Yusuf Ali or Pickthal?

Amina 1

Junior Member
:hearts:Assalam Alaikum :hearts:

I love listening to the Quran :hearts:I was very happy to discover www.quranexplorer.com It has added a new level of peace to my heart when listening because it reads it in arabic (which I do not speak ) and then in english Hamdulillah :D I was wondering if someone might help me with translation my favorite is Yusuf Ali but the audio is only for Pickthal. I noticed that on Surah Imran ayah 35 in Pickthal it translates "The male is not like the female" but in Yusuf Ali it translates "and is not the male like the female" Can someone who can read the Quran in Arabic ( I wish I could) please tell me is which one is the more accurate translation? May Allah bless you all and reward us all in this life and in the next:tti_sister:
 

Salem9022

Junior Member
Yusuf Ali has mistakes also he is Ash'ari and his translations reflect his beliefs like with other translators. So you have to be carefull which translation to use.

Use the Mohsin Khan's translation since this is the one which is widley used by Students of Knowledge.
 

ummyasiin

Striving for Janatul firdous
something strange I never knew!!

Yusuf Ali has mistakes also he is Ash'ari and his translations reflect his beliefs like with other translators. So you have to be carefull which translation to use.

Use the Mohsin Khan's translation since this is the one which is widley used by Students of Knowledge.
totally in agreence :)
umm all of the practicing salaf masjids I have attended, learnt from, books I read from MORE than definitly not use MOSHIN KHAN's I have no knowlegde of pickthal so I cant speak of, however I have been taught that to stay very far away from yusuf ali!!!!! with great emphasis...Allahu Alim
 

samiha

---------
Staff member
:hearts:Assalam Alaikum :hearts:

I love listening to the Quran :hearts:I was very happy to discover www.quranexplorer.com It has added a new level of peace to my heart when listening because it reads it in arabic (which I do not speak ) and then in english Hamdulillah :D I was wondering if someone might help me with translation my favorite is Yusuf Ali but the audio is only for Pickthal. I noticed that on Surah Imran ayah 35 in Pickthal it translates "The male is not like the female" but in Yusuf Ali it translates "and is not the male like the female" Can someone who can read the Quran in Arabic ( I wish I could) please tell me is which one is the more accurate translation? May Allah bless you all and reward us all in this life and in the next:tti_sister:

wa' alaykum salam wa rahmatullah

MashaAllaah it's really nice to hear you love listening to the Qur'aan, may Allaah make it a light and guidance for you and for all of us!

I realize that when we understand the text of the Arabic it adds a whole new dimension to what the Qur'aan says and what Allaah is telling us, SubhanAllaah. Therefore when we are reading it is best to find the best translation which will give us the greatest understanding of the arabic. Since no translation can ever truly encompass the depth of the Arabic language, or what we are supposed to understand from it we have to try to find the closest thing to it - right?

For that reason I too recommend Muhsin Khan's translation because it not only gives you what the ayaat translates too - but also adds information which will help you understand WHAT it is referring to. Many times people take quotes from translations such as Yusuf Ali and others and contort them to show they mean one thing, when in reality it is referring to another entirely! The Muhsin Khan translation does have many commentaries and notes from At-Tabari, Al-Qurtubi and Ibn Kathir, but each were scholars and have been studied and learned from throughout the centuries.

As for certain other points raised against it, again no translation is absolutely perfect, as the Qur'aan is perfect only in its Arabic form, but I would thus recommend the Muhsin Khan or the Saheeh International translations. =)

wal'hamdulillah... having said that, as to your question ukhti, I think you were referring to surah Ali 'Imraan ayaat # 36 where it says, "وَلَيْسَ الذَّكَرُ كَالأُنثَى "

Basically it means "And the male is not like the female". Here is the whole translation for that ayaat:

Then when she delivered her [child Mary], she said: "O my Lord! I have delivered a female child," - and Allah knew better what she delivered, - "And the male is not like the female, and I have named her Mary, and I seek refuge with You (Allah) for her and for her offspring from Shaytan (Satan), the outcast."

I hope that answers the question, if not feel free to ask again inshaAllaah

wasalam
 

ummyasiin

Striving for Janatul firdous
Can you name one single person that I have specifically made takfeer of? Since you call me Internet takfeeri I guess you can provide a whole bunch of people?

no no brother, he may be refering to,...if you google takfiri, this is what comes up aswell as a whole lot of mumble jumbo against the salaf or salafi "movement" it is there belief system... not you personnally. Allahu Alim. plz correct me if I am wrong. wasalaam :)
 

ummyasiin

Striving for Janatul firdous
Maybe brother

But this is even more strange, so everybody who is against the "salafi movements" is nicknamed a "Internet takfiri"?

ummmm, I am a sister, and I cannot speak from what I have no knowledge of, but what I did was google the term "tafiri" becuz I did not know what it was refereed to and that is what I found...however If you are against the teaching of the salaf you are against the proper teaching of islam, brother...inshallah you can be clarified
 

Amina 1

Junior Member
Assalam Alaikum:hearts:


Jazaka Allahu Khayra :tti_sister: For all of your answers. :hearts::hearts:


The Quran I have at home is Yusuf Ali and I have read it every day since I reverted in 1999 That might be why I am partial to it.I like to listen to the Quran on the computer also,but that is Pickthal. I have never read Muhsin Khan's translation but I see that it is on www.quranexplorer.com also I will read it also since their are a lot of recommendations for it. I noticed that Pickthal and Muhsin Khan's translation of the ayah were similar and I guess it makes more sense to say that a male is not like a female. I will read them all:D :D :D So what exactly is the final definition of a Takfiri and what is Salaf??:confused:
 
Sister Samiha gave you the correct translation, that of Pickthall's. I personally advise those who cannot read Arabic to read multiple translations to get a better understanding of the verses. Some of the sites that show you multiple translations are:

http://www.islam-muslims.org/,
http://www.searchtruth.com/chapter_display.php?chapter=1&translator=2 and
http://www.themostreadbook.org

:salam2:
u forgot one of the best,IMO: http://tanzil.info/

they too excluded Hilali-Khan, awaiting the newer updated translation. But now they have it. That makes it better, because I have a lot better understanding reading commentaries translation. Pickthal, is good too, but there are times where the details are needed.

:wasalam:
 

FreedomFighter

Junior Member
:wasalam:

this is very bad how we are saying one translation is bad and another is good. astaghfirullah, this is not a good thing. disagreeing over something like this. just read what you find suitable for you. after all, the translations are not 100% exactly correct. this is because in arabic you have words that you just cant find the right meaning for in english. Yusuf Ali is not a bad translation, but i dont know about Mohsin Khan. but they just translate it to the best of their ability, and its not an easy task. so read what suits you.
 

Mercury

Junior Member
:salam2:
I hope you are all in the best of health. I have been reading Abdullah Yusuf Ali's English translation of the Quran for quite sometime now and as a result prefer it over other translations as I have grown accustomed to it. I am however shocked at the reservations people have about this particular work on the translation of the Quran. Can anyone please explain in detail why we are not supposed to read this particular translation. I shall be extremely grateful and it shall help deconfuse my confused mind.
:wasalam:
 

Bawar

Struggling2Surrender
Sister Samiha gave you the correct translation, that of Pickthall's. I personally advise those who cannot read Arabic to read multiple translations to get a better understanding of the verses. Some of the sites that show you multiple translations are:

http://www.islam-muslims.org/,
http://www.searchtruth.com/chapter_display.php?chapter=1&translator=2 and
http://www.themostreadbook.org

Assalamu alaikum sister!

I agree with brother Ayman1. It is better to read multilple translations. I also use a website that offers mulitple choices of translation that one could use and I find it quiet useful. http://www.quran.com
 

Amina 1

Junior Member
Assalam Alaikum:hearts:



Jazaka Allahu Khayran Katheera :tti_sister:
Thank you all for your responses and the wonderful links that were posted.:SMILY252:
 

Al-Kashmiri

Well-Known Member
Staff member
As-salaamu `alaykum

I agree, the translation by Shaykh, Al-Mujaddid Taqi-ud-Deen Al-Hilaalee and Muhammad Muhsin Khan is probably the best. Taqee-ud-Deen was an expert in whatever he studied and was fluent in a number of latern languages including English, Spanish, German as well as of course, Arabic (his mother tongue) and even Hebrew. Their translation is considered to be the most sound in representing the beliefs of Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jamaa`ah, hence it is our preferred choice in this respect.

However, there is another translation of the Qur'aan's meanings which I recommend. It is done by a group called Saheeh International, and too represents the beliefs of Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jamaa`ah. In addition, it is easy to read, flows like water and doesn't have loads of parentheses which at times, destroy the flow and interrupt the mood, as found in Taqee ud-Deen's translation. In short, it has the simplicity of language and soundness of Taqee ud-Deen and Muhammad Muhsin Khan's edition, yet the style and flow of Yusuf Ali's.

It is also a choice for students of knowledge, some of those I know or have met prefer a more word for word approach, which the Saheeh International tries to provide, whereas Taqee ud-Deen's relies more on insertions to clarify the meanings of the Qur'aan. Many a time when I was in Egypt, when contemplating over an aayah of the Qur'aan and attempting to find precise words in the English language to represent their meanings, me and a friend often found that the better translation lied with the Saheeh International edition. Sometimes we couldn't represent an aayah in English, so we would consult the translations we had with us. While Taqee ud-Deen's definitely provided a meaning, sometimes it didn't help define the terms we struggled with in the first place. Yet whenever we consulted the Saheeh International, we found what we were looking for, and sometimes more! In fact, at times it showed alternate meanings and clarified complicated terms, which solved us many problems. I found it amazing to use in this respect. May Allaah reward all the Muslims who dedicate their efforts in spreading the message of His book. Ameen.
 

um_mustafa

sister in Islam
Salams brother do you know where we can down load the Saheeh Quran with Arabic and English translation, barakallahufik.
 
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