10/27/2014
Quran Response
I thought it was very interesting to see each of the stories translated by different scholars. As a Muslim, when I read the Quran I always read the translation by someone that has studied Arabic for years. However, the text may still be slightly different from a different person even if they have studied for a long time as well. This is why we have tafseer, which is added explanation from a scholar that has studied the Quran in the context of Islam and the words and practices of the prophet as well. This gives a bigger picture and more context than just reading the translation of the Quran by itself. For example in the translation of surah Naml there is the "ta mim" which is actually referring to two Arabic letters which are meant to be said phonetically. Just this one verse, along with other verses that only have letters have been debated amongst Islamic scholars, but the letters are meant to have a hidden meaning that only God knows.
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I also found it very interesting that the Quran was translated by multiple scholars. With three different translations, it is hard to determine what the true meaning of the text is as each translation has a difference from the other. Like you said, even the smallest of changes can alter the meaning, so seeing different translations somewhat blurs the true meaning.
ReplyDeleteI too though it was very interesting to see the different translations of the Qur'an. In my opinion the opportunity to read multiple translations at once made it much easier to understand. I have never heard of the tafseer, but it makes sense that an added explanation of the Qur'an is necessary.
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