Bro Syed,
i read your book,"Things In Common".
Page 68, you wrote," i am referring mostly to the Quran translation into English by Abdullah Yusuf Ali which although not entirely accurate is widely accepted."
And at the bottom of the page, i quote, "Abdullah Yusuf Ali's English translation is widely used. However the only known English language biography of Abdullah says HE DID NOT KNOW ARABIC VERY WELL."
So, bro Syed could you give a little bit "pencerahan"?
Salam. TQ.
i read your book,"Things In Common".
Page 68, you wrote," i am referring mostly to the Quran translation into English by Abdullah Yusuf Ali which although not entirely accurate is widely accepted."
And at the bottom of the page, i quote, "Abdullah Yusuf Ali's English translation is widely used. However the only known English language biography of Abdullah says HE DID NOT KNOW ARABIC VERY WELL."
So, bro Syed could you give a little bit "pencerahan"?
Salam. TQ.
Yusuf Ali's biography describes an event where Yusuf Ali appeared on stage somewhere to talk about his English Quran translation.
He recited a verse in Arabic and gave its English translation and explanation. Someone in the audience stood up and pointed out that the Arabic verse he had read and the English translation he was giving were not the same.
This embarrased Yusuf Ali so much that he got up and left the stage.
His biography also says that when he was young in India his parents sent him to the local Urdu speaking sheikhs to learn religion.
That was where he came in contact with the Urdu translations of the Quran.
It is inevitable that Yusuf Ali did draw upon his religious education in Urdu to write his English translation of the Quran.
Today I translate the arabic Quran into english (for my daily usage) also by referring the Indonesian 'Terjemahan Secara Lafziyah' which is a literal translation.
I cant speak fluent Arabic yet but to a pretty good extent I can understand what is written in the arabic Quran.
SAA