حضور نبی کریم صلی اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم کو امی کہنا کیسا؟

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In ref: Shariat Petition NO.4/L/2006

Dear Sir,

I have fully read the contents of the petition and thereby wish to express that I agree with the petitioner and endorse the argument that the Holy Quran (Elimination of Printing Errors) Act (LIV) of 1973 was formulated to prohibit the erroneous printing and publication of the “text of the Quran” and that permitting the dissemination of translations containing errors that are particularly derogatory in fact defeats the purpose of the legislation. I feel this law is inadequate and ought to be comprehensive in order to ensure the Holy Quran is not printed with errors in meaning as well as the Arabic text.

My reasons are set out below:

1)    In point 2 of the petition, the petitioner claims that “the text of the Holy Quran includes words as well as the axiomatic meanings”.

I agree with this concept however there is some detail required here. In light of the books of uloom al-Quran, it is not possible for any translation of the Quran to claim full encapsulation of its meanings therefore every possible translation must be in accordance with support from the Arabic language, Scripture, reliable statements of the Noble Prophet (upon him peace and blessings) and Companions, which are found in the reliable books of Tafsir, and therefore an interpretation of the meanings of the Quran and not directly the meaning itself.

The specialists of Islamic law (ahl-e-usool) have discussed the definition of the word “Quran” at length. They agree that the term “Quran” denotes the “Arabic text” including its “meanings indicated to” (madloolat). Sadr al-Shariah Mahboobi writes in his compendium on the Principles of Law titled “al-Tawdeeh li-Matn al-Tanqeeh”,

"إن القرآن عبارة عن النظم الدال على المعنى ومشايخنا قالوا: إن القرآن هو النظم والمعنى، والظاهر أن مرادهم النظم الدال على المعنى".

Translation: “The Quran is an expression referring to the text indicative of certain meanings. Our scholars said, the Quran refers to the wording and meaning, what they mean by this is that the Quran is the text and the meaning it indicates to”.

Allamah Taftazani writes in its commentary, Sharh al-Talwih,

"قالوا القرآن هو النظم والمعنى جميعا وأرادوا أنه النظم الدال على المعنى للقطع بأن كونه عربيا مكتوبا في المصاحف منقولا بالتواتر صفة للفظ الدال على المعنى لا لمجموع اللفظ والمعنى".

(شرح التلويح على التوضيح لمتن التنقيح، سعد الدين مسعود بن عمر التفتازاني الشافعي (المتوفى : 793هـ))

Translation: “The scholars of Usool assert the Quran refers to words and meanings. What they intend by this is, the Quran is “wording that indicates to certain meanings” because it is certainly true that this attribute of the Quran “being in the Arabic language, composed in the scriptures and transmitted by mass-narration” is an attribute of the Quranic wording in the sense that it denotes certain meanings, and this is not the attribute of both the wording and meaning as a whole”.     

However, the ulama of Uloom al-Quran assert that it is practically impossible for any person to present a translation of the Quran that includes every intended meaning and purpose of the text. Yet it is possible for an expert exegete (mufassir) to “interpret the meanings of the Quran” in to another language. This interpretation of the meanings in to another language cannot claim to encapsulate all of the meanings and purposes of the text so it is not decisively the meaning of the Quran that is revealed by Allah Almighty upon the Final Messenger (upon him peace and blessings) unless there is a decisive proof because many Quranic words are homonyms (mushtarak), metaphorical (majaz) and obscure (khafiy).  

Allamah Abdul Azeem Zarqani says in Manahil al-Irfan,

 "إن ترجمة القرآن بهذا المعنى مساوية لترجمة تفسيره العربي لأن الترجمة هنا لم تتناول في الحقيقة إلا رأي هذا المفسر وفهمه لمراد الله على قدر طاقته خطأ كان فهمه أو صوابا ولم تتناول كل مراد الله من كلامه قطعا فكأن هذا المفسر وضع أولا تفسيرا عربيا ثم ترجم هذا التفسير الذي وضعه". (مناهل العرفان، 2:135)

Translation: “a translation of the Quran in this sense [i.e. an interpretation of the Quranic meanings] is similar to a translation of the Arabic exegesis of the Quran because here the translation does not in reality contain except the view of this exegete and what he understood to be the intended meaning of Allah Almighty according to his ability, whether his view is mistaken or accurate. It is for certain that his translation does not include all of the Divine intended meanings in his commentary and it is as though this exegete has first created an Arabic commentary then translated it”.  

Allamah Zarqani quotes the following statement from a fatwa issued by the Azhar committee banning altering the meanings of the Quran in its interpretation, that is when the text does not accommodate a specific meaning,

"وقد قضت نصوص الشريعة بأن يصان القرآن الكريم من كل ما يعرضه للتبديل والتحريف وأجمع علماء الإسلام سلفا وخلفا على أن كل تصرف في القرآن يؤدي إلى تحريف في لفظه أو تغيير في معناه ممنوع منعا باتا ومحرم تحريما قاطعا". (مناهل العرفان، 2:134)

Translation: “all textual proofs of the Shariah declare that the Noble Quran be protected from everything that presents it forth for change and interpolation. The scholars of Islam have concurred, the early and late, that every change in the Quran that entails interpolation in the text or alteration in its meaning is strictly banned and decisively unlawful”.   

2)    The petitioner’s claim that the translation of the word Ummi into Urdu as “an-parh” is derogatory is also correct.

It is for sure and undoubtedly obvious to every Muslim that every name or title given to the Esteemed Prophet (upon him peace and blessings) in the Holy Quran is honourable and is essentially praiseworthy in its connotation. Therefore to translate one of the Prophetic names in to a meaning of another language that is derogatory in customary usage (istimal) is unlawful (haram) and a sin even if that meaning can be supported by the language (wada) of that word. It is true that the Esteemed Prophet was not educated by any human but this does not permit the word “uneducated” be attributed to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) merely on the basis of the language (wada). The reason for this is because the customary use (istimal) of this word is for someone who has “no knowledge”, whereas our Noble Prophet (Allah give him peace and blessings) was a highly intelligent, wise and knowledgeable person. Similarly, words such as “illiterate” and “an-parh” are derogatory in usage (istimal).  Even though, in the Urdu Lexicons, the word “an” means “without” and “parh” refers to “education”, this lexical meaning (wada) does not give a sufficient reason for using this name for the Esteemed Messenger due to the offensive connotation of the word. Therefore my argument is that the translation of such words must be (1) supported by the lexicons of the language translated from and of those translated into, but this is not sufficient, (2) hence the meaning supported by the language must not be used in a derogatory sense, (3) and it must be supported by the Scripture or reliable statements from the Esteemed Prophet, Companions and reliable scholars.

Now let us examine the word “ummi” in the Arabic language. In Arabic, this word holds several meanings. The famous lexicographer, Ibn Manzoor, writes in Lisan al-Arab,

"معنى الأمي المنسوب إلى ما عليه جَبَلَتْه أمه أي لا يكتب فهو أمي لأن الكتابة مكتسبة فكأنه نسب إلى ما يولد عليه أي على ما ولدته أمه عليه ". (لسان العرب لابن منظور،ج12/34)

Azahri, another linguist writes in al-Zaahir,

 "قيل للذي لا يكتب و لا يقرأ أمي ، لأنه على جبلته التي ولدته أمه عليها و الكتابة مكتسبة متعلمة و كذلك القراءة من الكتاب".(الزاهر للأزهري الهروي،ج1/109)

Raghib al-Asfahani writes in Gharib al-Quran,

"الأمي هو الذي لا يكتب و لا يقرأ من كتاب، وعليه حمل قول تعالى : ( هو الذي بعث في الأميين رسولاً منهم)".) غريب القرآن ، للراغب الأصفهاني،ص 28(

Below are some statements of the classical mufassirin in commentary to the verse 157 of Sura Araf containing the title “Ummi”.

(الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الرَّسُولَ النَّبِيَّ الْأُمِّيَّ الَّذِي يَجِدُونَهُ مَكْتُوباً عِنْدَهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَالْأِنْجِيلِ يَأْمُرُهُمْ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَاهُمْ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَائِثَ وَيَضَعُ عَنْهُمْ إِصْرَهُمْ وَالْأَغْلالَ الَّتِي كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ فَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِهِ وَعَزَّرُوهُ وَنَصَرُوهُ وَاتَّبَعُوا النُّورَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ مَعَهُ أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ) (الأعراف:157)

(1)  تفسير أنوار التنزيل وأسرار التأويل/ البيضاوي (ت 685 ه)

"ٱلأُمّىّ الذي لا يكتب ولا يقرأ، وصفه به تنبيهاً على أن كمال علمه مع حاله إحدى معجزاته".

Qazi Bayzawi says “Ummi refers to a person that does not write or read, he has been attributed with this name in order to make people aware that his perfect knowledge is one of his miracles despite his condition”.

(2) تفسير إرشاد العقل السليم إلى مزايا الكتاب الكريم/ ابو السعود (ت 951 ه)

"الأُمّىّ بضم الهمزة نسبةً إلى الأم، كأنه باقٍ على حالته التي وُلد عليها من أمّه، أو إلى أمة العرب كما قال عليه الصلاة والسلام: " إنا أمةٌ لا نحسُب ولا نكتب " أو إلى أم القرى، وقرىء بفتح الهمزة أي الذي لم يمارس القراءةَ والكتابة وقد جمع مع ذلك علومَ الأولين والآخِرين".

Allamah Abu Saud asserts that “the Noble Prophet (Allah give him peace and blessings) did not practice writing or reading yet however he gathered the knowledge of first and last nations”.

(3) تفسير البحر المحيط/ أبو حيان (ت 754 هـ)

"والأميّ الذي هو على صفة أمة العرب إنا أمة أمية لا نكتب ولا نحسب فأكثر العرب لا يكتب ولا يقرأ قاله الزجاج، وكونه أمّياً من جملة المعجز، وقيل: نسبة إلى أم القرى وهي مكة، وروي عن يعقوب وغيره أنه قرأ { الأميّ } بفتح الهمزة وخرج على أنه من تغيير النسب والأصل الضّم كما قيل في النسب إلى أميّة أموي بالفتح أو على أنه نسب إلى المصدر من أم ومعناه المقصود أي لأنّ هذا النبي مقصد للناس وموضع أم، وقال أبو الفضل الرازي: وذلك مكة فهو منسوب إليه لكنها ذكرت إرادة للحرم أو الموضع".

Here Allamah Abu Hayyan asserts that Ummi is either derived from 1) “the Arab nation” meaning someone belonging to the Arab nation that did not read or write. Him being from such a nation with such immense knowledge was a miracle 2) or from Umm al-Qura, i.e. someone resident in Makkah 3) or place that is purposefully sought by people. 

 4) تفسير مفاتيح الغيب ، التفسير الكبير/ الرازي (ت 606 هـ))

 "ثم إنه تعالى آتاه علوم الأولين والآخرين وأعطاه من العلوم والحقائق ما لم يصل إليه أحد من البشر، ومع تلك القوة العظيمة في العقل والفهم جعله بحيث لم يتعلم الخط الذي يسهل تعلمه على أقل الخلق عقلاً وفهماً، فكان الجمع بين هاتين الحالتين المتضادتين جارياً مجرى الجمع بين الضدين وذلك من الأمور الخارقة للعادة وجار مجرى المعجزات."

Imam Razi here asserts that Allah Almighty gave the Noble Prophet (Allah give him peace and blessings) knowledge of the earlier and late nations and was given knowledge of reality that no human can reach yet was somebody that did not learn how to write, a task that can easily be accomplished by the least capable person. Both of these qualities make him a gifted and miraculous person.

Summary:

We learn from the above statements of the Mufassirin that the word ummi is used as an honourable title of the Noble Prophet (Allah give him peace and blessings). Translating this as “someone who did not read or write” or “someone that did not study how to read and write” is a valid translation as we have shown from the reliable tafsir corpus and lexicons of the Arabic language. But to translate this using a word that in any way suggests he was “unaware”, “ignorant”, “uninformed” and “lacking knowledge” is unacceptable. Qazi Bayzawi, Allamah Abu Saeed, Imam Razi all clearly explained the word ummi in a praiseworthy sense and assert that this attribute does not contradict his vast knowledge that Allah Almighty granted him. In other words, the Prophet of Islam did not learn how to read or write like other people but had knowledge of this gifted by Allah Almighty. Did the Prophet of Islam (Allah give him peace and blessings) ever actually write or read from a text? This is a separate discussion that we need not to delve into at this point but it is important to note that there are two valid views among the classical ulama as Allamah Alusi Baghdadi mentioned in his Tafsir Ruh al-Maani in commentary of the abovementioned verse (Araf:157). On the basis of these texts, therefore the term “an-parh” due to its negative sense and usage (istimal), is not a suitable translation of ummi even though, linguistically in the Urdu language it means someone without education. It is therefore reprehensible to translate ummi as “an-parh”. The petitioner’s reference from Sura Baqarah (2:104) is precise at this point.

Suitable translations for Nabiy Ummi include “bina-parhey nabi” as this is not used in the derogatory connotation, it accommodates the meaning that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was not educated by any human and also befits his lofty status.

The conclusion of this discussion is:

1)    To support the petition in banning translations of the Quran that use language unbefitting Allah Almighty and His Messenger and that is language that has derogatory connotations even if the purpose of translator is to express a valid point

2)    To support the petition in making the Holy Quran Law a comprehensive one to include translations

3)    To support the petition in its claim that the term “an-parh” is derogatory and not befitting the lofty and great status of the Noble Prophet of Islam (Allah give him peace and blessings).

أن مجرد إيهام المعنى المحال كاف في المنع عن التلفظ بهذا الكلام ، وإن احتمل معنى صحيحا