Translating Scientific Concepts in the Quran:

A Critical Evaluation
Zaidan Ali Jassem
College of Medicine, King Saud University, KSA
In Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Translation
(Scientific and Technological Development and Translation), Centre for
Languages and Translation, Universiti Sains Malaysia et al, pp. 74-83.
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to consider how scientific phenomena in the
Quran are translated into English. As the Quran is the book of Allah,
which had been revealed unto the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), it gives
guidance for mankind as well as mercy, health, enlightenment and
education. The Quran is infallible. Thus its coverage of scientific
phenomena and matters is the absolute truth, and, as such, there can be no
clash between the Quran and science, a certainty that all scientists of all
creeds and beliefs recognize, something that led so many of them to
embrace Islam, the way of peace and harmony, science and conduct.
However, the translation of such scientific texts may sometimes be a little
bit misleading and incorrect, which in no way should be taken as
evidence against the scientificity of the Quran. These erroneous
translations may be due to the circumstances that surround the translator
such as his Arabic and English competence, his scientific background,
and single-handedness in the production of the translation: ie, not
teaming up with and consulting other professional experts. This paper
will select a few such texts and show how translators and scientists render
them into English differently. The study indicates that, in areas of
scientific inaccuracy, scientists opinions should outweigh the translators.
It also suggests that there should be co-operation between translators and
professional specialists and experts in the rendering of scientific concepts
in the Quran in order to preserve its factual and scientific supermacy,
purity and infallibility.

Introduction
The Holy Quran is the true word of Allah that was revealed unto the
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) over 14 centuries ago. Muslims live by and for
the Quran, which regulates and organizes all aspects of our life in this world.
The Quran is the totality of a Muslims life: It is a book of guidance, mercy,
health and knowledge or enlightenment. It guides our perception of God,
the world, society and man as well as our conduct in this respect. This
guidance is a mercy, a favour and a grace from Allah (S.W.T), which result
in the receiver, enjoying healthy living, healthy life-style. Knowledge is the
core of all of this. There can be no guidance without knowledge, no health
without knowledge, and no mercy without knowledge. For this reason, the
Quran gives top priority to knowledge, literacy and science which are meant
for the beneficial good of mankind. Although the Quran per se is not a book
of science, physics, astronomy, medicine, geology, etc., nevertheless, it has
addressed these phenomena in ever accurate and precise terms, which have
stood the test of time and will continue to do so. There is not a single
Quranic statement that has been found to be in clash with modern scientific
thinking and facts. In fact, Muslim scientists and laymen alike believe that
the Quran is the arbiter of science rather than otherwise, because human
knowledge, scientific knowledge is limited in more ways than one. We all

know how scientists contradict one another in certain matters - even the
same scientist may change his own thinking as he discovers new solutions,
new facts which may have elapsed him so far.
One more thing is that the Quran describes physical and scientific
phenomena in general terms without being too detailed and in a way that
people can understand easily. The style is beautifully accessible and feasible
unlike most scientific discourse which only specialists can cope with.

Translatability of the Quran

Is the Quran translatable and, if so, how well is it done? The
translation of the Quran as a whole is a daunting and uphill task; it is an
experience fraught with sometimes insurmountable difficulties, only the
pious and devout Muslim translator would realize. This is because the
Quran, for Muslims, is not just a holy book; it is the true Word of Allah; it is
a Trust which must be maintained and taken extreme care of and delivered
not only with wisdom and knowledge but also with honesty, sincerity, fear
and hope for Allahs pleasure alone to save the world and mankind from
absolute loss and destruction.
The translation of the Quran, moreover, is a very controversial
subject amongst Muslim jurists, which need not concern us here. As far as

we can see, these translations do serve a noble purpose which deserves

scrutiny and research. The quality of these translations vary: Some are good;
some are average; and some are really bad (for further detail, see Jassem
and Jassem, this volume). Thus every literate Muslim has a responsibility
towards Allahs Books translations, whose job is one of guardianship and
vigilance, approving of what is correct and rejecting what is not.
As to the translations of the scientific topics in the Quran, this is of
paramount significance and is a very sensitive and critical issue. A faulty
translation can be taken by the prejudiced reader as evidence against the
scientificity of the Quran itself, which, we all believe, is infallible since it is
not the work of humans at all but rather the work of the Only Designer of the
universe. The question to ask now is: how can scientific topics of the Quran
be rendered into English?
There are four principles which should govern such translations:
They should be:
(a) close to the original or source,
(2)

thematically accurate,

(3)

factually precise,

(4)

topically concise and short, and

(e) stylistically accessible.

That is, the translation must be as close as possible to the Arabic original; it
must be scientifically accurate and correct; it should be as precise as is
humanely possible; it should not be detailed and elaborated but as brief as its
source; and it should be written in a language that ordinary people can
understand easily. Of all the above, accuracy and precision are very critical
to the translation of scientific topics in the Quran.
How successfully did translators accomplish their tasks in this
respect? How close, accurate, precise, concise and accessible were their
translations? Before answering these questions, we need to consider the
nature and range of scientific phenomena broached in the Quran first.

Types of Scientific Phenomena and Discourse in the Quran

The Quran talks about all manners of phenomena: physical, social,
psychological, cultural, spiritual, biological, evolutional and so on. The
Quran handles every one of these issues scientifically. By scientifically we
mean in absolute divine truth and wisdom or, to use modern terms, with
accuracy and precision. In this paper, we shall restrict scientific topic to
include what todays scientists classify as pure scientific discipline(s). It is
beyond the scope of this humble work to enumerate these here. The
interested reader can refer to the Quran itself and search for those areas that

attract his attention. However, below is a summary of the salient topics that
can be called purely scientific, as mentioned in Bucaille (1979: 110-210):

5.

a.

The creation of the heavens and the earth;

b.

Astronomy;

c.

The earth;

d.

Animal and vegetable kingdom; and

Human reproduction.

Scientific topics in the Quran have certain characteristics, which

include:-1.

Absolute lack of any clash whatsoever between science and the Quran

on any single issue. Thus, do translations of the scientific topics in the Quran
abide by this principle or not?
2.

The expression and formulation of scientific concepts is accurate,

precise and concise, brief or short in the Quran. How accurate, precise and
concise are the translations thereof?
3.

The language of the scientific topics in the Quran is intelligible and

comprehensible. That is, it is easy for the ordinary people to understand

although they might not realize what the process actually involves. How do
translations of the Quran measure by this standard?

The Text Sample

It will be beyond the scope of this work to assess the translation of all
scientific phenomena in the Quran. That would be certainly an impossible
task to finish, especially seeing that the authors themselves are not wellequipped to handle such areas competently: We are both Arabic and English
language experts. Therefore, we shall make a few selections, all of which
are from the translation of the almarhoom Abdullah Yusuf Ali (see Jassem
and Jassem, this volume). Furthermore, our selections will be taken from our
readings of problems faced by Muslim non-Arabic speaking scientists who
happened to make certain comments in this regard. One such attempt is
Bucailles excellent work which compares the Bible, the Quran and Science.

Selected Verses: Translations and Comments

Sample 1: The Creation of Man
He created you (all)
From a single Person:
Then created, of like nature,
His mate; and He
Sent down for you eight head
Of cattle in pairs:
7

He creates you,
In the wombs
Of your mothers,
In stages, one after another,
In three veils of darkness.
Such is Allah, your Lord
And Cherisher: to Him belongs
(All) dominion. There is
No god but He: then
How are you turned away
(From your true Lord)?
(Sura 39: 6)
What the Quran says:
The above verse describes the creation of man, which is attributed to
Allah (S.W.T). It also outlines the evolution and development of the foetus
inside the mothers womb, which goes through certain stages which take
place inside three darknesses.
What Science / Embryology says:
The same. The three darknesses refer to the three anatomical layers
that protect the infant during gestation: the abdominal wall, the uterus itself,
and the surroundings of the foetus (placenta, embryonic membranes,
amniotic fluid) (see Bucaille 1979: 205).
How well does the translator capture the meaning?
Closely, accurately, precisely, comprehensibly and very well. You
cant really ask him for more.

Sample 2: Human Reproduction

12.

Man We did create

From a quintessence (of clay);

13.

Then We placed him

As (a drop of) sperm
In a place of rest,
Firmly fixed;

14.

Then We made the sperm

Into a clot of congealed blood;
Then of that clot We made
A (foetus) lump; then We
Made out of that lump
Bones and clothed the bones
With flesh; then we developed
Out of it another creature.
So blessed be Allah,
The best to create!

15.

After that at length

Ye will die.

16.

Again, on the Day

Of Judgement, will ye be
Raised up.
(Sura 23: 12-15)
What the Quran Says:
These verses describe the creation of man from dust, sperm and the

interactions that happen to the sperm in the womb in its unification with the
female egg: The clinging of the egg to the wall of the womb, its growing
into a lump, the development of bones and their subsequent clothing with

flesh, which takes the embryo into another stage of development. Then
death and resurrection and judgement.
What Science Says:
Bucaille (1979: 199-207) has surveyed and compared all
contemporary medical evidence with the above Quranic statements and
found perfect agreement between both. As he puts its (1979: 203),
In consequence, it is difficult not to be struck by the agreement between
the text of the Quran and the scientific knowledge we possess today of
these phenomena.
How well does the translator do his job?
The translator renders the meanings fairly well. However, the
expressions used in certain respects are imprecise and for this reason, they
do not exactly correspond to medical understanding of the subject. For
example, Abdullah Yusuf Ali translates alaq differently, once as a clot of
congealed blood and once as a leech-like clot (Sura 96: 2), both of which
are incorrect and imprecise. Medical experts state that this stage in the
implantation of the fertilized egg in the womb is called clinging or
hanging in the sense that the egg clings itself to the wall of the womb. All
translators seem to have fallen into this pitfall: ie, translating alaqa as a clot

10

of congealed blood or a leech-like clot, which it isnt strictly speaking (cf.

Bucaille 1979: 204).
Now why cant the translators render this precisely? Are they to be
condemned for failing to do so? There are several reasons for this. First, the
translator is not an expert on all the fields of expertise and knowledge that
the Quran talks about. Nobody, no human generation can unravel all the
mysteries of the Quran singly and in one go. Human knowledge is
cumulative. The more we know, the clearer and more precise our
understanding of the Quran will be. Therefore, teaming up and co-operation
with others would be the best thing in translating the Quran.
Secondly, the niceties of the Arabic language. An Arabic word may
sometimes have several meanings. In certain contexts, one particular sense
applies; in others, more than one sense can fit in. The word alaqa can mean
to cling, to hang when used as a verb and leech as a noun. In the Quran,
it is the nominal form that occurred which led translators to their pitfall.
Actually, the ordinary native Arabic speaker associates the noun alaq with
leech. In our own dialect (Jassem 1993a, b; 1994), leech is the
intended meaning.
Thirdly, reliance on commentaries of the Quran. Abdullah Yusuf Ali
often refers to the problems he encountered in choosing a suitable meaning

11

on which commentators differed. In the case of the word alaqa,

commentators described it in the same way as the translators.
Finally, consulting earlier translations. Producing a first-hand, firsttime immaculate translation is an impossible task. Translators thus consult
earlier works which help facilitate their own work. That is how imprecise
renderings continue and persist. In the case of alaqa, it has been redered by
all in the same way (e.g. Pickthall).
Therefore, translators- especially the honest, devout, and wellintentioned ones- cant be condemned for failing to render the precise (often
technical or specialized) meaning which only qualified specialists know (see
Bucaille 1979: 195-196). We believe they have done their best and most
sincere duty towards the Book of Allah, each according to his ability and
understanding, which is a near-impossible task to achieve indeed. May Allah
forgive them all.

Sample 3: The Creation of the World

A.

Do not the Unbelievers see

That the heavens and the earth
Were joined together (as one
Unit of Creation), before
We clove them asunder?
(Sura 21: 30)

B.

Then He turned to the sky,

12

And it had been (as) smoke;

He said to it
And to the earth:
Come ye together,
Willingly or unwillingly.
They said: We do come
(Together), in willing obedience.
(Sura 41:
11)
C.

He it is Who created
The heavens and the earth
In six Days
(Sura 57:4)

D.

Their messenger said: Is there

A doubt about Allah,
The Creator of the heavens
And the earth?
(Sura 14: 10)
What the Quran says:
Allah created the heavens and the earth, which involved two

processes: ratq (fusion and joining) and fatq (breaking and splitting).
Originally, the heavens and the earth were joined together (ie, ratq) in one
mass which was split (ie, fatq) later on.
The original substance which formed these two bodies was smoke.
Both the heavens and the earth do what their Master tells them to do.
The process of creation took six days to accomplish. People doubt
God created the world; Allah sends messengers to mankind to remind them
of their true origin and to bring them back to their senses and to recognize
13

Allah as their Creator and the worlds, which is even a bigger creation and
manifestation of His might and power.
What Science Says:
Science says exactly the same thing. The heavens and the earth were,
to start with, one mass, which composed of gas, and which split into
heavenly bodies later on (see Bucaille 1979: 139-45)
How accurately does the translator describe that?
The creation of the world has been translated with variable degrees of
success, a problem that Ali (1989: xvi) recognised himself. Texts A and B
have been translated accurately and adequately. However, Texts C and D
have not, which are an example of translators scientific imprecision. The
reason is that the Quran refers to their creation, using two terms: khalq
creation, khaliq Creator; and fatir the Creator (literally the splitter)
respectively. Translators use both create and Creator in rendering both
concepts, which is imprecise. In Arabic, these terms come from two words
of different roots. The root khalaqa means to create, to wear out, to be
old while fatara means fresh, raw, soft; to split. So fatir is splitter,
which refers to the splitting of the earth from the heavens and the formation
of the galaxies, which is in correspondence with our current scientific
knowledge of the formation and evolution of the universe.

14

However, one word of caution is in order here. Although the above

has shown how translators can be imprecise scientifically, using the word
splitter, breaker, render, divider instead of Creator may not be desirable
because the latter is more common and so more readily intelligible. Thus
the translation is acceptable and correct on the whole.

Sample 4: Formation of Milk

66.

And verily in cattle (too)

Will ye find an instructive Sign.
From what is within their bodies,
Between excretions and blood,
We produce, for your drink,
Milk, pure and agreeable
To those who drink it.
(Sura 16: 66)
What the Quran Says:
This verse describes the formation of milk. It is a process that is

formed inside the body of the female and which comes out from between
excretions and blood. It is neither blood nor excretion: Half-way in
between.
What Science Says:
The source of the constituents of milk is defined in the Quran in
strict accordance with the data of modern knowledge (Bucaille 1979:195).

15

How accurately does the translator capture that?

Bucaille (1979:195), commenting on R. Blacheres and Prof.
Hamidullahs translations, stated that modern translations [of the above
verse] habitually give it a meaning which is, in my opinion, hardly
acceptable. The statement is also partly true of Abdullah Yusuf Alis
translation.
According to Bucaille (1979:195-196), The most valid translation
seemsto be the following:
Verily, in cattle there is a lesson for you. We give you
to drink of what is inside their bodies, coming from a
conjunction between the contents of the intestine and
the blood, a milk pure and pleasant for those who
drink.
Thus in the translation of such texts, one needs to consult specialized
experts, no matter how highly eminent an Arabist one may be. As Bucaille
(1979: 195) puts it,
It is a well-known fact however, that a translator, even
an expert is liable to make mistakes in the translation of
scientific statements, unless he happens to be a specialist
in the discipline.
But how good is Bucailles rendering itself? How does it measure by our
standards set out above? Actually, his is not a translation; it is an expansion,
an elaboration because the phrase a conjunction.. intestine is not

16

explicitly referred to in the text of the verse. You cannot adapt the translation
to such an extent, no matter how precise you would like to be. The Quran is
not a biology book after all. In other words, the translation violates
principles 1, 4 and 5 above, by being not close, not concise and technical.
The translated phrase is in medical register while the Arabic one is in clear
mubeen Arabic.

Conclusion
This paper has selected, described, and discussed a few scientificallyoriented verses of the Quran. It has shown how translators, in particular
Abdullah Yusuf Ali, approach such matters in their translations. In order to
appreciate translations of the Quran, we need to stress two points: a) these
are not absolute equivalents; instead they are merely approximations to the
original that attempt as best as they can to render the meanings of Allahs
Word in the best possible way; b) they are a good and useful tool in the
propagation of Islam to the non-Arabic-speaking world.
As to Abdullah Yusuf Alis translation, especially the scientific topics,
it is in general ok scientifically but not as precise as it should be. Precise is a
word that needs further comment. Offering precise scientific statements in
the Quran like the one given by Bucaille concerning the formation of milk
17

may not be the right solution. Filling the Quranic translation with such
expressions may turn away many readers, who have no specialized
knowledge of both the technical vocabulary and the phenomenon discussed.
In other words, too specialized a translation may render it inaccessible,
unintelligible to the majority of readers. Thus a translation is FINE if it is :
a)

close and faithful to the Arabic original;

b)

accurate and free from deliberate and intentional errors;

c)

precise but not to the point of being too technical, too specialized to

the extent of turning the Quran, which is a book of divine guidance and
knowledge, into a physics book, for example, which it is not intended to
be;
d)

concise and brief without being too detailed and

elaborated;

e)

intelligible, comprehensible, written in a naturally clear and

beautiful style to attract and appeal to the reader; and

f)

honest and sincere and devout.

To sum it all up, no translation can be perfect; there isnt such one nor

will ever there be in the future. Perfection is the work of God and God
alone. Humans can only try, aspire to and bring themselves as close to it as
they can.

18

Acknowledgement
I wish to acknowledge with thanks the fruitful comments made by Prof. Dr
Muhammad Yunus Gilani of the International Islamic University Malaysia
and the University of Kashmir.
References
Ali, Abdullah Yusuf. 1410H. The Holy Quran: English Translation of the
Meanings and Commentary. Ed. and rev. The Presidency of Islamic
Researches, IFTA, Call and Guidance. Al-Madinah Al-Munawardh: The
Presidency of Islamic Researches, IFTA, Call and Guidance.
_________. 1989. The Holy Quran: Text, Translation and Commentary.
Brentwood, Maryland: Amanah Corporation.
_________. 1990. The Holy Quran: Text, Translation and Commentary.
Lahore: Sh Muhammad Ashraf.
Bucaille, Maurice, 1979: The Bible, The Quran and Science. Tr. By
Alastair D. Pannel. Indianapolis, IN: North American Trust Publication.
Jassem, Zaidan Ali. 1993a. Dirasa fee ilmi allugha alijtimai. Kuala
Lumpur: Pustaka Antara.
____________. 1993b. Impact of the Arab-Israeli Wars on Language and
Social Change in the Arab World: The Case of Syrian Arabic. Kuala
Lumpur: Pustaka Antara.

19

___________.1994. Lectures in English and Arabic Sociolinguistics, 2 vols.

Kuala Lumpur: Pustaka Antara.
__________ and Jassem Ali Jassem. 1996. Language Adaptation. Paper
presented at International Conference: English and Islam: Creative
Encounters. International Islamic University Malaysia, 20-22 December,
1996.
Pickthall, Marmaduke Muhammad. 1937. Meanings of the Glorious Koran.
London.

20