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The Unclear Quran

(last update May 21 - added verses 51:2 and 86:7)

Quran 026:1-2: Ta. Sin. Mim. These are verses of the Book that makes (things) clear.

Quran 026:192-195
Verily this is a Revelation from the Lord of the Worlds:
With it came down the spirit of Faith and Truth-
To thy heart and mind, that thou mayest admonish.
In the perspicuous/plain Arabic tongue.

Quran 005:015: ... indeed, there has come to you light and a clear Book from Allah
Quran 044:058: And We have made (this Scripture) easy in thy language ...
Quran 002:001: This Book, there is no doubt in it ...
Quran 006:114: ... when He it is Who hath sent unto you the Book, explained in detail ...
Quran 054:022: But We have indeed made the Qur'an easy to understand ...

Contradictory translations
proving that the Quran apparently is NOT so clear and NOT so easy to understand, not even for bilingual islamic scholars ...
Quran 51:2

051.002
YUSUFALI: And those that lift and bear away heavy weights;
PICKTHAL: And those that bear the burden (of the rain)
SHAKIR: Then those clouds bearing the load (of minute things in space).

_________________________

Quran 86:7

086.007
YUSUFALI: Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs:
PICKTHAL: That issued from between the loins and ribs.
SHAKIR: Coming from between the back and the ribs.
SHER ALI: Which issues forth from between the loins and the breastbones.

note:
loins: the region of the hips and groin and lower abdomen / the lower part of the abdomen just above the external genital organs

_________________________

Quran 19:46

YusufAli
(The father) replied: "Dost thou hate my gods, O Abraham? If thou forbear not, I will indeed stone thee: Now get away from me for a good long while!"

Shakir
He said: Do you dislike my gods, O Ibrahim? If you do not desist I will certainly revile you, and leave me for a time.

Khan & Hilali:
He (the father) said: "Do you reject my gods, O Ibrāhim (Abraham)? If you stop not (this), I will indeed stone you. So get away from me safely before I punish you."

Irving:
He said: "Do you dislike my gods, Abraham? If you do not stop, I'll cast you out. Leave me alone as soon as you can!"

Pickthal:
He said: Rejectest thou my gods, O Abraham? If thou cease not, I shall surely stone thee. Depart from me a long while!

(Ahmadiyya Quran:)
He replied, 'Dost thou turn away from my gods, O Abraham? If thou desist not, I will surely cut off all relations with thee. Now leave me alone for a while.'

_________________________

Quran 70:40

Palmer
And I need not swear by the Lord of the easts and the wests; verily, we are able to change them for others better, nor are we prevented!

YusufAli:
Now I do call to witness the Lord of all points in the East and the West that We can certainly- Substitute for them better (men) than they; And We are not to be defeated (in Our Plan).

Sarwar:
I do not need to swear by the Lord of the eastern and western regions that We have certainly all the power to replace them by a better people and none can challenge Our power.

Grand Shaykh, Professor Hasan Qaribullah Dean of Umm Durman Islamic University:
No, I swear by the Lord of the Easts and the Wests that We have the ability to exchange them with others better than they; nothing can outstrip Us!

_________________________

Quran 75:1-2

YusufAli:
I do call to witness the Resurrection Day; And I do call to witness the self-reproaching spirit: (Eschew Evil).

Palmer:
I need not swear by the resurrection day! Nor need I swear by the self-accusing soul!

_________________________

Quran 90:1

YusufAli:
I do call to witness this City;-

Palmer: I need not swear by the Lord of this land,

Pickthal:
Nay, I swear by this city

Sarwar:
I do not (need to) swear by this town (Mecca)

Irving:
I swear by [this] countryside

_________________________

Quran 20:15

Shakir:
Surely the hour is coming-- I am about to make it manifest-- so that every soul may be rewarded as it strives:

YusufAli:
"Verily the Hour is coming - My design is to keep it hidden - for every soul to receive its reward by the measure of its Endeavour.

Palmer:
‘Verily, the hour is coming, I almost make it appear, that every soul may be recompensed for its efforts.

Pickthal:
Lo! the Hour is surely coming. But I will to keep it hidden, that every soul may be rewarded for that which it striveth (to achieve).

_________________________

Quran 21:112

YusufAli:
Say: "O my Lord! .....

Pickthal:
He saith: My Lord! .....

Palmer:
Say, ‘My Lord! .....

Shakir:
He said: O my Lord! .....

Khalifa:
Say, "My Lord, .....

Khan & Hilali:
He (Muhammad SAW) said:"My Lord! .....

_________________________

Quran 004.011

YusufAli:
..... to the male, a portion equal to that of two females: if only daughters, two or more, their share is two-thirds of the inheritance; if only one, her share is a half. For parents, .....

Pickthal:
..... to the male the equivalent of the portion of two females, and if there be women more than two, then theirs is two-thirds of the inheritance, and if there be one (only) then the half. And to each of his parents ....

Bijan Moeinian:
(Glorious Qur'an - An Easy to understand English Translation)
..... The sons will inherit twice as much as the daughters. If there is only one daughter (no son) left, she will receive half of the inheritance. If there are more than one daughter (and no son) they will receive 2/3rd of the inheritance together. The parents of the deceased ..... .

_________________________

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Quran 052.004

The author of the Quran swears by something that is man-made (the Ka'aba). Isn't this a bit strange for a 'God' to do?

052.001
YUSUFALI: By the Mount (of Revelation);
PICKTHAL: By the Mount,
SHAKIR: I swear by the Mountain,

052.002
YUSUFALI: By a Decree inscribed
PICKTHAL: And a Scripture inscribed
SHAKIR: And the Book written

052.003
YUSUFALI: In a Scroll unfolded;
PICKTHAL: On fine parchment unrolled,
SHAKIR: In an outstretched fine parchment,

052.004
YUSUFALI: By the much-frequented Fane;
PICKTHAL: And the House frequented,
SHAKIR: And the House (Kaaba) that is visited,

Mysterious words/letters

"About one-quarter of the Qur'anic suras are preceded by mysterious letter-symbols"

"The significance of these letter-symbols has perplexed the commentators from the earliest times."

"... interpretations are highly arbitrary and, therefore, devoid of any real usefulness…"
.............................................................................................................. [ M. Asad ]
Alif Lam Ra - Suras 10, 11, 12, 14, 15
Alif Lam Mim - Suras 2, 3, 29, 30, 31, 32
Alif Lam Mim Ra - Sura 13
Ha Mim - Suras 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46
Ain Sin Qaf - Sura 42
Sad - Sura 38
Ta Sin - Sura 27
Ta Sin Mim - Suras 26, 28
Ta Ha - Sura 20
Qaf - Sura 50
Ka Ha Ya Ain Sad - Sura 19
Nun - Sura 68
Ya Sin - Sura 36

Muhammad Asad (in: The Message of the Qur'an [Dar al-Andalus Limited, 3 Library Ramp Gibraltar, rpt. 1993], App. II, p. 992):
"About one-quarter of the Qur'anic suras are preceded by mysterious letter-symbols called muqatta'at ('disjointed letters') or, occasionally, fawatih ('openings') because they appear at the beginning of the relevant suras. Out of the twenty-eight letters of the Arabic alphabet, exactly one-half- that is, fourteen- occur in this position, either singly or in varying combinations of two, three, four, or five letters. They are always pronounced singly, by their designations and not as mere sounds- thus: alif lam mim, or ha mim, etc." "The significance of these letter-symbols has perplexed the commentators from the earliest times. There is no evidence of the Prophet's having ever referred to them in any of his recorded utterances, nor any of his Companions having ever asked him for an explanation. None the less, it is established beyond any possibility of doubt that all the Companions- obviously following the example of the Prophet- regarded the muqatta'at as integral parts of the suras to which they are prefixed, and used to recite them accordingly: a fact which disposes effectively of the suggestion advanced by some Western orientalists that these letters may be no more than the initials of the scribes who wrote down the individual revelations at the Prophet's dictation, or of the Companions who recorded them at the time of the final codification of the Qur'an during the reign of the first three Caliphs. " "Some of the Companions as well as some of their immediate successors and later Qur'anic commentators were convinced that these letters are abbreviations of certain words or even phrases relating to God and His attributes, and tried to 'reconstruct' them with much ingenuity; but since the possible combinations are practically unlimited, all such interpretations are highly arbitrary and, therefore, devoid of any real usefulness…"

Qur'an Contradiction:
Good News About Painful Torture?
http://answering-islam.org/Quran/Contra/torture.html

(this article is 'under construction' .... more info will be added ... )
(Thank you Rand and http://answering-islam.org for much of this info)

see also:
. Unlogical logic of Quran & Harun Yahya - by CroMagnon

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The Unclear Quran

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