Bismika Alllahuma

Qur’ anic Sura 25的第一首诗歌也许被意译如下：

“tabaraka lladhazzala l-FURQ Ž A `al⠧abdihi锂牦牛？i-l-’⬡mNADHΒAN ？

在他的网页的文章[1]首先出版，和在文章’ [2]， Christoph试图的Heger的Ibn Warraq的汇集在Qur随后被合并了解释这首诗歌如下：

保佑是他，在他的仆人送在收兑下他也许是(或： 成为)牺牲为世界。

并且进一步评论他的在翻译之上它做诗歌25:1 ：

显示中央基督徒教学在耶稣基督： “送了在下” (约翰1)， “作为奉献的牺牲” (Eph。 5,1; Hebr。 10,10.14) “为收兑” (Eph。 1,7和经常) “世界” (约翰3,17f。)。

是否是这样翻译的确可能从原文和上下文观点将形成以下简要的批评的主题。

要求我们的集中的第一条关键术语是在Qur发生七次’的Alfurq⮬(即， 2:53， 185; 3:4; 8:29， 41; 21:48; 25:1)和也是其中一个名字被给sura 25。 看起来似乎影响这个期限Qur的三个基本的元素’ anic用法： (i)可能获得从阿拉姆语词purk⮬(ii)是典型的阿拉伯根F-R-Q分离和法眼的概念和(iii)圣经和揭示的Salvific或Soteriological感觉。

它的确是真实的Qur的语义领域’ ac furqan由于这三内涵的轻微地成鳞状的作用，也许变得有些复杂，由于这个词上下文和用法在一首特殊诗歌，我们能容易地和确信地确定它的意思。 救世的或许方面是最清楚的在8:29 ：

？O相信的您，如果您恐惧上帝，他意志“yaj `Al lakum” [“授予您” (Pickthal); “授予您” (Yusuf阿里); “分配您” (Arberry)] “furqan”他将赦免您您的evildoings并且原谅您。 上帝拥有巨大富饶。？

伟大的Qur’ anic评论员在Tabari (d。 922 CE) notes[3] that in this context authorities have interpreted the word furq⮠variously as makhraj (”escape”), najⴠ(”salvation”) or fasl (”separation, discernment”).

at-Tabarhowever, rightly points out that:

All these interpretations of the meaning of furq⮠– in spite of the difference in their wordings — are reconcilable when it comes to their meanings. That is to say if a ‘way out’ [makhraj] is provided for someone from the situation he is in, that `way out’ is his ’salvation’ [najⴡn]. Similarly, if he is saved from it, that means there has been a victory over the one who wrongly opposed him and so a ‘decision’ has been made between him and his evil opponent.[4]

Indeed, the (above-cited) elements (i) and (iii) are totally coherent as proven by the Qur’anic usage of furq⮮ The sending of the Prophetic revelations (or scriptures or guidance or criterion) is acknowledged by the Qur’⮠to be a sign of the salvific act of God. The element (ii) is also synchronically linked to both of them. In 5:25 Moses, referring to his people’s hesitation, prays to God:

?O my Lord, “I control no one but myself and my brother: make a Separation [fa-'fruk] between us and the reprobate people.”?

After surveying and summarizing various expositions of the term, Frederick Denny comments that furq⮺

is one of those rich, distinctly Quranic (regardless of other possible Semitic antecedents and parallels), poly-interpretable terms (like han ummah, n, isl⭬ hudan) which lead into the very heart of the Message, and radiate meaning and power in all directions.[5]

In S?5:1, the usage clearly shows that the word furq⮠refers to the Qur’an in the sense of a Criterion or Standard between good and evil. M. Pickthall renders this verse as:

?Blessed is He Who hath nazzala l-furq⮡ ‘al⠧abdihi [i.e., "revealed unto His slave the Criterion (of right and wrong)"], that he may be a warner to the peoples.?

Hazrat `Al. Ab?ib is reported[6] to have said:

?faj⧡ bi-FURQŽ min l-All⨠munzalin mubayyinatin ⹢tuhu li-dhu l-`aqli?

i.e., ?He brought the CRITERION [the Qur'an] sent down from God,
Its signs are plain to men of sense.?

Furthermore, the most convincing contextual evidence for translating in 25:1 furq⮠as “the Qur’an” or the “criterion between truth and falsehood,” is the use of the verb anzala (”to send down”) to describe it. It’s true that it may be argued indirectly that the sending of the Prophetic revelations (or scriptures or guidance or criterion) is acknowledged by the Qur’an to be a sign of the salvific act of God. But the direct meaning of that which is “sent down” can only be “the Qur’an” or “the revelation,” which is the “criterion between truth and falsehood.”

This shows that the correct rendering of the first part of 25:1, which is how both at-Tabarnd az-Zamakhsharave understood this verse, is:

?Blessed is He Who hath revealed unto His slave the Criterion (of right and wrong)…?

The idea of “dedication” in the sense of promises made under cultic or religious sanction was an old concept in Semitic and South Arabian cultures. This idea was called in Arabic as Nadhr and Hebrew as Nedr. Nedarim is the name of a treatise in the Mishna and the Talmud that is devoted chiefly to a discussion of the regulations contained in Numbers 30:2-17.

The Qur’⮠records this word to be used in the following sense:

?yufuna bi-n-Nadhri wa yakhafuna yawman kana sharruh?tat.? (76:7).

i.e., “They perform (their) vows, and they fear a Day whose evil flies far and wide.” (Yusuf Ali).

The same usage is attested by the Ahad as well:

?la Nadhru f`asiya wa kafaratuhu kafaratu yam? (Sunan Ab??arrative number 3290).

i.e., “There is no vow in an act of disobedience (of God), and its atonement is the same as that of a pledge.”

But the fact is that this group of words has nothing to do with the forms of “Nadhara”, meaning: “to warn,” which are so commonly used in the Qur’⮮

In fact the “Nadhquot; of 25:1 is from the form IV (i.e., Andhara) of N-DH-R. It is of the pattern fa`in the sense of the pattern muf`il, which is a recognized pattern in the classical Arabic. Other words in the classical Arabic of this pattern are:

As-Sam (hearing, listening) = al-Musmi`i,

Al-Bad (wonderful, marvelous) = al-Mubdi`i.[7]

In S?7:17, it has been used as a verbal noun:

?…fa-sa-ta`lam?aifa nadh.?

i.e., “… so that ye shall know how was My warning?”

The Jahili poet `Antarah says[8]

?Wa kam min NADHΒIN qad `atana muhaddiran
Fa-kana Ras?f-Sur?ubasshiru?

i.e., ?How many times has a WARNER who has come to bid us be on our guard against something bad,
Turned out ultimately to be a messenger of delightful things bringing a good news.?

The word an-Nadh(”The Warner”) is one of the famous epithets of the Prophet Muhammad(P) used at many places in the Qur’an, while the Ahad (such as BukhⲮ, Kit⢠ar-Riqⱬ B⢠26, etc.) describe him as an-Nadhal-`ury⮦lt;/em>.

In his article, Christoph Heger notes that the usage of a feminine word Nadh has been used in the lexicons in the sense of a “votive gift,” for instance a child appointed by the parents by a vow to serve God.

Christoph Heger adds to this observation:

This is quite peculiar: that the masculine noun nadhfor those lexicographers should have a totally different meaning than the feminine noun of the same grammatical structure.

This observation is merely based upon Christoph Heger’s unawareness of the fact that lexicons indeed record the usage of the feminine noun Nadhir as “One who gives information or advice of a thing”; “One who warns”; “A spy who informs, gives notice of an enemy”, etc.[9]

Therefore, there can hardly be any doubt of the fact that the way Christoph Heger wants to interpret this verse is based on a linguistic confusion which is so obvious from the viewpoint of the Classical Arabic that it hardly needs any further elaboration.

Notes

[1] http://www.christoph-heger.de/sura25_1.html

[2] What the Koran Really Says, New York, 2002, pp. 387-390

[3] Jami` al-Bayan Fi Tafsir al-Qur’an, Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al- `Ilmiyya, 1992, vol. i, p. 69

[4] Ibid.

[5] In In Quest of an Islamic Humanism: Arabic and Islamic Studies in Memory of Mohamed al-Nowaihi, ed., A. H. Green, Cairo: American Univ., Press, 1984, p. 203

[6] Recorded in: Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah in the discussion of Badr.

[7] See Lisan al-`Arab (by Ibn Manthur under the root N-DH-R; Tadj al-`Ar?ol., iii, p. 561, line 12 from bottom.

[8] Dn, p. 85, verse 5

[9] See Lane, An Arabic-English Lexicon, London: Williams and Norgate, 1893, book 1, part 8, p. 2782, col. b and c.