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 Post subject: Verses 2:180-182
PostPosted: 07 Jun 2009, 08:16 
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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 2:180-182
PostPosted: 20 Aug 2009, 15:47 
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Quote:
{2:180} Prescribed for you when death approaches [any] one of you if he leaves wealth [is that he should make] a bequest for the parents and near relatives according to what is acceptable - a duty upon the righteous.

I'd only change "righteous" to "watchful [of God]." I like the translation of الوصية as "bequest", rather than a will. The Arabic word can mean both, but as later verses make clear, it means a bequest here. The distinction becomes important when folks wonder if the later inheritance verses abrogate this verse. They don't.

I suggest,
{2:180} Prescribed for you when death has come to one of you if he leaves some good (an estate) is [to declare] a bequest for the parents and the closest relatives as customary - rightfully upon the watchful [of God].

Quote:
{2:181} Then whoever alters the bequest after he has heard it - the sin is only upon those who have altered it. Indeed, God is Hearing and Knowing.

I suggest,
{2:181} Then whoever has substituted it (the bequest instruction) after he has heard it - then verily, its sin is only upon those who substitute it. Verily, God is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

Quote:
{2:182} But if one fears from the bequeather [some] error or sin and corrects that which is between them, there is no sin upon him. Indeed, God is Forgiving and Merciful.

I suggest,
{2:182} Then if one had feared a partiality or malfeasance from a testator then reconciled between them, then there is no sin upon him. Verily, God is much Forgiving and Merciful.

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 Post subject: Re: Verses 2:180-182
PostPosted: 21 Aug 2009, 02:49 
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Linguistic wrote:
I'd only change "righteous" to "watchful [of God]."

"Taqwa" is one word we should get right. The only explanation of the word that made full sense to me in terms of how it relates to its linguistic derivation was the figurative meaning of walking on a path full of perils (like broken glass or fire spots) and picking the safe spots for your footsteps.

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 Post subject: Re: Verses 2:180-182
PostPosted: 08 Feb 2014, 17:10 
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Pragmatic wrote:
Linguistic wrote:
I'd only change "righteous" to "watchful [of God]."

"Taqwa" is one word we should get right. The only explanation of the word that made full sense to me in terms of how it relates to its linguistic derivation was the figurative meaning of walking on a path full of perils (like broken glass or fire spots) and picking the safe spots for your footsteps.

The English word for that is to navigate. But, as I have discussed in this topic, the word تقوى means "to put a protective shield between one and the wrath of God." Several translators suggested several English words, all of which are valid, but none completely conveys the full meaning. I am suggesting "watch out for God."

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