In the name of Allah, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful.
The picture in the home page is one of the proofs of the divinity of the Holy Quran. Read the reason in
http://deentech.com/MI_IC_Picture_in_the_home_page_is_a_miracle_why.aspx . You might visit the URL
http://www.bilal-prayer.com/Quran_en.html also.
You are invited to read –
http://deentech.com/Allah_Exists.aspx ; and
http://deentech.com/MI_IC_Evidence_that_the_Holy_Quran_supersedes_the_Holy_Torah_and_the_Holy_Bible.aspx . As of now, only one religion is approved by God Almighty – Islam.
The Holy Quran was revealed in Arabic. Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, who demonstrated the Holy Quran by his life was an Arab. Thus the basis of Islam is in Arabic. There are translations of the Holy Quran and the Traditions in other languages for the benefit of non-Arabs. Indeed I do not know Arabic, and I depend on the English versions.
Could a translation misrepresent Islam? If so how do we identify such a mistake in the translation? If we perform the consistency check, we might succeed.
Here is an example of a mistake in translation causing violence. We thank Ivan for bringing this issue to our notice. Quoting from
http://www.humancafe.com/discus/messages/447/498.html?1190269008#POST4094 we have:
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Hadiths: Volume 3, Book 29, Number 72;
quote:
Narrated Anas bin Malik: Allah's Apostle entered Mecca in the year of its Conquest wearing an Arabian helmet on his head and when the Prophet took it off, a person came and said, "Ibn Khatal is holding the covering of the Kaba (taking refuge in the Kaba)." The Prophet said, "Kill him."
... I was thinking more about the above, where the Apostle Mohammed orders killings. No other man of God did this.
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Are there other Traditions regarding the above in the canonical collections? We found the following four including the one quoted by Ivan.
http://www.searchtruth.com/searchHadith.php?keyword=Ibn+Khatal&translator=4&search=1&book=&start=0 ===
(1) Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Anas Ibn Malik that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, entered Makka, in the Year of Victory, wearing a helmet, and when he took it off a man came to him and said, "Messenger of Allah, Ibn Khatal is clinging to the covers of the Kaba,'' and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Kill him." Malik commented, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was not in ihram at the time, and Allah knows best." (Book #20, Hadith #20.76.256) [Malik’s Muwatta]
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http://www.searchtruth.com/searchHadith.php?keyword=Ibn+Khatal&translator=1&search=1&book=&start=0&records_display=10&search_word=all ===
(1) Narrated Anas bin Malik: Allah's Apostle entered Mecca in the year of its Conquest wearing an Arabian helmet on his head and when the Prophet took it off, a person came and said, "Ibn Khatal is holding the covering of the Ka'ba (taking refuge in the Ka'ba)." The Prophet said, "Kill him." (Book #29, Hadith #72) [Sahih Bukhari]
(2) Narrated Anas bin Malik: On the day of the Conquest, the Prophet entered Mecca, wearing a helmet on his head. When he took it off, a man came and said, "Ibn Khatal is clinging to the curtain of the Ka'ba." The Prophet said, "Kill him." (Malik a sub-narrator said, "On that day the Prophet was not in a state of Ihram as it appeared to us, and Allah knows better.") (Book #59, Hadith #582) [Sahih Bukhari]
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http://www.searchtruth.com/searchHadith.php?keyword=Ibn+Khatal&translator=2&search=1&book=&start=0&records_display=10&search_word=all ===
(1) Anas b. Malik (Allah be pleased with them) reported that Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) entered Mecca in the Year of Victory with a helmet on his head; and when he took it off, a man came to him and said: Ibn Khatal is hanging on to the curtains of the Ka'ba, whereupon he said: Kill him. Malik (one of the narrators) attested this statement having been made. (Book #007, Hadith #3145) [Sahih Muslim]
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The same Tradition is reported by three collectors. Is this Tradition consistent, or is there any conflict with the Holy Quran? At the outset we notice that only the Tradition listed as 72nd in the 29th book of Sahih Bukhari alone has the phrase – (taking refuge in the Ka’ba) – not as part of the translation, but as an explanation by the translator. Is this explanation correct? The fact that the Kaaba provides protection is found in the Holy Quran itself.
http://www.searchtruth.com/chapter_display_all.php?chapter=2&from_verse=191&to_verse=191&mac=&translation_setting=1&show_transliteration=1&show_yusufali=1&show_shakir=1&show_pickthal=1&show_mkhan=1 ===
Yusuf Ali 2:191
And slay them wherever ye catch them, and turn them out from where they have Turned you out; for tumult and oppression are worse than slaughter; but fight them not at the Sacred Mosque, unless they (first) fight you there; but if they fight you, slay them. Such is the reward of those who suppress faith.
Shakir 2:191
And kill them wherever you find them, and drive them out from whence they drove you out, and persecution is severer than slaughter, and do not fight with them at the Sacred Mosque until they fight with you in it, but if they do fight you, then slay them; such is the recompense of the unbelievers.
Pickthal 2:191
And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter. And fight not with them at the Inviolable Place of Worship until they first attack you there, but if they attack you (there) then slay them. Such is the reward of disbelievers.
M. Khan 2:191
And kill them wherever you find them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out. And Al-Fitnah is worse than killing. And fight not with them at Al-Masjid-al-Haram (the sanctuary at Makkah), unless they (first) fight you there. But if they attack you, then kill them. Such is the recompense of the disbelievers.
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Was the action of Ibn Khatal hanging on the curtains of the Kaaba (Ka’ba) a hostile action? Was he hanging there in the hope that the Muslims would not harm him on the strength of 2:191 or was there any other intent?
What happens when a curfew is announced? What could one make of the intention of anyone violating the curfew? It would be foolish to assume that the intention of a curfew violator would be peaceful.
Let us consider the fact that Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was removing the helmet when he was told about Ibn Khatal. He removed the helmet because he considered that the war had come to an end and thus he could expose his head. The following statement was then issued before the start of the war indicating the actions that would protect a person from the Muslim army.
http://www.searchtruth.com/searchHadith.php?keyword=safe+door+force&translator=3&search=1&book=&start=0&records_display=10&search_word=all ===
(1) Narrated Abdullah Ibn Abbas: When the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) alighted at Marr az-Zahran, al-Abbas said: I thought, I swear by Allah, if the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) enters Mecca with the army by force before the Quraysh come to him and seek protection from him, it will be their total ruin. So I rode on the mule of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) and thought, Perhaps I may find a man coming for his needs who will to the people of Mecca and inform them of the position of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him), so that they may come to him and seek protection from him. While I was on my way, I heard AbuSufyan and Budayl ibn Warqa' speaking. I said: O AbuHanzalah! He recognized my voice and said: AbulFadl? I replied: Yes. He said: who is with you, may my parents be a sacrifice for you? I said: Here are the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) and his people (with him). He asked: Which is the way out? He said: He rode behind me, and his companion returned. When the morning came, I brought him to the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) and he embraced Islam. I said: Apostle of Allah, AbuSufyan is a man who likes this pride, do something for him. He said: Yes, he who enters the house of AbuSufyan is safe; he who closes the door upon him is safe; and he who enters the mosque is safe. The people scattered to their houses and in the mosque. (Book #19, Hadith #3016) [Sunan Abudawud]
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So the people entered the Kaaba and stayed there safe from the army. The Masjid is the space around the Kaaba and has accommodated many. Given the fact that many people had safety by staying around the Kaaba, the action of Ibn Khatal clinging to the curtain of the Kaaba has only one intention: to protect the Kaaba from the Muslim army. Why?
http://www.searchtruth.com/searchHadith.php?keyword=idols+arrived&translator=1&search=1&book=&start=0&records_display=10&search_word=all ===
(1) Narrated Ibn Abbas: When Allah's Apostle arrived in Mecca, he refused to enter the Ka'ba while there were idols in it. So he ordered that they be taken out. The pictures of the (Prophets) Abraham and Ishmael, holding arrows of divination in their hands, were carried out. The Prophet said, "May Allah ruin them (i.e. the infidels) for they knew very well that they (i.e. Abraham and Ishmael) never drew lots by these (divination arrows). Then the Prophet entered the Ka'ba and said. "Allahu Akbar" in all its directions and came out and not offer any prayer therein. (Book #59, Hadith #584) [Sahih Bukhari]
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Ibn Khatal was hanging on to the curtain to protect the idols stored inside the Kaaba. The very purpose of the mission of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was to unite the people divided by loyalties to the idols. If Ibn Khatal was allowed to protect the idols by claiming protection under 2:191 of the Holy Quran it would have been the worst perverse exploitation. Naturally Ibn Khatal was killed so that the idols could be taken out. Please notice that – taking refuge in the Ka’ba – is given within parentheses in the translation implying that these words were inserted by the translator by way of explanation. The correct translation would be without the parentheses and thus our interpretation is the correct one. Ibn Khatal was protecting the idols and was not seeking protection of the Masjid. There were many who sought protection of the Masjid and they were not harmed. So Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, simply ordered an enemy warrior to be killed.