What is the ruling on translating the Noble Qur'an into languages other than Arabic?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings and His forgiveness.
The questioner : How are you, our Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, I am well.
The questioner : I am...
The Shaykh : You are welcome.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : How are you?
The questioner : I praise Allah the Exalted; with the praise of Allah, we are well, if Allah wills.
The Shaykh : You are welcome.
The questioner : Our Shaykh, what is the ruling on translating the Noble Qur'an into languages other than Arabic, of course?
The Shaykh : The translation, may Allah bless you.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : It is divided into two categories.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : A literal translation and a translation of the meanings.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : The literal or word-for-word translation.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : This is impossible; it is impossible.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Because there are no synonyms in other languages for some Arabic words.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Especially since the Arabic language is distinguished from other languages in that it contains some words that carry two contradictory meanings.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : For example, the word *qur'*.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh[Al-Baqarah 2:228], so *qur'* is the language of menstruation, and *qur'* is the language of purity.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Therefore, the jurists differed regarding what is meant by *qur'* in the verse.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Some said it is purity, and some said it is menstruation.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : So if one wants to translate this verse literally, the matter becomes impossible.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Therefore, the translator must, when he reaches such a phrase as "three *quru'", give a foreign word, saying either purity or menstruation.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : He must give what? Two words.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : And in that case, this would not be a translation of the Qur'an.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : It would be a translation of the meanings of the Qur'an.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : In that case, once the difference between the two types of translation is known, we say that translating the meanings of the Qur'an is a necessary matter.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : To convey the meanings of the Qur'an to the non-Arabic-speaking peoples.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : But the literal translation is an impossible matter.
The questioner : Yes, that is correct, may Allah bless you, my Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And may He reward you.
The questioner : Well... I will ask you a few questions, or else I will burden you, I mean.
The Shaykh : No, please go ahead.
The questioner : Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings and His forgiveness.
The questioner : How are you, our Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, I am well.
The questioner : I am...
The Shaykh : You are welcome.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : How are you?
The questioner : I praise Allah the Exalted; with the praise of Allah, we are well, if Allah wills.
The Shaykh : You are welcome.
The questioner : Our Shaykh, what is the ruling on translating the Noble Qur'an into languages other than Arabic, of course?
The Shaykh : The translation, may Allah bless you.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : It is divided into two categories.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : A literal translation and a translation of the meanings.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : The literal or word-for-word translation.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : This is impossible; it is impossible.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Because there are no synonyms in other languages for some Arabic words.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Especially since the Arabic language is distinguished from other languages in that it contains some words that carry two contradictory meanings.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : For example, the word *qur'*.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh
Divorced women remain in waiting for three periods
وَالْمُطَلَّقَاتُ يَتَرَبَّصْنَ بِأَنْفُسِهِنَّ ثَلَاثَةَ قُرُوءٍThe questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Therefore, the jurists differed regarding what is meant by *qur'* in the verse.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Some said it is purity, and some said it is menstruation.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : So if one wants to translate this verse literally, the matter becomes impossible.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Therefore, the translator must, when he reaches such a phrase as "three *quru'", give a foreign word, saying either purity or menstruation.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : He must give what? Two words.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : And in that case, this would not be a translation of the Qur'an.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : It would be a translation of the meanings of the Qur'an.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : In that case, once the difference between the two types of translation is known, we say that translating the meanings of the Qur'an is a necessary matter.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : To convey the meanings of the Qur'an to the non-Arabic-speaking peoples.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : But the literal translation is an impossible matter.
The questioner : Yes, that is correct, may Allah bless you, my Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And may He reward you.
The questioner : Well... I will ask you a few questions, or else I will burden you, I mean.
The Shaykh : No, please go ahead.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.