabic is considered to be the Qur'an; translations are treated with great respect but are simply not equally valid. Muslims believe that the Qur'an was revealed to Muhammad (who was completely illiterate) by God through the angel Jibril (Gabriel). Muhammad memorized the passages as they were revealed and recited them and shared them with his family and followers. Pre-Islamic Arab culture was predominantly oral, and others ultimately learned and memorized the entire Qur'an; it was not completely written down until after the Prophet's death.
There have been many, many translations over the 1400-odd years since it was first written down; plenty of them are bad -- a few of them deliberately so in order to discredit Islam. Many poor translations offer little more than the bias and ignorance of the translator. But it's imperative to remember that any translation is at best an approximation, and it can be very dangerous to make sweeping judgments based on translated verses, especially in isolation.
6. Not all Muslims are Arabs; not all Arabs are Muslims. There seems to be widespread confusion about this. I suppose that, on some level, it's understandable: the Qur'an was revealed to an Arab speaker in Arabia, and two of Islam's holiest sites (the Holy Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah) are in what is now Saudi Arabia. But Arab people live in many countries, not just Saudi Arabia, and subscribe to many different religions, not just Islam: Christianity, Judaism, and Druze among them. The most populous Muslim country in the world is not even an Arab country: it's Indonesia. Only about twelve percent of the world's Muslims are Arabs. Muslims are nationals of many countries, from India to Sweden to Australia. Anyone who wants to can convert to Islam, and it's actually only a minority of Muslims who are also of Arab heritage. Also, not all Arab customs are Muslim. All Muslims do not speak Arabic, although prayers are to be said in Arabic, and Muslims are encouraged to learn to read Arabic so that they can understand the Qur'an. And while I would really, really like to believe this doesn't even need to be said, recent events have proved me wrong: not everyone with brown skin or wearing a turban is a Muslim or an Arab.
7. Culture is not religion. So much of the oppression and misogyny (female illiteracy, "honor" killing, female genital mutilation, forced marriages, physical abuse, etc.) we hear about in quasi- and pseudo-Islamic countries such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran stems from patriarchal cultural customs and baggage and not from Islam, although it's always "justified" sixty ways to Sunday with supposed religious dictates and self-serving interpretations of scripture.
If any of these countries actually thoroughly implemented Islam as intended and honored the spirit as well as the letter of the "law," women, for example, would not only have far more rights and freedoms than they currently do in any of these countries, but the behavior of men and the actions of governments would have to change so radically that you would probably not recognize these countries at all. Islamic concepts and requirements are that different from how these countries currently operate.
8. Islam is not a monolith. It is a large, widespread, rich, and complex religion, with an extremely intricate and sometimes enigmatic scripture, and an estimated 1.2 billion followers worldwide. There is overwhelming diversity within the Islamic world, beginning with the major Islamic subgroups: Sunni Muslims (accounting for around 85-90% of Muslims), Shi'ite Muslims, Sufis, Ismailis, and other small splinter groups. Within these groups there are schools of legal thought; there are four major ones within Sunni Islam alone. Muslims might be born into the religion or convert to it, and this contributes to the diversity within its adherents. It's absolutely essential not to see any one Muslim, genuine or otherwise, as representative of all Muslims.
The very diversity of Muslims worldwide is one reason the annual pilgrimage (hajj) to Makkah, the birthplace of Islam, is so compelling: every year for over fourteen hundred years, millions of Muslims have united for a few days, putting aside all differences of race, ethnic background, class, gender and language, to participate in a ritual established by the Prophet Muhammad.
9. Jihad does not mean "holy war." This has to be one of the most damaging, most persistent myths about Islam. The Western media have helped perpetuate this, but there are plenty of benighted Muslims who insist on misapprehending and incorrectly using this term. Jihad, (which comes from the Arabic root word jahada, meaning "to toil, to exert oneself, to strive for a better way of life") is correctly translated as "struggle" or "endeavour," and can easily apply to such things as a student working to earn a medical degree or a group of people raising money to build a mosque. It can apply to the struggle to control one's temper, or to learn to read and write. It encompasses the idea of struggling or fighting for good or against evil, but that does not necessarily mean with violence, and it certainly does not mean that any crackpot claiming to be Muslim and waving a Qur'an around can decide who is good and who is evil, and start killing people.
There are certain extreme circumstances under which the notion of jihad might encompass aggression or armed conflict, but these are only to be engaged in as a last resort, when all legal, political, economic, social, and diplomatic attempts to defend Muslims and their right to worship, or to combat other severe oppression (and not only against Muslims), have failed. Any kind of military action is, at best, a subset of the concept of jihad. In fact, there is a well-known Islamic saying indicating that any kind of military conflict is the "minor jihad"; the "major jihad" is the struggle to control and improve oneself. Some of the passages in the Qur'an describing battle and aggression (the passages militants often quote out of context to support their agendas) are narrating actual historical events, not advising them as a course of action or a religious duty. They are also offset by many other passages enjoining peace, mercy, goodness, tolerance, patience, forgiveness, compassion, restrictions in warfare, etc. It seems the bin Ladens and "Muslim" militants of the world just haven't gotten to those parts of the Qur'an yet.
10. Islam does not promote, sponsor, condone or encourage terrorism or murder. The smear campaign against Islam (during the twentieth century in particular) has been extremely thorough and successful.
by Deborah Birkett
1. Allah is God. The great majority of the non-Muslims I meet believe that Allah is a kind of personal name for some kind of small-"g" god, perhaps like Jupiter or Vulcan (gods of the Roman pantheon). I've even heard people refer contemptuously to the God of Islam as a "desert god," as if Judaism and Christianity originated in Yankee Stadium or something. The fact is that Allah is simply a compound word made from the Arabic words al (the) and lah, (god): the God. Monotheism -- the belief in a single, supreme, divine creator -- is the central and most important aspect of Islam. (And it's pronounced uh-LAH, not "Al, uh?") Even most English translations of the Qur'an I've seen do not translate the word. I believe it is really problematic and misleading not to translate such a key word for which there is an exact English equivalent.
Along these lines, I've taken several Muslims to task for using the Arabic term for God when they're speaking in English: all it does it serve to confuse those for whom it's never been made clear that Allah is the same God worshipped by Jews and Christians. Muslims may differ on various points with Jews and Christians, but this is not one of them. You'd never know, though, from the way these groups act with each other much of the time, that they each hold dear the same belief in the God of Abraham, Moses, and of Jesus (for Christians and Muslims) and, for Muslims, of Muhammad. (Muslims accept all the prophets prior to Muhammad, including Jesus. More on Jesus shortly.)
2. The biggest sin is Islam is shirk: "associating partners with God." Shirk may be generally defined as polytheism, but also includes such things as the Christian concept of a triune God, or the worshipping of anything other than God, whether it's a human being, any natural/human creation or phenomenon. This tends to create quite a theological abyss between Muslims and polytheists, but also with Christians and certain other religious groups.
You can imagine from this that expressions such as "Holy Mother of God!" give most observant Muslims the theological willies.
3. Muslims don't believe that Jesus was the son of God. As mentioned in #1, Muslims accept Jesus (in Arabic, "Isa") as a prophet, and an extremely important one at that. Following from #2, however, they do not accept the Christian belief that Jesus was the son of God (literally or metaphorically), although they do believe he is the son of Mary (in Arabic, "Maryam"). They further believe that at the time of the Crucifixion, another man was substituted for Jesus and made to look like him. Jesus was then raised up, "body and soul" by God into heaven.
This is probably the most significant point of difference between Christians and Muslims. Some Christian theologians and clergy believe that Christians err by placing too much emphasis on Jesus and elevating him to God's level, but that's an argument for another time and place.
4. Muslims don't worship the Prophet Muhammad. This naturally follows from #2, but, I suspect because of the extreme emphasis on Jesus in much of Christian practice, many assume that Islam parallels this with Muhammad and Muslims. While the Prophet is considered by Muslims to have been the human being with the best character, he is still regarded as a human being, albeit an exceptional one. And while he is regarded as the final prophet of God, he is not the only one. He does not have divine status, although Muslims hold him in the highest regard and are expected and encouraged to try to emulate his habits and characteristics, those being of the highest quality.
Muslims were for years incorrectly referred to as Mohammedans (spelled variously). This has generally become archaic, but you still see it now and then. It's actually profoundly offensive, since it implies shirk. (And while we're on it, it's Muslim, not Moslem, and Qur'an or Quran, not Koran.)
5. Translations of the Qur'an are not the Qur'an. It's well-known that something is always lost in translation. For those English speakers who don't ever expect to read the Bible in Hebrew, Aramaic, and whatever other languages in which its component texts originally appeared, it seems to be accepted that translations of the Bible are all more or less equally valid, although one may have a preferred translation. But only the Qur'an in its original Arabic is considered to be the Qur'an; translations are treated with great respect but are simply not equally valid. Muslims believe that the Qur'an was revealed to Muhammad (who was completely illiterate) by God through the angel Jibril (Gabriel). Muhammad memorized the passages as they were revealed and recited them and shared them with his family and followers. Pre-Islamic Arab culture was predominantly oral, and others ultimately learned and memorized the entire Qur'an; it was not completely written down until after the Prophet's death.
There have been many, many translations over the 1400-odd years since it was first written down; plenty of them are bad -- a few of them deliberately so in order to discredit Islam. Many poor translations offer little more than the bias and ignorance of the translator. But it's imperative to remember that any translation is at best an approximation, and it can be very dangerous to make sweeping judgments based on translated verses, especially in isolation.
6. Not all Muslims are Arabs; not all Arabs are Muslims. There seems to be widespread confusion about this. I suppose that, on some level, it's understandable: the Qur'an was revealed to an Arab speaker in Arabia, and two of Islam's holiest sites (the Holy Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah) are in what is now Saudi Arabia. But Arab people live in many countries, not just Saudi Arabia, and subscribe to many different religions, not just Islam: Christianity, Judaism, and Druze among them. The most populous Muslim country in the world is not even an Arab country: it's Indonesia. Only about twelve percent of the world's Muslims are Arabs. Muslims are nationals of many countries, from India to Sweden to Australia. Anyone who wants to can convert to Islam, and it's actually only a minority of Muslims who are also of Arab heritage. Also, not all Arab customs are Muslim. All Muslims do not speak Arabic, although prayers are to be said in Arabic, and Muslims are encouraged to learn to read Arabic so that they can understand the Qur'an. And while I would really, really like to believe this doesn't even need to be said, recent events have proved me wrong: not everyone with brown skin or wearing a turban is a Muslim or an Arab.
7. Culture is not religion. So much of the oppression and misogyny (female illiteracy, "honor" killing, female genital mutilation, forced marriages, physical abuse, etc.) we hear about in quasi- and pseudo-Islamic countries such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran stems from patriarchal cultural customs and baggage and not from Islam, although it's always "justified" sixty ways to Sunday with supposed religious dictates and self-serving interpretations of scripture.
If any of these countries actually thoroughly implemented Islam as intended and honored the spirit as well as the letter of the "law," women, for example, would not only have far more rights and freedoms than they currently do in any of these countries, but the behavior of men and the actions of governments would have to change so radically that you would probably not recognize these countries at all. Islamic concepts and requirements are that different from how these countries currently operate.
8. Islam is not a monolith. It is a large, widespread, rich, and complex religion, with an extremely intricate and sometimes enigmatic scripture, and an estimated 1.2 billion followers worldwide. There is overwhelming diversity within the Islamic world, beginning with the major Islamic subgroups: Sunni Muslims (accounting for around 85-90% of Muslims), Shi'ite Muslims, Sufis, Ismailis, and other small splinter groups. Within these groups there are schools of legal thought; there are four major ones within Sunni Islam alone. Muslims might be born into the religion or convert to it, and this contributes to the diversity within its adherents. It's absolutely essential not to see any one Muslim, genuine or otherwise, as representative of all Muslims.
The very diversity of Muslims worldwide is one reason the annual pilgrimage (hajj) to Makkah, the birthplace of Islam, is so compelling: every year for over fourteen hundred years, millions of Muslims have united for a few days, putting aside all differences of race, ethnic background, class, gender and language, to participate in a ritual established by the Prophet Muhammad.
9. Jihad does not mean "holy war." This has to be one of the most damaging, most persistent myths about Islam. The Western media have helped perpetuate this, but there are plenty of benighted Muslims who insist on misapprehending and incorrectly using this term. Jihad, (which comes from the Arabic root word jahada, meaning "to toil, to exert oneself, to strive for a better way of life") is correctly translated as "struggle" or "endeavour," and can easily apply to such things as a student working to earn a medical degree or a group of people raising money to build a mosque. It can apply to the struggle to control one's temper, or to learn to read and write. It encompasses the idea of struggling or fighting for good or against evil, but that does not necessarily mean with violence, and it certainly does not mean that any crackpot claiming to be Muslim and waving a Qur'an around can decide who is good and who is evil, and start killing people.
There are certain extreme circumstances under which the notion of jihad might encompass aggression or armed conflict, but these are only to be engaged in as a last resort, when all legal, political, economic, social, and diplomatic attempts to defend Muslims and their right to worship, or to combat other severe oppression (and not only against Muslims), have failed. Any kind of military action is, at best, a subset of the concept of jihad. In fact, there is a well-known Islamic saying indicating that any kind of military conflict is the "minor jihad"; the "major jihad" is the struggle to control and improve oneself. Some of the passages in the Qur'an describing battle and aggression (the passages militants often quote out of context to support their agendas) are narrating actual historical events, not advising them as a course of action or a religious duty. They are also offset by many other passages enjoining peace, mercy, goodness, tolerance, patience, forgiveness, compassion, restrictions in warfare, etc. It seems the bin Ladens and "Muslim" militants of the world just haven't gotten to those parts of the Qur'an yet.
10. Islam does not promote, sponsor, condone or encourage terrorism or murder. The smear campaign against Islam (during the twentieth century in particular) has been extremely thorough and successful.
Dear Lufti,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your posting. It has helped me to understand more about Qu'ran. The common explanation for 'Jihad' is nevertheless considered to be 'to stuggle - exhaust ones effort - "striving" Holy War; the defense of Islam against its enemies'
Do the Muslim people consider they are in a religious war against their enemies? And, What gave them this thinking?
Petra50
Dear Lufti,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your posting. It has helped me to understand more about Qu'ran. The common explanation for 'Jihad' is nevertheless considered to be 'to stuggle - exhaust ones effort - "striving" Holy War; the defense of Islam against its enemies'
Do the Muslim people consider they are in a religious war against their enemies? And, What gave them this thinking?
Petra50
Dear Petra, all credits to the author of this article.
ReplyDeleteIt is obligatory for all Muslims to defend themselves and other Muslims when under attack from anybody, regardless of religion, race, or nation. This is not limited to external enemies but includes internal enemies such as thieves, burglars, mobs, rioters and even terrorists. However, this does not include attacking of civilians, women, children, the elderly or those who surrender.
This is indeed a struggle, but a minor one at that. In comparison, a major struggle in the eyes of God are like the ones mentioned above; the struggle for a Muslim to quit smoking for example, or the struggle for a Muslim to study for exams, etc.
Dear Lufti,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your response. I am not sure whether your answer to my question is complete. To be at war has by association an aggressive element; to defend [themselves]implies an almost passive reaction.?? In a fairly recent documentary the interviewer asked the head of a Mosque in London a question which, if I may, I would like to ask you:- If you were aware and have knowledge of a terriorist making plans to bomb, Would you report this individual to the authorities [police]?
Thank you for your response Petra.
ReplyDeleteMy answer to your question is YES, I will definitely report him/her to the authorities. As a Muslim and a person who condemns all acts of terror, violence and injustice, it would be my responsibility to do so.
I'm sorry I wasn't clear in answering your previous question.
Many Muslims justify terrorist bombings in non-Muslim countries by stating that it is a form of retaliation to the constant killings of Muslims by the non-Muslims.
The most obvious case today would be in Palestine whereby thousands of innocent civilians are either killed or made homeless by the Israelis.
These mass killings for land has been going on for decades under the constant funding of the Americans. The September 11th attacks was the climax of the retaliation.
Although many innocent Muslims are killed everyday in the hands of the Jews, it is still unlawful in Islam for terrorist attacks such as suicide bombing on civilians. Therefore, any form of terrorism is not Islamic. The media perceives this differently though, and usually associates terrorism with Islam.
Hope this answers your question Petra. God knows best.
Dear Lufti,
ReplyDeleteIt was encouraging to read that you not only personally decry the activities of terrorists but that the Qu'ran also states that this is not the Islamic way. It would be helpful nonetheless to see that other predominately Islamic countries assisted in the attempt to subdue or even stop the [Islamic] terrorists. There have been of course examples of Christian based countries terrorising themselves, eg: the IRA; and it was the British Government who fought against and brought to an end what was considered a Christian conflict. Therefore I ask why Islamic countries don't join forces with the West and bring an end to this awful carnage?
Petra, that is undoubtedly a very good question. That is what Muslims hope to achieve in the near future, but all current efforts are to no avail. I admire your inquisitive nature and effort to understand Islam. Seek the truth Petra, and you will find it. The media has blinded us all. I pray that things will be clear to you.
ReplyDeleteSalam Lutfi. Rafie's here. Oh you know, Rafie, that friend of yours who has faded into obscurity (by choice. Hehe ;)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I just want to comment on a couple of things.
1. "Muslims were for years incorrectly referred to as Mohammedans ... it implies shirk."
Actually my friend, while the term "Mohammedans" itself etymologically did originate from the medieval Christian misunderstanding that Muslims worship the Prophet Muhammad PBUH&HF, it is not entirely irrelevant because the term could also translate into "the followers of Muhammad," as the term "Lutherans," for instance, simply means "followers of Luther" not "worshippers of Luther."
What's more, the term "Mohammedans" itself is a testament of how close - yes, close - Muslims are to Christians. I say this because the orthodox Catholic Trinitarians have always had this sort of "love-hate" relationship with all unorthodox followers of Jesus, and that is exactly who Muslims are to the Christians: yet another misguided followers of Christ PBUH&HM.
But of course, the proper, Quranic name for the followers of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH&HF is indeed, "Muslims."
2. "they do not accept the Christian belief that Jesus was the son of God (literally or metaphorically)"
Actually, the term "son or sons of God" is quite prevalent not just throughout the New Testament but also throughout the Old Testament, which would suggest that humans are, metaphorically (though certainly not biologically and literally), children of God.
The absence of said term in the holy Quran has led Muslims to conclude that God, in His infinite Mercy and Wisdom, wishes to prevent yet another series of scriptural misunderstanding turned theological blasphemy, which would explain why God, through the revelation of the glorious Quran, chooses to communicate with mankind for the last time on a "Master-servants," as opposed to a "Father-sons," basis.
3. "It seems the bin Ladens and "Muslim" militants of the world just haven't gotten to those parts of the Qur'an yet."
I suppose this is merely a sarcastic observation eh Lutfi, but for what it's worth, Quranic literalists include not only infamous laymen like bin Laden and his ilks but also famous scholars like Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Qayyim, and so forth, unfortunately (with all due respect to every single one of them).
Now this is problematic because while ordinary Muslims like you and I can simply dismiss bin Laden's interpretation of the Quran as selective and therefore irrelevant, we cannot just go around telling people - Muslims and non-Muslims alike - that some of Islam's most prominent scholars and jurists themselves held and upheld literal, radical, puritanical understanding of Islam.
And the problematic nature of this conundrum does not stop there because the issue is two-pronged in nature. The first one is as I've mentioned above: the existence of influential, puritanical scholars of Islam.
The second and more important part of this problem is that quite a huge number of Muslims, back then and right now, celebrate and glorify those scholars. I mean, just think about it. There were dozens of schools of thought in the classical age of Islam but somehow, Ahmad ibn Hanbal's school managed to become one of only four Sunni Islam's orthodox schools of thought. Ibn Taymiyyah were so highly venerated that Sunni Muslims bestow upon him the lofty epithet, "Sheikh al-Islam."
In short, the existence of literalist scholars is one thing; their almost unassailable prominence among Muslims is another.
And that is exactly why we first need to point fingers at ourselves before we point them at ill-intent propagandists, sorry excuse for a scholar like Daniel Pipes, Robert Spencer, Bat Ye'or, and so forth simply because it is we who give them voice and it is our perpetual silence that makes their voices roar with a resounding echo and it is our intellectual death that gives their malicious smear campaigns against the great religion of Islam, life.
God alone knows best.
Peace be upon Muhammad, holy Prophet of God and his pure and noble family.
Wassalam.
Humble student of Theology (HCUOL),
Old friend,
-Rafie Zuhaili-
Salam alaika Rafie. Thank you very much for your comments, they are definitely some points to ponder. Rafie, I respect your opinion as sound judgment because you are somebody who speaks with knowledge. Just for my sake, there are some things I would like to comment on too.
ReplyDelete1. (the term "Mohammedans") is not entirely irrelevant because the term could also translate into "the followers of Muhammad"
I agree with you on this fact. However, I think this is merely a technical issue with the English language.
"Mohammedans" could translate into any one of the following; worshippers of Muhammad, followers of Muhammad, or believers of Muhammad. With that said, Muslims could also be labelled Rabbis (worshippers of Rabb) and Christians (believers of Christ) too. The fact that "Mohammedans" is partially irrelavant makes it inaccurate and second best to the term "Muslims", which is most importantly Arabic, and the direct translation for "followers of Islam".
2. (the term "sons of God" in the Old Testament) would suggest that humans are, metaphorically (though certainly not biologically and literally), children of God.
Again, I agree with you on this. However, on a technical basis again, the Old Testament in its purest form was in Hebrew, and as with many languages, meaning is lost in translation. Greek and Latin I believe were other intermediary languages before English. It is not impossible to assume the term "sons" could have originated from the term "creations". Please correct me if i'm wrong Rafie.
On the same note, many verses in the Quran have abrogated the verses in the Bible, such as the "Master-servants" mode of communication by God. It's presence, as opposed to the other's absence, annuls the previous scripture in that sense.
Allahualam, ighfirly ya Rabb. May Allah forgive my mistakes.
Very interesting comments here... jazakallahu khair ya akhi
ReplyDeletejazakallah imran. semua org palmy berbau at-tar kerana imran! :D
ReplyDeleteAssalamualaykum, salam Ramadan al-Mubarak, Lutfi =)
ReplyDelete1. "With that said, Muslims could also be labelled Rabbis (worshippers of Rabb) and Christians (believers of Christ) too."
As you said, this is all mere technicalities. But for what it's worth, your logic could also be used to suggest that Christians and Jews too are "Muslims," simply because while the term "Muslims" does historically mean "followers of Islam," its generic etymological meaning is - and you know this - "those who submit to God," and indeed, all Jews and Christians too profess the belief in God (i.e. of Abraham). And by using your own logic, it could be easily argued that people who are historically "Muslims" are semantically "Christians" and that, in turn, people who are historically "Christians" are semantically "Muslims." In short, whatever lah kan? ;)
2. "...the Old Testament in its purest form was in Hebrew, and as with many languages, meaning is lost in translation."
The editor of http://www.2muslims.com/ once wrote, "Anytime a translation is done into another language, ... it is, by nature, an approximation of the meaning, since words and ideas cannot be expressed identically in different languages."
I can only say, "Go figure!" for I am yet to learn Old Testament Hebrew, New Testament Greek, and the Latin Bible. But again, for what it is worth, every work of translation AND exegesis is inevitably dependent, highly so, on a translator's prerogative and intention. A common noun in a language may suddenly find itself translated as a proper noun, as with the case of "petros" being translated into Peter. Similarly, a scriptural commentator may suggest that a certain word or verse - which would otherwise possess no link whatsoever to any other - is actually connected to another, as with the case of "Emmanuel" in Isaiah being linked with Jesus PBUH&HM in Matthew.
May Allah, who by the way does have an English equivalent in the word "God," forgive our collective mistakes, Lutfi.
Truly, the Lord our God, He alone knows best.
Peace be upon Muhammad, holy Prophet of God and his pure and noble family.
Wassalam =)
Humble student of Theology (HCUOL),
Old friend,
-Rafie Zuhaili-
You're right, that's exactly what I mean. Common nouns becoming proper nouns, and vice versa. Also like how "Ahmad" becomes "the praised one". This is unlawful, you cannot translate other peoples names, even if it is the correct meaning. Your name is Rafie, and no matter what language we speak, Arabic or English, that is how I refer to you. I cannot call you "Rafie" one moment and "the exalted one" the next. Neither can I call "Mr. Black", a black.
ReplyDelete"Allah" is Arabic and Aramaic for "God," but unlike "God," it does not have a plural, common, nor gender specific form, such as Gods, god and Goddess.
I'm glad we had this discussion. To your du'a, Ameen ya Rabb al-alameen.
Blessed be, Rafie my old friend. May Allah accept our sawm this Ramadhan.
PS: Its good to know we haven't lost our sense of humour! Haha! :D
Good post.
ReplyDelete