Al-Furqān 25:43
The verse
أَرَءَيْتَ مَنِ ٱتَّخَذَ إِلَٰهَهُۥ هَوَىٰهُ أَفَأَنتَ تَكُونُ عَلَيْهِ وَكِيلًا ٤٣
Hast thou seen him who chooseth for his god his own lust? Wouldst thou then be guardian over him? — Marmaduke Pickthall
The issue
The obvious intent of this verse is to criticize infidels for making their passions their god. However, the actual wording in the Arabic language states instead that infidels should be denounced for their passion for their god. Faulty construction in this verse creates a sentence where infidels are being disparaged for doing something praiseworthy—passionately loving their god.
English translations have corrected this problem so that the verse reads as intended and not how it is originally scripted.
Arabic text of this item
أن يحب المرء الإله إلى درجة الهوى هو أمر مستحب. لكن الآية لا تقصد ذلك. بل تقصد القول: «من اتّخذَ هواهُ إلهَه». وقد سعى أحد المفسرين إلى توضيح العبارة، فقال إن المعنى: «أرأيت من اتخذ إلهه بهواه، فحذف الجارّ».
فلِمَ حُذف حرف الجر وأُربك القارئ؟
Sources cited
- al-Qurţubī 15: 514-515.
- al-Hariri 220.
- الحريري، عالم المعجزات 220.
- القرطبي، تفسير 15: 417.