Misinterpretations of the Qur'an by John Bogle

Exposing the Wahh~bisl in their wrong interpretations of the Qur 'fIn.

1 This refers to the followers of Muhammad ibn /\Abdul Wahhf!b who revived the misguided teachings of Ibn Taymiyah, both of whom lived many centuries after Prophet Mullammad, !iallallghu /\alayhi wa sallam, and his companions. The Wahhf!bis also falsely give themselves the title of Salafis and Ahlul-fiadeeth.

Praise be to Allgh, the Lord of the worlds, the One Who protects the Religion by scholars who implement their knowledge, who are humble and who are knowledgeable about Allgh. May Allgh raise the rank of Prophet Muhammad, ~allallghu Aalayhi wa sallam, his kind Aal, Companions and those who genuinely follow them. May Allgh protect the nation of Prophet Muhammad, ~allallghu Aalayhi wa sallam, from what Prophet Muhammad, ~allallghu Aalayhi wa sallam, fears for it. Thereafter: Allgh taAglg revealed in Al-Qur'f!n: '7

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Aayah 104 of Sy..rah Aal-A/mraan (S3) means: "Let there arise from among you a group of people who invite to righteousness, who command the obligatory and who forbid the unlawful. Those are the ones who shall be successful". In the aforementioned verse we are encouraged to speak out against those who are acting unlawfully. In fact warning against the deviant and straying people is not just recommended, but is an obligatory matter. Also, since warning against the person who cheats the Muslims in articles of trade is obligatory, it is even more important to warn against the person who deceives others in what pertains to the religious rules. Sadly, there are people nowadays who claim to be following the Prophet ~allallghu Aalayhi wa sallam, but who are spreading misguidance throughout the world. The Messenger of Allgh, ~allallghu Aalayhi wa sallam, warned us against such people as was mentioned in the hadeeth related by Al-Bukhaariyy, Muslim and others: ,

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This means: "There are people from our nation who speak the same language as we speak, but who mix the truth that you know with the falsehood that you reject. They beckon to Hellfire and invite others to their deviation. Those who obey them will be thrown into Hellfire. "

Hence, it is of utmost importance for the Muslim to investigate thoroughly into the person from whom they acquire the religious knowledge. In the introduction to his book, A.J..-S.a!1ee!1, Imgm Muslim narrated the saying of the highly respected follower of the companions, Mu!1ammad ibn Seereen, who said:

This means: 'This knowledge is religion, so look thoroughly into the one from whom you take your religion'. This pamphlet has been compiled principally to expose misinterpretations of the Qur'~n and deceptions of people who claim to be Muslims of this 'ummah (nation). It is not permissible for one to remain silent in the face of those who are trying to deceive the nation of Prophet Mu!1ammad, .J..allallghu /\alayhi wa sallam. This is why the great Imgm /\Aliyy Aby. Daqqaaq said, "The one who does not voice the truth (while able) is (like) a mute devil". We ask Allgh to make this pamphlet of widespread benefit. -------

May Allgh grant us a sincere intention and a good ending. Let it be known that Allqh exists without place or direction. Allqh is not in one place and is not in every place - and the question "where?" does not apply to Allgh. If anyone had a belief contrary to what has been stated, then let them repent and immediately utter the Testifications of Faith (shahaadatayn). Let them thank Allqh that they learnt the truth before they died. Moreover, remember that Allqh does not need our worship and is not harmed by our disobedience. We believe in every aayah of the Qur'~n just as it was revealed. However, we object to the mistranslations produced by many individuals under the pretence of teaching people about Isl~m. An ignorant person may intend to do good, but often just do wrong as a result of his ignorance.

Take note that the distribution of so-called translations of the Qur'I!n is not how Islam was spread in the past. Moreover, the Prophet, ~allallghu /\a/ayhi wa sallam, did not just order for parts of the Qur'I!n or for the whole of the honourable Qur'~n to be distributed amongst the Arabs - even though the Qur' ~n was revealed in their language. Rather the Muslims taught the non-Muslims about IsII!m and as a result many thousands embraced this beautiful religion. Likewise the millions who embraced Islam in countries like Indonesia and Malaysia did not embrace Islam simply as a result of a translation of the Qur'an being distributed amongst them in their language. Rather they embraced IsI~m after observing the good practices of the knowledgeable Muslim traders who visited those places. We accept that Allah is attributed with Arabic terms like Wajh and Yad, but we do not accept that it is correct to translate these terms as "a Face" and "a Hand". Likewise we do not accept that it is permissible to attribute Allah with laughing, descent, a foot, fingers or legs, all of which are attributes that are specific to the creation and not the Creator. To attribute Allah with attributes such as laughing or having legs is kufr (blasphemous). Despite this, these kufr statements are evident in a widespread so-called translation of the Qur' an produced by the Wahh~bis [see scans]. Ibn Baaz, one of the leaders of this organisation, even explicitly claimed: "Allgh has a limit, but only Allgh knows His own limit" - and this is explicit blasphemy (kufr) , because it is like saying, "Allgh has a defect, but only Allgh knows His defect". Likewise it is blasphemy to say that "Allah has legs, but not like our legs" or to say, "Allgh has a son who is not like our sons". Note that the previous statements are not the same as saying "Allgh has knowledge that is not like our knowledge". One can say "Allgh has knowledge" and stop at that since the term knowledge is unreservedly befitting when attributed to Allgh; one does not need a qualifying statement such as "but not like our knowledge". However, one cannot say "Allgh has a son" or "Allah has a leg" and subsequently just say, "but not like our sons or our legs". This latter statement does not clear them of their blasphemy because the terms "son" and "a leg" are inherently unbefitting when attributed to Allgh, while this is not true of the term "knowledge".

In summary, the Wahhabis, who claim to be Muslims, hold kufr beliefs about Allgh and these are clearly manifested in their so-called translations that appear in the English language. It is not acceptable to neglect warning against these people for the sake of unity within our communities. If someone was deceiving one's father in what pertains to the worldly matters, it would not be acceptable for one to remain quiet. It is even more unacceptable to remain quiet about those who are deceiving and misguiding others in relation to their religion. The unity that is encouraged in the religion is not achieved by being unified in contradicting the fundamentals of belief, but by being unified in adhering to the rules of the religion. It is not an obligation upon every Muslim to know the meaning of every aayah and every b.adeeth. Thus if one is asked about a text that is claimed to have a meaning that likens Allgh to the creation, then one must say that this interpretation is not valid. This is even if one does not know the correct interpretation of the verse. It is not the case that one is blameworthy for not knowing the correct detailed interpretation of every verse.

If a person has even one incorrect belief about Allgh, such as thinking that Allgh is physically everywhere or that Allgh has legs, then that person is a kaafir (blasphemer). The Wahh~bis attribute Allah with many human attributes and thus they are not considered as Muslims. Their widely distributed so-called translations illustrate this very clearly. For example, in the interpretation of S!:!.rah Al-Baqarah (S2) Verse 115, the Wahh~bis add comments to delude people into thinking that Allgh is above the throne [see scans]. Moreover, the so-called translation of the Wahh~bis reflects insincerity and misguidance on their part. For example, they firstly invent a rule that one must interpret literally all Qur'anic verses pertaining to God's attributes, i.e., without any ta 'weel ("figurative interpretation"). They then selectively apply this false rule to all verses which if taken literally might make a person think that God is in the sky and that God has the shape of a man. On the other hand, when it comes to verses that they consider to suggest that God is

everywhere, they correctly give them a figurative interpretation. In other words, they do not interpret literally those verses that imply that God is not in the sky; this is the case in their interpretation of S!:{rah Al-Hadeed (SS7) Verse 4, where they interpret the literal statement, "He is with you wherever you are" as "with His knowledge". However, they interpret literally those verses that they consider to support their views that Allgh is like a man (anthropomorphism); this is the case in their interpretation of S!:{rah Al-Qalam (S68) Verse 42 where they claim that Allgh will lay bare His Shin [see scans]. Another example of their deception in relation to the religious texts is their failure to translate a narration in S,ab.eeb. Al-Bukhaariyy which goes against their ill creed. If someone were to understand aayah 88 of S!:{rah Al-Qaยง..aยง.. (S28) according to one of its apparent literal meanings, he might say it means, "Everything vanishes except for the Face of God". Clearly this is not an acceptable interpretation. AlBukhaariyy interpreted it by saying that Wajh in the verse does not mean face, but means dominion (control). However, the Wahh;!bis in their so-called translation state that it means "Face", claiming that these are the words of Imgm Al-Bukhaariyy. Their deliberate failure to translate the actual words of Al-Bukhaariyy in this case is a clear deception on their part and an illustration of the danger of relying upon these so-called translations [see scans]. Finally, if one were to imagine a person who literally translates English idioms like "Give me a hand" or "He is pulling your leg," into other languages, there would be obvious errors in communication and a conveyance of wrong meanings. Many people ignore such basic considerations when translating religious texts into the English language. Hence, one needs to take great care when acquiring the religious knowledge. May Allgh protect us from being misguided and misguiding others. that those who contributed to this work die in Please ask Allah ta/\ala -a state of perfect 'eemaan.

Below are scans from a famous so-called translation of the Qur'!!.n. These examples illustrate the dangers of not learning properly and relying upon such texts. Note that the red text in the scans has been added.

It was said:

Translation of the meanings of

THE NOBLE

QUR'AN IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE BY Dr. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din AI-Hillili Formerly Professor of Islamic Faith and Teachings Islamic University, AI-Madinah A I-Munawwarah

AND Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan Formerly Director, University Hospita.1 Islamic University. AI-Madinah AI-Munawwarah

KING FAHD COMPLEX FOR THE PRINTING OF THE HOLY QUR'AN Madinah, K.S.A.

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In the Name o! Allah, the Most Gracious, the Mosl Merciful Foreword

,B y Dr. 'Abdullah ibn 'Abd a/-Muhsin al· Turk;, Minister for Islamic Affairs,

Endowments, Oa' wah and Guidance. The Supervisor General of the Complex Praise' be to' Allah, the Lord of Ihe wor,l ds, Who says in His Glorious Book, "There has come to you from Allah a light and a plain BOOk·, and peace ,and bles,s,ings of Allah be upon the noblest of the Prophets and Messengers, our Prophet Muhammad who has said, "The besl of you is he wholeams ll1e Qur'an and leacl1es it". Following ll1e directives of the CustodIan of the Two Ho~y Mosques, K ing Fahd ibn 'Abd al··Azlz AI SalCld, may Allah guard him, 10 give the book of Allah a:ll the importance due 10 rl ,its publicalion, its dislribulion throughout the world. preparation of its comment.a ry and translaLion of liS meanings into different I:anguages of lhe world; and in view ·o f the firm faith of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs. Endowments. Oa'wah and Guidance in Ihe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the ,importance of lranstaling the meanings of the Glorious Our'an into all the important languages of the world to enable ll1e non-Arable-speaking Muslims to understand it, and in fulfilment of the injuction of the Ptophe! ;$s ·Convey my message even if it be one single ayah", and with the view to serve our Engli shspeaking brethren. King Fahd Com,plex For the Printing of the Hioly Qur'an al al·Madinah al-Munawwarah has the pleasure to present the English-speaking reader with this English translation by Df-Muhammad Taqi,·ud Oi" al-Hilali and Dr,Muhammad Muhsin Khan . which has been revised on behalf ollhe Complex by Fazal lIahi Zahir, Dr. Amin ad· Din Abu Bakr. Or. Wajih 'Abderrahman and Dr, V : AbdurRahim. We praise Allah subMnqhr,J W/il la'(jla for His favour to us in completing this great work. praYing Him to accept Ihisas a sincere service for His sake, and for the benefit of the Muslims. We are aware of Ihe fact thallhe Iranslat.i on of (he meanings of I.he Glorious Our'an. however accurate il may be, must fall short 01 conve'y ing the wealth of meaning \hal the miraculous text of Ihe original conveys ; and that the meaning conveyed by translalion is onl)l the sum tol.a l lof what the translator has understood from the text of lhe Glorious Book of Allah, and that it cannat escape the defects and drawbacks that are inherent in every human endeavour. We. therefore, request every reader of !his transl:a tion ,to furnish the Complex wi-th ·any mistakes, omission or addition that he may find in it so that they ma.y be eliminated in subsequent editions in shll' Allah. II is Allah Who bestows success, and guide,s t.O the Straight Path.

Note: The above text makes a claim that the authors are sincere in their efforts. However, sincerity alone is not enough. Consider that an idol worshipper does not think he is committing kufr whilst sincerely worshipping his own handmade idol. Hence, not every sincere endeavour is rewardable - rather what is rewardable and acceptable is what complies with the rules of the religion.

Below are scans from this very widely distributed so-called translation which attributes to Allqh human qualities such as "laughing" and parts such as "legs"! These are all mistranslations of various religious texts for Allqh is free from having a face, eyes, hands, fingers, legs and feet. It vas said, (2J

(V.3:73) "The Qualities of AHAh J.l- Jr '

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\Y ~~I;1~~j~rJ;' JlN d~) HI£'{ ~ ZJ.#V:~H JW J~ Sifdt·ullfth (Qualities of Allah). All that has been revealed in Allah's Book [the Qur'anJ as regards the [SifaO Qualities of Allah .4 J i-" , the Most High .1ik~ His Face, Eyes, Hands, Shins, (Legs), His Coming, His ({slaws) rising over His Throne and others, or all that Mah's Messenger ~ .il~ .;qualified Him in the true authentic Prophet's Ahadith (narrations) as regards His Qualities· like lNuzD~ , His Descent or His laughing and others, the religious schola.rs of the Quran and the Sunnah believe io these Qualities of AIl~h and they confirm that these are realty His Qualities, without Ta'.wil (interpreting their meanings into different things) or Tashbih" (giving resemblance Or Similarity 10 any of lhe crealures} or [Ta 'tm (completely ignoring or denying them i.e., there is no Face, or Eyes or Hands, or Shins for Allah). These Qualities befit or suit only for AllAh Alone, and He does not resemble any of (His) creatures. As AllAh's Statement (in the aur'an): (1) "There is nothing like Him, and He is Ihe All-Hearer, the AU-Seer' (V.42:11) (2) There is none comparable unto Him (V. 112:4)."

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The following page shows aayah 115 of Sgrah Al-Baqarah. If taken literally, this would erroneously be interpreted as "Wherever you direct yourself, God is there", or as "The face of God is there"! However, God is neither in every place, nor in one place. God existed prior to creating the place and after creating the place God still exists without a place. Moreover, Imqm Al-Iabariyy narrated that Imqm Mujaahid, the student of ibn "A bbaas , radiyallaahu I\anhu, said that wajhullaah in this aayah means qiblatullaah; thus when you are riding an animal and want to pray the najl (optional) prayer, then the qiblah (direction of prayer) is the direction in which this animal is moving. Hence, a near literal and more accurate translation would be, "Whichever direction you face in such a situation is owned by Allqh."

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115. And to Allah belong the east and the west, so wherever you tum (yourselves or your faces) there is the Face of Allah (and He is High above, over His Throne). Surely! Allah is AIlSufficient for His creatures' needs, AllKnowing.

In relation to Sy'rah Al-Hadeed (S57) verse 4 shown below, the scholars said istawaa can have 15 different meanings. But the Wahh~bis only choose meanings like 'sitting' or 'rising above' etc, whilst ignoring the other possible meanings. The correct meaning of the term istawaa in this verse is qahara (to subdue) or al-isteelaa' (to subjugate) as was mentioned by Hafidh ibn Rajab AI-Hambaliyy and others. Hence, the meaning of this verse is 'the /\arsh is subjugated to A llgh , , i.e. the /\arsh is under the Control of Allgh. Also, there is a part of the same verse that if taken literally would mean, 'God is with you wherever you are'. The Wahh~bis do not take this part literally and correctly suggest that it means, 'God knows about you wherever you are'. However, this highlights their insincerity: they first claim that we should take all verses literally, but when the literal interpretation goes against their ill creed, they make exceptions to their own innovated principle. I t WIlS

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4. He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days and then rose over (Islawd) the Throne (in a manner that suitS His Majesty), He knows what goes bilO the earliland what comes fort h from it, and what desce nds from the heaven and what ascends thereto. And He is Wilh you (by His Knowledge) wheresoever you may be. And Allah is the All-Seer or-vllat you do.

Shaykh Fakhr-ud-deen Ar-Raaziyy, who lived over 800 years ago, mentioned in his Tafseer (interpretation) of the above verse that God is not physically with us wherever we are and that the ijmaa/\ (unanimous agreement of the top scholars) has been established upon the fact that Allgh is not with us in terms of place, direction or occupancy. Hence, Allgh is neither in one place nor in every place.

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42. (Remember) the Day when the Shinltl shall be laid bare (i.c. the Day of Resurrection) and they shall be called to

prostrate themselves (to Allah), but they (hypocrites) shall not be able to do so. II)

(V.68: 42).

.jj , ~): I heard the Proph et r-J.,.t. ~ I ';- saying, "Alla.h will lay bare His Shin and Il'Ien all ihe believers, me n and women, will prostrate Il1emselves before Him; but there will remain those who used to prostrate themselvesinlhe wortd for showing off and for gaining good reputation. Such a one will try to prOStfale himself (on the Day ·01 Judg.ement) but his back (bones) will become a single (vertebra) booe (so he will not be able to prostrate). ($ahih AI-8ukhari. Vol .6. Hadilh No.441) . b) See the footnote of (V.3:73) "»-1 ..:"u...., .

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The above text illustrates a mistranslation of a h.adeeth and of aayah 42 of Syrah AI-Qalam (S68) that refer to a day of severe hardship. In this aayah the term saaq is used and this has been confirmed by the companion ibn ''Abbaas, radiyallaahu /\anhu, to mean shiddah (severity). This was narrated by Al-Bayhaqiyy in AI-Asmaa ' Wa§.(iifaat (pg 345). Despite this fact, the Wahh§:bis claim that saaq in this aayah does not mean severity, but that it means 'the Shin of Allgh'! What follows are further examples of mistranslations that are transmitted under the illusion of sincere scholarship, for example their claim that aayah 88 of Syrah Al-Qa§.a§. shows that Allgh has a Face. I t.

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88. And invoke not any other i/all (god) . alorlO wilh Allah: Lei i"-illa ilia IIlIwa (none . has ~he righl to be worshipped btu He).

Everything will perish save His Face. His is the Decision, and to Him you (aU) sha.ll be returned.

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The' Wahh~bis are fixated upon seeking out any verse that they believe will support their belief that God has Hands, a Face and Legs etc. However, there are numerous proofs against their ill creed. Amongst them is the clarification of the meaning of aayah 88 of Sy'rah AI-Qa§.a§. (S28). Imgm AI-Bukhaariyy clearly explains that the meaning of the Arabic term Wajh in this verse is not 'face' . However, the Wahh~bis attempt to hide this from the Muslims so as to give weight to their ill creed of likening Allgh to a man. Below is a scan from their so-called translation of the Saheeh - - - of Al-Bukhaariyy: It was said: \)0 to "0\\ ~J~ \ ~ t\) (28) SORAT AL-QA$A$ (The Narration) In the Name of Allah , the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful . "

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~'11~~ ~~j: This literally means, "Everything will be destroyed, except for His Wajh". In his chapter pertaining to the interpretation of Sy'rah AlQa§.a§., AI-Bukhaariyy interpreted Wajh to mean Mulk, i.e. dominion (control) and he said it can also mean that which is done for the sake of earning reward from Allgh. However, the Wahh~bis insist that this verse means, "Everything will perish except for the Face of God". The deceitful so-called 'Salafis' and so-called 'AhIuI Hadeeth', who are part of the Wahh~bi movement, often attempt to misguide the Muslims in the issues of belief. Hence, a clear proof of one of their deceptions can be obtained by viewing their so-called English translation of S.aheeh AI-Bukhaariyy. In this book they failed to reference this verse in the contents page and furthermore they

deceptively did not translate the saying of Bukhaariyy: 'illaa mulkah'. One might ask, "Why don't they translate this?" The reason is that they claim that Wajh in this verse means the 'face of God', and Imgm Al-Bukhaariyy clarifies that it does not mean this, but rather it means Mulk, i.e. dominion (control). Moreover, they delude the English reader for whom this translation was prepared into thinking that they are reading the translation of the Arabic text on the opposite side of the page. However, the Wahhยง:bis simply mistranslate the verse and then neglect to mention the actual narration of Al-Bukhaariyy! The previous scan is from a newer edition of their mistranslation. This deception also appeared in their first edition published in 1979, in which they wrote "save His countenance", which means facial expression. However, if one reads the Arabic one can clearly see that Imgm Al-Bukhaariyy interpreted "except His Wajh" as meaning "except His dominion" or "what is done for the sake of earning reward from Allgh", i.e. the reward of the good deeds done sincerely for the sake of Allgh will always remain. Deceptively, the Wahhยง:bis did not translate any of this and just wrote "save His Face"! Once again, for whom are such English translations produced? They are generally produced for people who cannot understand Arabic. Such people would read the English on the left side of the page and erroneously think that this is the meaning of the Arabic on the right, whereas in the above example this is clearly not the case. These people are tricking the Muslims in the matters of the religion and in particular in the issues of belief. If they were truly Ahlul Hadeeth, then they would not 'hide' the f1adeeth. The reality is that the af1adeeth are a proof against them. Subf1aanallaah, the deception of these people is so great that in some recent editions of this book, they have removed both the Arabic and the English! In conclusion, it is very clear that not only are the Wahhยง:bis misguided, but that they are not even sincere in what they do. Sadly some people find it difficult to accept the fact that these blasphemous (kufr) statements have been uttered by some famous personalities. However, one should put all such concerns aside and focus upon the issues at hand. Imยง:m J\Aliyy, radiyallaahu J\anhu, said, "The people are known by the truth; the truth is not known because of who the people are".

Thus know the truth and you will know the people of truth. Also note that this endeavour is not motivated by a wish to cause fitnah in the community. The purpose is to protect it from fitnah and to inshaa' Allaah educate the people so as to enable them to judge the right from the wrong. If the bad things are left without warning against them then they spread. And Allf!..h Knows Best.