Hadīth Translation Errors (2/2)

Ḥadīth 3

عن أبى سعید الخدري رضى الله عنه قال سمعت رسول الله صلى الله علیه و سلم یقول: من رأى منكم منكرا فلیغیره بیده فإن لم یستطع فبلسانه فإن لم یستطع فبقلبه و ذلك أضعف الإیمان-رواه مسلم

This Ḥadīth is translated as follows in Chapter 2 of Virtues of Tablīgh: Whoever sees a forbidden thing being done, he must prevent it by the use of his hand; and if he has no power for this action, then he should prevent it with his tongue, and if he cannot do this even, then he should at least consider it a vice in his heart, and that is a very low level of one’s faith.”

1. Munkar is better translated as, “bad/evil/vice/disliked thing” instead of, “Forbidden thing.”

2. Falyughayyirhu means “change” not “prevent.”

3. Aḍ‘aful īmān means weakest faith, not just “a low level”

Ḥadīth 4

 عن أنس رضى الله عنه قال قال رسول الله صلى الله علیه و سلم :

 غدوة فى سبیل الله أو روحة خیر من الدنیا و ما فیها- رواه البخاري

This Ḥadīth is quoted as Ḥadīth 59 in the section of Da‘wah and Tablīgh of Muntakhab Aḥādīth, where the correct translation is give, “A morning or evening spent in the Path of Allāh is better than the world and all that it contains.” 

It is noticed that many quote that Ḥadīth as, “A little while spent in the morning and evening …”

Ḥadīth 5

The commentary of Ḥadīth No. 5 of Aḥādīth on Virtues of Kalimah Ṭayyibah [misspelt, “Tayyabah] of Virtues of Ẓikr ends thus, “According to another Ḥadīth, two Kalimahs are such that one does not stop reaching the Throne of Allāh, and the other fills the Heaven and Earth with its light or reward: one is لا إله إلا الله and the other is لا إله إلا الله" 

It is amazing that nobody ever questions if a senior scholar of the status of Shaykhul Ḥadīth Mawlānā Zakariyyā raḥmatullāhi ‘alayhi could write such an illogical statement. Referring to the original Urdu, we discover that he actually wrote, “One is لا إله إلا الله and the other is الله أكبر"

Ḥadīth 6

Hadīth III of the part, “Rewards of Jamaat,” of Virtues of Ṣalaat,” is a narration of ‘Abdullāh bin Mas‘ūd رضي الله عنه commending Ṣalāh in the Masjid and denouncing its abandonment. The second last paragraph of the Arabic narration is:

و لقد رأیتنا و ما یتخلف عنها إلا منافق معلوم النفاق و لقد كان الرجل یؤتى بها یهادى بین الرجلین حتى یقام فى الصف

The translation given is: During the lifetime of the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihi wasallam) no one would miss Jamaat except an open munaafiq or a real invalid. A better and fuller translation would be: I can still picture us, and no one would miss it i.e. Ṣalāh with Jamā‘ah except an open munaafiq. A man would be led between two men until he stood in the Ṣaff. Even with the different translation it is clear that the hypocrites did not attend the Masjid. The next paragraph commences, “wa fī rawāyatin,” i.e., “and in another narration.” This means that another narrator has related the above words of Ibn Mas‘ūd رضي الله عنه in a different way and not that his speech is continuing. This wrong impression was created when the translator omitted to translate, “wa fī riwāyatin.” The other riwāyah is:

لقد رأیتنا و ما یتخلف عن الصلاة إلا منافق قد علم نفاقه أو مریض إن كان الرجل لیمشى بین الرجلین حتى یأتى الصلاة و قال إن رسول الله صلى الله علیه و سلم علمن ا سنن الهدى و إن من سنن الهدى الصلاة فى المسجد الذي یؤذن فیه

The translation given is: Even the munaafiq dared not miss the Jamaat and a sick person who could be taken to the musjid with the help of two men would be helped to join the Jamaat. This translation contradicts the first and is the opposite of what Ibn Mas‘ūd رضي الله عنه actually said. The proper translation is: “I can still picture us, none would miss Ṣalāh [with Jamā‘ah] except an open hypocrite or a sick person who would in fact walk between two men until he came for Ṣalāh [with Jamā‘ah].” He [Ibn Mas‘ūd رضي الله عنه] also said, “Indeed Rasūlullāḥ صلى الله عليه و سلم taught us practices of guidance and amongst these practices of guidance is Ṣalāh in the Masjid wherein Azān is proclaimed.” What is clear from the Arabic is that Ibn Mas‘ūd رضي الله عنه condemned the hypocrites who did not attend the Masjid. This is understood from the first translation, but is contradicted by the second incorrect translation. 

This is further understood from the final Ḥadīth given in the commentary of Mawlānā Zakariyyā: It is said in another Ḥadīth, “Ishā and Fajr are very heavy on those who are munaafiq. If they knew the reward of the Jamā‘āh, they would go to the Masjid and join the Jamā‘ah even if they had to crawl.” Again, it is clear that the hypocrites were not attending. Some have explained this translation error by saying that perhaps the known hypocrites did not attend and the unknown hypocrites did in fact attend. The reply to this is quite simple. Firstly, even if true, that does not change the fact that the translation is wrong according to the original Arabic. Secondly, why should an assumption be accepted as opposed to the clear narration of a most senior Ṣaḥābī, a narration authenticated by al-Imām Muslim and al-Imām Abū Dāwūd? May Allāh guide us all.

سليمان الكندي

Hadīth Translation Errors (1/2)

Alhamdulillah, the effects of the work revived by Mawlānā Ilyās, throughout the world is well-known to all and needs no elucidation. However, weaker ones like us often commit errors which detract from the nobleness of the original effort. One common such matter for concern is that in our efforts to spread Dīn, we sincerely, but nevertheless often incorrectly, quote the blessed words of Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم. It is out of concern for this that the following incorrect translations have been compiled. We ask that Allāh to save us from falling within the ambit of the warning of Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم, “He who intentionally lies against me, should prepare his abode in Hell-fire.”

Care in narrating Ḥadīth

The Ṣaḥābah رضي الله عنهم took such stern warnings to heart. To quote but two instances from Faḍāil A ‘māl:
‘Amr bin Maymūn رضي الله عنه says: “I stayed with ‘Abdullāh bin Mas‘ūd رضي الله عنه every Thursday for one year. I never heard him attributing any words direct to the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم. Once he was narrating Ḥadīth. When he uttered the words, ‘The Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم said so,’ then his body began to shiver, his eyes became full of tears, his forehead sweated, his veins swelled and he said, ‘Insha-allah, the Prophet said so, or something like that. It might be something less or something more.’”

....On the other hand, we go on quoting Aḥādīth without being sure of their authenticity and fear not the serious consequences of attributing wrongly anything to the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم.

[Faḍāil A‘māl, Stories of the Ṣaḥābah رضي الله عنهم, Zeal for Knowledge, story 8]

‘Āishah رضي الله عنها says: “My father (Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakrرضي الله عنه ) had a collection of 500 Ḥadīths. One night I noticed that he was very restless. He was tossing in the bed and could not sleep. I got worried over this and inquired, ‘Are you suffering from any trouble or [are you] worried about anything[?]’ But he did not sleep and remained restless throughout the night. [The] next morning he called me and said, ‘Bring the collection of Ḥadīth that I gave you to keep.’ I brought the book and he set fire to it, till it was burnt. He said, ‘The collection contained many Ḥadīths that I heard from other people. I thought if I died and left behind a Ḥadīth accepted as authentic by me, but [is] really not so, then I should have to answer for that.’”
 [Faḍāil A‘māl, Stories of the Ṣaḥābah رضي الله عنهم, Zeal for Knowledge, story 2 ]

Whilst nobody can match the Ṣaḥābah رضي الله عنهم in their Taqwā, history testifies to the great care the Muḥaddiththīn also showed to the sacred words of Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم, even stipulating that two separate Ḥadīth should not be read as to create the impression that they are a single Ḥadīth, e.g. “Marriage is part of my Sunnah,” and, “He who detests my Sunnah is not of me,” should never be read, “Marriage is part of my Sunnah and he who detests my Sunnah is not of me.”
Al-Imām ash-Shāfi‘ī said, “Which sky can give me shade and which earth can carry me if I should narrate a Ḥadīth as from Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم and it was not said?” [Tarīkh Madīnah Dimashq 388/51]

Whilst the translation errors under discussion, are just that, i.e. “errors,” and not intentional lies, are we excused for continuing the same error for over half-a-century? If we truly believe in the virtues of learning, what prevents us from learning the correct Ḥadīth of Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم, while we can spend much time, energy and money learning less virtuous subjects? Most importantly, one with even a speck of love for Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم will feel ashamed to meet him on the Day of Qiyāmah after having spent a lifetime of misquoting him and being too lazy rectify himself. May Allāh guide us all.

Hadīth 1

عن أبى هریرة رضى الله عنه عن النبي صلى الله علیه و سلم قال:
 من تمسك بسنتى عند فساد أمتى فله أجر شهید - رواه الطبراني

This we recite by rote as, “He who revives a Sunnah during the time of corruption of the Ummah will receive the reward of a hundred martyrs.”
Before even looking at the errors in this translation, we should firstly be advised of the etiquette of the Ḥadīth narrating, that we do not narrate in such a way that non-Ḥadīth words appear to the listener to be Ḥadīth, or two separate Ḥadīth become joined. In this case, the explanation many people offer on the virtue of a martyr is not part of the Ḥadīth. Do not read it as such. At least pause in between.

This Ḥadīth is narrated as #101 in the section, Kalimah Tayyibah, of Muntakhab Aḥadīth. There the correct translation is given, i.e. “He who holds firmly to my Sunnah during the time of corruption of my Ummah, for him is the reward of a Martyr.” There exists another narration mentioning 100 Martyrs. Let us look at the two errors commonly made:
1. “man tamassaka,” means “he who holds fast,” not, “he who revives.”
2. “Sunnatī” means “my Sunnah” or when quoted in indirect speech as we do, “the Sunnah”. The Arabic grammatical classification of this term is ma‘rifah or proper noun. “A Sunnah,” on the other hand is a common noun and hence incorrect. “The Sunnah” would refer to the general lifestyle of Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم as opposed to just one Sunnah.

Ḥadīth 2

عن أبى هریرة رضى الله عنه أن رسول الله صلى الله علیه و سلم قال:
 كل أمتى یدخلون الجنة إلا من أبى. قالوا یا رسول الله و من یأبى؟ قال من أطاعنى دخل الجنة و من عصانى فقد أبى - رواه البخاري

The translation which appears under the Chapter, “Keeping company with the Righteous,” of Virtues of Tablīgh is as follows: The Holy Prophet (Sallallho alaihi wasallam) said: “All my followers will enter Paradise, but not those who have denied me.” The Companions said: “Who would deny you?” He said, “Those who followed me would enter Paradise, but those who disobey me, they in fact deny me.”

This Ḥadīth also appears as #97 in Muntakhab Aḥadīth where “abā” is correctly translated as “refuse” instead of “disobey.” A correct translation is: Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم said, “All of my Ummah will enter Jannah except he who refuses.” The Ṣaḥābah asked, “O Rasūlullāh! Who would refuse?” He replied, “He who obeys me will enter Jannah. He who disobeys me, has [in fact] refused!”

In short the Ḥadīth explains that those who disobey Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم are in fact refusing to enter Jannah. Besides the incorrect translation of “abā” the Arabic has no reference to “…denied me,” and “…deny you.” These additions into the translation change the real meaning. In addition it makes the Ṣaḥābah رضي الله عنهم to appear ill-informed. How could they ask, “Who would deny you?” when up until today the vast majority of humanity still denies Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم, and in their era the ratio of denial was even more overwhelming.

Hadīth Translation Errors (1/2)

Alhamdulillah, the effects of the work revived by Mawlānā Ilyās, throughout the world is well-known to all and needs no elucidation. However, weaker ones like us often commit errors which detract from the nobleness of the original effort. One common such matter for concern is that in our efforts to spread Dīn, we sincerely, but nevertheless often incorrectly, quote the blessed words of Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم. It is out of concern for this that the following incorrect translations have been compiled. We ask that Allāh to save us from falling within the ambit of the warning of Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم, “He who intentionally lies against me, should prepare his abode in Hell-fire.”

Care in narrating Ḥadīth

The Ṣaḥābah رضي الله عنهم took such stern warnings to heart. To quote but two instances from Faḍāil A ‘māl:
‘Amr bin Maymūn رضي الله عنه says: “I stayed with ‘Abdullāh bin Mas‘ūd رضي الله عنه every Thursday for one year. I never heard him attributing any words direct to the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم. Once he was narrating Ḥadīth. When he uttered the words, ‘The Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم said so,’ then his body began to shiver, his eyes became full of tears, his forehead sweated, his veins swelled and he said, ‘Insha-allah, the Prophet said so, or something like that. It might be something less or something more.’”

....On the other hand, we go on quoting Aḥādīth without being sure of their authenticity and fear not the serious consequences of attributing wrongly anything to the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم.

[Faḍāil A‘māl, Stories of the Ṣaḥābah رضي الله عنهم, Zeal for Knowledge, story 8]

‘Āishah رضي الله عنها says: “My father (Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakrرضي الله عنه ) had a collection of 500 Ḥadīths. One night I noticed that he was very restless. He was tossing in the bed and could not sleep. I got worried over this and inquired, ‘Are you suffering from any trouble or [are you] worried about anything[?]’ But he did not sleep and remained restless throughout the night. [The] next morning he called me and said, ‘Bring the collection of Ḥadīth that I gave you to keep.’ I brought the book and he set fire to it, till it was burnt. He said, ‘The collection contained many Ḥadīths that I heard from other people. I thought if I died and left behind a Ḥadīth accepted as authentic by me, but [is] really not so, then I should have to answer for that.’”
 [Faḍāil A‘māl, Stories of the Ṣaḥābah رضي الله عنهم, Zeal for Knowledge, story 2 ]

Whilst nobody can match the Ṣaḥābah رضي الله عنهم in their Taqwā, history testifies to the great care the Muḥaddiththīn also showed to the sacred words of Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم, even stipulating that two separate Ḥadīth should not be read as to create the impression that they are a single Ḥadīth, e.g. “Marriage is part of my Sunnah,” and, “He who detests my Sunnah is not of me,” should never be read, “Marriage is part of my Sunnah and he who detests my Sunnah is not of me.”
Al-Imām ash-Shāfi‘ī said, “Which sky can give me shade and which earth can carry me if I should narrate a Ḥadīth as from Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم and it was not said?” [Tarīkh Madīnah Dimashq 388/51]

Whilst the translation errors under discussion, are just that, i.e. “errors,” and not intentional lies, are we excused for continuing the same error for over half-a-century? If we truly believe in the virtues of learning, what prevents us from learning the correct Ḥadīth of Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم, while we can spend much time, energy and money learning less virtuous subjects? Most importantly, one with even a speck of love for Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم will feel ashamed to meet him on the Day of Qiyāmah after having spent a lifetime of misquoting him and being too lazy rectify himself. May Allāh guide us all.

Hadīth 1

عن أبى هریرة رضى الله عنه عن النبي صلى الله علیه و سلم قال:
 من تمسك بسنتى عند فساد أمتى فله أجر شهید - رواه الطبراني

This we recite by rote as, “He who revives a Sunnah during the time of corruption of the Ummah will receive the reward of a hundred martyrs.”
Before even looking at the errors in this translation, we should firstly be advised of the etiquette of the Ḥadīth narrating, that we do not narrate in such a way that non-Ḥadīth words appear to the listener to be Ḥadīth, or two separate Ḥadīth become joined. In this case, the explanation many people offer on the virtue of a martyr is not part of the Ḥadīth. Do not read it as such. At least pause in between.

This Ḥadīth is narrated as #101 in the section, Kalimah Tayyibah, of Muntakhab Aḥadīth. There the correct translation is given, i.e. “He who holds firmly to my Sunnah during the time of corruption of my Ummah, for him is the reward of a Martyr.” There exists another narration mentioning 100 Martyrs. Let us look at the two errors commonly made:
1. “man tamassaka,” means “he who holds fast,” not, “he who revives.”
2. “Sunnatī” means “my Sunnah” or when quoted in indirect speech as we do, “the Sunnah”. The Arabic grammatical classification of this term is ma‘rifah or proper noun. “A Sunnah,” on the other hand is a common noun and hence incorrect. “The Sunnah” would refer to the general lifestyle of Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم as opposed to just one Sunnah.

Ḥadīth 2

عن أبى هریرة رضى الله عنه أن رسول الله صلى الله علیه و سلم قال:
 كل أمتى یدخلون الجنة إلا من أبى. قالوا یا رسول الله و من یأبى؟ قال من أطاعنى دخل الجنة و من عصانى فقد أبى - رواه البخاري

The translation which appears under the Chapter, “Keeping company with the Righteous,” of Virtues of Tablīgh is as follows: The Holy Prophet (Sallallho alaihi wasallam) said: “All my followers will enter Paradise, but not those who have denied me.” The Companions said: “Who would deny you?” He said, “Those who followed me would enter Paradise, but those who disobey me, they in fact deny me.”

This Ḥadīth also appears as #97 in Muntakhab Aḥadīth where “abā” is correctly translated as “refuse” instead of “disobey.” A correct translation is: Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم said, “All of my Ummah will enter Jannah except he who refuses.” The Ṣaḥābah asked, “O Rasūlullāh! Who would refuse?” He replied, “He who obeys me will enter Jannah. He who disobeys me, has [in fact] refused!”

In short the Ḥadīth explains that those who disobey Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم are in fact refusing to enter Jannah. Besides the incorrect translation of “abā” the Arabic has no reference to “…denied me,” and “…deny you.” These additions into the translation change the real meaning. In addition it makes the Ṣaḥābah رضي الله عنهم to appear ill-informed. How could they ask, “Who would deny you?” when up until today the vast majority of humanity still denies Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم, and in their era the ratio of denial was even more overwhelming.