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Edip Yuksel vs. Ali Sina
Round VII -28
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Let
us discuss this word in detail.
Muslims call themselves Ummah. This word is of the same
root of Ummi. Ummi is how Muhammad referred to himself and it means
unlettered, unschooled, uneducated.
Therefore Ummah means the community of the unlettered followers. In the
case of Muhammad this implied that his knowledge was of a divine source.
However that distinction does not apply to the Ummah. Hence Ummah, by
definition means the ignorant mass of believers.
The verse 3:20 reads:
وَقُل
لِّلَّذِينَ
أُوْتُواْ
الْكِتَابَ
وَالأُمِّيِّينَ
أَأَسْلَمْتُمْ
And say to the People of the Book and to
those who are unlearned: (Ummiyeen) "Do
ye (also) submit yourselves?"
Here the word Ummiyeen الأُمِّيِّينَ
which is the plural of Ummi is translates
as:
Yusuf Ali: those who are unlearned:
Pickthal: those who read not
Shakir: the unlearned people
Let us take another verse (Imran 3:75):
قَالُواْ
لَيْسَ
عَلَيْنَا
فِي الأُمِّيِّينَ
سَبِيلٌ
"They say, "there is no call on us
(to keep faith) with these ignorant (Pagans).(Ummiyeen)"
Yusuf Ali translates this word in this verse as ignorant.
Pickthal translates it as Gentiles.
And Shakir translates the word as unlearned
people.
The noun "gentile" is generally
applied to an individual who is ignorant of the Scriptures. In English the
synonym for "gentile" is "pagan".
Historically, the term gentile was
used by the governing Romans for the non-Romans (foreigners); it was
adopted by the Jews to denote the non-Jews; in turn the Christians used it
for the Pagans. In the Qur'an the term al-Ummiyeen,
is generally translated as "the
Unlettered folks". The verse 62:2 reads,
هُوَ
الَّذِي
بَعَثَ فِي الْأُمِّيِّينَ
رَسُولًا
مِّنْهُمْ
Yusuf Ali translates this thus:
"It is He Who has sent amongst the
Unlettered an apostle from among
themselves,"
And in his commentary he writes: "The
Unlettered: as applied to a
people, it refers to the Arabs, in comparison with the People of the
Book..."
Verse: 2:78
وَمِنْهُمْ
أُمِّيُّونَ
لاَ
يَعْلَمُونَ
الْكِتَابَ
And there are among them illiterates,
who know not the Book,
The root of Ummi is "Um" (mother). A literal
translation of that into English would be “Natural”, although
the two words have taken different meanings in time. Etymologically, Ummi
is the natural state of being ignorant and unlearned, as when born by
mother.
So Ummah is the uneducated and unlettered mass of people who are
ignorant of the scriptures and hence unable to find their way. The Ummah
is in constant need of guidance. Imam, also from the same root, is
one who leads the Ummah. This is basically the concept of sheep and
shepherd. The entire community of Muslims is deemed to be sheep in need of
shepherd.
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asked
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7-
WE TALKED ABOUT SURA 33 AND I SAID THIS SURA IS NOT SELF
EXPLANATORY. I ASKED YOU TO TELL US WHO ARE THE “CONFEDERATES”
MENTIONED IN VERSE 20 AND FROM WHERE THEY DID NOT WITHDRAW.
EXPLAIN THAT WITHOUT ANY REFERENCE TO HADITH OR TAFSEER.
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And
you wrote
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Why
should I care what was the name of that group. I find no relevancy
for the lesson I get from the verse. Let's say the tribe’s name is
"Ibn Fulan" or "Abu Falan" what would it change?
First, the Quran is not a history book. Yes, it refers to historical
events, but does not narrate them like a chronology, or like Hadith
books or the Old Testament does by giving pages and pages of names,
number of mules and horses… The Quran uses history or events to
drive and convey lessons for those who have intelligence and good
faith. But people like you (this include your twins, Sunnies and
Shiites) miss the main point of the story in search for irrelevant
details, for goose eggs. |
Of course you are not required to care or explain anything. The whole
purpose of this exercise is to show that when you deny the historic
background of the Quran, it become illegible and incomprehensible. You say
the Quran is not supposed to be a book of history, but it refers to
historical events. But when I ask what those events are, you shrug. Now
what is the lesson of Sura 33? All we see are references to some enemies
withdrawing and Muhammad slaying some people and enslaving some. What is
it all about? What is the spiritual lesson in this Sura?
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