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O All h!ā

O All h!ā

Qur'ān

Qur'ān

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Page 221English Paraphrasing by Badr Hashemi

Closing Plea

O All h!ā

Qur'ān

Qur'ān

Qur'ān

Qur'ān

22English Paraphrasing by Badr Hashemi

Annexure One

Qur'ān's Pictographic Style

Al-Qur'ān, the Word of Allāh, is the source of eternal Light and Guidance. Amongst its central concepts are faith in (i) Allāh - the One God, (ii) the chain of Prophets from Adam to Mohammad and the Divine Messages, and (iii) the Process of Accountability and the Eternal Afterlife.

The opening Āyāt/Statements (01-05) of Q.02, al-Baqarah state:

A.L.M. This is the Book; in it is Guidance sure, without doubt, to those who fear Allāh; Who believe in the Unseen, are steadfast in prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them; And who believe in the Revelation sent to thee, and sent before thy time, and (in their hearts) have the assurance of the Afterlife. They are on (true) guidance, from their Lord, and it is these who will prosper.

(2:1-5) “cannot visualize, or form an idea of, something that lies entirely outside the realm of previously realized experiences...What is needed is a more direct appeal to the intellect, resulting in a kind of “visualization” of the consequences of one's conscious acts and omissions: and such an appeal can be effectively produced by means of metaphors, allegories and parables, each of them stressing, on the one hand, the absolute dissimilarity of all that man will experience after the Resurrection from whatever he did or could experience in this world; and, on the other hand, establishing means of comparison between these two categories of experience. (Asad 990)

Syed Qutb in his book Tasweer Al-Fanni Fil Quran is of the same viewpoint.

According to him, the first people accepted Islām due to the magical impact of The Qur'ān which held them spellbound. It is because The Qur'ān unfolds its meaning through the use of images or mental pictures. The hidden matters in the mind and man's inner state are presented in a form that can be felt. Scenes, incidents, human forms all are presented as pictures. Then life appears in these pictures. If sound is added, they appear as live actors on the stage. The listeners are changed into an audience watching a live performance. This has a profound impact on human psyche. To enable man to absorb its message, The Qur'ān invokes all human senses – sight, sound, taste, smell and touch. It employs similes and metaphors, symbols and personification so that man can visualize “al-ghā'ib”. Thus, the Qur'ān abounds in a variety of images: Visual, Gustatory, Tactile, Olfactory and Auditory. The following illustrate the point:

Images: VisualVerily the Day of Sorting out is a thing appointed, [. . .] And the heavens shall be opened as if there were doors, And the mountains shall vanish, as if they were a mirage. (78:17-20)

The above Āyāt/Statements bring before the eye of imagination a visual image where on the day of Judgment, doors would appear on the sky and the apparently solid mountains would disappear like a mirage.

Amongst the visual images are images where faith is likened to light and disbelief to darkness (2:257). But those who have earned evil will have a reward of like evil: ignominy will cover their (faces): No defender will they have from (the wrath of) Allāh: Their faces will be covered, as it were, with pieces from the depth of the darkness of night: they are companions of the Fire: they will abide therein (for aye)! (10:27) The darkness covering the faces of the wrong-doers is made manifest by means of a simile here. Their faces would be so dark as if pieces of dark night were covering them.

English Paraphrasing by Badr Hashemi

Gustatory Images Gustatory images pertain to taste. The foods and fruits of nature satisfy all of the four basic tastes: sweet, salt, sour and bitter. Allāh has granted humans taste buds to enjoy His blessings. There are many gustatory images in the Qur'ān:

And remember ye said: "O Moses! We cannot endure one kind of food (always); so beseech thy Lord for us to produce for us of what the earth groweth, its pot-herbs, and cucumbers, its garlic, lentils, and onions." (2:61)

Tactile Images Tactile images evoke the sense of touch: One Day the earth and the mountains will be in violent commotion. And the mountains will be as a heap of sand poured out and flowing down. (73:14)

Olfactory Olfactory images pertain to the sense of smell. Nature is resplendent with sweet smelling scents and perfumes, in its flowers, foliage and fruits, blossoms, grasses and even the earth itself, especially at the turn of seasons and on rainfall. An olfactory earth image occurs in the following verse:

It is He Who has spread out the earth for (His) creatures: Therein is fruit and date-palms, producing spathes (enclosing dates); also corn, with (its) leaves and stalk for fodder, and sweet-smelling plants. (55:10-12)

Auditory Images

The Day when they will hear a (mighty) Blast in (very) truth: that will be the Day of Resurrection. (50:42)

An oft-repeated auditory image is the blowing of the trumpet:

The Day that the Trumpet shall be sounded, and ye shall come forth in crowds; (78:18)

Similes How close the doomsday might be is brought home to man by such verses:

To Allāh belongeth the Mystery of the heavens and the earth. And the Decision of the Hour (of Judgment) is as the twinkling of an eye, or even quicker (16:77).

The crumbling of the apparently solid mountains is brought home by some similes:

i. The Day that the sky will be like molten brass, and the mountains will be like wool, (70:8-9).ii. (It is) a Day whereon men will be like moths scattered about, and the mountains will be like carded wool. (101:4-5)

Metaphors Scenes pertaining to the end of the world e.g. the boiling of seas, turning of mountains to dust, etc. that appear to be metaphoric would actually be true as proved by modern scientific research:

When the Sky is cleft asunder; When the Stars are scattered; When the Oceans are suffered to burst forth; And when the Graves are turned upside down;- (Then) shall each soul know what it hath sent forward and (what it hath) kept back. (82:1-5)


Personification Personification an important attribute of Qur'ān's dynamic style. The earth is generally personified in the Qur'ān and appears as living and dead, swelling and giving birth, adorning itself, telling her tidings, shedding tears as well singing Allāh's praises, etc. There are frequent references to the dead earth being brought to life as proof of resurrection:

Then contemplate (O man!) the memorials of Allāh's Mercy! How He gives life to the earth after its death: verily the same will give life to the men who are dead: for He has power over all things. (30:50)

The Qur'ān is a book for the guidance of man. As such it appeals not just to man's reason but also his emotions and senses. The appeal to emotions is made by concretely presented imagery. Doomsday, Resurrection, Judgment, Hell and Heaven are not just mentioned. Rather, they are presented concretely in graphic detail evoking senses of sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste, etc. Their emotional appeal strengthens their appeal to reason. The Qur'ān uses concrete imagery to present the most abstract of concepts. It is because an average human being is not given to abstract thinking. Allāh Who created the human being, knows human nature best and adopts the most effective style for conveying His Message.

Contributed by Fauzia Tanveer Shaikh, Ph. D.Author of 'Nature Imagery in Al-Qur'an,' 2012.


Annexure Two

Subject Index


Annexure Three

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Glimpse of Views and Reviews

Prof Fateh Muhammad Malik, SIRector, International Islamic University, Islamabad

English translation and Paraphrasing of the Quran by Dr. Badr Hashemi is not just another addition to the pool of intellectual thought process; it is a piece of distinguished scholarship where he has introduced the concept of translation blended with paraphrasing to make understanding of the meaning of the Quran easily accessible and comprehensible.

He places the subjects of each Surah within its historic perspective and cultural context. This creates the effect of relating the subjects not only to the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), but also to today's world thereby transforming it into a source of practical guidance and a reference for dealing with contemporary issues.

The three column approach on every page and for every statement, combined with straight letters for translation, italics for paraphrasing present a convenient guide to understanding the Divine Message in its perspective. The Arabic text with parallel translation adds tremendous value for those who may not be very familiar with the Arabic language.

We are living in a time when there is a rapidly growing realization of an urgency to understand and transform our lives in accordance with the Quran. The tide of Islamic renaissance is both a product of and a stimulant to this awareness. Without this we will never rediscover ourselves, never give rational and scientific meaning to our existence and never find respect in this global village. Most importantly, without the Quran, humanity will continue to slide towards the abyss of moral and social extinction.

During these crucial times, this remarkable effort of Dr. Badr seeks to kindle in some hearts the desire to set out on the journey of the Quran, and for it to serve as their companion. To those who benefit from this approach, my plea is not to forget Dr. Badr in their prayers. May Allah bless him with His Guidance and make his work a source of guidance for all.

Justice Fida Muhammad Khan, Ph.D.Federal Shari'a Court of Pakistan

Dr. Badr Hashemi presents a beautiful translation and paraphrasing of the Holy Quran in a free-flow, wholesome and contemporary English. He has deliberately avoided the usual long wording in parentheses and has preferred to give the exact meaning of every phrase of the Arabic text in straight type script and expressed the paraphrasing for explanation in italic script. All the injunctions, commandments, directives, warnings, admonitions or fundamentals of the Faith of Islam are highlighted in bold letters.

This shows a great deal of diligence and sincerity of purpose. This was a difficult task but he has successfully handled it in a beautiful manner. May Allah reward him for his sincere effort, and make it beneficial for the keen learners who really seek guidance to remain on the Straight Path.


Professor Mu?ammad al-Ghazāli, Ph.D.Chair, The Qur'anic Studies, IRI, International Islamic University,

Islamabad

Brother Badr Hashemi has included himself in the honorable list of writers on the Qur'ān. He has devoted his exceptional talents and energies to this labor of love for several years and has delved in the depths of this shoreless ocean. He continues his utmost intellectual concentration on understanding the Qur'ān with great zeal and fervor. In the present work brother Badr Hashemi has made a commendable effort to relate the Message of the Qur'ān to the pressing problems of modern man.

The value of the author's effort lies in his earnest attempt to elaborate the contents of the Qur'ānic text wherever such an elaboration was required by the brevity of Qur'ānic Statements. When the Qur'ān enters a theme of significance, its discourse is supplemented by similar Statements at other places in different contexts. The author has assembled all relevant Statements at one place to make the reader's task easier. Moreover, often times, the Qur'ānic discourse proceeds on the basis of given premises. These premises are intrinsic to the Qur'ānic universe of knowledge and guidance. Without due notice of this epistemological and teleological framework in which Qur'ān speaks to man, it is not easy to make sense of the perennial Qur'ānic Message. The author of this work has supplied this necessary clue to the Qur'ānic world-view to the readers. This has been an essential task of every commentator of the Qur'ān. However, brother Badr Hashemi has performed this onerous task without encumbering his work with copious foot notes. He deserves our admiration and gratitude for this noble contribution. May Allāh accept his service to His Book, and enable his readers to make the best use of this valuable contribution to the study of the Qur'ān.

Prof. Zia ul Haq Yusufzai, Ph.D.Chairperson Department of Arabic, National University of Modern

Sciences, Islamabad

Paraphrasing of the Quran is a challenging task. It is demanding as well as compile complicated than a plain translation or even detailed commentary as it weaves into the translation an optimized level of details with the same flow, rhythm and smoothness. This challenge has been handled with great care and outstanding skill by Dr. Badr Hashmi: translation is presented in straining in straight script and extended paraphrased wording is woven in the script.

His work is simple, direct and hits a mid-point between poetry and prose where he tries, as much as possible, to present the Message of the Quran for English speakers-the way the Quran would have functioned for listeners of Arabic. Unlike other translation, the work adheres closely to the original Arabic syntax, meaning that this translation can easily be used in tandem with a recitation of the Quran. The language and the choice of words is striking and beautiful.

His paraphrasing is for a general audience rather than for specialists and doesn't assume any great background knowledge about Islam and/or the Quran. The effort can serve as an introduction to Islam and the Quran, but more significantly it explains how the Quran is and can be used in our daily life. After reading the first four of the six volumes, I felt the need for Muslims to change their approach towards the Quran, and read it like lovers of Allah, which in turn will open doors for better perception, correct understanding and revolutionize our lives for the better.

The fact that Dr. Badr has endeavored to present a non-partisan translation makes it all the more respectable and acceptable than the many other existing translations. Reading a good translation such as this one can help us not only gain wisdom, but also articulate this wisdom for others. We are indeed indebted to Dr. Badr for producing an outstanding work with unique style.


Prof. Dr. Wathiq Ahmed,Chairperson, Department of Islamic Studies, National University of

Modern Sciences, Islamabad

It is a brilliant feat, accomplished in a beautiful manner. The choice of words and careful paraphrasing of each sentence with clarity of vision makes the understanding of meaning of each Ayat easier for English reading public and one feels like being in company of a scholar worth his name.

Muhammad Zahirul Hassan, Ph.D.Portage, MI. USA

Brother Badr Hashemi has devoted care and attention to the tone and approach of the book which is non-sectarian, true to the spiritual intent of Allāh-consciousness, sincere toward leading to piety and righteousness, not adhering dogmatically to any particular school-of-thought.

The style of presenting the paraphrasing, notes in italics, and other textual material is persuasive that is inviting both for Muslim and also for non-Muslim readers. Comparatively, at several places, citations from Torah and Injīl provided viz-a-viz Qur'ān put an issue in perspective from all three monotheistic faiths originating from the common patriarch Abraham, peace be upon him.

I trust it would equally help in refining and fine tuning what everyone knows about the Qur'ān, Islām, and Muslims.

Sandi Howard, Intellectual,Florida, United States of America

For me Badr's English Translation and Paraphrasing of the Quran is a blessing from Allah. It promotes true understanding of Allah and Islam. I am amazed and inspired. Thank you Badr.

Tinuviel Pillywiggens, Inter-Faith Moderator,United Kingdom

No translation of the Quran helped me understand the Message of God as clearly as Badr's English paraphrasing of the Quran.I can finally see what God was saying in the Quran. I pray that God smiles on Badr today and everyday.

Ahmed Shah Bukhari, Ph.D.Head of Islamic Studies Faculty. DAPS, Karachi

Badr Hashemi's English translation and paraphrasing of the Holy Quran is a massive work of genuine enterprise and great intellectual scholarship which bears the outcome of a Faithful's honest exertions.

It is not a verbatim translation of the Holy Quran and the translator consciously does away with the use of archaic language. He has tried to be as much faithful as possible to the true meaning of Allah's Words. It is succinct and there is a poetic feeling every now and then when one flips over to any of the pages of the translated work. It is a translation which grasps the magnitude of the original text.

The entire paradigm of rendering something in translation be of Holy Quran or any Scripture is


immensely a daunting adventure . Yet neither do we feel such an indication nor does the translator's language flicker a bit. It is an honest effort and this contribution in the service of the Holy Book deserves praise in every sense of the word. This translation is yet another step in order to better understand the Message of Almighty. It is and invaluable contribution in the translation of the Quran.

Naveed Anwar, Executive Director,Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand

It is clearly the most succinct and un-ambiguous translation and paraphrasing of the Holy Quran that I have read. The bulleted, short sentence style makes it very easy to read, understand and remember. The choice of words seems very conscious and contextual as well as relevant to the present where applicable. I am particularly impressed by the choice of the term 'The Faithful' as opposed to commonly used expression of 'Faithful Muslims' or 'Muslim Faithful'as subtle, yet conveys the depth of the meaning and distinction between Faithful and Muslim'.

This shows a great deal of diligence and sincerity of purpose. This was a difficult task but he has successfully handled it in a beautiful manner. May Allah reward him for his sincere effort and make it beneficial for the keen learners who really seek guidance to remain on the Straight Path.

Journal of History & Philosophy of Science, Vol. 15, No. 2, 2009.S.M. Jafar, Ph.D.

It is the first step for the achievement of the long-standing need to facilitate the younger generation to acquire an objective understanding of what the Qur'an has to say and, consequently, shape their lives in a manner that pleases Allah. It is also intended for young ladies and gentlemen, around the world who are being raised and educated in an English-speaking environment, imposed with challenges of identity and practices of Islam. Badr Hashemi deserves our highest commendation for undertaking this challenging task. This is an excellent effort.

Journal of History & Philosophy of Science, Vol. 15, No. 2, 2009.Mrs. Ayesha Asad

Badr Hashemi has attempted, with painstaking detail, to maintain the literal meaning, while paraphrasing what is meant in each ayah. To differentiate between the two, the literal meaning is printed in normal text and additional words in italic script, extremely helpful for the reader. The flow of the paraphrased text makes it easier for the reader to understand the true message of the ayah. It is a very ambitious effort and I am certain the modern English-speaking readers will find it friendly, which is the goal of this project. Overall, a very brave effort indeed!

Naveed Aslam, Ph.D.Head of Islamic Studies Dept., Aisha Bawany Academy, Karachi

It is the most profound scholarly work of Brother Badr Hashmi. His monumental translation and annotation serves as a matchless aid to understanding the Holy book of Islam and provides in itself a complete education in the faith. If one is new to the Holy Qur'an, I hope that this Book will provide a balanced view of the heart of the Qur'an. If one is already a student of the Holy Qur'an, I hope this will perhaps awaken a new appreciation for the universal spiritual wisdom of the Book. May people profit from this and may God be pleased with his efforts. (Ameen)


About BH

Badr Hashemi (BH) was born (1944) and raised in a religious family environment which inherited a legacy of the centuries' old tradition of dispensing values, virtues and education. He completed the elementary learning and partly memorized the Qur'ān while under ten and continued with learning the Arabic language, grammar and exegesis of the Qur'ān and Hadith in parallel with formal western education in social sciences anddevelopment studies.

BH attended sandwich courses at Al-Azhar in the Qur'ānic Arabic and lectures in interpretation of the Qur'ān and Fiqh by Shykh Ali Al-Tantāwī (Faqīh) in Cairo, and Shykh Yūsuf Al-Qaradāwī (Faqīh) in Qatar. He had periodic learning sessions with Professor A. J. Arberry (Roman Catholic, translator of the Qur'ān and Ahādith, etc.) during the mid-sixties while BH was a student at the University of Cambridge (UK), and, later in the late-eighties with Muhammad Asad (Jewish convert to Islām, translator of the Qur'ān and Ahādith, etc.) in Gibraltar.

BH is a Professional Economist and a Fellow of the World Bank Institute of Development Economics in Washington DC, and the United Nations Asian Development Institute. Worked as a civil servant in Pakistan and was part of the international civil service with the United Nations. He has been a keynote speaker at international seminars/conferences in Europe, the Middle East-North Africa, and the Far East; widely traveled with long periods of stay in the Arab Middle East and North Africa.

Well versed in Arabic and English and well read in the Torah, the Psalms, the Injīl, Islamic history and culture, ancient civilizations and comparative religions, BH has held interactive discussions with Jewish Rabbis and Christian Priests in North America and Western Europe. He has visited various sites and places of history enumerated in the Torah, the Injīl and the Qur'ān – scattered from the Nile delta through the Levant to Babylon.

BH initiated work on 'English Translation and Paraphrasing of the Qur'ān' in 1999 with the aim of understanding the Qur'ān with the Qur'ān. This research project has progressed beyond its midway. Four of its six volumes are available in soft and hard copies. In addition, he has published 'An Anthology of The Highlights of The Qur'ān' with Arabic text, and 'Highlights of The Qur'ān' (English only) in pocket size. These are available at Amazon. His recent publication, titled 'The Divine 99' is available from The Islamic Research Institute, International Islamic University, Faisal Masjid Campus, Islamabad, Pakistan.

He is also exploring the principal thematic issues in the Hadith literature that form the common heritage between the Shiite and the Sunni schools of thought in Islam. BH can be reached via email at [email protected]

last pages - quran highlightsquranhighlights.com/books/anthology-quran/115-closing-plea.pdfenglish...

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