Qu'ran in English (or native)

[MasterAdnin]

Just popping in to ask a simple question; how many Muslim members here have read the Qu'ran in English or their native language?

Salaam,
Adnan

[PointOfViewGun]

I think many people simply read the translation by one person. I find the idea that translation from Arabic can not be trusted misguided. It's not a language where translation is impossible to do properly but one has to be careful. For example, about the creation of Eve and Adam, the word used for Eve is sometimes translated with the meaning that Eve was created from Adam when in fact the word in Arabic means that Eve was created from the substance as Adam. So they're in fact equals.

What should happen for each language is that a committee of Arabic-Native language experts make a joint translation of Quran to eliminate any corruptions.

[Col. Tartleton]

Islam is slavery to a made up being.

[PointOfViewGun]

Islam is slavery to a made up being.

All Gods tend to have God complex.

[Sadreddine]

Assalamu Aleikum Adnin

Yes, I have read it in my native language (spanish) a few times.

All Gods tend to have God complex.

What do you mean?

[Central Asian Qaghan]

Arabic. I just finished reading it in Arabic and rely on the Translated versions if people are taking about it that aren't Muslim. Arabic though is not my language.

[Border Patrol]

Read it in English. I found it more offensive than the Bible.

[Col. Tartleton]

Read it in English. I found it more offensive than the Bible.

And it starts so nicely...

In the name of Allah , the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah , Lord of the worlds,
The Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful,
Sovereign of the Day of Recompense.
It is You we worship and You we ask for help.
Guide us to the straight path,
The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked Your anger or of those who are astray.


And right there in Line Seven it's already talking about moral superiority and damning non believers... The premise of Islam is that God will make your life a living hell unless you whore yourself to his desires. Jolly good fun!

[Helm]

I've skimmed through it and read the interesting bits. I'll get around to reading the whole thing but it's a bit of a chore when you don't really believe in it. It does actually engage with the atheist reader if only to say "eternal hellfire, you're going to be in it!" but it's nice to feel like I'm being catered for.

[PlPs]

Yes, I have

[Helm]

But by becoming a slave to God you become a more noble and all round better human being and so truly deserving of heaven.

[Wolfshead]

But by becoming a slave to God you become a more noble and all round better human being and so truly deserving of heaven.

I thought the idea was that whores weren't allowed in heaven?

Also: "Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven" - John Milton

[Copperknickers II]

Actually its not even that, its more like 'if you are lucky and God likes you you get into heaven, if not you are screwed, although it probably helps to be a believer just to be on the safe side'.

[Helm]

To be fair at least Islam is more about good deeds and works than it is about belief, being a Muslim doesn't get you in automatically it just helps you keep within the rules, arbitary though some those rules appear to be.

[Adhamh Ashashi]

I have read it in Arabic, and read some of it in English, and I am Muslim.

[LSJ]

I'm not Muslim but I like reading religious books, so I have read two copies in English. I would prefer to read these type of books in the original language, but I don't know anything but English and French.

[PointOfViewGun]

I'm not Muslim but I like reading religious books, so I have read two copies in English. I would prefer to read these type of books in the original language, but I don't know anything but English and French.

Did you find differences between the two copies?

[LSJ]

The first one was borrowed, the second one was a free copy I ordered so I could have my own. I didn't have them at the same time so I couldn't do a proper comparison. I know there were differences, but not how they changed the meaning of anything, if at all.

I was actually going to start a project in the summer going through the Quran and writing down what is explicitly stated and how some things could be interpreted by a modern reader. I could add translation differences to that.

I am also going to do the same with the Bible, but it's familiar enough to make it less interesting.

[(s)AINT]

But by becoming a slave to God you become a more noble and all round better human being and so truly deserving of heaven.

That is justifying slavery.

[Col. Tartleton]

I do like that Allah is the "Lord of Worlds" not of the world. In Islam's favor it was better thought out than Judaism. Not that recognizing a wider cosmos makes it true simply that Mohammad had access to better natural philosophy when constructing it. I would imagine a wealthy 7th century Arab with probable access to the Greco-Roman Thinkers and whatever the Arab thinkers (which i don't know of but presume to exist because Arabs aren't dumb) came up with, would be better off than a bunch of Rabbis scribbling down their myths in new fangled Phoenician script.

After all, Loukianos in second century Syria already was writing science fiction comedies mocking the myths of religion. Mohammad was just the Ron L. Hubbard of his day. And before any Muslims say "but M. Couldn't read!" I call Bull. That's a myth propagate to lend credence to him. Even if it isn't lots of illiterate or even blind people have told complicated stories. In fact it's been shown reliance on reading makes it harder to memorize things. All Mohammad needed was someone to read to him. We already know someone wrote for him, he has a published book.