How to translate Laylat al-qadr (ليلة القدر; Q 97)?
Here is brief philology & technical examination following my earlier thread
Consider a [A] ‘standard Muslim’ trans. (M. Asad), [B] ‘Christian revision’ (C. Luxenburg)—both knew Syriac!— & [C] mine
Here is brief philology & technical examination following my earlier thread
Consider a [A] ‘standard Muslim’ trans. (M. Asad), [B] ‘Christian revision’ (C. Luxenburg)—both knew Syriac!— & [C] mine
[A] M. Asad translates Q 97:1, “Behold from on high have We bestowed this [divine writ] on the Night of Destiny”
He connects the Arabic noun qadr to “destiny, fate, portion, share” (qadar) or “power, agency” (qudrah)...
He connects the Arabic noun qadr to “destiny, fate, portion, share” (qadar) or “power, agency” (qudrah)...
The meanings destiny, power or similar semantic fields are possible but not necessary explanations of the status of the night (laylah) in verse 1…The phrase laylat al-qadr (ليلة القدر) clearly means something different than these other qur’anic usages, and it is unique to Q 97.
[B] C. Luxenberg trans, “We sent him down (Infant Jesus) during the Night of Destiny (of the Star of Nativity)”
Luxenberg takes laylat al-qadr in verse 1 to be a translation of Syriac “night of fate” (leyla d-helqa; ܠܝܠܐ ܕܚܠܩܐ) or “horoscope” (bet yalda; ܒܝܬ ܝܠܕܐ; ...
Luxenberg takes laylat al-qadr in verse 1 to be a translation of Syriac “night of fate” (leyla d-helqa; ܠܝܠܐ ܕܚܠܩܐ) or “horoscope” (bet yalda; ܒܝܬ ܝܠܕܐ; ...
lit. “house of birth/birthday”). No rigorous methodology is given… And rather than adducing one single example of them in the Syriac liturgy on the nativity, he resorts to scouring various dictionaries....
Once again, the semantic field of meanings fate, horoscope or destiny birth are possible, desirable even, should we recognize traces of the Babylonian astrology in the text.
Problem: The astrology of Babylonian /Chaldean peoples figured importantly into the work of Syriac gnostic philosophers eg. Bardaisan (d. 222), but was otherwise condemned by Syriac fathers eg Ephrem. How can Q 97 praise the birth of Christ via condemned astrological signs?
Still other Muslim or Christian translations may states “…Night of Power / la Nuit de la Puissance” and each translation has its merits. Freeing oneself of theological commitments allows for better translation.
I trans, “We descended it in the night of darkness” – WHY?
I trans, “We descended it in the night of darkness” – WHY?
For starters the Qur’an is in dialogue with a wider scope of late antique Aramaic literature, beyond the work of the Syriac church fathers.
[C] My trans. does not favor Muslim orthodoxy or Christian revisionism, but rather the context of late antiquity & Arabian female power.
[C] My trans. does not favor Muslim orthodoxy or Christian revisionism, but rather the context of late antiquity & Arabian female power.
The phrase laylat a-qadr refers to the “night of darkness” in verses 1. The noun qadr (Syr-Aram. qedra; ܩܕܪܐ; קדרא) refers to the ‘blackness of a cooking pot’ in Taymanitic inscriptions, Targum Joel 2:6, Tractate BT BB 24b:24, & other Talmudic literature.
The root QDR provides the origin for the Arabic word “pot” (qidr). It also refers to “black excrement” or “intestines” in Talmud & is connected with the big dipper & little dipper constellations in old Aramaic incantation bowls. Its verbal form means to “darken” / “become black.”
The positive meaning of “darkness” (qadr) here is linked to astrology, & stands in contrast to the “darkness” cited in the so called Medinan Surahs (zulumat) linked to sin (eg. Q 2:17; 65:11). The night of darkness is “blessed” (mubarakah) if we consider Q 44:3 a cross-reference.
Given the mysterious nature of this phrase, V. 2 draws attention to its foreign nature, and the fact that it occurs only in Q 97, by posing the formula “and what do you know about [X]?” This formula occurs as well in other so-called Meccan Surahs,...
... Q 69:3; 74:27; 77:14; 82:17; 83:8-19; 86:2; 90:12; 101:3-10; 104:5, specifically in advance of defining hapaxes or technical terms. So clearly laylat al-qadr means something both unique & unprecedented in the text, as I have translated.
The noun khayr (Arab. خير; Syr-Aram. hayra; ܚܝܪܐ; חירא) in verse 3 means “whiteness” in Mandaic, and is the diametric opposite of “blackness” in verse 1. Thus the night of darkness brightens—whitens—brighter than a thousand full moons, where shahr (شهر) meaning “moon” ...
...& corresponds to sahra (ܣܗܪܐ; שהרא) in all Aramaic dialects (Mand. sira). In sum Q 97 carries within it the imagery of Mary, this time giving birth to Christ, and the imagery of Allat appearing in the dark night sky as Venus, “brighter than a thousand moons”.
You will have to read the rest in my upcoming book on queenship and prophecy in late antique Arabia -- Shukran !
uh.academia.edu/EmranElBadawi
uh.academia.edu/EmranElBadawi
