Kawakeb....does that word mean stars in arabic too ?

[Islam!!yay]

:salam2:



Kawakeb....does that word mean stars in arabic to ?

I ask because in arabic Kawakeb is planets but translators translate it as stars. Why is that ? And in one surah (surat 56) Al nojoom is used as stars.

 

[Islam!!yay]

Kawaakib is planets (singular is Kawkab) and Nujoom is stars in Arabic, singular is Najm.

But an english translation translate Kawakeb as stars.

Even in Google Translation I type in start it brings out Kawkeb

 

[a_muslimah86]

:salam2:

I'll 2nd brother ayman1's statements...

Also akhi..can you tell us which translation you're using?..as the fault lays in the hands of the translator obviously...perhaps someone will point out a better one for you..so you and others can benefit from the information

(in case it matters to you..I have found the Muhsin Khan translation to be the best *so far* from my perspective)

 

[Islam!!yay]

:salam2:

Well in ( surah 37 ) verse 6 in the Quran it states (We have adorned the lowest level with stars) That same verse in arabic ,Stars, was translated from Kawakeb ? How is that ?

 

[a_muslimah86]

:salam2:

Well in ( surah 37 ) verse 6 in the Quran it states (We have adorned the lowest level with stars) That same verse in arabic ,Stars, was translated from Kawakeb ? How is that ?

Akhi..that's the *translator's* mistake!

Kawakeb stands for *planets* whether they are in the cosmic belt or they roam in the universe (think meteorites?)...if you're reading the translation of it as *stars*..then it is the translator's *poor choice of vocabulary*...it's as simple as that..in Arabic it is quite clear:

إِنَّا زَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِزِينَةٍ الْكَوَاكِبِ

Transliteration:

"Inna zayyanna as-sama'aa ad-donya bizeenatin el-kawakeb"

Translation:

"Verily we have adorned the lowest heaven with the planets"

If Yusuf Ali..Khan..Pickthal (who by the way is the only one who translated it exactly as far as I have read)..or other translators put the wrong word..it has nothing to do with the Qura'an *itself*..that is *their lingual mistake*..I hope this clarifies the issue..unless you meant something else that went over my head completely

 

[mhamzah]

:salam2:

Muslim Translators:

Correct Translations

Pickthall: Lo! We have adorned the lowest heaven with an ornament, the planets;

Sher Ali: WE have adorned the lowest heaven with an adornment - the planets;

wrong choice of word

Sahih International: Indeed, We have adorned the nearest heaven with an adornment of stars

Muhsin Khan: Verily! We have adorned the near heaven with the stars (for beauty).

Dr. Munir Munshey: Indeed, We brightened the heaven (the sky) of this world with beautiful stars!

Yusuf Ali: We have indeed decked the lower heaven with beauty (in) the stars,-

Muhammad Al-Hilali & Muhsin Khan: Verily! We have adorned the near heaven with the stars (for beauty).

Shakir: Surely We have adorned the nearest heaven with an adornment, the stars,


Non-Muslim Translators:

Khalifa: We have adorned the lowest heaven with adorning planets.

Sale: We have adorned the lower heaven with the ornament of the stars:

Palmer: Verily, we have adorned the lower heaven with the adornment of the stars,

Arberry: We have adorned the lower heaven with the adornment of the stars

Rodwell: We have adorned the lower heaven with the adornment of the stars.

 

[mhamzah]

:salam2:

Well in ( surah 37 ) verse 6 in the Quran it states (We have adorned the lowest level with stars) That same verse in arabic ,Stars, was translated from Kawakeb ? How is that ?

:salam2:

It seems as if you want to ask something else but maybe related to this.

 

[Islam!!yay]

:salam2:

In surat 67 verse 5 Allah SWT said He made the stars as missiles against the devils ,I think Allah SWT described the stars as (lamps). But in Surat 37 verse 6 he made the planets as safeguard against the devils.

So did he make the Planets or stars as safeguard against the devil ?

 

[a_muslimah86]

:salam2:

In surat 67 verse 5 Allah SWT said He made the stars as missiles against the devils ,I think Allah SWT described the stars as (lamps). But in Surat 37 verse 6 he made the planets as safeguard against the devils.

So did he make the Planets or stars as safeguard against the devil ?

The word kawakeb means planets that are in a cosmic belt..and those roaming the universe such as meteoroids as I said before (earlier I said "meteorites"..and I was incorrect..so I apologize for that)...

In the verse you quoted in Sura 67..it is the kawakeb "roaming" that are meant..which is essentially "planets"..so planets are an adornement and safeguard against devils (stars would fit in as an adornement..where specified)

 

[Islam!!yay]

:salam2:

Why then the translators translelate planets as stars ? And what do you mean "where Specified" ?

 

[Islam!!yay]

:salam2:

The whole thing would make sense If Kawakeb was translated as Stars.

 

[a_muslimah86]

:salam2:

Why then the translators translelate planets as stars ? And what do you mean "where Specified" ?

*where within a verse..it speaks of stars (specifically)*..that's what I meant..

and it seems to me now after briefly reading into the tafsirs of Ibn Katheer & Al-Tabari for this verse..that they translate it as stars..because stars..like meteoroids "roam in the universe"..but the word meteoroids would sound "unfitting" in a translation of a religious text from 1400 centuries ago...so I can see where they're going with the choice of "stars" for translation..because if they use "planets" that can be interpreted as "the planets remaining still in their cosmic belts" which would conflict with the essential meaning of the verse..and unless there's a commentary "explaining" the intended and specific *type of planets* (i.e. still or roaming) the translation can seem vague and debatable which can take away from the focus on the Qura'anic text itself..

Simply put..they used *stars* to eliminate confusion and lengthy explanations of all the *why..what..and how*..they (i.e. the translators) sort of made a choice for a "lingual shortcut"..if that makes sense at all..they wanted the essential or overall meaning of the verse to be under the focus of the reader not the commentary or the explanations of what is what and so on..which makes total sense (to me at least)

The point is though..like I said..lays in the meaning of the word *kawakeb* itsels in Arabic..and it lays in the density of the Arabic language as well..that's why when you pick a translation of the Qura'an..it says "translation of the *meaning* of the Qura'an"..it's one tough task to do this I am sure and it requires thorough awareness and knowledge in the Arabic language and even the tafsir of Qura'an simultaneously because at the end the translators have to *pick* the *closest* and *easiest* wording when translating a verse or a chapter for that matter..and this was the case with the verse of the Qura'an you quoted

 

[a_muslimah86]

:salam2:

The whole thing would make sense If Kawakeb was translated as Stars.

If that is your assumption/conclusion then why ask questions?

 

[pcozzy]

:salam2:

I am not adding nothing new to what has been said for that is the meaning of planets in arabic.

To ponder on the ayat of Allah subhanna wata3alla is what Allah tells us to do. but do keep in mind translating the Quran to other languages is the watered down version, where the reader of translation is subjected to the translator's understanding.

I give these translator's a lot of credit, but moreover, I find many errors. The best thing I suggest is be patient, things get cleared up in time.

Here is a nice website that may assist you in understanding what you are seeking. It has the Quran like the written text in page style and it has many english translators. The only thing I didn't like was they refuse to include Hilali-Khan translation until now stating that are many errors in the old translations to me. I disagree, Halali-Khan translation errors outweigh all others because I know they have the correct Aqeedah and Manhaj. Anyways here is the site:http://tanzil.info/

If you look at other translations you will start to see that many copy the work of others. I realized this when I found errors to be common among various translators.

Most importantly, the Quran is a great miracle and that miracle is more apparent when you know the language of the Quran. All these translations are just watered down experience that you may experience.

I also suggest these videos, a little long but worth every second to watch:

[yt]BaS5NsvZ4yM[/yt]

[yt]aWUy_luMq0Q[/yt]

may Allah grant all of us knowledge that is beneficial for us.

 

[Islam!!yay]

In Arabic, Kawkab is anything that appears bright. The Arabs used the word Kawkab when describing iron after it's been polished, a person with light in his face, grass after snow flakes fall on it, etc. Najm, on the other hand, the Arabs used to describe anything that suddenly appears, especially if it appears brightly. They would use Najm to describe a person who exhibits a rare talent, a great idea concluded from a discussion, etc.

As you can see, the translation of Najm to star and of Kawkab to planet is good. That is why the Arabs, who were renowned for their astronomic research and discoveries used these Arabic words for the specific meanings of planets and stars that we know today.

I dont think Arabs were very educated in astronomy at the time when the Quran was being revealed.

 

[Islam!!yay]

:salam2:


Well I figured something. Lamps, as mentioned in the Quran, People might think of it as stars. But If you look deeper , Lamps are not stationary objects. You can move them (lamps) to wherever you want mainly through dark places. Just like planets move ,lamps can move to. Thats how I translate lamps as since it is not really mentioned in the Quran as to what exactly Allah SWT meant by lamps. I see lamps is referring to planets and not stars.