Grammatical Errors in Quran

8/13/2019 Grammatical Errors in Quran

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/grammatical-errors-in-quran 1/31

Copyright © 1996 by M. Rafiqul-Haqq and P. Newton. ll right! re!er"ed.

The Qur'an: Grammatical Errors

Mu!li#! belie"e that llah re"ealed a boo$ to ea%h of braha#& Mo!e!& 'a"id and

(e!u!. )*ut the *oo$ of the prophet braha# wa! lo!t. +he *oo$! of 'a"id ,theP!al#!& Mo!e! ,the +orah& and (e!u! ,the o!pel were %hanged.)/10

t i! only the 2ur3an that wa! re"ealed to Moha##ad by the angel abriel that wa!

pre!er"ed& and indeed )Not a !ingle word of it ha! been %hanged or lo!t. t i! found

today e4a%tly a! it wa! re"ealed to the Prophet Moha##ed.)/50 ! !u%h it i! not

Moha##ed3! per!onal a%hie"e#ent. Rather it i! a di"ine #ira%le. +he prophethood of

e"ery prophet wa! atte!ted to by di"ine #ira%le!. t i! belie"ed that the 2ur3an i! od3!

#ira%le %onfir#ing the prophethood of Moha##ed.

)+he only #ira%le Moha##ad %lai#ed wa! the 2ur3an ... +he 2ur3an i! the

only in!pired !%ripture that ha! %o#e down to u! inta%t a! re"ealed to the

prophet. +here ha! been no ta#pering of the te4t and the original purity of the

language ha! !tayed undefiled.)/0

Mu!li#! do belie"e that the 2ur3an i! a literary #ira%le and that it i! un#at%hed

a#ong any other literature. t i! not a hu#an #a!terpie%e but a di"ine #ira%le& where

e"ery letter and dot wa! re"ealed fro# hea"en& with no differen%e between what wa!

re"ealed and what we ha"e in our hand!.

Ma!terpie%e! are the wor$ of hu#an!. Mira%le! are the wor$ of od. #ira%le& any

#ira%le& i! !uperior to the be!t of #a!terpie%e!. l!o #ira%le! %annot be )i#pro"edupon) by hu#an effort! !in%e that would be the !a#e a! a%$nowledging that the

#ira%le& i.e. the wor$ of od& wa! flawed.

#a!terpie%e !urpa!!e! other wor$! in one parti%ular area. 7or e4a#ple& a #a!tepie%e

of engineering doe! not ne%e!!arily ha"e to ha"e an ae!theti% appeal. 8r a #a!terpie%e

in art doe!n3t ha"e to %onfor# to engineering !tandard!. #a!terpie%e in flower

arrange#ent doe! not ne%e!!arily ha"e to !#ell good.

Mu!li#! %lai# the 2ur3an not u!t to be a hu#an literary #a!terpie%e& but a di"ine

literary #ira%le. *ut thi! %lai# doe! not !quare with the fa%t!. 7or the 2ur3an whi%h

we ha"e in our hand! %ontain! ob"iou! gra##ati%al error! whi%h i! plain to !ee for allwho $now rabi%.

The First Error

n :;69

)<urely they that belie"e& and tho!e of (ewry& and the <abaean!& and the

Chri!tian!& who!oe"er belie"e! in od and the =a!t 'ay& and wor$!

righteou!ne!! - no fear !hall be on the#& neither !hall they !orrow.) ,rberry

)nnal-la>iina 3aa#anuu wal-la>iina haaduu wa!-<aabi3uuna wan-Na!aaraa

#an 3aa#ana bilaahi wal-?aw#il-3a$hiri wa 3a#ila !aali-hanfalaa $haw-fun

3alay-hi# wa laa hu# yah->anuun.)

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



+here i! a gra##ati%al error in the abo"e "er!e. +he word <aabi3uuna ha! been

de%lined wrongly.

n two other "er!e!& the !a#e word& in e4a%tly the !a#e gra##ati%al !etting wa!

de%lined %orre%tly.

5;65 )nnal-la>iina 3aa#anuu wal-la>iina haaduu wan-Na!aaraa wa!-<aabi3iina

...)

55;1@ )nnal-la>iina 3aa#anuu wal-la>iina haaduu wa!-<aabi3iina wan-

Na!aaraa ...)

?ou noti%e that the word wa! written Saabi'uuna in :;69 and wa! written Saabi'iina in

5;65 and 55;1@. n the la!t two "er!e! the word wa! de%lined %orre%tly be%au!e the

word inna in the beginning of the !enten%e %au!e! a for# of de%len!ion %alled )na!b)

,a! in %a!e! of a%%u!ati"e or !ubun%ti"e and the )yeh) i! the )!ign of na!b). *ut the

word Saabi'uuna in :;69 wa! gi"en the 'uu, waw whi%h i! the !ign of )raf3a) ,a! in%a!e! of no#inati"e or indi%ati"e. +hi! then i! an ob"iou! gra##ati%al error.

The Second Error

n A;165

)*ut tho!e of the# that are fir#ly rooted in $nowledge& and the belie"er!

belie"ing in what ha! been !ent down to thee& and what wa! !ent down before

thee& that perfor# the prayer and pay the al#!& and tho!e who belie"e in od

and the =a!t 'ay - the# Be !hall !urely gi"e a #ighty wage.) ,rberry

)=aa$inir-Raa!i-$huuna fil-3il#i #inhu# wal-Mu3-#inuuna yu3-#inuuna bi-#aaa 3un>ila 3ilay$a wa #aaa 3un>ila #in-qabli$a wal-#uqii#iin a!-<alaata

wal #u3-tuuna>-a$aata wal-Mu3-#i-nuuna billaahi wal-?aw#il-3a$hir;

3ulaaa 3i$a !anu3-tii-hi# 3aran 3a>ii#aa.)

+he word muqiimiin !hould be muqiimuun. +he word !hould be de%lined by the )raf3a

!ign) li$e the other noun! in the !enten%e. ndeed the two noun! before it , Raasi-

khuun and Mu'-minuun& and the noun after it ,mu'-tuun are de%lined %orre%tly. <o#e

ha"e argued that thi! word wa! de%lined a! !u%h to di!tingui!h and prai!e the a%t of

praying& but the !%holar bn al-Dhatib !ay! that thi! i! a !i%$ rea!oning. ,al-Furqan by

Moha##ad M. 3abd al-=atif bn al-Datib& 'ar al-Dutub al-3el#iyah& *eirut& p.A.

<u%h rea!oning defie! logi%. Bhy would one di!tingui!he prayer whi%h i! a bran%h ofreligion& and not faith whi%h i! the funda#ental and root of religionE *e!ide! %an thi!

logi% apply to the error of de%len!ion in the pre"iou! "er!eE 'o we %on%lude that the

<aabi3iin are #ore di!tingui!hed than tho!e who belie"e& and the People of the *oo$E

nd why do they get di!tingui!hed in one "er!e and not the other a! we ha"e !eenE

od i! #u%h higher than thi! !i%$ logi%. +hi! again i! an ob"iou! gra##ati%al error.

The Third Error

n 5F;6

)+hey %o##uned !e%retly !aying& 3+he!e two #en are !or%erer!3.) ,rberry

)2aaluuu inna haa>aani la-!aahiraani ...)



+he word haazaani !hould be haazayn.

+he word haazaani wa! de%lined in%orre%tly be%au!e the word inna in the beginning

of the no#inal !enten%e %au!e! a for# of de%len!ion %alled )na!b) to the no#inati"e

and the )yeh) i! the )!ign of na!b). +hi! i! the third gra##ati%al error.

The Fourth Error

n 5;1@@

)t i! not piety& that you turn your fa%e! to the Ga!t and to the Be!t. +rue piety

i! thi!; to belie"e in od& and the =a!t 'ay ... to gi"e of one3! !ub!tan%e ... and

to ran!o# the !la"e& to perfor# the prayer& to pay the al#!. nd they who

fulfil their %o"enant ... and endure with fortitude.) ,rberry

)=ay!al-birra 3an-tuwalluu wuuuha$u# qibalal-Ma!hriqi wal-Maghrib wa

laa$innal-birra #an 3aa#ana billaahi wal-?aw#il-3$hiri wal-#alaaa-3i$ati

wal-Ditaabi wan-nabiyyiin; wa 3aatal-#aala 3alaa hubbihii >awilqurbaa wal-

yataa#aa wal-#a!aa$iina wabna!-!abiili wa!-!aaa-3iliina wa fir-riqaab;wa3aqaa#a!-<alaata wa 3aata>-a$aata wal-#uufuuna bi3ahdihi# 3i>aa

3aahaduu wa!-<aabiriina fil-ba3-!aaa3i wa>>arraaa-3i ...)

n the abo"e "er!e there are fi"e gra#ati%al error!. n four of the# the wrong ten!e

wa! u!ed& a! the !enten%e begin! in the pre!ent ten!e with the "erb tuwalluu& while the

other four "erb! were written in the pa!t ten!e;

'aaman !hould be tu'minuu

'aata !houd be tu'tuu

'aqaama !hould be tuqimuu

'aata !houd be tu'tuu.

+he abo"e "er!e when tran!lated into Gngli!h a! it appear! in rabi% would be; )t i!

not righteou!ne!! that ye turn your fa%e! to the Ga!t and the Be!t but righteou!ne!!

i! he who believed in llah and the =a!t day and the angel! and the *oo$ and the

Prophet! and gave hi! wealth& ... and performed prayer and paid the al#!.)

*ut the Gngli!h tran!lator! ha"e ob!er"ed the ten!e& and the "erb! )belie"ed)& )ga"e)&

)perfor#ed)& and )paid) were %orre%ted and written in the pre!ent ten!e. ,7or e4a#ple

!ee rberry& Pi%$thall& ?u!uf li and Rodwell3! tran!lation!.

+he fifth error i! the wrong de%len!ion of the word saabiriina. t !hould be de%lined

saabiruuna li$e the pre%eeding word muufuuna.

The Fifth Error

n ;:9

)the li$ene!! of (e!u!& in od3! !ight& i! a! da#3! li$ene!! He %reated hi# of

du!t& then !aid He unto hi#& 3*e&3 and he wa!.) ,rberry

)nna #a!!ala 3!aa 3indal-laahi $a-#a!ali 3da# $halaqahuu #in-turaabin-

!u#-#a qaala lahuu $un fa-ya$uun.)



+he abo"e "er!e when tran!lated into Gngli!h a! it appear! in rabi% would be; )+he

li$ene!! of (e!u! with llah i! a! the li$ene!! of da#. He %reated hi# of du!t& then

He !aid to hi# 3*e&3 and he i!.) +he abo"e i! Pi%$thall3! tran!lation. Plea!e note that he

tran!lated yakuun ,i! a! it appear! in rabi%& i.e. in the pre!ent ten!e.

+he word yakuun ,)i!) in Gngli!h !hould be kana ,)wa!) to be %on!i!tent with the pa!t ten!e of the pre"iou! "erb )!aid) a! it wa! %orre%ted by rberry& Rodwell and

?u!uf li in their tran!lation! of that "er!e. +hi! i! the fifth error.

The Sixth Error

n 51;

)+he e"ildoer! whi!per one to another ...)

)=aahiyatan - quluubuhu#. Ba 3a!arrun-nawalla>iin >ala#uu...)

+he word 'asarru !hould be 'asarra. +he abo"e i! a "erbal !enten%e& and the rule for

!u%h a !enten%e& where the "erb %o#e! before the ,#a!%uline !ube%t& i! that the "erb#u!t be in the third ,#a!%uline !ingular for#& if the a%ti"e !ube%t of the "erbal

!enten%e i! !tated in the !enten%e. ,+he !a#e rule hold! for !ub!tituting the two

#entioning! of )#a!%uline) by )fe#inine). *ut the "erb in the abo"e 2ur3ani% "er!e

%a#e in the plural for#. <ee how the abo"e rule wa! ob!er"ed in the following

2ur3ani% "er!e!; ;:5& 1F;5& 16;5@& 16;:& ;A5& A9;1A.

The Seventh Error

n 55;19

)+he!e are two di!putant! who ha"e di!puted %on%erning their =ord.),rberry

)haa>aani Dhi!#ani 3i$hta!a#uu fi rabbihi# ...)

n rabi%& li$e Gngli!h word! are de%lined or %onugated with re!pe%t to nu#ber. n

Gngli!h there are two nu#ber!; !ingular and plural. <o in Gngli!h two #en are treated

a! plural. *ut in rabi% there are three nu#ber!; !ingular& dual& and plural. <o in

rabi% the "erb! and noun! are treated a%%ording to the !ingular or the dual or the

plural. +he "erb in that "er!e wa! %onugated a! if the !ube%t i! #ore than two. *ut

the "er!e !pea$! only of two. <o the rule! of the dual !hould be followed and the word

'ikhtasamuu !hould be 'ikhtasamaa. <o thi! i! yet another error.

The Eighth Error

n A9;9

)f two partie! of belie"er! fight& put thing! right between the#.) ,rberry

)wa 3in-taaa-3ifataani #i-nal-Mu3-#iniinaq-tatalu fa-3a!lihuu baynahu#aa.)

+hi! error in thi! "er!e i! li$e the pre"iou! one. +he nu#ber again i! dual but the "erb

wa! %onugated a! if the !ube%t i! plural. <o the "erb 'eq-tatalu !hould be 'eqtatalata.

The Nineth Error

n 6;1F



)8 #y =ord& if only +hou would!t defer #e unto a near ter#& !o that #ay

#a$e freewill offering& and !o #ay be%o#e one of the righteou!.) ,rberry

)... Rabbi law laaa 3a$hartaniii 3ilaaa 3aalin-qariibin-fa-3a!!addaqa wa 3a$u#-

#ina!-!alihiin.)

+he "erb 'akun wa! in%orre%tly %onugated. t !hould be 'akuuna& i.e. the la!t%on!onant #u!t ha"e the "owel )a)& in!tead of being "owelle!!& be%au!e the "erb

'akun& i! in the !ubun%ti"e. ndeed the pre"iou! "erb ,'assaddaqa ha! been %orre%tly

%onugated and i! in the !ubun%ti"e. +he rea!on i! that in rabi% the pre!ent ten!e i!

pla%ed in the !ubun%ti"e #ood if it i! pree%eeded by %ertain word! ,huruf na!ebah.

8ne of !u%h word! i! the )%au!ati"e fa).

The Tenth Error

n 91;:

)*y the hea"en and that whi%h built it.) ,rberry

)wa!-!a#aaa-3i wa #aa ba-naahaa.)

+he word ma in the rabi% language i! u!ed for the i#per!onal. *ut the !ube%t of the

abo"e "er!e i! od. <o the word whi%h !hould be u!ed i! the rabi% word man

,#eaning )hi# who). rberry tran!lated that "er!e a! follow!; )*y the hea"en and

that whi%h built it) #eaning od. Pi%$thall howe"er %orre%ted the i#per!onal ,#a&

that whi%h and tran!lated the "er!e a! follow!; )*y the hea"en and Hi# Bho built

it.)

ndeed Pi%$thall al!o %orre%ted the two "er!e! that follow;

nd the earth and Hi# Bho !pread it. 2. 91;6.

nd a !oul and Hi# Bho perfe%ted it. 2. 91;@.

?u!uf li& to get out of the proble#& tran!lated the abo"e "er!e a! follow!; )*y the

fir#a#ent and it! wonderful !tru%ture). <o the !ube%t 3od3 doe! not appear at all in

hi! tran!lation of that "er!e. He gi"e! hi! rea!on for hi! tran!lation in a footnote

!aying; +he ma masdariya in rabi%& in thi! and the !ub!equent %lau!e!& i! be!t

tran!lated in Gngli!h by noun!.) *ut the word bana in banaha i! not a noun but a "erb

in the pa!t ten!e a! tran!lated %orre%tly by rberry and Pi%$thall. +he word ma !hould

ha"e been man ,#eaning )who) and in that %onte4t it !hould ha"e been )Bho) with a

%apital B.

The Eleventh Error

n A1;11

)+hen He lifted Hi#!elf to hea"en when it wa! !#o$e& and !aid to it and to the

earth& 3%o#e willingly& or unwillinglyI3 +hey !aid& 3we %o#e willingly.3)

)... faqal laha wa lel-rad 3iteya taw3aan aw $arha qalata atayna ta3e3een.)

Hea"en and earth in rabi% are fe#inine noun!& the "erb !aid in )they !aid) i!

a%%ordingly fe#inine and dual ,qalata& but the ade%ti"e )willing) at the end of the

"er!e i! #a!%uline and plural ,ta'e'een& being at "arian%e with the rule that the





gra##ati%al error! in it& and the rab! will read it %orre%tly with their tongue!.3/A0

+he Mu!li# !%holar bn al-Dhatib who quoted the abo"e report in hi! boo$ al-

Furqan& went on to #ention another report on the authority of 3a3i!ha& one of

Moha##ad3! wi"e!& !aying& 3+here are three gra##ati%al error! in the *oo$ of llah&

they are the fault of the !%ribe;

n 5F;6

)2aaluuu inna haa>aani la-!aahiraani ...)

nd in :;69

)nnal-la>iina 3aa#anuu wal-la>iina haaduu wa!-<aabi3uuna wan-Na!aaraa

#an 3aa#ana bilaahi wal-?aw#il-3a$hiri wa 3a#ila !aali-hanfalaa $haw-fun

3alay-hi# wa laa hu# yah->anuun.)

nd in A;165

)=aa$inir-Raa!i-$huuna fil-3il#i #inhu# wal-Mu3-#inuuna yu3-#inuuna bi-

#aaa 3un>ila 3ilay$a wa #aaa 3un>ila #in-qabli$a wal-#uqii#iin a!-<alaata

wal #u3-tuuna>-a$aata wal-Mu3-#i-nuuna billaahi wal-?aw#il-3a$hir;

3ulaaa 3i$a !anu3-tii-hi# 3aran 3a>ii#aa.)3/:0

+wo %o##ent! need to be #ade.

First: Mu!li#! %lai# that the 2ur3an we ha"e in our hand! today i! what wa!

originally re"ealed to Moha##ed& with no %hange to e"en one letter. Howe"er& there

are gra##ati%al error! in today3! 2ur3an. n fa%ing the!e error!& we #u!t de%ide

between one of two %hoi%e!. Gither& the original 2ur3an wa! re"ealed %ontaining the!e

error!& or the error! re!ulted fro# #i!ta$e! by hu#an !%ribe! a! they were %opying the

2ur3an. +here e4i!t no other po!!ibilitie!. ! the fir!t %hoi%e i! unthin$able& the !e%ond

i! the only logi%al e4planation. *ut that al!o #ean! that it i! not true that the 2ur3an

we ha"e in our hand! i! the )only in!pired !%ripture that ha! %o#e down to u! inta%t a!

re"ealed to the prophet. +here ha! been no ta#pering of the te4t and the original

purity of the language ha! !tayed undefiled.)

Second: f the abo"e error! were found in an arti%le to be publi!hed& the!e error!

would be %orre%ted. +he arti%le& with the!e error! re#aining in it& %ould not be hailed

a! a #a!terpie%e.

+he 2ur3an& be%au!e of the!e error!& i! not e"en a #a!terpie%e. f& hu#anly !pea$ing&

the 2ur3an %annot be %alled a #a!terpie%e& %an anyone hone!tly %all it a di"ine literary

#ira%leE

+he following noti%e a%%o#panied a "ery re!pe%table pie%e of !la#i% !oftware %alled

the li#& 1995.

N8+CGIII

+he rabi% 2ur3an ha! !o#e error! whi%h will be re#edied "ery !hortly in a

#aintenan%e relea!e.

....

N8+CG III



+he rabi% 2ur3an refered to in the abo"e noti%e i! the one pro"ided in the li#

!oftware pa%$age.

No doubt #any learned people ha"e gone o"er thi! rabi% 2ur3an to %he%$ it for

#i!ta$e!& li$e any good publi!her would do. f e"en with the ad"an%ed te%hnology

they ha"e& there are !till error! in it& how %an we ha"e any %onfiden%e that the fir!tedition of the 2ur3an in a ti#e when "ery few people %an read and write rabi%& wa!

written down error freeE Moha##ad hi#!elf !aid )we are a nation that doe! not $now

how to write or do a%%ounting.) nd the Mu!li# in early !la# u!ed to !et free !o#e

(ew! a#ong their war %apti"e! if they would in turn tea%h a few rab! how to read

and write rabi%.

"eferences:

1. +ea%hing of !la#& !la#i% Coun%il of New <outh Bale!& p.1:.

5. +ea%hing of !la#& !la#i% Coun%il of New <outh Bale!& p.1J.

. ntrodu%tion to Pi%$thall3! tran!lation with tran!literation& the *urney %ade#y&

Hyderabad& p.44i".

A. l-7urqan by Moha##ad M. 3abd al-=atif bn al-Datib& 'ar al-Dutub al-3el#iyah&

*eirut& p.9F

:. l-7urqan by Moha##ad M. 3abd al-=atif bn al-Datib& 'ar al-Dutub al-3el#iyah&

*eirut& p.91

Responses To The Grammatical Errors In The Qur'ân

M S M Saifullah

© Islamic Awareness, All Rights Reserved.

Peace be upon those who follow the guidance:

Newton and his buddy M. Rafiqul-Haqq published a list of grammatical

errors in the Qur'ân in 1996. They can be viewed at

http://debate.domini.org/newton/grammar.html

Most of us are unaware that the famous orientalist of our times John Burton

wrote a paper called the Linguistic Errors In The Qur'ân in the Journal Of

Semitic Studies, Volume XXXIII/2, Autumn 1988. He dealt with the hadith of





Ayesha(R) where she has supposed to have said that the ayahs 4:162, 5:69 and

20:63 are grammatically incorrect. Burton also dealt with the ayah 2:177 to

show its grammatical inconsistency. These four verses are also dealt by

Newton et al. in their homepage.

In 1992, M A S Abdel Haleem, a lecturer from School of Oriental and African

Studies, University of London, London (UK) published a paper called

Grammatical Shift For The Rhetorical Purposes: Iltifat And Related Features

In The Qur'ân, in the Bulletin of School of Oriental and African Studies,

Volume LV, Part 3. In this paper, he not only dealt with the so-called-linguistic

(grammatical) errors published by John Burton, but also showed that people

need to be thorough in classical Arabic before saying anything about the

Qur'ân and its grammatical structure. Most of the discussion on iltifat below is

taken from this paper.

To begin with: Iltifat means to 'turn/turn one's face to'. It is an important part

of balagah (Arabic rhetoric) where there is a sudden shift in the pronoun of the

speaker or the person spoken about. Muslim literary critics over the centuries

have greatly admired this technique. Iltifat has been called by rhetoricians

shaja'at al-arabiyya as it shows, in their opinion, the daring nature of the Arabic

language. If any 'daring' is to be attached to it, it should above all be the

daring of the language of the Qur'â

n since it employs this feature far moreextensively and in more variations than does Arabic poetry. Most of the

authors who talk about iltifat use the examples from the Qur'ân. No one seems

to quote references in prose other than from the Qur'ân: and indeed a

sampling of hadith material found not a single instance.

The types of iltifat and related features are of following types:

1. Changes in person, between 1st, 2nd and 3rd person, which is the

most common and is usually divided into six kinds. The four importantexamples that are found in the Qur'ân are:

o Transition from the 3rd to 1st person. This is the most common

type. Over 140 instances can be found in the Qur'ân.

o From 1st to 3rd person - nearly 100 such instances can be found

in the Qur'ân.

o From 3rd to 2nd person - nearly 60 instances.

o From 2nd to 3rd person - under 30 instances.

2. Change in the number, between singular, dual and plural.

http://www.soas.ac.uk/


http://www.ummah.org.uk/islamaware/Quran/Text/Grammar/iltifaat.html










3. Change in the addressee.

4. Change in the tense of the verb.

5. Change in the case marker.

6. Using noun in the place of pronoun.

Examples from the Qur'ân of the above mentioned cases can be seen in M A S

Abdel Haleem's paper. The so-called-grammatical errors in ayahs 4:162, 5:69,

20:63 and 2:177 are already dealt by him. Interested persons can read his

paper. The site which deals with iltifat and other grammatical constructions is

at:

http://www.islamic.org.uk/grammar.html

Brother Muhammad Ghoneim from France had recently dealt with the issue

of grammatical errors at Newton's website. He has dealt the issue by quoting

the Islamic scholars. He has brought to our notice some very interesting

points. His refutation can be viewed at:

http://www.angelfire.com/mo/Alborhaan/Gram.html

Apart from this, we also have the first refutation by Brother Wail Ibrahim

which appeared on soc.religion.islam newsgroup that can be viewed at:

http://idt.net/~balboa19/newton/grammar2.htm

And Allah knows best.

There are grammar mistakes in the Qur'an!

This is indeed a very strange allegation!The grammar of the Arabic language is largely founded on the Qur'an andwas not put down in writing until well over a hundred years after the Qur'anwas revealed. The Classical Arabic language became a language we can talkabout as having a fixed grammar largely because of the Qur'an. ictionariesand grammar books were first written to preserve the language of the Qur'anand the hadiths from the changes to the Arabic language that were happeningas a result of the sudden growth of the slamic Caliphate into new populationsstretching from "what is now# $akistan to $ortugal. %y own pocket grammarbook uses &uotes from the Qur'an as its proofs for most of its (( grammarrules.









)ne further thing find strange is that this should come from Christians. Thereason is that the *ew testament is all written in a form of slang +reek called,emotic +reek, . This was a corrupted popular form of classical +reek whichpaid little heed to the grammar rules. Any grammatical analysis of the biblewould be hard pressed to find a sentence without a grammar deviation from

the rules of classical +reek.

*evertheless- the points raised may as well be explained

Muslims claim the Qur'an not just to be a human literary masterpiece, but a divine literarymiracle. But this claim does not square with the facts. For the Qur'an which we have in ourhands contains obvious grammatical errors which is plain to see for all who now !rabic.

"he First #rror

$n %&( )*urely they that believe, and those of +ewry, and the *abaeans, and the hristians,whosoever believes in -od and the ast /ay, and wors righteousness 0 no fear shall be onthem, neither shall they sorrow.) 1!rberry2

)$nnal0la3iina 'aamanuu wal0la3iina haaduu was0*aabi'uuna wan04asaaraa man 'aamanabilaahi wal05awmil0'!ahiri wa 'amila saali0hanfalaa haw0fun 'alay0him wa laa hum yah03anuun.)

"here is a grammatical error in the above verse. "he word *aabi'uuna has been declinedwrongly. $n two other verses, the same word, in e6actly the same grammatical setting wasdeclined correctly.

7&7 )$nnal0la3iina 'aamanuu wal0la3iina haaduu wan04asaaraa was0*aabi'iina ...)

77&89 )$nnal0la3iina 'aamanuu wal0la3iina haaduu was0*aabi'iina wan04asaaraa ...)

5ou notice that the word was written *aabi'uuna in %&( and was written *aabi'iina in 7&7and 77&89. $n the last two verses the word was declined correctly because the word inna inthe beginning of the sentence causes a form of declension called )nasb) 1as in cases ofaccusative or subjunctive2 and the )yeh) is the )sign of nasb). But the word *aabi'uuna in%&( was given the 'uu, waw which is the sign of )raf'a) 1as in cases of nominative orindicative2. "his then is an obvious grammatical error.

This change in case is similar to changes number and person and tense. Allthese are used in the Qur/an for rhetorical purposes in their contexts. This is afeature called iltifaat . )f which there are countless examples in Arabic. As forhow these rhetorical measures are used in the Qur/an 0 they have beencovered comprehensively in the largest book on Qur/anic sciences called Al01urhan by 2arkashi.

"he *econd #rror

$n :&87

)But those of them that are firmly rooted in nowledge, and the believers believing in whathas been sent down to thee, and what was sent down before thee, that perform the prayerand pay the alms, and those who believe in -od and the ast /ay 0 them ;e shall surelygive a mighty wage.) 1!rberry2

)aainir0<aasi0huuna fil0'ilmi minhum wal0Mu'0minuuna yu'0minuuna bi0maaa 'un3ila 'ilayawa maaa 'un3ila min0qablia wal0muqiimiin as0*alaata wal mu'0tuuna30=aaata wal0Mu'0mi0nuuna billaahi wal05awmil0'!ahir& 'ulaaa 'ia sanu'0tii0him 'ajran 'a3iimaa.)

"he word muqiimiin should be muqiimuun. "he word should be declined by the )raf'a sign)lie the other nouns in the sentence. $ndeed the two nouns before it 1<aasi0huun and



Mu'0minuun2, and the noun after it 1mu'0tuun2 are declined correctly. *ome have argued thatthis word was declined as such to distinguish and praise the act of praying, but the scholar$bn al0>hatib says that this is a sic reasoning. 1al0Furqan by Mohammad M. 'abd al0atif $bnal0>atib, /ar al0>utub al0'elmiyah, Beirut, p.:?2. *uch reasoning defies logic. ;hy would onedistinguishe prayer which is a branch of religion, and not faith which is the fundamental androot of religion@ Besides can this logic apply to the error of declension in the previous verse@

/o we conclude that the *aabi'iin are more distinguished than those who believe, and theAeople of the Boo@ !nd why do they get distinguished in one verse and not the other as wehave seen@ -od is much higher than this sic logic. "his again is an obvious grammaticalerror.

This is the same feature which is covered by the answer to the first allegederror.

"he "hird #rror

$n 7&?

)"hey communed secretly saying, '"hese two men are sorcerers'.) 1!rberry2

)Qaaluuu in haa3aani la0saahiraani ...)

"he word saahiraan should be saahirayn. "he word saahiraan was declined incorrectlybecause the word in in the beginning of the nominal sentence causes a form of declensioncalled )nasb) to the nominative and the )yeh) is the )sign of nasb). "his is the thirdgrammatical error.

This is another rhetorical feature and has been exhaustively dealt with by Arab linguists. 3or example T 4asan in his book Al0lugha Al0/arabiyyah....

"he Fourth #rror

$n 7&899

)$t is not piety, that you turn your faces to the #ast and to the ;est. "rue piety is this& tobelieve in -od, and the ast /ay ... to give of one's substance ... and to ransom the slave, to perform the prayer, to pay the alms. !nd they who fulfil their covenant ... and endure withfortitude.) 1!rberry2

)aysal0birra 'an0tuwalluu wujuuhaum qibalal0Mashriqi wal0Maghrib wa laainnal0birra man'aamana billaahi wal05awmil0'!hiri wal0malaaa0'iati wal0>itaabi wan0nabiyyiin& wa 'aatal0maala 'alaa hubbihii 3awilqurbaa wal0yataamaa wal0masaaiina wabnas0sabiili was0saaa0'iliina wa fir0riqaab& wa'aqaamas0*alaata wa 'aata30=aaataC wal0muufuuna bi'ahdihim'i3aa 'aahaduu was0*aabiriina fil0ba'0saaa'i wa33arraaa0'i ...)

$n the above verse there are five gramatical errors. $n four of them the wrong tense was used,as the sentence begins in the present tense with the verb tuwalluu, while the other four verbs

were written in the past tense&

'aaman should be tu'minuuC

'aata shoud be tu'tuuC

'aqaama should be tuqimuuC

'aata shoud be tu'tuu.

"he above verse when translated into #nglish as it appears in !rabic would be& )$t is notrighteousness that ye turn your faces to the #ast and the ;estC but righteousness is he whobelieved in !llah and the ast day and the angels and the Boo and the ArophetsC and gavehis wealth, ... and performed prayer and paid the alms.) But the #nglish translators have

observed the tense, and the verbs )believed), )gave), )performed), and )paid) were corrected



and written in the present tense. 1For e6ample see !rberry, Aicthall, 5usuf !li and <odwell'stranslations2.

"he fifth error is the wrong declension of the word saabiriina. $t should be declinedsaabiruuna lie the preceeding word muufuuna.

The first instance must be in present tense "like following the word 5to/ in6nglish 0 , am going to eat, not , am going to will eat or , have gone to ate,.This is uncontentious as a rule of 6nglish grammar. 7imilar but different rulesapply to Arabic grammar. f 6nglish were literally translated including thetenses into Arabic it would be gramatically completely incorrect. This alledgederror is a basic misunderstanding of Arabic grammar. As for saabiuuna 0 seethe response to the first alledged error.

"he Fifth #rror

$n ?&%(

)the lieness of +esus, in -od's sight, is as !dam's lienessC De created him of dust, then

said De unto him, 'Be,' and he was.) 1!rberry2

)$nna massala '$saa 'indal0laahi a0masali '!damC halaqahuu min0turaabin0sum0ma qaalalahuu un fa0yauun.)

"he above verse when translated into #nglish as it appears in !rabic would be& )"he lienessof +esus with !llah is as the lieness of !dam. De created him of dust, then De said to him'Be,' and he is.) "he above is Aicthall's translation. Alease note that he translated yauun1is2 as it appears in !rabic, i.e. in the present tense.

"he word yauun 1)is) in #nglish2 should be ana 1)was)2 to be consistent with the past tenseof the previous verb )said) as it was corrected by !rberry, <odwell and 5usuf !li in theirtranslations of that verse. "his is the fifth error.

This a grammatical concept with an identifiable name in Arabic ,Al04ikaya,where you take a block and present it as it is without changing any part of it 8ust as you don/t change any part of an idiom to suit the different gender ornumber or tense. 3or example- when presume to teach my school teachersome mathematics he may reply ,don/t teach your grandmother to suckeggs,. 4e is not a grandmother and no eggs are being sucked. s this agrammatical error on his part9 *o 0 you couldn/t even change the idiom to,...suck an egg).

"he *i6th #rror

$n 78&?

)"he evildoers whisper one to another ...)

)aahiyatan 0 quluubuhum. ;a 'asarrun0najwalla3iin 3alamuu...)

"he word 'asarru should be 'asarra. "he above is a verbal sentence, and the rule for such asentence, where the verb comes before the 1masculine2 subject, is that the verb must be inthe third 1masculine2 singular form, if the active subject of the verbal sentence is stated in thesentence. 1"he same rule holds for substituting the two mentionings of )masculine) by)feminine).2 But the verb in the above Qur'anic verse came in the plural form. *ee how theabove rule was observed in the following Qur'anic verses& ?&%7, 8&7, 8&79, 8&?%, ?&:7,:(&8:.

There are e&ually valid answers to this



:- ;ou can take ,alla<iin <alamuu, as 5in apposition/ to the plural pronoun tocondemn them for their wickedness and declare that it was their wickednessthat led them to the act.

=- This is a recognised acceptable dialectical variation in classical Arabic-

known in all grammar texts as 5lughat akaluni al0baraghith/ where we have theplural pronoun "not singular# followed by the sub8ect as in the verse above.$erfectly acceptable usage of classical Arabic.

"he *eventh #rror

$n 77&8(

)"hese are two disputants who have disputed concerning their ord.) 1!rberry2

)haa3aani >hismani 'ihtasamuu fi rabbihim ...)

$n !rabic, lie #nglish words are declined or conjugated with respect to number. $n #nglishthere are two numbers& singular and plural. *o in #nglish two men are treated as plural. But

in !rabic there are three numbers& singular, dual, and plural. *o in !rabic the verbs andnouns are treated according to the singular or the dual or the plural. "he verb in that versewas conjugated as if the subject is more than two. But the verse speas only of two. *o therules of the dual should be followed and the word 'ihtasamuu should be 'ihtasamaa. *o thisis yet another error.

The dual refers to the two entities 0 the believers and the unbelievers and thenthe plural is refering to the plurality of the numerous individuals in each camp.n 6nglish we might say , t is german government who wants to ban 1ritishbeef which they say they is dangerous., +overnment is both single and hence,it wants, and plural because the government has many people in it hence,they say,.

"he #ighth #rror

$n :(&(

)$f two parties of believers fight, put things right between them.) 1!rberry2

)wa 'in0taaa0'ifataani mi0nal0Mu'0miniinaq0tatalu fa0'aslihuu baynahumaa.)

"his error in this verse is lie the previous one. "he number again is dual but the verb wasconjugated as if the subject is plural. *o the verb 'eq0tatalu should be 'eqtatalata.

This is exactly the same as the previous alleged error.

"he 4ineth #rror

$n ?&8

)E my ord, if only "hou wouldst defer me unto a near term, so that $ may mae freewilloffering, and so $ may become one of the righteous.) 1!rberry2

)... <abbi law laaa 'ahartaniii 'ilaaa 'ajalin0qariibin0fa0'assaddaqa wa 'aum0minas0salihiin.)

"he verb 'aun was incorrectly conjugated. $t should be 'auuna, i.e. the last consonant musthave the vowel )a), instead of being vowelless, because the verb 'aun, is in the subjunctive.$ndeed the previous verb 1'assaddaqa2 has been correctly conjugated and is in thesubjunctive. "he reason is that in !rabic the present tense is placed in the subjunctive moodif it is preeceeded by certain words 1huruf nasebah2. Ene of such words is the )causative fa).



3irstly there is a valid reading "one of the standard seven readings# in whichthis is ,5akuuna,.

The explanation of this reading is that it is in con8unction with the mahall of'assadda&a which is 8a<m in the sense ,if you delay me- will give in charity

and be of the righteous,. 5atf 5ala al0mahall is a well known feature of Arabicgrammar.

"he "enth #rror

$n (8&%

)By the heaven and that which built it.) 1!rberry2

)was0samaaa0'i wa maa ba0naahaa.)

"he word ma in the !rabic language is used for the impersonal. But the subject of the aboveverse is -od. *o the word which should be used is the !rabic word man 1meaning )himwho)2. !rberry translated that verse as follows& )By the heaven and that which built it)

meaning -od. Aicthall however corrected the impersonal 1ma, that which2 and translated theverse as follows& )By the heaven and Dim ;ho built it.)

$ndeed Aicthall also corrected the two verses that follow&

!nd the earth and Dim ;ho spread it. Q. (8&.

!nd a soul and Dim ;ho perfected it. Q. (8&9.

5usuf !li, to get out of the problem, translated the above verse as follows& )By the firmamentand its wonderful structure). *o the subject '-od' does not appear at all in his translation ofthat verse. De gives his reason for his translation in a footnote saying& "he ma masdariya in !rabic, in this and the subsequent clauses, is best translated in #nglish by nouns.) But theword bana in banaha is not a noun but a verb in the past tense as translated correctly by

!rberry and Aicthall. "he word ma should have been man 1meaning )who)2 and in thatconte6t it should have been );ho) with a capital ;.

,ma, in this verse is not a relative pronoun refering to +od but ,masdariyya,meaning ,the building of it, not he who built it. ;usuf Ali having been broughtup on the madrasa tradition knows better Arabic than either Arberry or$ickthal.

"he #leventh #rror

$n :8&88

)"hen De lifted Dimself to heaven when it was smoe, and said to it and to the earth, 'come

willingly, or unwillingly' "hey said, 'we come willingly.')

)... faqal laha wa lel0!rad 'iteya taw'aan aw arha qalata atayna ta'e'een.)

Deaven and earth in !rabic are feminine nouns, the verb said in )they said) is accordinglyfeminine and dual 1qalata2, but the adjective )willing) at the end of the verse is masculine and plural 1ta'e'een2, being at variance with the rule that the adjectives should match their nounsin number in gender, thus ta'e'een which is used for plural, should be ta'e'atain which is usedfor feminine dual.

There are several 4eavens and serveral 6arths. n classical Arabic they canbe refered to as masculin or feminine. >hat you are talking about is a changethat has occured in modern Arabic. ;ou will be surprised for instance to know

that in classical Arabic it is correct to say ,&aala al0nisa/ and &aalat ar0ri8al,





i!!ue after %he%$ing #y referen%e boo$!. <o& in the following arti%le& will

be referring to two #aor interpretation! of the Holy 2uran whi%h are ;

• at-taf!eer al-$abeer by the i#a# l-fa$hr rraa>i& rd edition ,referred

to by the abbre"iation +D• roo@ al-#aaani by the #ufti of *aghdad& bul-fa'l <hihaab ud-deen

!-!ayyed Ma@#oud l-aloo%y ,referred to by RM

First claimed error :

erse (:)*

+Surel& the& that believe, and those of -ewr&, and the Sabaeans, and the

.hristians, whosoever believes in God and the /ast 0a&, and wor1s

righteousness 2 no fear shall be on them, neither shall the& sorrow3+45rberr&6

+#nnal2ladhiina aamanuu wal2ladhiina haaduu was2Saabi'uuna wan2

Nasaaraa man aamana bilaahi wal 7awm il2'5a1hiri wa !amila

Saali8an falaa 1hawfun !ala&him wa laa hum &a89anuun3+

Con%erning thi! "er!e the author of the %riti%i!# %lai#! that the word

<aabi3uuna !hould be de%lined <aabi3iina and that <aabi3uuna i! definitelywrong ,a%%ording to hi#. 7ro# a gra##ati%al point of "iew& there are

#any argu#ent! to put forward in !upport of the fa#ou! de%len!ion<abi3uuna.

+D& %hapter 15& page :1L:5 ;

1. %%ording to <eebaweih and l-Dhaleel& <abi3uuna i! )#obtada) )

,i.e. in the no#inati"e %a!e while the ) $habar ) ,the indi%ati"e na#e

i! o#itted. +hi! i! one of the %a!e! of o#i!!ionLe%lip!e ,@adhf that

are frequently #et in the rabi% language. +he indi%ati"e part of the!enten%e i! )$adhaali$) ,a! well or too. Con!equently& the !enten%e

before o#i!!ion i! )<urely they that belie"e& and tho!e of (ewry& andthe <abaean! as well , and the Chri!tian! ... ) +hi! i! the hu#ble

argu#ent !tated on 56LF6.

5. %%ording to l-7arraa3& in thi! !enten%e& the word nna i! )wea$) ,in

rabi% ; )'aeefah) for three rea!on! a#ong whi%h %ite ; +he

effe%t of nna appear! on !o#e na#e! only& if the na#e that follow!

nna doe! not %hange by de%len!ion& then it! effe%t #ay or #ay not betran!#itted to the following part! of the !enten%e. n our %a!e& the

word al-ladheena ha! one for# only in all gra##ati%al %a!e!. <o& the

word <aabi3uuna ad#it! two de%len!ion! ; <aabi3uuna a! in thefa#ou! reading and <abi3iina a! in the reading! of Kbayy bn Dab&



bn Ma!ood and bn Datheer ,and a! )!ugge!ted) by the author of

the %riti%i!#. nother e4a#ple ta$en fro# the rabi% heritage i!

!aying ; "Inna haa'laa'i wa ikhwatka ykrimnanaa!" ,+he!e

people and your brother! are generou! with u!. +he word haa3olaa3i i!

in"ariable. +hu!& we %an !ay i$hwato$a or i$hwati$a and both are%orre%t. te# we $an a$$unt fr "ikhwatka" usin% the first

ar%ument # &hese ele, and yur brthers as well , are %eneruswith us!

n %on%lu!ion& the #i!ta$e #ade by Mr. Newton i! to %lai# that the

de%len!ion <aabi3uuna i! wrong and that the right de%len!ion i! !o and !o.

Maybe& he wa! not aware of !o#e a!pe%t! of the rabi% language. n fa%t& a

#aor %hara%teri!ti% of the rabi% language i! that it i! elliptical. Many

lingui!ti% !et! li$e )!hu$ran) ,)+han$ you.) or )afwan) ,)wel%o#e) are

e4a#ple! of o#i!!ion be%au!e the original !enten%e! are ) than$ you) and)?ou are wel%o#e). Bhile the!e e4a#ple! are rather rare in Gngli!h& theyare a %o##on pla%e in rabi% and they are %on!idered to be of better

lingui!ti% le"el. +he!e o#i!!ion! al!o a%%ount for the #ultipli%ity of

gra##ati%al analy!i! for the !a#e word in the !a#e !et a! it appear! #any

ti#e! in the Holy 2ur3an. +hi! al!o e4plain! that gra##arian! %an !ugge!t

different e4planation! for the !a#e de%len!ion of a word a! you #ay noti%e

through thi! arti%le. 8f %our!e& the e4i!ten%e of !e"eral e4planation! for the!a#e "er!e doe! not #ean it i! erronou!. +he only thing it #ean! i! that the

"er!e %an be under!tood in #any similar way! and that the reader %hoo!e!the #eaning depending on hi! !en!iti"ity.

Second claimed error :

erse :);

+<ut those of them that are firml& rooted in 1nowledge, and the

believers believing in what has been sent down to thee, and what was

sent down before thee, that perform the pra&er and pa& the alms, and

those who believe in God and the /ast 0a& 2 them =e shall surel& give amight& wage3+ 45rberr&6

+/aa1in ir2raasi1huuna fil !ilmi minhum wal $u'minuuna &u'minuuna

bimaa 'un9ila 'ila&1a wa maa 'un9ila min >abli1a wal mu>iimiin aS2

Salaata wal mu'tuuna9 ?a1aata wal $u'minuuna billaahi wal 7awmil

'5a1hiri 'ulaa'i1a sanu'tiihim a@ran !adhiimaa3+

8n%e #ore& Mr. Newton %lai#! that there i! )an ob"iou! error) in the word

#uqii#iin. *ut& on%e #ore& he #a$e! ha!ty %on%lu!ion!. n fa%t& #any

argu#ent! were put forward about the %orre%tne!! of the de%len!ion of#uqii#iin.



RM& %hapter 6& page 1AL1:;

1. %%ording to <eebaweih and all the gra##arian! of *a!rah& the %a!e!

of #uqii#iin i! +naSb+ 4accusative6 be%au!e of an o#itted "erb

!u%h a! #ean& or !pe%ify or point out or prai!e tho!e 3who

perfor# the prayer3. +hi! wa! what pre"iou!ly qualified a!)$hti<aa<) whi%h i! a %urrently u!ed figure of !tyle in rabi%.

5. <o#e gra##arian! li$e l-Di!aa3i did not agree with thi! po!ition.lDi!aa3i propo!ed that the %lau!e )that perfor# the prayer) ,wal

#uqii#iin a<-<alaata #ention! the Prophet! and that the waaw

,Gngli!h; and gi"e! #uqii#iin the de%len!ion of the pre%edent word

)#aa) ,what whi%h i! in a +@arr+ case 4prepositionalA63 8f %our!e&

thi! %a!e i! fairly a%%eptable fro# a gra##ati%al point of "iew and it

doe! #a$e !en!e a! well. n thi! per!pe%ti"e& the #eaning of the "er!e

%hange! !lightly; )*ut tho!e of the# that are fir#ly rooted in$nowledge& and the belie"er! belie"ing in what ha! been !ent down tothee& and what wa! !ent down before thee& and in those who perfor#

the prayer& and that pay the al#!& and tho!e who belie"e in od and

the =a!t 'ay - to the# Be !hall !urely gi"e a #ighty wage.) +hey

u!tified their interpretation %on%erning the Prophet! !aying that

a%%ording to "er!e 51;@ ) nd Be #ade the# leader!& guiding ,#en

by 8ur Co##and& and Be in!pired the# to do good deed!& toe!tabli!h regular prayer!& and to gi"e a$at and they %on!tantly

!er"ed K! ,and K! only.)& all Prophet! were ordered to perfor# a!pe%ifi% prayer.

Mre(er, the muqiimiin)muqiimuun differen$e refers t

the S$ien$e f Readin%s *+ilm al-qiraa'aat! &here is n

a$$etable $laim abut the falsehd f muqiimiin

be$ause it $mes frm a $ntinuus trusted $hain f

transmitters u t the rhet Muhammad *S! .n thether hand, the de$lensin muqiimuun is als

transmitted by "tawaatr" *$ntinuity and trustfulness

f the $hain f narratrs as in the readin%s f+abdullaah *Ibn Mas+d and Maalik Ibn /eenaar

and Al012dry and +eesaa Ath-thaqafy! 3ut f $urse,

the authr f the $riti$ism is likely t i%nre e(erythin%

abut readin%s! Fr mre infrmatin abut readin%s,

yu are kindly in(ited t $he$k the fllwin% addresshtt#))www!%e$ities!$m)Athens).lymus)456+)hafs!ht

ml

The third claimed error:

erse ;B:)!

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/5603/hafs.html






+The& communed secretl& sa&ing, 'These two men are sorcerers'3+

45rberr&6

+Qaaluu inna haadhaani la2saa8iraani 333+

7or a #y!teriou! rea!on& Mr. Newton fail! to read thi! "er!e a! it i! in the

Holy 2uranI n fa%t& the "er!e i! written; )2aaluu in haadhaani la-!aa@iraani

...)& in and not inna. Many thing! were !aid about thi! "er!e;

RM& %hapter 16& page 551 to 55A

1. %%ording to the gra##arian! of Duufah& the word )in) i! negati"e

,)in) )#aa)& %alled naafiah lilin!& and )la) #ean! )illaa) ,#ean!)but) and it #ar$! e4%eption. <o& the %onun%tion of negation and

e4%eption i#plie! re!tri%tion. 8n%e the!e detail! are #ade %lear& the"er!e %an be tran!lated by; )+hey %o##uned !e%retly !aying& 3+he!e

two #en are nothing but !or%erer!3.) +hi! i! the #eaning under!tood

while reading the rabi% te4t but the tran!lation of rberry doe! not

gi"e the !a#e under!tanding of the "er!e. +he "ariou! reading! of theHoly 2uran %onfir# thi! #eaning...

5. nother gra##ati%al e4planation wa! gi"en; the word )in) in thi!"er!e #ean! )naa#) ,%onfir#ation. +hi! wa! the po!ition of the

gra##arian! Muha##ad bn ayd l-Mobarred and l-3$hfa!h

<-<agheer.

. !!u#ing that )in) deri"e! fro# )inna) ,it i! qualified a!)#o$haffafah) - or lightened& it i! reported that rab +ribe! li$e

Dinaanah& and *ani odhrah& and Dhatha#& and Moraad& and !o#eof *ani Rabeeah& and *el@aarith bn Dab& ne"er de%lined dual

word!. ,+D& %hapter 5A& page @A to JF +hu!& in all the gra##ati%al%a!e!& dual word! re#ain with an alef letter. Con%lu!ionE G"en if it

wa! written with )inna)& the "er!e )2aaluu inna haadhaani la-

!aa@iraani ...) won3t be wrong !in%e it ha! a large !upport in the

rabi% heritage.

The fourth claimed error:

erse ;:88

+#t is not piet&, that &ou turn &our faces to the East and to the =est3

True piet& is this: to believe in God, and the /ast 0a& 333 to give of one's

substance 333 and to ransom the slave, to perform the pra&er, to pa& the

alms3 5nd the& who fulfil their covenant 333 and endure with fortitude3+

45rberr&6



+/a&sal2birra an tuwalluu wu@uuha1um >ibalal2$ashri>i wal2$aghrib

wa laa1innal2birra man aamana billaahi wal2&awmil 'aa1hiri wal2

malaa'i1ati wal2Citaabi wan2nabi&&iinna wa 'aatal2maala !alaa

8ubbihii dhawil2>urbaa wal2&ataamaa wal2masaa1iina wabnas2sabiili

was2saa'iliina wa fir2ri>aab: wa 'a>aamaS2Salaata wa 'aata929a1aataDwal2muufuuna bi!ahdihim idhaa !aahaduu waS2Saabiriina fil2ba'saa'i

wa00arraa2'i 333+

Con%erning thi! "er!e& Mr. Newton doe! not he!itate to !ay that there are

fi"e error!& one %on%erning the de%len!ion of the word )<aabiriina) and four

error! in the ten!e of the "erb! )aa#ana& aata& aqaa#a& aata). 8n%e #ore& in

#y hu#ble opinion& Mr. Newton i! either unaware of !o#e a!pe%t! of the

rabi% gra##ar ,whi%h i! what hope or trying to de%ei"e tho!e who do

not ha"e a !ound ba%$ground in that field.

Here are the e4planation! gi"en by #aor gra##arian!;

R.M& %hapter 5& page AA to AJ O +.D& %hapter :& page A to A:

1. %%ording to the gra##arian! l-farraa3 and >->aaa and 2otrob& it

i! %o##on pla%e to o#it the fir!t word ,)#o'aaf) - i.e. the po!!e!!edobe%t in a geniti"e %on!tru%tion when it! #eaning i! ob"iou!. 7or

e4a#ple& they %ite fa#ou! phra!e! !u%h a!; "Al-7du 2aatim, Ash- shi+ru 8uhayr, wa Ash-sha7aa+atu +antarah" whi%h i! tran!lated

word by word a! )+he genero!ity i! @aati#& the poetry i! uhayr andthe bra"ery i! antarah). better tran!lation i!; )+he genero!ity i! the

generosit& of @aati#& the poetry i! the poetr& of uhayr and the bra"ery i! the braver& of antarah). ! one %an !ee& in the rabi%

"er!ion& it i! better to o#it the )#o'aaf)& but a good Gngli!htran!lation ha! to !tate it. f the Gngli!h tran!lation of rberry wa!

#ore literal& the beginning of the "er!e would be; )t i! not piety& that

you turn your fa%e! to the Ga!t and to the Be!t. +rue piety i! tho!e

who belie"ed ,aa#ana in od& and the =a!t 'ay ... and ga"e ,aata of

one3! !ub!tan%e ... and to ran!o# the !la"e& and perfor#ed the prayer&and paid the al#!. nd tho!e who fulfil their %o"enant ... and endurewith fortitude.) =et u! fill in the blan$! in the quotation of Mr.

Newton to ha"e the full #eaning of the "er!e; )t i! not righteou!ne!!that ye turn your fa%e! toward! Ga!t or Be!t but it i! the

righteousness of tho!e who belie"ed in llah and the =a!t 'ay& and

the ngel!& and the *oo$& and the Me!!enger! and !pent of their

!ub!tan%e& out of lo"e for Hi#& for their $in& for orphan!& for the

needy& for the wayfarer& for tho!e who a!$& and for the ran!o# of

!la"e! and were !teadfa!t in prayer& and ga"e a$at ,regular %harity

and tho!e who fulfill the %ontra%t! whi%h they ha"e #ade and tho!ewho are fir# and patient& in pain ,or !uffering and ad"er!ity& and



throughout all period! of pani%. <u%h are the people of truth& the od

fearing.)

te that the rnun used in the Arabi$ (erse is "man" and nt

"an", if we had t fllw the su%%estin f Mr! ewtn and $han%e

the tenses f the fur (erbs frm ast t resent, the senten$e wuld

be %rammati$ally in$rre$t! &his e9lains the reasn f my inin

abut his intentin and)r his ba$k%rund !

5. nother e4planation put forward by the gra##arian! i! that the

infiniti"e ,)#a<dar) frequently !ub!titute! the )a%tor noun) ,)!#alfaail). +hu!& the ab!tra%t noun )birr) ,righteou!ne!! or piety

repla%e! the a%tor )baarr). <o the tran!lation of the "er!e be%o#e!; )t

i! not righteou!ne!! that ye turn your fa%e! toward! Ga!t or Be!t but

righteous people are tho!e who belie"ed in llah and the =a!t 'ay&and the ngel!& and the *oo$& and the Me!!enger! and !pent of their

!ub!tan%e& out of lo"e for Hi#& for their $in& for orphan!& for theneedy& for the wayfarer& for tho!e who a!$& and for the ran!o# of

!la"e! and were !teadfa!t in prayer& and ga"e a$at ,regular %harityand tho!e who fulfill the %ontra%t! whi%h they ha"e #ade and tho!e

who are fir# and patient& in pain ,or !uffering and ad"er!ity& and

throughout all period! of pani%. <u%h are the people of truth& the od

fearing.) Many e4a#ple! of the rabi% literature %an be gi"en. . +he %a!e of )<abiriina) i! e4a%tly the !a#e a! the %a!e of

)#uqii#iina) -in "er!e A;165 - it i! a %a!e of )i$hti<aa<). <o the %a!eof #uqii#ina i! )nasb) a! an obe%t of an o#itted "erb !u%h a!

#ention or point out or !pe%ify et%... +hi! i! the opinion of the

gra##arian! l-7arraa3 and bu ali l-7aare%y.

The fifth claimed error:

erse !:(*

+the li1eness of -esus, in God's sight, is as 5dam's li1enessD %e created

him of dust, then said %e unto him, '<e,' and he was3+ 45rberr&6

+#nna mathala !#saa !ind25llaahi 1amathali 5adama 1hala>ahu min

turaabin thumma >aala lahu 1un fa&a1uun3+

RM& %hapter & page 1J6L1J@ O +D& %hapter @& page @AL@:L@6.

! !aid in #y preli#inary an!wer on (une the 56th& thi! "er!e

rai!e! intere!ting que!tion! about od3! will and how and when

it i! e4e%uted. +he #eaning of the "er!e i! %orre%tly tran!lated;od !aid unto hi#& 3*e3 and he wa!. Bhat doe! the u!age of the



pre!ent ten!e in )ya$uun) - in!tead of the pa!t )$aana) - add to

the #eaningE %tually& the %onun%tion thu##a ,then i#plie!

an elap!ed ti#e between the %reation of the #atri4Lbody of

da# and hi! %o#ing to e4i!ten%eLlife. nd the pre!ent ten!e

of the "erb )ya$uun)& although the #eaning i! pa!t& illu!trate!thi! #atter fro# the point of "iew of a !pe%tator of the %reation

of da#. Bhen od ordered da# to be& hi! e4i!ten%e wa! tota$e pla%e in the future whi%h i! e4pre!!ed by the delay

,thu##a and the pre!ent ten!e. 8f %our!e& the !a#e applie!

for the %reation of (e!u! who!e e4i!ten%e wa! #any %enturie!

after od3! order. t al!o #ean! that whate"er od order! to be

will be& e"en if & !o#eti#e!& the !pe%tator ha! to wait a while

before it be%o#e!.

The sixth claimed error:

erse ;:!

+The evildoers whisper one to another 333+

+/aahi&atan >uluubuhum3 =a 'asarru2nna@wa2lladhiina 0halamuu333+

+he reader #ay refer to RM& %hapter 1@& page J O +D& %hapter 55& page 1A1.

ha"e already gi"en a detailed an!wer on (une 56th

& and repeat it herein;

Mr. Newton !aid; ::: &he wrd 'asarru shuld be 'asarra! &he ab(e is a

(erbal senten$e, and the rule fr su$h a senten$e, where the (erb $mesbefre the *mas$uline sub7e$t, is that the (erb must be in the third

*mas$uline sin%ular frm, if the a$ti(e sub7e$t f the (erbal senten$e is

stated in the senten$e! *&he same rule hlds fr substitutin% the tw

mentinin%s f "mas$uline" by "feminine"! 3ut the (erb in the ab(e

;ur'ani$ (erse $ame in the lural frm!::

+he an!wer i!; %tually& the author thin$! that )alladhiina) i! the !ube%t ofthe "erb )a!!arru) and the !ube%t being a #a!%uline !tated noun ... he

%on%lude! to an error. *ut& he i! M<+DGN. ny pupil in grade !i4 %an tellyou the rea!on; the !ube%t of )a!!arru) i! a pronoun & an atta%hed pronoun

,or& in rabi%& )'a#eer #otta!il) it i! the letter )u) at the end of )a!!arru).

+hen you #ay a!$ what the %a!e of )alladhiina) i! !in%e it i! not the !ube%t.

Here you need to a!$ a !tudent in the !e%ondary !%hool ,let3! !ay in grade 1F

to ha"e the an!wer; +hi! i! a %a!e of )!pe%ifi%ation) ,i$hti<aa< in rabi%

and a! you #ight $now& in thi! for# of !tyle& the "erb and the !ube%t aree%lip!ed and only the obe%t of the "erb re#ain!. =i$e when you u!e an



appo!ition in Gngli!h& you #ay !ay; )Be& the Mu!li#!& belie"e in one od)

a%tually you %an turn it otherwi!e; )Be& , #ean or point out or !pe%ify

the Mu!li#!& belie"e in od) and thu! )the Mu!li#!) are pointed out& they

are the obe%t of the "erb point out& or #ean& or !pe%ify. nd noti%e that thi!

i! a %o##on pla%e in the rabi% language to o#it word! of the !enten%e!while the #eaning i! pre!er"ed...nd that i! the rea!on why tran!lating an

rabi% te4t ,e!pe%ially the 2uran into any other language i! u!ually tough be%au!e one ha! to add a lot of word! in order to %o##uni%ate the full

#eaning. +hat3! why #any word! in the foreign tran!lation! of the 2uran are

between bra%$et!...+he rabi% !pea$er under!tand! the #eaning without

!aying e"ery word ,be%au!e it will be redundant otherwi!e while in other

language! one ha! to gi"e #ore detail! to ha"e a %orre%t %on!tru%tion.

nother an!wer wa! gi"en a%%ording to the language of )a$alooni-

lbraagheeth); the reader %an refer to the gi"en referen%e! for #ore detail!.*ut the prin%iple i! the !a#e; o#i!!ionL@adhf.

The seventh eighth claimed error:

erse ;;:*

+These are two disputants who have disputed concerning their /ord3+

45rberr&6

+haadhaani ChaSmaani 'i1htaSamuu fi rabbihim 333+

erse *:*

+#f two parties of believers fight, put things right between them3+

45rberr&6

+wa 'in2Taa'ifataani min almu'miniin2a>tataluu fa'aSli8uu

ba&nahumaa3+

Con%erning the!e "er!e!& refer to RM& %hapter 51& page 1 O +D& %hapter5& page 55 and RM& %hapter 56& page 1:F O +D& %hapter 5J& page156L15@.

7ortunately& the preli#inary an!wer ha"e gi"en i! enough. Here it i!;

Mr. Newton !aid; :: In Arabi$, like <n%lish wrds are de$lined r

$n7u%ated with rese$t t number! In <n%lish there are tw numbers#

sin%ular and lural! S in <n%lish tw men are treated as lural! 3ut in Arabi$ there are three numbers# sin%ular, dual, and lural! S in Arabi$ the

(erbs and nuns are treated a$$rdin% t the sin%ular r the dual r the

lural! &he (erb in that (erse was $n7u%ated as if the sub7e$t is mre than



tw! 3ut the (erse seaks nly f tw! S the rules f the dual shuld be

fllwed and the wrd 'ikhtaSamuu shuld be 'ikhtaSamaa! S this is yet

anther errr! ::

+he an!wer; n the!e two %a!e!& Mr. Newton %lai#! that the "erb!

)$hta<a#uu) and )iqtataluu) !hould be in the dual for# and not in the plural for# a! it i! in the 2uran. G"erybody will ad#it that in both %a!e! we

are dealing with +B8 antagoni!t!& fineII *ut ea%h antagoni!t i! a group of per!on! in reality. Con%erning the 1!t "er!e& we !hould read the following

"er!e!. Be will reali>e that the two antagoni!t! are& on one hand& tho!e who

deny their =ord and& on the other hand& the belie"er!. n the 5nd "er!e& the

rabi% word +aa3ifa #ean! group or party. <o& one %an put the "erb in the

plural for# !in%e we are dealing with M8RG +HN +B8 per!on! ,a! it i!

in the!e "er!e! or put the "erb in the dual for# a! Mr. Newton wi!he! !in%e

we are dealing with +B8 group!. *oth %hoi%e! are gra##ati%ally %orre%tand it i! !trange to %lai# it !hould be thi! way and not that way be%au!e itrefle%t! either the ignoran%e of the author or hi! willing to fool people li$e

you and #e.

.&<# As I ha(e stated re(iusly, it is rerted that Arab &ribes like

Kinaanah, and 3ani +dhrah, and Khath+am, and Mraad, and sme f

3ani Rabee+ah, and 3el2aarith Ibn Ka+b, ne(er de$lined dual wrds! *&K,

$hater =>, a%e 2> t ?6 &hus, in all the %rammati$al $ases, dual wrds

remain with an alef letter! @=Mr! ewtn is a %d student f Arabi$

%rammar, he states many rules but he fails t take e(erythin% int$nsideratin!

The nineth claimed error:

erse )!:B

+ m& /ord, if onl& Thou wouldst defer me unto a near term, so that #

ma& ma1e freewill offering, and so # ma& become one of the righteous3+

45rberr&6

+333 "abbi lawlaa a1hartanii ilaa a@alin >ariibin fa'aSSadda>a wa a1un

min aSSali8iin3+

7ir!t& let #e re#ind the reader about )@uruf ala+f) ,%oordination

%onun%tion!. +here are nine %onun%tion!; wa& fa& thu##a& laa$in& @attaa&aw& a#& bal and laa. +he!e %onun%tion! u!ually appear between two noun!&

or two "erb!& or two %lau!e! of the !a#e nature. Howe"er& !o#eti#e! theydo refer to the gra##ati%al lo%ation of a noun& "erb or %lau!e and not to the

noun& "erb or %lau!e the#!el"e!. +hi! i! what i! %alled )a+f alaa#aw'i).



RM& %hapter 5J& page 11@L11J O +D& %hapter F& page 19.

%%ording to the gra##arian! >->aaa and bu ali l-faare%y& the %a!e

of the "erb a$un i! @a9m be%au!e the %oordination %onun%tion )wa) refer! to

the location of the clause )fa3a<<addaqa) and not to the "erb a<<addaqa a!

%lai#ed by Mr. Newton. <o& only the "erb )a<<addaq) ta$e! the #ar$ of the!ubun%ti"e a! an effe%t of the %au!ati"e )fa)& the "erb )a$un) i! not

%on%erned. n the light of thi! e4planation the Gngli!h tran!lation !hould be;)8 #y =ord& if only +hou would!t defer #e unto a near ter#& !o that #ay

#a$e freewill offering& and so that #ay be%o#e one of the righteou!.) n

illu!tration of )a+f alaa #aw'i) i! the "er!e of <eebaweih; "M+aawi

innanaa basharn fas7a2 falasnaa b-il7ibaali wa la 2adeedaa" n thi!

!enten%e& the %a!e of the word )@adeedaa) i! naSb ,it end! with an )a)

be%au!e it i! in the !a#e %a!e of the %lau!e )b-ilibaali). f we had to follow

the argu#ent of Mr. Newton )@adeed) would be in the %a!e of ) @arr) ,itwould end with an )i).

The tenth claimed error:

erse *:(

+<& the heaven and that which built it3+ 45rberr&6

+was2samaa2'i wa maa banaahaa3+

1. Bhat i! #eant by )#aa) i! )#an). *ut we prefer )#aa) to )#an)

be%au!e it !er"e! a de!%ripti"e purpo!e. )#an) refer! to od but

)#aa) be!ide! referring to Hi# refer! to Hi! #ighty attribute! and !o&

it %ontain! a for# of prai!e to od. +he !a#e argu#ent i! "alid for

the "er!e 9F; )wa waalidin wa #aa walad) )nd the begetter and

that he begot) what i! #eant i! )nd the begetter and whom he begot) but )who#) #ean! the per!on !tri%tly while )that) in%lude! all

it! fa%ultie! and attribute!., RM& %hapter F& page 1A5 O +D& %hapter1& page 19FL191

5. %%ording to +D& %hapter 1& page 19FL191& )#aa) %an be u!ed in

pla%e of )#an) but not the other way round. 8ther e4a#ple! of thi!

u!age %an be gi"en& but the fir!t argu#ent i! better in the author3!

"iew.

te# In &K, $hater +@, a%e @6)@@, the ar%ument f "maa"bein% "maSdariyah" is refuted as well! S, it is nt smethin%

new ut frward by Mr! ewtn! It has already been dealt withby s$hlars and %rammarians $enturies a%!

The eleventh claimed error:



erse :

Then %e lifted %imself to heaven when it was smo1e, and said to it and

to the earth, 'come willingl&, or unwillingl&' The& said, 'we come

willingl&3'+

+333 fa>aal lahaa wa lel'ar0i i'te&aa taw!an aw 1arhan >aalataa ata&naa

Taa'e!een3+

RM& %hapter 5A& page 1F O +D& %hapter 5@& page 1F6

n thi! "er!e& we ha"e a reported !pee%h. =et3! rewrite it in the dire%t !pee%h;

• od& !pea$ing to the hea"en and earth; 3%o#e willingly& or

unwillinglyI3• +hey reply; 3we %o#e willingly.3

+he %riti%i!# #ade by Mr. Newton %an be di"ided into two part!; the

nu#ber and the gender of +aa3eeen. =et3! %on!ider the gender. n rabi%&

we di!tingui!h two gender!; #a!%uline and fe#inine. *ut& fe#inine i!

di"ided into two !e%tion!; real fe#inine ,)#o3annath @aqeeqy) and#etaphori% fe#inine ,)#o3annath #aaa>y). +he real fe#inine i! )whate"er

gi"e! birth or lay! an egg) ,in rabi%; )$ollo #aa yalid aw yabee'). ndthe rule i! that we ha"e the %hoi%e between %on!idering #etaphori% fe#inine

word! a! #a!%uline or fe#inine. 8ne %an !ay; )a!hraqa a!h!ha#!u) ,)+heha! ri!en)& the "erb a!hraqa agree! with the #a!%uline. or )a!hraqat

i!h!ha#!u) where the "erb )a!hraqat) ta$e! a final )t) agreeing with the

fe#inine. *oth !enten%e! are %orre%t& be%au!e the !un i! not a real fe#inine.

Now& are the hea"en and earth real fe#inineE N8. Con!equently& #erelyfro# a gra##ati%al point of "iew& it i! %orre%t that the hea"en and earth

!pea$ about the#!el"e! u!ing a #a!%uline ade%ti"e. <o#ebody #ight !aythat the #a!%uline i! re!tri%ted on )wi!e) noun! ,in rabi%; )alaaqel) and

that the hea"en and earth are not )aaqel). +hen& we $indly re#ind the#

that& in thi! %onte4t& od !pea$! to the hea"en and earth and they reply. <o

they are gi"en the fa%ultie! of a aaqel obe%t and %on!equently they are

%on!idered in thi! %onte4t a! aaqel. +hu!& they ad#it the #a!%uline for#.

+he fa%t that the "erb of the reported !pee%h )qaalataa) ,)they !aid) i!fe#inine doe! not i#ply fe#inine in the !pee%h it!elf. 8n%e #ore Mr.

Newton #a$e! wrong a!!ertion!.

+he %riti%i!# %on%erning nu#ber i! #ore falla%iou!. n fa%t& in the !a#e line

of the )two di!putant!) in "er!e! 55;19 O A9;9& the hea"en and earth %ontain

the whole %reation and !o#eti#e!& the hea"en! are referred to with plural.

<o& e"en though 1 hea"en 1 earth 5 entitie!& the fa%t that ea%h entity%ontain! #any #any %reature! #a$e! both the plural and dual a%%eptable. n



%on%lu!ion& the word )+aa3eeen) put in plural and #a!%uline for# i! a

1FFQ %orre%t.

The twelfth error:

erse 8:()

+The merc& of God is near3+

+333 inna ra8mata 5llahi >ariibun min almo8seneen3+

+D& %hapter 1A& page 15@

1. +he word )ra@#at) i! a #etaphori% fe#inine that3! why it i!

legiti#ate to treat it a! a #a!%uline. 5. %%ording to n-na'r bn <ho#ayl& )ra@#at) i! an infiniti"e

,)#a<dar) and infiniti"e! agree with the #a!%uline unle!! they endwith a )round t) ,)#arboo+ah) in whi%h %a!e they %an agree with

both #a!%uline and fe#inine.

. 8ther argu#ent! in"ol"ing interpretation were put forward. t i! up to

the reader to %he%$ the !our%e.

RM& %hapter J& page 1A1 to 1AA

1. +here twel"e rea!on! %o#piled by bn Hi!haa# %on%erning thi!"er!e. +he reader i! gi"en the freedo# to %he%$ and e"aluate the#.

5. +he author3! opinion i! that the ade%ti"e )qariib) follow! the !%he#efaeel that #ean! faael ,and not #afool a! !o#e people li$e l-

$ar#aani %lai#ed. Moreo"er& the word )ra@#at) i! )<ifatu dhaat)and !o it i! not proper to qualify it a! )#oqarrabah).

. f we had to %on!ider that faeel #ean! #afool& we %an %ite an

e4a#ple quite !i#ilar to thi! "er!e fro# the rabi% literature of the

ti#e of the 2ur3an; *y the poet (areer; )tanfao$- al@ayaatu wa

8##u a#rin qariibu la ta>uuru wa laa to>aaruE) )8##u a#rin) i!

a lady& and the poet qualifie! her with the #a!%uline ade%ti"e)qariib)...

te# Bn$ernin% this (erse, many inins were %i(en by se$ialists! &hese inins are all the mre diffi$ult t

translate in <n%lish that they are nt easy t e9lain tbe%inners! S, if yu are interested in all that has been said

abut this (erse, lease refer t the sur$es I ha(e quted!

The thirteenth error:



erse 8:)B

+=e divided them into twelve tribes or nations3+

+wa >aTTa!naahomu2thnata& !ashrata asbaTan omamaan3+

R.M& %hapter 9& page J@ O +D& %hapter 1:& page 5.

1. %%ording to >->aaa& the word )a!baa+an) i! an epithet

,natL<ifah in rabi% of an o#itted noun !u%h a! )firqah) ,group. <o

that the !enten%e would be; ) Be di"ided the# into twel"e groups in

tribe! and nation!). <o& it i! the o#itted noun )firqatan) that !hould

agree with the nu#ber ,we %all it )ta#yi>) in rabi% and not theepithet.

5. %%ording to bu ali l-faare%y& )a!baa+an) i! not the )ta#yi>) ofthe nu#ber twel"e. t i! rather a )!ub!titute) ,)badal) in rabi% of the

nu#ber it!elf. He argued that& fro# a lingui!ti% po!ition& )<eb+)

,!ingular of a!baa+ i! a part or a !e%tion of !o#ething. n thi! "iew&

the <on! of !rael ,who are %on%erned in thi! "er!e were di"ided ingroup!L!e%tion! ea%h !e%tion being !e"eral tribe! and nation! whi%h i!

%onfir#ed by their hi!tory.

Mre(er, Mr! ewtn, wh tries t imress the readers by his

%rammati$al seemin% knwled%e *a$tually, he states rules (ery

well and finds u t fi(e "errrs" in ne sin%le (erseCC, failedt hi%hli%ht anther issue in this (erse! Dw des it $me that

the %ender f the wrd "ithnatay" is feminine while -as he

shuld ha(e said- it has t be "ithnay" t a%ree with the %ender

f "asbaa&an" whi$h is mas$ulineE May be he felt it

unne$essary t int this issue ut! #- Dwe(er, fr thereaders' infrmatin, the %ender f the wrd "ithnatay" $an

a%ree with feminine and mas$uline withut any referen$e frany f the tw alternati(es be$ause there are tw substitutes

*"badal" whi$h are "asbaa&an" and "maman"! &he first

bein% mas$uline and the se$nd feminine, the %ender f the

number $an be either way! And this inin is due t the

%rammarian Al-farraa'!

Now that the te%hni%al part i! !ol"ed& the following %o##ent! ha"e to bedone;

• Mr. Newton !aid ; t i! reported that 3Kth#an& after "iewing the fir!t

!tandared %opy of the 2ur3an& !aid& 3 !ee gra##ati%al error! in it& and

the rab! will read it %orre%tly with their tongue!.3 Hi! referen%e i!l-7urqan by Moha##ad M. 3abd al-=atif bn al-Datib& 'ar al-Dutub



al-3el#iyah& *eirut. n RM& %hapter 6& page 1AL1:& regarding thi!

report& the great !%holar !-!a$haawy an!wered that thi! report i!

wea$ ,)'aeef)& it! tran!#i!!ion ,)i!naad) i! bro$enLdi!%ontinuou!

and turbulent. He %ontinue! !aying that the %aliph 3Kth#an wa! a

guide for the K##ah. How %an we i#agine that he %ould find anerror in the 2ur3an and lea"e it for the rab! to %orre%t itE How %an

we i#agine that he doe! !o while he ha! written #any %opie! thatdiffered only a%%ording to the different reading! inherited fro# the

Prophet Moha##adE Mu%h #ore& if he too$ the trouble of %o#piling

the *oo$ who would be #ore worried about it! %orre%tion than

3Kth#aan and the Co#panion! who were na#ed for the %o#pilationE

• Mr. Newton !aid;+he Mu!li# !%holar bn al-Dhatib who quoted the

abo"e report in hi! boo$ al-7urqan& went on to #ention another report

on the authority of 3a3i!ha& one of Moha##ad3! wi"e!& !aying&3+here are three gra##ati%al error! in the *oo$ of llah& they are the

fault of the !%ribe; n 5F;6 )2aaluuu inna haa>aani la-!aahiraani ...)nd in :;69 )nnal-la>iina 3aa#anuu wal-la>iina haaduu wa!-

<aabi3uuna wan-Na!aaraa #an 3aa#ana bilaahi wal-?aw#il-3a$hiriwa 3a#ila !aali-hanfalaa $haw-fun 3alay-hi# wa laa hu# yah-

>anuun.) nd in A;165 )=aa$inir-Raa!i-$huuna fil-3il#i #inhu# wal-

Mu3-#inuuna yu3-#inuuna bi-#aaa 3un>ila 3ilay$a wa #aaa 3un>ila

#in-qabli$a wal-#uqii#iin a!-<alaata wal #u3-tuuna>-a$aata wal-

Mu3-#i-nuuna billaahi wal-?aw#il-3a$hir; 3ulaaa 3i$a !anu3-tii-hi#

3aran 3a>ii#aa.)3 Regarding the!e "er!e!& the gra##ati%al an!wer! aregi"en abo"e. %%ording to RM& %hapter 16& page 551 to 55A&

a%%ording to the great !%holar (alaal ud-deen a!-!oyoo+y& the )i!naad)of thi! report fulfil! the %riterion of )!h-!hay$hayn) ,)the two

!%holar!). Howe"er& he goe! on %onfir#ing the opinion of bn !htah

%on%erning thi! report; what i! #eant by )the fault of the !%ribe!) i!

that they ought to %hoo!e different reading! to be !tandardi>ed for the

K##ah. aa3i!hah didn3t #ean that they #ade #i!ta$e! in the report

it!elf be%au!e #i!ta$e! are not a%%eptable in thi! regard and& by no

#ean!& they %an be agreed upon by the whole K##ah. Moreo"er&a%%ording to bn l3anbaary and other! reporting fro# i$ri#ah& the

i!naad of thi! report i! wea$& di!%ontinuou! and turbulent and it!

%ontent %annot #at%h what we $now about 3Kth#aan. +hi! opinion

wa! %onfir#ed by bn (ubaa>ah in hi! boo$ )!har@ r-raa3iyyah).

Mu%h #ore& how %an we thin$ that the Co#panion! %ould #a$elanguage #i!ta$e! and e!pe%ially #i!ta$e! in the Holy *oo$ while

they are $nown for the purity of their languageE How %an we thin$that they would #a$e #i!ta$e! in the 2ur3an while they had re%ei"ed

it fro# the Prophet,<B< a! it wa! re"ealed to hi#& they ne"er



!pared any effort to learn it by heart and they !ought !%rupulou!ly the

%orre%tion of the word! and the right perfor#an%e in the re%itationE

• +he i!!ue of the li# !oftware i! not of great "alue& it only !how! u!

why people with little $nowledge about rabi% are able to #a$e #any#u!li#! doubt. +he general ignoran%e of the rabi% language

%o#bined with the in!uffi%ient $nowledge about !la# #a$e #u!li#!

"ery "ulnerable. re#e#ber a report about a !%holar who !aid; )+he

wor!t thing that #a$e people di!obey od i! ignoran%e.) He wa!a!$ed; )'o you $now anything wor!e than ignoran%eE). He replied;

)+he ignoran%e about one3! ignoran%eI) t i! high ti#e #u!li#! wo$eup and !ought $nowledge a! it i! taught by their religion& both

religiou! and !%ientifi% $nowledge are #eant in thi! %o##and#ent.

• +he fir!t ti#e heard about gra##ati%al error! in the 2ur3an& thought it wa! a o$e. n fa%t& it i! well $nown that the Holy 2ur3an i!

the !tandard rabi% te4t fro# whi%h the rule! of rabi% gra##arwere dedu%ed and !et. +he %lai# that it #ay %ontain error! while it i!

the !tandard i! illogi%al. Moreo"er& it #ean! that if the gra##ar

happened to falter regarding a 2ur3ani% lingui!ti% !et& it doe! not

pro"e any in%on!i!ten%y in the 2ur3an.

Documents

Grammatical Errors in Quran