As a translator of Arabic and Urdu works into English, the standard of English Islāmic literature often perturbs me, on several levels. There is the matter of poor English for starters. I have written on this elsewhere. Then there is the specific issue of translations being inadequate or even wrong, both from a language and theological perspective.

I respect that the early translators were only beginning to grasp the languages of the colonialists. They may not even have been ʿUlamāʾ trained to understand the implications of a particular nuance. They may have done the best that they were capable of. Allāh reward those who were sincere.

What I do not respect is that we continue with this baggage 200 years later. What I utterly disrespect are my scholar colleagues learning from primary sources, then instead of improving the knowledge stock of the community, they revert to the same standard and/or errors that they had learnt as six-year-olds. This is not merely me being finicky about words, but this laziness and fear of rocking the boat, are symptomatic of far greater issues amongst Muslims.

A simple example: Children learn to recite after eating…. و جعلنا من المسلمين (and made us amongst the Muslims). Scholars would have studied under their teachers and read the original Ḥadiṭh …. و جعلنا مسلمين (and made us Muslims). Then when they publish textbooks, they print the first version which they had learnt as toddlers and tolerate no advice for rectification.

Herewith a few common phrases, which I believe require review, both in our books and on our tongues. I do not claim that my suggestions are perfect or final. However, I wish to at least raise awareness, and propose improvements.

Ḥawqalah (لا حول و لا قوة إلا بالله)

I start with Ḥawqalah for I had already written a post specifically on this.

Even laymen should be able to apply their minds and understand that, “There is no power and might except with Allāh” is a wholly inadequate translation. What is the purpose of saying “power” and “might”? You may not know that Arabic despises superfluous words, but surely it must occur to you that the Qurʾān does not use unnecessary words.

I prefer, “There is no power to avoid evil and no ability to do good except through Allah.” Please read previous post referenced for a deeper explanation.

Basmalah (بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم)

“In the Name of Allāh, Most Gracious, Most Merciful”? What exactly does Gracious and Merciful mean? Some replace it with synonyms such as Compassionate, Kind, etc, but all fail to draw a substantive distinction between the two Names of Allāh, and none make any pretence of referring to the Tafsīr of the Qurʾān for guidance on the translation. I confess that this may be difficult, since the commentaries may become extremely complex on the matter. I propose referencing the following, as a simple and practical commentary for our purposes:

الرحمن بمعنى العموم والرحيم بمعنى الخصوص فالرحمن بمعنى الرزاق في الدنيا وهو على العموم لكافة الخلق .
والرحيم بمعنى المعافي في الآخرة والعفو في الآخرة للمؤمنين على الخصوص ولذلك قيل في الدعاء يا رحمن الدنيا ورحيم الآخرة فالرحمن من تصل رحمته إلى الخلق على العموم والرحيم من تصل رحمته إليهم على الخصوص ولذلك يدعى غير الله رحيما ولا يدعى غير الله رحمن .

Ar-Raḥmān has a general meaning, while ar-Raḥīm is more specific. Thus ar-Raḥmān means the provider in this world and encompasses the entire creation in generality. Ar-Raḥīm entails pardon in the hereafter, and this is restricted to the believers. This is why we find in the supplication, “O Raḥmān of the world, O Raḥīm of the Hereafter…”. Thus ar-Raḥmān is associated with He whose kindness extends to creation generally, while ar-Raḥīm is associated with He whose kindness is specific. This is also why you can call someone besides Allāh raḥīm, but not raḥmān.

ʾal-Baghawī

I therefore suggest, “In the Name of Allāh, Most Kind to all in this world, Most Kind to the Believers in the Hereafter.”

Tasbīḥ (سبحان الله)

“Glory be to Allāh,” is probably one of the laziest, copy-and-paste translations from Biblical British Rāj English. What does it even mean???

Actually I do not care what it means. I care what Allāh’s Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) taught.

عن طلحة بن عبيدالله قال: سألت رسول الله – صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم – عن تفسير (سبحان الله) قال: فقال: (هو تنزيه الله عن كل سوء)

Ṭalḥāh bin ʿUbaydillāh narrated:

I asked Allāh’s Messenger صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم for an explanation of subḥānallāh. He said, “It is to negate every defect from Allāh”

ʾal-Ḥākim, ʾal-Bayhaqī, ʾaṭ-Ṭabarī

Thus the simplest direct translation would be, “Pure is Allāh from every defect.”

Linguistically sabḥ means “far off” i.e. far off from any such defect is Allāh!

The related word sibāḥah (to swim) adds to the primary understanding, in that swimming is forceful propulsion away from a certain point. Thus we forcefully affirm Allāh to be far away from any defect. Furthermore swimming is done in water, the medium of purification. Most pure is Allāh!

Does “glory” explain any of this, or is it “far off?”

سليمان الكندي
Twitter: @Sulayman_Kindi