Noble Quran (Hilali–Khan)
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The ''Noble Qur'an'' is a translation of the
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
by
Muhammad Muhsin Khan Muhammad Muhsin Khan (Pashto/Dari/Arabic: ; 1927 – 14 July 2021) was an Islamic scholar and translator of Afghan origin, who lived in Madinah and served as the Chief of Department of Chest Diseases at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and ...
and
Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din bin Abdil-Qadir Al-Hilali (; 1893 – June 22, 1987) was a 20th-century Moroccan Salafi,Henri Lauzière, M.A., The Evolution of the Salafiyya in the Twentieth Century through the life and thought of Taqi al-Din al-Hilali, iii ...
. It is available in many languages and is "widely and freely distributed to
hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...
pilgrims". It is published and printed at the ''
King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Quran King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Qur'an (Arabic: مجمع الملك فهد لطباعة المصحف الشريف) is a printing plant located in Medina, Saudi Arabia that publishes the Quran in Arabic and other languages. The co ...
'', which is said to produce ten million copies of the Quran every year. The Hilali–Khan, Noble Quran has been given a seal of approval from both the University of Medina and the Saudi ''Dar al-Ifta''. It is also the most widely disseminated Quran in most Islamic bookstores and Sunni mosques throughout the English-speaking world. It is available in Airport
musalla A musalla () is a space apart from a mosque, mainly used for prayer in Islam. The word is derived from the verb (''ṣallā''), meaning "to pray". It is traditionally used for twice-yearly Eid prayers (''Eid al-Fitr, ʿĪd al-Fiṭr'' and '' ...
hs. This translation is interspersed with commentaries from
Tabari Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr ibn Yazīd al-Ṭabarī (; 839–923 CE / 224–310 AH), commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Sunni Muslim scholar, polymath, historian, exegete, jurist, and theologian from Amol, Tabaristan, present-day ...
,
Qurtubi Abū ʿAbdullāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Abī Bakr al-Anṣārī al-Qurṭubī () (121429 April 1273) was an Andalusian Sunni Muslim polymath, Maliki jurisconsult, mufassir, muhaddith and an expert in the Arabic language. Prominent scholars ...
, and
Ibn Kathir Abu al-Fida Isma'il ibn Umar ibn Kathir al-Dimashqi (; ), known simply as Ibn Kathir, was an Arab Islamic Exegesis, exegete, historian and scholar. An expert on (Quranic exegesis), (history) and (Islamic jurisprudence), he is considered a lea ...
.


Content

Various Hilali–Khan versions of the Quran contain parenthetical insertions,
tafsir Tafsir ( ; ) refers to an exegesis, or commentary, of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' (; plural: ). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, interpretation, context or commentary for clear understanding ...
/commentaries and appendices. The Hilali–Khan translation has been criticized for inserting the interpretations of the
Wahhabi Wahhabism is an exonym for a Salafi revivalist movement within Sunni Islam named after the 18th-century Hanbali scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. It was initially established in the central Arabian region of Najd and later spread to other ...
school directly into the English rendition of the Quran. Many readers will not realise this content does not form part of the original Quran wording. The translation has been accused of inculcating Muslims and potential Muslims with militant interpretations of Islam through parenthetical comments and additions as teachings of the Quran itself.


Criticism

Dr. Ahmed Farouk Musa, an academic at
Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...
, considered the Hilali–Khan translation as being a major cause of extremism and a work distributed by Saudi religious authorities. Similarly,
Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad (also known as Dean Ahmad) () (born August 11, 1948) is a Palestinian American scholar and the president of the Minaret of Freedom Institute, a libertarian 501(c)(3) tax-exempt think-tank. He also is president of the Islamic- ...
, head of Bethesda's Minaret of Freedom Institute, has claimed. This translation is According to Ahle sunnat point of view. A number of academics have also criticized the Hilali–Khan translation on stylistic and linguistic grounds. Dr William S. Peachy, an American professor of English at College of Medicine,
King Saud University King Saud University (KSU, ) is a public university in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Established in 1957 by King Saud bin Abdulalziz to address the country's skilled worker shortage, it is the first university in Saudi Arabia. It was known as Riyadh U ...
at Qasseem considered the translation "repulsive" and rejected by anyone outside of Saudi Arabia. Dr. Abdel-Haleem, Arabic Professor at SOAS,
London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...
, noted that he found the Hilali–Khan translation "repelling". The Director of King Fahd International Centre for Translation, King Saud University, Riyad, Dr. A. Al-Muhandis, expressed his dissatisfaction with the translation's style and language, because this translation is simple . The Hilali–Khan translation has also been criticised by Western academics; Robert Crane,
Mark Durie Mark Durie (born 1958) is an Australian Anglican priest and a scholar in linguistics and theology. He is the founding director of the Institute for Spiritual Awareness, a Fellow at the Middle East Forum, and a senior research fellow of the Art ...
,
Khaled Abou El Fadl Khaled Abou el Fadl (, ) (born October 23, 1963) is the Omar and Azmeralda Alfi Distinguished Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law where he has taught courses on International Human Rights, Islamic jurisprudence, National Security Law, Law ...
,
Khaleel Mohammed Khaleel Mohammed (1955 – January 2022) was a Guyanese-born professor of Religion at San Diego State University (SDSU), in San Diego, California, a member of Homeland Security Master's Program, and, as of January 2021, Director of SDSU's Center ...
, and Sheila Musaji have criticized the translation for supposed Muslim supremacism and bigotry. However, Dr Fathul Bari Mat Jahaya says the translation does not promote hostility towards other religions, with the references to Jews and Christians intended to distinguish between the beliefs of Muslims and the other two communities.


Comparisons with other translations

The ''Sahih International'' translation of
Al Fatihah Al-Fatiha () is the first chapter () of the Quran. It consists of seven verses (') which consist of a prayer for guidance and mercy. Al-Fatiha is recited in Muslim obligatory and voluntary prayers, known as ''salah''. The primary literal mea ...
Verse 1:7: The ''Hilali–Khan'' translation of
Al Fatihah Al-Fatiha () is the first chapter () of the Quran. It consists of seven verses (') which consist of a prayer for guidance and mercy. Al-Fatiha is recited in Muslim obligatory and voluntary prayers, known as ''salah''. The primary literal mea ...
Verse 1:7:
Khaleel Mohammed Khaleel Mohammed (1955 – January 2022) was a Guyanese-born professor of Religion at San Diego State University (SDSU), in San Diego, California, a member of Homeland Security Master's Program, and, as of January 2021, Director of SDSU's Center ...
says, "What is particularly egregious about this interpolation is that it is followed by an extremely long footnote to justify its hate based on traditions from medieval texts". The ''Sahih International'' translation
Al-Baqarah Al-Baqarah (, ; "The Heifer" or "The Cow"), also spelled as Al-Baqara, is the second and longest chapter (''surah'') of the Quran. It consists of 286 verses ('' āyāt'') which begin with the "'' muqatta'at''" letters ''alif'' ()'', lām'' ( ...
Verse 2:190: The ''Hilali–Khan'' translation, including its parenthetical comments and additions, of
Al-Baqarah Al-Baqarah (, ; "The Heifer" or "The Cow"), also spelled as Al-Baqara, is the second and longest chapter (''surah'') of the Quran. It consists of 286 verses ('' āyāt'') which begin with the "'' muqatta'at''" letters ''alif'' ()'', lām'' ( ...
Verse 2:190: Sheila Musaji says, "the HK translation seriously distorts the concept of jihad." The ''Sahih International'' translation
Al-Ma'idah Al-Ma'idah (; 'The Table pread with Food is the fifth chapter of the Quran, containing 120 verses. Al-Mā'idah means "Meal" or "Banquet" . This name is taken from verses 112 to 115, which tell the request of the followers of Prophet 'Isa ...
Verse 5:21: The ''Hilali–Khan'' translation of
Al-Ma'idah Al-Ma'idah (; 'The Table pread with Food is the fifth chapter of the Quran, containing 120 verses. Al-Mā'idah means "Meal" or "Banquet" . This name is taken from verses 112 to 115, which tell the request of the followers of Prophet 'Isa ...
Verse 5:21:
Khaleel Mohammed Khaleel Mohammed (1955 – January 2022) was a Guyanese-born professor of Religion at San Diego State University (SDSU), in San Diego, California, a member of Homeland Security Master's Program, and, as of January 2021, Director of SDSU's Center ...
says, "This Saudi version twists the verse with modern politics, writing, "O my people! Enter the holy land (Palestine)."


See also

*
English translations of the Quran Following is a list of English translations of the Quran. The first translations were created in the 17th and 19th centuries by non-Muslims, but the majority of existing translations have been produced in the 20th and 21st centuries. The ...
*
List of translations of the Quran This is a list of translations of the Quran. :''This is a sub-article to Qur'an translations.'' Historical (up to the 21st century) 7th–10th centuries * Salman the Persian translated the first chapter of the Qur'an, Al-Fatiha, from Arabic t ...
*
Quran translations The ''Qur'an'' has been translated from the Arabic into most major African, Asian, and European languages. Translations of the ''Quran'' often contain distortions reflecting a translator's education, region, sect, and religious ideology. ...
* Saudi Arabian textbook controversy


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Noble Quran (Hilali-Khan) English translations of the Quran