Grammatical Errors
Compiled By
Catalino Guinit Jr.
Grammatical Errors
http://debate.org.uk/topics/history/quran.htm#15
Muslims believe that since the Qur'an is the Word of
God, it is without error in all areas. We have already dealt with the
questions concerning the style and literary qualities of the Qur'an
earlier, and found it to be quite defective in those areas. Yet, even
more troubling are the grammatical mistakes which exist within its text.
Can we expect an omnipotent and omniscient God to allow such
deficiencies to creep into his supposedly 'perfect' and eternal
revelation? Consider the following:
-
In sura
2:177, the word Sabireen should be Sabiroon because of its position in
the sentence (since it is a human plural, it should remain in the
masculine plural form?).
-
In sura
7:160, the phrase "We divided them into twelve tribes," is written in
the feminine plural: Uthnati Ashrat Asbaataan. Due to the fact that it
refers to a number of people, it should be written in the masculine
plural form: Uthaiy Ashara Sibtaan, as all human plurals are
automatically male in Arabic.
-
In sura
4:162, the phrase "And (especially) those who establish regular
prayer..." is written as al Muqiyhina al salaat, which again is in the
feminine plural form, instead of the masculine plural: al Muqiyhuna al
salaat (?). It is important to note that the two following phrases,
"(those who) practice regular charity, and (those who) believe in
Allah..." are both correctly written in the masculine human plural
form.
-
In sura
5:69, the title al Sabioon, referring to the Sabians, should be
written al Sabieen.
-
In sura
63:10, the phrase "I shall be" is written akun (which is in the 3rd
person?). Yet since this word refers to the future (& is in the 1st
person) it should be written akunu.
-
In sura
3:59, the words Kun feekunu should be written, Kun fakaana.
There are other grammatical errors which exist in the
Qur'an as well, such as: suras 2:192; 13:28; 20:66 and the duals which
replace the plurals in sura 55.
If we are still in doubt as to whether the Qur'an is
subject to error, it might be helpful end this section by quoting a
Muslim scholar, who, himself, comments on this very problem concerning
grammatical mistakes in the Qur'an:
"The Qur'an contains sentences which are incomplete
and not fully intelligible without the aid of commentaries; foreign
words, unfamiliar Arabic words, and words used with other than the
normal meaning; adjectives and verbs inflected without observance of the
concords of gender and number; illogically and ungrammatically applied
pronouns which sometimes have no referent; and predicates which in
rhymed passages are often remote from the subjects... To sum up, more
than one hundred Qur'anic aberrations from the normal rules and
structure of Arabic have been noted." (Dashti, 23 Years, pgs.48-50)
Below is an excerpt taken from a Muslim Web Site:
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/qmtintro.htm
Please keep in mind that Any translation of the
Qur'an will most definitely contain errors (e.g. see our online list
of corrections). We have provided three translations here to
emphasize this point. In it's natural language (Arabic), the Qur'an is
the direct Word of Allah (God) to mankind through the prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him). Any translation of the Qur'an no longer retains
that 'official' and perfect status, however it can be
tremendously helpful to beginning students wanting to learn more about
Islam.
Translation of the Qur'an
On this website there are three translations
of the Qur'an. Note that any translation of the Qur'an Immediately
ceases to be the literal word of Allah, and hence cannot be equated with
the Qur'an in it's original Arabic form. In fact, each of the
translations on this site is actually an interpretation which has
been translated. The first-time reader is strongly advised to read
the introduction to the translations we have made available.
Corrections and suggestions are appreciated.
Closing Comment
May this compilation could shed some light regarding
the Qur'an as claimed perfect by our Muslim friends. This brief
information is presented to the reader objectively being all of the
excerpt said by the Muslims themselves and what a Christian written
above was even supported by a Muslim Scholar.
