Koran translation

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The first sura in a manuscript by Hattat Aziz Efendi (transcription and translation on the image description page)

A Koran translation is the content reproduction of the Koran in a language other than the Arabic source language. As with all translations, an absolutely unambiguous translation into other languages ​​is impossible, because every translation is also an interpretation . Therefore, and because of the corresponding suras , Islamic theologians recommend studying the Koran in the original Arabic text.

In German usage, the Koran refers to the text itself, also in its translations. For many Muslims, however, the word Koran is reserved for the text in Arabic script, although there are deviations depending on the so-called reading of the Koran (see also Koran # The collection of the Koran ). With this narrower understanding of the term, a translation is usually referred to as "Explanation of the Koran text" or "Meaning of the Koran". This can lead to irritation for the reader who is looking for a Qur'an comment or a translation.

History of translation

Fragments of a Greek translation of the Koran have survived from the Byzantine period, but it was only known in Europe through a Latin translation commissioned by the Cluniac abbot Petrus Venerabilis in 1143. The work was done in the translation school of Toledo in Spain by the Englishman Robert von Ketton , Peter von Toledo, the monk Hermann von Carinthia and the Saracen Mohammed. This translation was first printed in 1543 in an adaptation by the Zurich theologian Theodor Bibliander in Basel . In the case of difficult or unclear passages in the Koran, von Ketton's translation is based on the Muslim exegesis of the time, as can be found in Tafsir works. The Ketton's translation of the Koran is - apart from short fragments - the oldest surviving translation of the Koran into any other language. It served as a template for translations into German, Dutch and Italian. A better translation into Latin from the Toledo School of Translators is by Marcus von Toledo (1209/1210).

Shortly before his death, Johannes von Segovia translated the Koran from Arabic into Spanish and from Spanish into Latin together with Yça Gidelli ( ʿĪsā ibn Ǧābir) because of the inadequacies of Robert von Ketton's older translations. This translation is no longer preserved.

The first German translation of the Koran by Salomon Schweigger appeared in Nuremberg in 1616 , on 267 pages. It was titled Alcoranus Mahumeticus, which is: The Turk Alcoran, Religion and Superstition and was a translation from Italian, which in turn was based on the Latin translation.

Title page of the Koran translation by Megerlein 1772
Title page of the Koran translation by Friedrich Eberhard Boysen in the second edition in 1775.

It was not until 1647 that the first direct translation appeared, into French. The translator, André du Ryer († 1688), had lived for a long time as the French consul in the Levant . He also used Muslim commentaries on the Koran for this version .

Another important translation was published in Padua in 1698 by Father Ludovico Marracci (1612–1700). Its edition contains the Arabic text with a Latin version along with comments on the understanding of the text and a rejection ( refutatio ) from the Roman Catholic point of view. Marracci, by the way, confessor of Pope Innocent XI. , had to defend himself against the objection that Pope Alexander VII had already forbidden to print the Koran or to translate it into other languages. Maracci's translation was translated into German in 1703 by David Nerreter (1649–1726).

Another translation into German was published in 1746 by Theodor Arnold . This was a translation of the English translation by George Sale (1697–1736) from 1734. It is important because Johann Wolfgang Goethe used it for the west-east divan .

David Friederich Megerlin (1699–1778) created the first German translation directly from Arabic in 1772 under the title The Turkish Bible, or the Koran next to an engraving by Mahumed , the false prophet . Goethe publicly described it as a "miserable production". Megerlin wanted to expose the Koran as a “book of lies and fables”. In 1773 the translation of the Quedlinburg court preacher Friedrich Eberhard Boysen came out (second improved edition in Halle 1775), which was revised in 1828 by the orientalist Samuel Friedrich Günther Wahl (1760-1834). All of these previous translations into German strongly reflected reservations.

In 1798 Johann Christian Wilhelm Augusti (1772–1841) tried to preserve the poetic effect of the original in the excerpt from the Koran that he edited. For this he made his translation into five - footed iambas . The Viennese orientalist Josef von Hammer-Purgstall , a teacher of Goethe and Friedrich Rückert (see below), had more success, and his selection translation in 1888 is considered the best attempt so far to imitate the poetic character of the original.

Another translation is that of Ludwig Ullmann , a 19th century Jewish scholar. In 1840 he translated the Koran into German. This translation was revised by Leo Winter in the 1950s and is still available today.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat published Koran translations in many different languages. The translation is contrasted with the original Arabic text. The first translation of the Koran into German by Muslims comes from her.

A Muslim German mother tongue who also translated the Koran was Ahmad von Denffer in 1996. He tries to list several German equivalents of an Arabic expression, which is why his edition is difficult to read. His edition is not quotable in Islamic studies.

Another German translation, which also includes the Arabic text and a selection of important comments translated into German for each verse, was published by a group of German-speaking Muslim women under the direction of Fatima Grimm under the title The Meaning of the Koran in 1997. However, this edition is a strongly traditionalist, interpretive translation oriented towards the purpose of the mission. The Grimm's Koran is therefore also not used in Islamic studies. Another translation from the Muslim environment is by Amir Zaidan (see below).

Scientific translations were made in the 20th century by Lazarus Goldschmidt (1916), Max Henning (1901), Rudi Paret and Adel Khoury (see below).

A translation suitable for children and young people was published for the first time in 2008. The Koran for children and adults was prepared, commented on and published by the Islamic scholar and religious educator Lamya Kaddor and the head of the Institute for Interreligious Education and Didactics in Cologne, Rabeya Müller . The work is another novelty in two respects: The two authors have sorted a selection of verses from the Koran thematically and illustrated the text with traditional Islamic miniatures. Critics consider this to be "a fairly revolutionary act in the Islamic world". With this book, the hard-to-access revelation text has for the first time been given a structure that enables laypeople to read the stories of the Koran in chronological order. In addition, a simple and easily understandable German was chosen.

Translation characteristics

Rückert (1888)

Friedrich Rückert (1788–1866) tried to show the language skills of the Koran and to reproduce the poetic form. Rückert translates the Koranic rhyming prose with the same rhyming endings, although the rhyming words do not (can) always correspond. However, as a result of this procedure, the translation loses its content-related fidelity.

"In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful!
Say: God is one,
one eternally pure,
has not begotten and no one has begotten him,
and there is no one like him. "

- Koran, sura 112 al-Ichlas : translation by Friedrich Rückert

His translation appeared posthumously in 1888.

Henning (1901)

The translation by Max Henning was published by Philipp Reclam junior in 1901. in Leipzig. An inexpensive edition published by Annemarie Schimmel is widespread . The original translation is not as close to the original as Paret and z. Sometimes stylistically outdated (“women” for “women”), but solid. The “admired closeness to the original” that Murad Wilfried Hofmann speaks of cannot be seen by Islamic scholars, but it is still used in science.

Goldschmidt (1916)

In 1916, the orientalist Lazarus Goldschmidt published a translation in Berlin that is still in print today. When he translated the Arabic text into German, Goldschmidt made no attempt to recreate the poetic components of the original in the translation. He focused solely on the content transfer. Linguistically, the text therefore seems bumpy.

Ahmadiyya (1939, 1954)

The first German translation of the Koran published for Muslims was published in Berlin in 1939 by the then imam of the Wilmersdorfer Mosque . This was followed by a new translation by the Islamic reform community Ahmadiyya under the supervision of Mirza Bashir ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad in 1954. Since then it has been revised several times, most recently in 2013 under the supervision of the head of the community Mirza Masroor Ahmad . According to the community, the Koran has been translated into 70 languages ​​by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, including a. also in chinese. The translation of the 6348 verses of the Holy Qur'an also includes the opening verses, the so-called Bismillah.

The first German edition of the Koran of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat was praised by the al-Azhar University in Cairo when it was published in 1954 and described as an outstanding German translation.

Paret (1966)

The standard scientific translation is the edition by Rudi Paret first published in 1966 . Bobzin calls it the "philologically best-founded translation [...]" (preface to Bobzin 2004). Translation and commentary are aimed at academics with knowledge of philology. Paret's Commentary and Concordance (1971) do not necessarily provide laymen with understandable help on studying the Koran, but they do provide well-founded parallel passages and translation variants.

“Paret's translation is important because for the first time it takes full seriousness with the idea that one has to interpret the Koran as a historical document from within itself. Paret has therefore systematically searched through the entire Koran for parallel passages and evaluated these alongside the material of local comments. In terms of form, the translation is clad in a garment that is easy to comment on, in such a way that the reader is made clear by adding brackets of various sizes beyond the linguistic expression. "

- Helmut Gätje : Koran and Koran exegesis

However, Paret's translation has been criticized by Navid Kermani , among others , as it neglects the aesthetic form of the original in favor of the supposed content. However, if the Koran is viewed as a poetically structured text, the actual meaning only emerges through the interplay of form and content. Kermani continues to criticize German Oriental Studies, which largely recognizes Paret's translation as the most authentic, which, in his opinion, shows "the shortcomings of the Orientalist strategy of understanding, which reduces the verses to mere communication (...)".

Bubenheim & Elyas (1980s)

The noble Quran and the translation of its meanings into German is a Quran translation by Nadeem Elyas and Frank Bubenheim (alias "Abdullah as-Samit") from the 1980s. Certified version commissioned and certified by the Saudi Ministry of Religions, therefore committed to traditionalist understanding of the Koran. This translation contains a detailed commentary and translation alternatives for ambiguous passages. Trying to translate as close to the text as possible takes some getting used to, but the translation is easy to read. This translation was published by order of the Saudi Arabian King Fahd ibn Abd al-Aziz . It can be found in a version without explanatory footnotes on the website islam.de of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany , where it replaced the previously mainly offered translation by Rassoul (see below) .

Rassoul (1986)

Muhammad Ahmad Rassoul's translation, first published in 1986 under the title The Approximate Meaning of the Al-Qur'an Al-Karim in German , was originally designed in two languages ​​(Arabic & German). The title already reveals the traditional attitude, which does not consider a complete translation of the Koran possible.

The Rassoul translation is rated in the guideline "ORIENTATION" of the Institute for Islamic Studies of the Free University of Berlin as "rather less recommendable" because of its strong "reference to the Arabic language and with a tendency towards euphemistic apologetics". Dirk Hartwig (FU Berlin) judged that it was scientifically “not that important”. Thomas Bauer (University of Münster) criticized it as “stylistically bad” and “ inadequate” in terms of translation studies . Hartmut Bobzin cites the Rassoul translation as an example of the “procedure of Latin transcription of the Arabic text - often with pre-scientific, downright adventurous methods” that has become “almost commonplace”.

In a list of Koran translations into German compiled by Ahmad von Denffer ( Islamisches Zentrum München ) and made available on the web space of the Saudi Arabian government, the Rassoul translation is the first complete translation of the Koran from Arabic into German by an Arab or Sunni Muslim called; however, it is evident that Rassoul had borrowed much from previous German translations. Murad Wilfried Hofmann made the pervasive influence of Henning's translation on the Rassoul translation obvious. The translation is not word for word, but often remains bumpy because of its close proximity to the Koranic text.

Rassoul's translation is popular. Until September 2009 it was the main one offered free of charge by the Central Council of Muslims in Germany (ZMD) on its website islam.de, until it was replaced by that of Bubenheim & Elyas . Along with Fatima Grimm 's translation, Rassoul's translation is one of the two Koran translations recommended by the ZMD in its 1999 curriculum for Islamic religious instruction . Most recently, it received special attention from the Koran distribution campaign initiated in Germany by Salafist Ibrahim Abou-Nagie at the end of 2011 , which uses Rassoul's translation (in a purely German edition and with a commentary by the German convert Frank Bubenheim ). It was noted from various sides that the translation largely corresponds to the translation of the Ahmadiyya .

Khoury (1987)

Adel Theodor Khoury wrote in the preface to his translation: “In the German editions of the Koran that have been used up to now, Muslims often lack sufficient empathy for their thinking. They accuse them of mostly not conforming to their understanding of the Koran. The question of an 'authentic' German-language version of the Koran is also being brought to the Muslims more and more urgently by the Christian interlocutors […] ”(p. IX). Khoury wants to take this concern into account with his translation, which he produced together with Muhammad Salim Abdullah. There is also a twelve-volume scientific edition in which, in addition to translation and original text, an extensive commentary is also included. Adel Khoury, the edition of which is very easy to read, published a selection of hadiths , both in its translation as an appendix and as a separate book, along with extensive secondary literature on the relationship between Muslims and Christians. Since Khoury takes the harshness out of critical passages, a scholarly use is difficult and rare in Islamic studies, except for the documentation of the current contemporary and majority Muslim practice of interpretation.

Henning / Hofmann (1998)

An adaptation of Henning's translation by Murad Wilfried Hofmann, which is also popular with German Muslims, especially when it comes to promoting Islam ( Da'wa ), is widespread . However, many of Hofmann's interpretations were incorporated into this translation, which defuse the Koran, especially in passages that are characteristic of the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims. It also smooths out critical passages in the sense of a liberal interpretation of Islam and is therefore less suitable for academic use.

Azhar / Maher (1999)

Bobzin writes:

"On behalf of Azhar University, the Egyptian Germanist Moustafa Maher translated the text again (Cairo 1999)."

- The Koran . 5th edition. Beck, Munich 2004, p. 122 .

The translation of Mahers is written in good contemporary German and can be read fluently. It has a tendency to gloss over and otherwise follows the current contemporary Muslim understanding of the Koran.

Zaidan (2000)

Bobzin writes about the translation of the Islamic scholar Amir Zaidan : “The translation by Amir Zaidan (Offenbach 2000) breaks completely new ground, leaving many central theological terms in their Arabic form, such as Iman for 'faith' or Taqwa for 'fear of God'. . ”(P. 122) Zaidan himself writes in the introduction of his translation about the“ new approach in dealing with Islamic terminology, namely the use of non-transferable Islamic terms as foreign words, such as Iman, Din, Shirk, Kafir or Wali. I consider this method to be indispensable in order to prevent the Quranic content and message from being distorted. Ultimately, this method is also justified in other scientific disciplines such as computer science (English nomenclature) or medicine (Latin nomenclature). ”(P. 17) As a justification he gives:

“For example, in my explanation of (4: 144) it says: 'You who have internalized Iman! Don't take the kafir as a wali instead of the Moomin! ' If one ignores the actual meaning of this term [ Wali: ... "To take a person / umma as a wali" means to give this person / umma the greatest possible priority over all other persons / umam. Muslims maintain the closest, most intimate and intense relationship with their own Islamic umma, both in the rational and in the emotional area.] And uses the completely inappropriate word 'friend' here for 'wali', [...] then the 'translation' reads like this: 'You believers, do not take the unbelievers as friends instead of the believers!' According to this translation, it appears that Muslims are not allowed to take non-Muslims as friends. This is clearly wrong! "

Due to the numerous Arabic terms, this translation is sometimes difficult to read in the first edition and cannot be quoted in Islamic studies. In 2009 the Islamological Institute published a fundamentally revised edition. On the one hand, Zaidan developed his own transliteration of the Koran text. The aim was "to develop an easily readable transcription system that primarily takes into account the difficulties of those who are not familiar with Arabic." On the other hand, the translation has also been fundamentally revised, with three priorities being set: "The first focus was on making the translation more readable and fluid." For this purpose, Zaidan translated (unlike in the first edition) most of the technical terms into German according to their "most likely meaning" in the respective context. The second focus was "to show the reader other possible interpretations of some Aayaat [ie Koranic verses]", which are of high theological relevance, which the author clarifies with the example of Sura 28:56, which can be translated as follows: "( ...) ALLAAH guides whoever HE wants (...) "or" (...) ALLAAH guides those who want (...) ". The third focus of the revision was "the stylistic simplification of the translation and the explanation of various contexts in the footnotes."

Zirker (2003)

The quite new translation by Hans Zirker from 2003, now published in 2018 in the sixth, revised edition, offers a well-founded translation that is philologically up-to-date. He tries to ensure legibility in contemporary German and tries to get closer to the Koranic language without deviating too much from the literal meaning.

“Zirker's Koran edition [...] makes it easier for the reader than many previous academic attempts to look into this dreaded, sometimes not so strange world of the Islamic book. And it makes it easier for him to at least begin to feel the glowing fascination that more than a billion people feel for this book and its contents. "

- General-Anzeiger Bonn

Kaddor / Müller (selection translation 2008)

The Koran for children and adults by Lamya Kaddor and Rabeya Müller is one of the most controversial translations. It meets with displeasure from both conservative Muslims and critics of Islam. Some denounce the encroachment on the unalterable Word of God because the authors have arranged the sequence of verses and suras thematically for the first time, and they criticize the first use of images in a Koran text. The others rub their eyes whether the choice of verses that omitted controversial topics such as the headscarf or "Holy War". Kaddor / Müller did not translate the entire text, only excerpts. Similar to children's Bibles , the authors are interested in an introduction to the origins and sources of belief, the beauty and the possibilities that live in a religion. The aim of the two is to introduce the reader to the original. Accordingly, the original Arabic text is on the left and its German equivalent on the right.

The use of images showing the prophets, including the founder of the religion, Mohammed , is justified on the basis of educational considerations. No modern drawings were selected, but classic Islamic miniatures from the Middle Ages and early modern times. That means that the authors of the pictures were themselves Muslims. According to Deutschlandradio Kultur, this is a trick to oppose the ban on images in Islam .

The text is kept in simple words. He neither tries to imitate the ancient language of the Koran, nor is it a paraphrase of the text. Kaddor / Müller have tried to stay as close as possible to the original. Die Welt am Sonntag characterizes the work as an easily understandable and orderly reader with an unmistakably liberal-Muslim handwriting. The respective chapters are always followed by a short summary in your own words and an explanation of the previously translated passages.

The book contains twelve thematic chapters, with references to God, creation, fellow human beings, prophets or paradise and hell . In a separate chapter on exemplary women in the Koran, Maryam , the biblical Mary mother of Jesus, and Balkis, the Queen of Sheba are introduced.

According to the publisher CHBeck, the first edition was sold out after just one week.

Karimi (2009)

In October 2009, Ahmad Milad Karimi submitted a complete new translation of the Koran, which was published by Verlag Herder (Freiburg). The editor is the theologian and religious scholar Bernhard Uhde , who also provides an introduction to the Koran.

Karimi, who fled Afghanistan to Germany with his family in 1994 and studied Islamic studies and philosophy in Darmstadt and Freiburg, consistently seeks the closest possible proximity to the original in his translation and emphasizes the poetic quality of the Koran. His translation is in line with a number of announced but not yet completed poetic translations (see below).

As the Muslim Karimi explains in his epilogue to the translation, he focuses on "in addition to the philological accuracy and above all the aesthetic atmosphere of the Quran singing". Karimi is concerned with conveying that “aesthetic-poetic experience” that “fundamentally determines the religiosity of Muslims.” Accordingly, his translation is one that is declared intended for recitation (and accordingly provided with breath marks). In his translation, Karimi expressly avoids smoothing out bulky or dark passages that also characterize the Arabic original for many listeners or trying to make them more understandable. In addition to an aesthetic movement, this is intended to enable the reader to experience fundamental strangeness and infinity, which should characterize the reception of the Koran.

Bobzin (2010)

As can be read in the foreword of his Koran reader, Hartmut Bobzin does not seem to understand Rückert's Koran translation easily in many places, so that Friedrich Rückert's German text needs an explanation. This is how Bobzin came up with the idea of ​​starting his own translation of the Koran. In his foreword, Bobzin also rejects the common Muslim opinion that only a Muslim can translate the Koran.

Hartmut Bobzin has presented a number of translation samples in his “Koran Reading Book” and in the book “Joseph in Egypt”; his full translation of the Koran was published in 2010.

Neuwirth (since 2011)

Since 2011, the Arabist Angelika Neuwirth has been publishing a detailed manual commentary with her own new translation of the Koran at the Verlag der Welttreligionen. The first two of the five-volume edition have so far been published (as of 2017). Neuwirth was awarded the Fritz Behrens Foundation's Science Prize in 2010 for her commitment to “a translation of the Koran based on historical sources”, which is documented in her preliminary work The Koran as a text from late antiquity .

Comparison of the translations

The famous Sura 97 was chosen for the comparison .

« في ليلة القدر أنزلناه إنا
وما أدراك ما ليلة القدر
ليلة القدر خير من ألف شهر
تنزل الملائكة والروح فيها من كل أمر بإذن ربهم
سلام هي حتى مطلع الفجر »

«Bismi llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīmi
ʾInnā ʾanzalnāhu fī lailati l-qadri
Wa-mā ʾadrāka mā lailatu l-qadri
Lailatu l-qadri ḫairun min ʾalfi šahrāullin
Tanazzalu l-bi mal-rāikatu rhin
Salāmun hiya ḥattā maṭlaʿi l-faǧri »

" Megerlein , Boysen , Ulmann , Rückert , ..."

- 97) Sūrat al-Qadr

David Friederich Megerlein (1772)

Megerlein: Sura 97

The Alcoran's 97th chapter, titled:
The night of omnipotence (Alkadar) .
It is from Medina , and has 5 verses.

In the name of God, the most merciful and compassionate.

  1. Certainly, we lowered the Alkoran in the night Alkadar, that is, the omnipotence.
  2. But who can give you enough to understand what glorious advantages the night Alkadar, or power, has?
  3. For it is this night, Alkadar, that is, of power, far better than a thousand other months.
  4. Then that same night the angels and spirits were sent down, by order of their Lord, with the divine counsels on all things.
  5. The same night is pure peace until the dawn.

Friedrich Eberhard Boysen (1775)

The XCVII. Chapter
Alkadar

In the name of God, the Most Merciful, Compassionate.

  1. Certainly we revealed the Koran on the night of Alkadar.
  2. (But who will be able to give you a thorough lesson from the night in Alkadar?)
  3. The night Alkadar is infinitely better than a thousand months.
  4. For in it the angels and Gabriel climb on the command of their Lord
    with the divine counsels on all things in the world.
  5. Salvation reigns throughout this night until daybreak.

Ullmann (1840)

Ninety-seventh sura.
Al 'Kadar 2).
Revealed to Mecca 3).

In the name of the most merciful God.

  1. Verily, we revealed it, the Koran, to Al 'Kadar on the night.
  2. But what teaches you to understand what the night Al 'Kadar is?
  3. The night of Al 'Kadar is better than a thousand months.
  4. In it the angels descended with the spirit 4),
    with the permission of their Lord, with God's ordinances over all things.
  5. This night brings peace and salvation until dawn.

Notes:
2) Al 'Kadar is the night of glory and power in which the angel Gabriel brought the Quran from the seventh heaven. Cf. Sura 44, page 426, note 4.
3) According to some on Medina.
4) I.e. the angel Gabriel.

Rückert (1888)

97 e sura
the night of power

In the name of God the Most Merciful.

  1. We sent him down on the night of power.
  2. Do you know what is the night of power?
  3. The night of power is more than what
    A thousand moons will be accomplished.
  4. The angels descend and the spirit in her
    At the command of their Lord, that everything be considered.
  5. She is whole and peaceful until day awakens.

Note: “The blessing formula (…) recurs over every sura, with the exception of the ninth; we have omitted them everywhere. "(from the explanation of the 1st sura)

Henning (1901)

97 - The Power (Al-Qadr)

Revealed at Mecca

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful!

  1. See, We revealed him to al-Qadr on the night.
  2. And what teaches you to know what the night al-Qadr is?
  3. The night al-Qadr is better than a thousand moons.
  4. The angels and the Spirit in her descend by their Lord's leave to every command.
  5. She is peace until the dawn.

Goldschmidt (1916)

97 - Surah of (the night) of the destination Meccan, consisting of 5 verses

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE MERCIFUL, THE MERCIFUL.

  1. Verily, we revealed him on the night of determination *.
  2. What teaches you what the Night of Destiny is?
  3. The night of determination is better than a thousand moons.
  4. In her the angels descend and the Spirit, with the pardon of their Lord for all things.
  5. She is salvation until the break of dawn.

Notes on Sura 97

  • Or night of power

It is the night of the 23rd to the 24th Ramadan, the “holy night of destiny”, in which the fate of man is determined for the whole year, in this the Koran was revealed.

Sadr ud-Din (1939)

97. The Power (Al-Qadr)

In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Merciful.

  1. We have revealed the (Koran) in the night of power!
  2. And do you know what the night of power is?
  3. The night of power is better than a thousand months!
  4. In it the angels and the spirit descend with their Lord's permission for every commission.
  5. Peace! Until the break of dawn.

Ahmadiyya (1954)

The Holy Quran The Mighty
Night (Al-Qadr)

  1. In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
  2. Verily, We sent it (the Quran) down on the night of Al-Qadr.
  3. And what teaches you to know what the night al-Qadr is?
  4. The night Al-Qadr is better than a thousand moons.
  5. In her the angels descend and the Spirit according to the command of her Lord - with every thing
  6. Peace lasts until dawn.

Paret (1966)

Sura 97
The Determination

In the name of the merciful and gracious God.

  1. We sent it down (that is, the Koran) on the night of the destiny.
  2. But how do you know what the Night of Destiny is?
  3. The night of determination is better than a thousand months.
  4. The angels and the Spirit come down in her with the permission of their Lord, all Logos (beings).
  5. It is (full) salvation (and blessings) until the dawn is visible (w. Rises).

Comment (1977)

Sura 97

97 , 1–5 On the whole sura: K. Wagtendonk, Fasting in the Koran, Leiden 1968, pp. 82–122. On the basis of an analysis of the relevant texts, the author deals with the question of the extent to which fasting in Ramadan and the revelation of the Koran are related to one another, and what is the point of the lailat al-qadr . Among other things, he comes to the following conclusion: “The date on which Sura 97 was revealad can now be determined. Mohammed must have indicated the night of the 27th Radjab as the night of his (first) revelation, after he abolished the 'Ashura' and before the battle of Badr took place ”(p. 113). See my review, Der Islam 46, 1970, pp. 68f. - inna angalnahu fi lailati l-qadri : 44 , 2f .; 2 , 185. On the matter: R. Paret, Mohammed and the Koran, p. 43; K. Wagtendonk, Fasting in the Koran, Leiden 1968, p. 113 (see above). - Evidence for wa-ma adraka ma… in the note on 82 , 14-18. - tanazzalu l-mala`ikatu war-Ruhu fiha bi-idni rabbihim min kulli amrin : 16 , 2, with further evidence. - The interpretation of the prepositional expression min kulli amrin is controversial. See Wagtendonk, Fasting in the Koran, pp. 83f., Note 5 and p. 86, note 3. Wagtendonk translates: “by virtue of every decree”. But probably min has a partitive sense and is to be understood amr in the special meaning “logos” or similar (see note on 2 , 109). Accordingly, I have translated “all logos (beings)” (as an apposition to “the angels and the spirit”). See also the note on 44 , 3f. - salaamun hiya hatta matla`i l-fagri . See H. Ringgren, Islam, 'aslama and muslim, Uppsala 1949, p. 10.

Rassoul (1986)

97. The Mighty Night (Al-Qadr)

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful!

  1. Verily, We revealed it (the Qur'an) on the night of Al-Qadr.
  2. And what teaches you to know what the night of al-Qadr is?
  3. The night of Al-Qadr is better than a thousand months.
  4. In her the angels and Gabriel descend with the permission of their Lord to every command.
  5. She is at peace until dawn.

Khoury (1987)

Sura 97
The Destiny (al-Qadr)
in Mecca , 5 verses

In the name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.

  1. We revealed it (the Quran) on the night of the destiny.
  2. How are you supposed to know what the Night of Destiny is?
  3. The night of determination is better than a thousand months.
  4. The angels and the Spirit come down in her with the permission of their Lord with every concern.
  5. She is full of peace until the dawn.

Henning (1901), revised Hofmann (1998)

97 - Fate (al-Qadr)

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful!

  1. We really did send him down on the night of fate (or: destiny, omnipotence).
  2. And what makes you know what the night of fate is
  3. The night of fate is better than a thousand months.
  4. In her the angels and the Spirit come down by their Lord's permission, with every commission.
  5. She is at peace until dawn. (That night, Qur'anic revelation began on one of the last five odd nights of Ramadan , probably around the 27th of Ramadan in the year 610. )

Azhar / Maher (1999)

Sura 97

  1. We sent it down (the Qur'an) on the night of glory.
  2. How do you know what the night of glory is?
  3. The night of glory is better than a thousand months.
  4. The angels come down to earth with Gabriel with God's command and authority.
  5. She is full of peace until dawn.

Zaidan (2000)

97th Surah
Al-qadr (Al-qadr is the proper name of the 97th Surah. Linguistically, Al-qadr means "determining".) (5 Ayat )

Bismillahi r-rahmani rrahim

  1. Certainly WE sent him down from Al-qadr on the night.
  2. And what do you know what al-qadr night is ?!
  3. Al-qadr night is better than a thousand months.
  4. The angels and the rest are sent down in her little by little with the consent of their Lord for every matter.
  5. She is salam until dawn.

Bubenheim & Elyas (2002)

Sura 97 al-Qadr
The Destiny

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

  1. We sent it (the Qur'an) down on the night of the destiny.
  2. And what lets you know what the Night of Destiny is
  3. The night of determination is better than a thousand months.
  4. The angels and the spirit within her come down with the permission of their Lord in every matter.
  5. She is peace until dawn.

Zirker (2003)

97. Sura: The night of determination

In the name of God, the Most Compassionate and Merciful.

We sent him down on the night of destiny.

How do you know what the Night of Destiny is?

The night of determination is better than a thousand months.

The angels and the Spirit go down in her with the permission of their Lord for whatever disposition.

She is peace until morning.

Bobzin (2005)

Sura 97 (Fate - al-qadr )

In the name of God the most merciful and compassionate

  1. See we sent him down
    In the night of fate.
  2. What makes you know what she is
    The night of fate?
  3. The night of fate
    She is better than a thousand moons
  4. The angels descend and the spirit in her
    With the permission of their Lord
    At any request.
  5. She is peace,
    Until dawn breaks.

Weidner (2007)

The night of fate (sura 97)

In the name of the gracious and merciful God!

  1. We sent him on the fateful night.
  2. Do you know the night of fate?
  3. The night of fate is more glorious than a thousand moons:
  4. The angels come and the spirit
    To do the work at their Lord's command.
  5. Peace then reigns until the sun shines.

Karimi (2009)

97. Sura: Determination (al qadr)

In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Merciful

  1. Verily, We sent him down on the night of destiny.
  2. What lets you know what's the night of determination
  3. The night of determination, yes it is more glorious than a thousand moons.
  4. The angels descend
    and in her the Spirit, with the permission of her Lord,
    at any behest.
  5. She is peace until the dawn breaks.

literature

Introductory literature

further reading

  • Adel Theodor Khoury : The Koran: developed and commented. Patmos, Düsseldorf 2005, ISBN 3-491-72485-6 .
  • Rudi Paret : The Koran: Commentary and Concordance . 7th edition. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-17-018990-5 .
  • Ömer Özsoy : From translating to interpreting. A Qur'an hermeneutic contribution to the intra-Islamic tarǧama al-qurʾān debate . In: Hansjörg Schmid, Andreas Renz, Bülent Ucar (ed.): “The word is close to you…” Scripture interpretation in Christianity and Islam ( Theological Forum Christianity - Islam ) . Pustet, Regensburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-7917-2256-6 , pp. 111-121.
  • Mahmoud Haggag: The German translations of the Koran and their contribution to the emergence of an image of Islam among German readers (= Applied Linguistics , Volume 22). Lang, Frankfurt am Main a. a. 2011, ISBN 978-3-631-59782-8 (Dissertation University of Kassel 2009, 263 pages).

Translations

Translations online

Web links to text editions and tools for the Arabic text of the Koran can be found under Koran .

Transfers into German

Transcriptions into English

Web links

Commons : Qur'an translation  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Koran text says about himself: “It is he who sent the scriptures down on you. There are (unambiguously) certain verses (w. Signs) - they are the original - and other, ambiguous ones. ”(Sura 3, verse 7 translation by Rudi Paret ).
  2. ↑ Writings on Islam by Arethas and Euthymios Zigabenos and fragments of the Greek translation of the Koran. Greek-German text edition by Karl Förstel ( Corpus Islamo-Christianum , Series Graeca, 7), Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden 2009.
  3. ↑ Megerlein 1772 in The Turkish Bible, p. 16:
  4. ↑ Susannah Heschel (College of Jewish Studies at the Humboldt University Berlin): The Science of Judaism and Islam: A Model for Germany in the 21st Century?  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF, 72 kB)@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www2.hu-berlin.de  
  5. ↑ The Koran. Newly translated word for word from Arabic and provided with explanatory notes by Dr. Ludwig Ullmann. Printing and publishing by JH Funcke'schen Buchhandlung, Crefeld 1840 ( full text in the Google book search).
  6. ↑ The Koran: The Holy Book of Islam. After the transfer by Ludwig Ullmann, reworked and explained by Leo Winter. Unabridged edition. W. Goldmann, Munich 1959 ( DNB 453511279 ).
  7. ↑ The Koran: the holy book of Islam . 1st edition Goldmann, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-442-21846-2 .
  8. ↑ Beate Lakotta: Is nail polish prohibited? In: Der Spiegel . No. 11 , 2008 ( online ).
  9. ↑ Die Zeit: Koran without veil , edition of March 13, 2008 ( online )
  10. ↑ Bobzin 1999, pp. 90f.
  11. ↑ a b c d e f g h Johann Büssow , Stefan Rosiny and Christian Saßmannshausen: ORIENTATION: A guide for (future) Islamic scholars at the Free University of Berlin. 7th edition, summer 2013, Berlin ( archive link ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) PDF; 553 kB).
  12. ↑ verlagderislam.de ( Memento from April 16, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  13. ^ The Oriental & Religious Publishing Corporation LTD; see also
  14. ↑ Helmut Gätje: Koran and Koranexegese . Artemis, 1971, p. 48 f .
  15. ↑ Navid Kermani, God is beautiful. The aesthetic experience of the Koran, Verlag CH Beck, Munich 2007, pp. 153–154
  16. ↑ The noble Quran and the translation of its meanings into the German language . Translation: Sheikh ʿAbdullāh aṣ-Sāmit Frank Bubenheim and Nadeem Elyas . King Fahd Complex for the printing of the Qurʾān . al-Madina al-munawwara. (no year)
  17. ↑ a b Eva Marie Kogel: In other words . In: zenith - Zeitschrift für den Orient , April 23, 2012 ( online ( Memento from December 31, 2013 in the Internet Archive ))
  18. ↑ Michael G. Carter: Problems with the translation of technical language using the example of Arabic . In: Armin Paul Frank, Kurt-Jürgen Maaß , Fritz Paul , Horst Turk (eds.): Translate, understand, build bridges. Humanities and literary translation in international cultural exchange (= Göttingen Contributions to International Translation Research . Volume 8, Part 1). Erich Schmidt Verlag, Berlin 1993, p. 137.
  19. ^ Johann Büssow, Stefan Rosiny and Christian Saßmannshausen: ORIENTATION: A guide for (future) Islamic scholars at the Free University of Berlin . 7th edition, summer 2013, Berlin, p. 26 ( PDF ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), 553 KB).
  20. ↑ Nora Schareika: Salafists use special Koran: translation is crucial . n-tv.de, April 13, 2012 ( online ).
  21. ↑ In: Phoenix Runde from April 17, 2012 (online here )
  22. ↑ Hartmut Bobzin: What does it mean to translate the Koran? Notes on the occasion of a new translation of the Koran . In: Andreas Kablitz and Christoph Markschies (eds.): Holy texts. Religion and rationality . De Gruyter, Berlin a. a. 2013, p. 128, FN. 21st
  23. ↑ Ahmad von Denffer: History of the Translation of the Meanings of the Qur'an in Germany up to the Year 2000. A Bibliographic Survey ( PDF ).
  24. ↑ Murad Wilfried Hofmann: German Translations of the Holy Qur'ān . In: Islamic Studies , Vol. 41, No. 1. Islamic Research Institute, International Islamic University, Islamabad , Spring 2002, pp. 91f; Murad W. Hofmann: Germany and the Qur'an . In: Journal of Qur'anic Studies . Vol. 2, No. 1. Edinburgh University Press on behalf of the Center for Islamic Studies at SOAS, 2000, 145f.
  25. ↑ Compare http://islam.de/13822.php ( Memento from September 16, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) with, for example, http://islam.de/1422.php ( Memento from February 16, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) and see also the note in the "ORIENTATION" guide of the Institute for Islamic Studies at the Free University of Berlin.
  26. ^ Irka-Christin Mohr: Islamic religious instruction in Europe. A comparison of teaching texts as instruments of Muslim self-assessment . transcript Verlag, Bielefeld 2006, pp. 68-69.
  27. ↑ Florian Flade: A Koran in every German household . Die Welt, April 8, 2012 ( online ).
  28. ↑ Joseph Croitoru: All traces lead to Egypt . FAZ.NET, April 25, 2012 ( online ).
  29. ↑ So Eva Marie Kogel: In other words . In: zenith - Journal for the Orient , April 23, 2012 ( online ( Memento from December 31, 2013 in the Internet Archive )); Thomas Bauer in the Phoenix Round on April 17th, 2012 here
  30. ↑ Adel Khoury: Thus spoke the prophet ; GTB seven star 785; Gütersloh: Mohn, 1988; ISBN 3-579-00785-8
  31. ↑ a b c d Amir Zaidan (2009): At-tafsiir. The Islamological Encyclopedia. The Quraan text and its transcription and translation (2nd edition, Volume 1, pp. 9-10). (Islamological Institute, ed.), Vienna: IBIZ-Vienna.
  32. ↑ Reading sample of the translation by Hans Zirker  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / 81.201.103.204  
  33. ↑ Cologne City Library  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / e-ausleihe.stbib-koeln.de  
  34. ↑ Lamya Kaddor, Rabeya Müller: The Koran for children and adults. Epilogue. 2nd edition, Munich 2008, p. 227.
  35. ^ A b Süddeutsche Zeitung: Fromm and enlightened , May 14, 2008, author: Matthias Drobinski
  36. ↑ Deutschlandradio Kultur: First access to the Koran , interview from March 26, 2008
  37. ↑ Deutschlandradio Kultur, review of May 28, 2008, 9:33 a.m., author: Thilo Guschas
  38. ↑ Till Stoldt: The Holy Book of Loved Ones and Liberals? In: Welt am Sonntag. April 13, 2008.
  39. ↑ Ahmad Milad Karimi (trans.): The Koran. Herder, Freiburg, 2009, ISBN 978-3-451-30292-3 , p. 559
  40. ↑ Ahmad Milad Karimi (trans.): The Koran. Herder, Freiburg, 2009, ISBN 978-3-451-30292-3 , p. 558.
  41. ^ Review in the FAZ
  42. ↑ Angelika Neuwirth (Ed.): The Koran. Volume 1: Early Meccan Suras. Poetic prophecy. Hand commentary with translation by Angelika Neuwirth. Verlag der Weltreligionen, Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-458-70034-0 . Volume 2/1: Early Central Meccan Suras. World Religions Publishing House, Berlin 2017.
  43. ↑ Angelika Neuwirth: The Koran as a text of late antiquity. A European approach. Verlag der Weltreligionen, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-458-71026-4 .
  44. ↑ Juliane Kaune: Fritz Behrens Foundation / Two important researcher prizes from Hanover . In: Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung (HAZ) of October 13, 2010 ( online , accessed on March 7, 2013)
  45. ^ Second improved edition
  46. ↑ The original text is continuous and does not contain the classification made here in Wikipedia. Note t) in the original text: “The night of glory, the night of power. One does not know where this sura is supposed to be revealed. "
  47. ↑ The original text is continuous and does not contain the classification made here in Wikipedia.
  48. ↑ The Koran by Maulana Sadr-ud-Din , 1st edition 1939; 2. unchanged new edition 1964; 3rd unchanged new edition 2006
  49. ↑ In a different verse counting, the Basmala is counted as the 1st verse.
  50. ↑ Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Germany ( Memento from November 17, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
    Kuran-i Kerim
  51. ↑ islam.de
    Arabic script and language ( Memento from January 3, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
    Al-Islam ( Memento from December 24, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
    Friedrich Rückert : The Koran - 97th sura (German translation) in the Gutenberg project DE
  52. ↑ deredlequran.de ( Memento from January 31, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  53. ↑ Ahmad Milad Karimi (trans.): The Koran. Herder, Freiburg, 2009. ISBN 978-3-451-30292-3 , p. 514
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on August 12, 2005 .