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 Post subject: Verses 8:17-19
PostPosted: 06 Jun 2009, 08:52 
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Suggested translation1,2:


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1This translation may have been updated from the original suggested translation as a result of the discussions that follow.
2Click on the {verse number} of a translation to see other good translations of the verse.

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 Post subject: Re: Verses 8:17-19
PostPosted: 28 Dec 2009, 03:53 
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Quote:
{8:17} And you did not kill them, but it was God who killed them. And you threw not, [O Muhammad], when you threw, but it was God who threw that He might test the believers with a good test. Indeed, God is Hearing and Knowing.

My initial impulse was to translate the second sentence, "but God killed them." I realized then that the above translation is the more correct one because the Arabic uses the nominal sentence structure, which is always meant for emphasis.

However, I dispute the translation "test" of ليبلي. Most translations have done so, but some, such as Arberry and Shakir, noticed the difference. It is يبلو that means "to test." Arberry and Shakir thought of "to confer" and I like that.

{8:17} Therefore, you did not kill them, but it was God who killed them. And you did not throw [, O Muhammad,] when you threw [arrows], but it was God who threw that He might confer on the believers from Him a good experience. Verily, God is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

Quote:
{8:19} If you [disbelievers] seek the victory - the defeat has come to you. And if you desist [from hostilities], it is best for you; but if you return [to war], We will return, and never will you be availed by your [large] company at all, even if it should increase; and [that is] because God is with the believers.

Actually, الفتح does not mean victory per se, it means "resolution of a dispute" or "closure." The Arabic word literally means "opening." That's because a resolution is an opening out of the darkness of confusion or doubt. I suggest,

{8:19} If you [disbelievers] seek resolution, then there has come to you the resolution. And if you desist [from hostilities], then it is better for you; but if you return [to war], We [will] return, and your company will never be enough for you at all, even if it was plenty; and [know] that God is with the believers.

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