In a long and detailed post, Mark Durie argues that one edition of the Hilali/Khan Qur'an translation, because of it's commentary, tends towards radicalization, inciting violence.
There is not a Bible, Jewish or
Christian, containing such incendiary commentary as populates page
after page of 'The Noble Qur’an', which for four years has preached to
the faithful in Canberra Airport's prayer room. The ideology it
promotes is violent jihad. It is a book to start a war.
Is there any evidence that anyone has ever taken that Qur'an from it's shelf and read it? If they did, would they read the fine print in the foot notes? How many Muslims read Allah's book in their native tongue? One research report puts Qur'an literacy at or below the 50% mark depending on location and age. Use the Ctrl F search, for read and take the third result.
Classical Arabic from the 7th century lacked vowels and diacritical marks so there were seven variant readings. Vocabulary and idioms have changed, so Joe Camel can't understand the Qur'an even if he can read modern Arabic. Joe Camel needs a tafsir. Tafsir Ibn kathir comes in ten volumes. If Joe Camel has $200. handy, he can buy a set. If he has internet access and a large hard disk, he can get it free but it will take up 2.87 gigabytes.
What does it really mean? Only Muhammad knew for sure. His interpretation is in hadith collections. Sahih Bukhari is said to be the most rigorous of the muhadditin, winnowing down 600,000 hadith to about 4700 discrete sayings. The 9 volume set will nearly destroy a pair of hundred dollar bills. Or you can download it from the archive.
For obvious readons, most Muslims get their knowledge of Islam from their Imam or from the likes of Anwar al-Awlaki & Yusuf al-Qaradawi. So where do the experts get their knowledge? Ain't it obvious?
The conquests of Arabia, Syria, Asia and the Balkans happened long before publication of this edition in 1985. How do you explain that if TNQ is the root of all evil?
Compare a few translations from Islam Awakened.
- Literal
- Fight those who (do) not believe in Allah and not in the Day the Last, and not they make unlawful what Allah has made unlawful and His Messenger, and not they acknowledge (the) religion (of) the truth, from those who were given the Scripture, until they pay the willingly, while they (are) subdued.
- Shakir
- Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the latter day, nor do they prohibit what Allah and His Messenger have prohibited, nor follow the religion of truth, out of those who have been given the Book, until they pay the tax in acknowledgment of superiority and they are in a state of subjection.
- Hilali/Khan
- Fight against those who (1) believe not in Allah, (2) nor in the Last Day, (3) nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger (4) and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (i.e. Islam) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.
What are Muslims commanded to do, to whom and why? Is there any defensive element in that verse? Does it mention being attacked first?
Ibn Kathir provides plenty of detail in his tafsir. Read the left hand facing page first, for 9.28. Mekkans worried about loss of revenue from prohibiting pagan hajj. Allah gave them 9.29 as a revenue replacement: jizya!
Consider the title of this tafsir: "The Order to fight People of the Scriptures until They
give the Jizyah". it implies offensive jihad, not defensive.
What is the meaning of this: "Allah
commanded His Messenger to fight the People of the
Scriptures, Jews and Christians, on the ninth year of Hijrah,
and he prepared his army to fight the Romans and called the
people to Jihad announcing his intent and destination." ???
What did Allah command Moe to do? He commanded him to attack the Byzantine Empire!! But the command is without geographic or chronological limits and has no expiration date. It is always valid. Take a close look at the footnote.
(V.9:29) a) See the footnote of
(V.2:193)
b) Narrated Abu Hurairah 4»l ; Allah’s Messenger said, “The Hour
will not be established untill you fight against the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew
will be hiding will say, 'O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him’ ” (Sahih Al-
Bukhari, Vol.4, Hadith No. 177)
c) Jizyah: a tax levied from the people of the Scriptures (Jews and Christians), who are
under the protection of a Muslim government.
M (A) (V. 2:193) Narrated Ibn ‘Umar Allah’s Messenger
said, “I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against the people till they testify that
L i ilih a illa llih wa Anna Muhammmad-ur-Rasul A llih (none has the right to be
worshipped but Allah 3 y. and that Muhammad is the Messenger
of Allah), and perform As-Salit (Iqimat-as-Salat) and give Zakit, so if they
perform all that, then they save their lives, and properties from me except for
Islamic laws, and their reckoning (accounts) will be with (done by) Allah.” (Sahih
Al-Bukhiri, Vol.1, Hadith No.24).
b) Narrated Abu Hurairah 4»l ; Allah’s Messenger said, “The Hour
will not be established untill you fight against the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew
will be hiding will say, 'O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him’ ” (Sahih Al-
Bukhari, Vol.4, Hadith No. 177)
c) Jizyah: a tax levied from the people of the Scriptures (Jews and Christians), who are
under the protection of a Muslim government.
M (A) (V. 2:193) Narrated Ibn ‘Umar Allah’s Messenger
said, “I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against the people till they testify that
L i ilih a illa llih wa Anna Muhammmad-ur-Rasul A llih (none has the right to be
worshipped but Allah 3 y. and that Muhammad is the Messenger
of Allah), and perform As-Salit (Iqimat-as-Salat) and give Zakit, so if they
perform all that, then they save their lives, and properties from me except for
Islamic laws, and their reckoning (accounts) will be with (done by) Allah.” (Sahih
Al-Bukhiri, Vol.1, Hadith No.24).
In the first instance, the infamous genocide hadith is quoted. In the second, a hadith in which caliph Umar quotes Moe as saying you save your wealth and life from Moe by reciting shahada.
Take another look at the body of the ayat: did Hilali & Khan add anything to it or change it's meaning? They only explained and confirmed the meaning by adding footnotes with exegesis and hadith.
How did Moe interpret 8.39 & 9.29? he marched on Tobuk, didn't he? He did what Allah commanded him to do! Here are the relevant ahadith:
Sahih Bukhari Sahih Bukhari Volume 1, Book 8, Number 387:
Narrated Anas bin Malik:
Allah's Apostle said, "I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.' And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be sacred to us and we will not interfere with them except legally and their reckoning will be with Allah." Narrated Maimun ibn Siyah that he asked Anas bin Malik, "O Abu Hamza! What makes the life and property of a person sacred?" He replied, "Whoever says, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah', faces our Qibla during the prayers, prays like us and eats our slaughtered animal, then he is a Muslim, and has got the same rights and obligations as other Muslims have."
Bukhari Volume 4, Book 52, Number 196:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah 's Apostle said, " I have been ordered to fight with the people till they say, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah,' and whoever says, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah,' his life and property will be saved by me except for Islamic law, and his accounts will be with Allah, (either to punish him or to forgive him.)"
Sunan Abu Dawud 14.2635
Narrated Anas ibn Malik:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: I am commanded to fight with men till they testify that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is His servant and His Apostle, face our qiblah (direction of prayer), eat what we slaughter, and pray like us. When they do that, their life and property are unlawful for us except what is due to them. They will have the same rights as the Muslims have, and have the same responsibilities as the Muslims have.
Narrated Anas bin Malik:
Allah's Apostle said, "I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.' And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be sacred to us and we will not interfere with them except legally and their reckoning will be with Allah." Narrated Maimun ibn Siyah that he asked Anas bin Malik, "O Abu Hamza! What makes the life and property of a person sacred?" He replied, "Whoever says, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah', faces our Qibla during the prayers, prays like us and eats our slaughtered animal, then he is a Muslim, and has got the same rights and obligations as other Muslims have."
Bukhari Volume 4, Book 52, Number 196:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah 's Apostle said, " I have been ordered to fight with the people till they say, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah,' and whoever says, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah,' his life and property will be saved by me except for Islamic law, and his accounts will be with Allah, (either to punish him or to forgive him.)"
Sunan Abu Dawud 14.2635
Narrated Anas ibn Malik:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: I am commanded to fight with men till they testify that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is His servant and His Apostle, face our qiblah (direction of prayer), eat what we slaughter, and pray like us. When they do that, their life and property are unlawful for us except what is due to them. They will have the same rights as the Muslims have, and have the same responsibilities as the Muslims have.
The ayat says Fight those who. The tafsir says order to fight. The relevant ahadith say ordered or commanded to fight. Who can connect the dots? Who has a clue? Do you?
How about the Islamic jurists, what do they say about 9.29? "Reliance Of The Traveller cites it as the scriptural source of a perpetual war rule outlined in o9.1 and made explicit in o9.8, which I quote.
o9.8: The Objectives of Jihad
The caliph (o25) makes war upon Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians (N: provided he has first invited them to enter Islam in faith and practice, and if they will not, then invited them to enter the social order of Islam by paying the non-Muslim poll tax (jizya, def: o11.4) -which is the significance of their paying it, not the money itself-while remaining in their ancestral religions) (O: and the war continues) until they become Muslim or else pay the non-Muslim poll tax (O: in accordance with the word of Allah Most High,
"Fight those who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day and who forbid not what Allah and His messenger have forbidden-who do not practice the religion of truth, being of those who have been given the Book-until they pay the poll tax out of hand and are humbled" (Koran 9.29),
the time and place for which is before the final descent of Jesus (upon whom be peace). After his final coming, nothing but Islam will be accepted from them, for taking the poll tax is only effective until Jesus' descent (upon him and our Prophet be peace), which is the divinely revealed law of Muhammad. The coming of Jesus does not entail a separate divinely revealed law, for he will rule by the law of Muhammad. As for the Prophet's saying (Allah bless him and give him peace),
"I am the last, there will be no prophet after me,"
this does not contradict the final coming of Jesus (upon whom be peace), since he will not rule according to the Evangel, but as a follower of our Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) ).
In the matter of Jizya: see hedaya, page 211.... for the gritty details of Islamic law. What looks like an elongated f is really an s. Once you get past that, you should be able to read the text. Read the Noble Qur'an here. Read volume 4 of Sahih Bukhari here.
This is a pull your head out of the sand moment: Islam: belief in Allah, his imperatives, threat and promise is the problem, not any single book or edition. Muslims believe that Allah is the almighty creator, who commands them to conquer the world for his good pleasure, in return for which he will admit them to his celestial orgy. But if they do not fight in his cause, he will damn them. That makes Islam a perpetual war machine. We need to eliminate belief in Allah. Eliminating one edition of the Qur'an is not sufficient.
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