DukeCrow:
First of all and once again I thank you for your response to the verse on Wife beating.
I would like to make a few general points (which I hope you would respond) before getting into the specifics.
From your explanation of the verse in question I have made the following observations:
1) Is that a fair statement to make that unless one truly understands the Arabic language, one can not understand what God meant to say through his words in Quran. I am saying this because at the beginning of your post you state the following:
”I am using Muhammad Asad's translation of the Qur'an, as I feel it is one of the most thorough, complete, and concise English explanations of the Qur'an I have read.)
I assume Muhammad Asad is a scholar who knows the Arabic and English language well. Yet literally every translation of Quran I have come across (including the one provided by the The Institute of Islamic and Arabic Sciences in America iiasa.org
And the Islamic Affairs Department of The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia iad.org) differe greatly from what Mr. Asad’s version of Quran.. And the interesting part is that all those translations very much imply the same thing while Mr. Asad’s translation is somewhat different in tone.
2) Quran is claimed to be a timeless book from God for all human beings of all cultures, languages, and nations on this planet. If people like myself, and many others (including Muslims) do not know the Arabic language well (as you do) how can we come to understand what Quran talks about? Furthermore even after understanding it how can we avoid misinterpreting it? There is a fine line in understanding a set of words and statement, and then interpreting those set of words and statements and put them in a context? Do you see my point?
I am sure there are not many knowledgable people like you (or Mr. Asad) around on this planet to explain matters clearly to potential Muslims and/or non-Muslims who misunderstand the verses as explained to them by others. Therefore and in all seriousness how can one truly understand what Quran means to imply and to understand it properly? Should the word of God be that complicated to comprehend and to understand?
3) In short and based on your post I get a feeling that the concept of beauty is in the eyes of the be holder applies to Quran. In otherwords, Quran is open for interpretation by many people in many different ways. Logically however, anything that is open for interpretation is not pure as I am sure you also agree with this. Therefore and based on the assumption that God is pure and flawless, how can one attribute Quran to be the word of God since it (Quran) is not flawless due to it being open to different interpretations?
Anyway, in order to avoid having a lengthy post and before getting into the speicifics of the translation you have provided, I appreciate it very much if you would clear the above questions for me so I avoid matters that need not be questioned or concerned about.
Also I would like very much to know about your opinion in the book of Hadith and whether you consider that as a reliable source that can help one to understand Quran?
And once again I appreciate it very much for your help in helping me understand Islam.
Best Regards, |
