This week was a little difficult for me as far as my Qur'an reading project was concerned. Because of work commitments I fell behind in my schedule of reading a juz' a day (although over the last couple of days I have just about managed to catch up). The other thing that slowed me down was that I was finding it difficult to engage with what I was reading; in particular Surat An-Nisa' was hard to get through, because there were a lot of legal matters (concerning marriage, inheritance, and so on) which I found difficult to concentrate on.
However, perhaps the main problem has been that I chose to read the English translation first as preparation. I should say "try to read". I don't know if it is just the Dawood translation that I have, or if I would have the same problem with any English version, but my brain switches off every time I pick it up. At the same time, I feel much more alert when I read the Arabic; even if I don't understand all the words, there is something about the structure of the language and the sound of the reciting that draws me in.
So today I decided that from now on I will no longer read the English first; I will go straight into reading the Arabic, and will just refer to the parallel English text when I feel I need to.
(Incidentally, I still plan to talk about the various translations of the Qur'an in a future post.)
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As I mentioned, I downloaded some MP3s of a sheikh reciting so I could listen as I read; I had no idea who this particular sheikh was, as I just chose the recital that was clearest for me. This project of mine has generated interest amongst some of my friends, and through the discussions I have had with them, I learnt that I've actually been listening to the late Sheikh Mahmoud Khalil Al-Husary (Arabic here), a famous ُEgyptian reciter.
They have also been explaining about the various qira'at, or methods of recitation, of the Qur'an. In brief, there are seven widely accepted qira'at. The most common is Hafs (used in Saudi Arabia and most of the Muslim world), and after that is Warsh (used in parts of North and West Africa). One of my friends played me examples of the different styles (this site is a great resource), and it was fascinating to compare them.
I'll leave you with a short video of the famous Sheikh Abdul Basit Abdul Samad (I think the only reciter I had heard of before), who knew all seven qira'at. It's quite moving.
reading the qur'an - the process
As there has been some interest in my project to read the Qur'an during Ramadan, I thought I would briefly explain how I am going about it, for the benefit of others who are interested in doing the same.
Step one: I read the day's juz' in English translation. I see this as a pre-reading task, preparing me to read the Arabic which is my real goal. This translation is what I might describe as "flowing", a text which is not accompanied by a lot of footnotes, but is meant to be read alone.
Step two: I read the Arabic, from a bilingual text (Arabic and English side-by-side), while listening to a recording of a sheikh reciting. (I found a number of MP3s to download for free here.) The translation this time is more literal, with plenty of footnotes, and I just refer to it from time to time as I am following the Arabic.
Even following these two steps, I cannot say I am taking in every word; there is a large amount to cover every day, so I don't have time to stop when I don't understand something. However, I only expected this reading to be a foundation for further study.
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I found the English translation I happen to have with me, by N.J. Dawood, to be quite inaccurate in parts - and after some research discovered I was not the only one to think so. More on translations of the Qur'an in a future post.
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Today I read the third juz' - while some people here in Bahrain will be hearing the fifth tonight. This is for two reasons. First, even in a small country like Bahrain, not everyone starts Ramadan on the same day. Second, the day is counted as starting from the evening before, so for those who started fasting on Friday, Ramadan actually started on Thursday night. I started reading on Saturday, the first day of Ramadan for many, and I am reading during the day. Therefore, my schedule is behind some people by two juz', by others by one juz' - but is presumably in synch with others in countries where they started fasting on Sunday, such as India.
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A strange thing happened yesterday. As I was reading the Qur'an, listening simultaneously to the sheikh reciting, I found tears running down my cheeks. Before this is misinterpreted by anyone, it was simply because I was moved by the beauty of the Arabic. It's true that I am sensitive to language - it is my life - and that words, beautiful or ugly, are able to affect me deeply, but I was surprised to experience such a strong reaction.
Step one: I read the day's juz' in English translation. I see this as a pre-reading task, preparing me to read the Arabic which is my real goal. This translation is what I might describe as "flowing", a text which is not accompanied by a lot of footnotes, but is meant to be read alone.
Step two: I read the Arabic, from a bilingual text (Arabic and English side-by-side), while listening to a recording of a sheikh reciting. (I found a number of MP3s to download for free here.) The translation this time is more literal, with plenty of footnotes, and I just refer to it from time to time as I am following the Arabic.
Even following these two steps, I cannot say I am taking in every word; there is a large amount to cover every day, so I don't have time to stop when I don't understand something. However, I only expected this reading to be a foundation for further study.
…
I found the English translation I happen to have with me, by N.J. Dawood, to be quite inaccurate in parts - and after some research discovered I was not the only one to think so. More on translations of the Qur'an in a future post.
…
Today I read the third juz' - while some people here in Bahrain will be hearing the fifth tonight. This is for two reasons. First, even in a small country like Bahrain, not everyone starts Ramadan on the same day. Second, the day is counted as starting from the evening before, so for those who started fasting on Friday, Ramadan actually started on Thursday night. I started reading on Saturday, the first day of Ramadan for many, and I am reading during the day. Therefore, my schedule is behind some people by two juz', by others by one juz' - but is presumably in synch with others in countries where they started fasting on Sunday, such as India.
…
A strange thing happened yesterday. As I was reading the Qur'an, listening simultaneously to the sheikh reciting, I found tears running down my cheeks. Before this is misinterpreted by anyone, it was simply because I was moved by the beauty of the Arabic. It's true that I am sensitive to language - it is my life - and that words, beautiful or ugly, are able to affect me deeply, but I was surprised to experience such a strong reaction.
reading the qur'an in ramadan
A few weeks ago I decided I would like to read the Qur'an in Arabic. I realised that I had never read the Qur'an in full, and what I had read was in English. I think I tried reading it in Arabic early on in my language studies, had obviously found the language too difficult - and never tried again.
That's not to say I haven't studied Islam - I've even taken classes in Islamic law - but I realised that not having read the Qur'an, in Arabic and in full, was a big gap in my knowledge. Aside from anything else, such knowledge would be particularly useful for my work translating literary texts, as so many allude to the Qur'an; I would like to be able to recognise references without relying on writers or poets informing me.
Anyway, once I had the idea of studying the Qur'an, I was immediately able to find a class at a local Islamic centre. The lessons are introductory, aimed at non-Arabic-speaking converts, and while we are just looking at extracts rather than studying the whole book, it has piqued my interest and enthusiasm for further study. And importantly, I have found that my language skills are strong enough these days to comprehend, at least on a basic level, the text in Arabic. In fact, I have learnt that the Arabic is far clearer than the English; the various renderings of the Qur'an's meaning into English are quite convoluted because they have to explain so much, and they are really not that appealing as texts. It is only now that I understand how beautiful the Arabic is; I am hoping that by reading it alongside various English versions that I will be able to get a deeper understanding of the text.
In fact, this is my mission for Ramadan. During Ramadan a juz' of the Qur'an is recited every night, and I am going to try to read a juz' every day. This will be a first reading for me, and of course is just the beginning of my trying to understand the Qur'an. I plan to use a number of online resources including this (thanks C.M.) to help me through the month. Any suggestions of other sites to look at are welcome.
Ramadan kareem to all!
That's not to say I haven't studied Islam - I've even taken classes in Islamic law - but I realised that not having read the Qur'an, in Arabic and in full, was a big gap in my knowledge. Aside from anything else, such knowledge would be particularly useful for my work translating literary texts, as so many allude to the Qur'an; I would like to be able to recognise references without relying on writers or poets informing me.
Anyway, once I had the idea of studying the Qur'an, I was immediately able to find a class at a local Islamic centre. The lessons are introductory, aimed at non-Arabic-speaking converts, and while we are just looking at extracts rather than studying the whole book, it has piqued my interest and enthusiasm for further study. And importantly, I have found that my language skills are strong enough these days to comprehend, at least on a basic level, the text in Arabic. In fact, I have learnt that the Arabic is far clearer than the English; the various renderings of the Qur'an's meaning into English are quite convoluted because they have to explain so much, and they are really not that appealing as texts. It is only now that I understand how beautiful the Arabic is; I am hoping that by reading it alongside various English versions that I will be able to get a deeper understanding of the text.
In fact, this is my mission for Ramadan. During Ramadan a juz' of the Qur'an is recited every night, and I am going to try to read a juz' every day. This will be a first reading for me, and of course is just the beginning of my trying to understand the Qur'an. I plan to use a number of online resources including this (thanks C.M.) to help me through the month. Any suggestions of other sites to look at are welcome.
Ramadan kareem to all!
