Question about arabic

[MahyarEL-Prince]

Salamu alaikum wa rahmatullah.

I really need a good explanation because I don't understand this AT ALL. I am an english speaker and I understand my language is not as rich as arabic...
Why is it in arabic that words have so many meanings? Or did the meanings of the words derrive over time?
LIke the word "Kal" means.
Appear as.
Is Like.
Looks like.
IT is.
How is that so? And the reason why I ask this is becasue I notice when dealing with non muslims. When they stomp us or find a scientific error in the Quran.
We are always quick to say.. "No it doesn't mean that, there are other meanings"
So basically we get to pick what the words mean, and this book can NEVER be wrong. It can't because if they even catch us on a wrong spot, the word can have another meaning or something...

Another question regarding the meaning of words.. What did they say during the time of the prophet (saws)
Did the rasool (a.s.w.s) Know that The heavens and the earth were a joint entity before He clove them asunder? Or did it mean something else to them..

And "He created the night and the day, the sun and the moon, each swimming in it's own orbit"
I don't think "it's own orbit" has ever came, the word actually means swimming. But I see that we have tooken, "In it's own orbit" ..

This is something i need cleared up by someone with enough knowledge or an arabic speaker.
Jazakallahu khair.

 

[abdul-aziz]

:salam2:

let's do this in English, in sha Allah it will give you better understanding.

in Arabic to say like just need to put a kaf (ك) in from of the noun. It could mean similar to, like, appears as. now instead of quoting some Arabic, I will attempt to use English.

made up story one:

I went to the store and found Mohamed, he was wearing jeans and a t-shirt and looked like he has been working hard all day.

then I went to get gas, and ran into Ahmad, He was like Mohamed.

using these two sentences what can you say about Ahmad? in other words all the qualities you would assume are similar based on what I pointed out only. This doesn't mean he has the same color hair, height, or weight.

made up story two:

I went to the store and found Mohamed, he was wearing jeans and a t-shirt and looked like he has been working hard all day.

then I went to get gas and ran into Ahmad, He was like Mohamed in motivation.

what can you say about Ahmad now? is it appearance or attitude? what is meant by motivation, was he tired and groggy or was he up beat continually working hard.

now I am sure for the sake of debate these statements can be nit picked and argued all day. They are pretty straight forward but yet there is a little ambiguity in the second one. A pessimist will differ than an optimist.

perhaps you can let us know what ayat you are referring to. Then we can work together in understanding the meaning using good translation. You don't need to worry if you don't know Arabic well we can help you. in sha Allah.

wa Allah ya'lam

 

[Aapa]

Assalaam walaikum,
.
So am I correct in thinking that the tradition of the Sahaba has been carried to us. In my encounters with many Arab women..they are so shy..and never question..whereas I come across as brash. It is a sign of respect.

 

[MahyarEL-Prince]

Well i'll bring fourth a couple of examples of Words being very ambgious i suppose.. Yet being scientific miracles... REGARDING the word MUNEER, which Zakir naik says it means
"Reflecting Light/ Borrowed light"
M. M. Pickthall Blessed be He Who hath placed in the heaven mansions of the stars, and hath placed therein a great lamp and a moon giving light

Shakir Blessed is He Who made the constellations in the heavens and made therein a lamp and a shining moon

Yusuf Ali Blessed is He Who made constellations in the skies, and placed therein a Lamp and a Moon giving light;

Now I am in now way doubting that muneer can mean reflecting/burrowed light... I tend to believe it does.. For gods sake it's a MIRACLE if it does.
But there is obviously some extreme ambiguity revolving it , is there not?
If there was no ambiguity with the word then we'd see one of these 3 famous Quran translators use it.. Why don't they say reflecting light?
Thats just a small example.. I have anotehr one.. I would love to hear more from the Arab brothers.. Please.. help!! Love you all fisablillah .. Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah.

 

[AdamMuslim]

Assalamou Alikom Warahmatou Allah,

First of all, as in many other languages, every Arabic word has its intrinsic meaning and few other meanings depending on the context. This is true for French and English at least.

First question:
Concerning "Kal" it is not a word on its own. Its is a prefix used to express similarity. For example we say:
الأرضُ كالكُرةِ
which means: The earth is like a ball.
Here the prefix "kal" (the Arabic letter Kaaf ك) plays the role of "like", "similar" etc. In general,we have: <First object> kal-<second object> and the goal is to express that the <First object> is similar to the <second object>.

Second question:
"He created the night and the day, the sun and the moon, each swimming in it's own orbit"
The original ayah is:
وَهُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ كُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ
[Al-anbya:34]

Actualy, the "it's own" did came! But implicitly not explicitly. Indeed, the last part "كُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ" exactly means that EACH one has its OWN orbit and that's why the translators have used "it's own".

Third question:
The translators didn't use the word "reflecting light" because, even though we know for a fact that the moon does not produce its own light, the direct meaning of that ayah is more "shining" than "reflecting light". Hence, if they have used the latter it would be more an interpretation rather than a translation.

This is simply my humble opinion to the best of my knowledge and hence it is not a definitive answer to your questions.

Wassalam

 

[MahyarEL-Prince]

ok jazakallahu khair...
But all in all the "reflecting light" is not really a miracle from the Quran?
I mean it's an interpretation. Because the first part was a shining lamp from the sun, so we can ASSUME "Muneer" means borrowed?
But LITTERALLY speaking it does not mean that?

Sorry I just want to know because I don't want to give false information about the Quran to non muslims inshallah.
But I also don't like how zakir naik uses it as proof when it's not even proof it's an interpretation.. Or maybe I have it wrong :S?