“With Arabic as my first language, yet traveling and speaking in the English world, I sought for years to find an accurate English translation of The Generous Qur’an. Many translations have been created in order to “sugar-coat” the Qur’an and to soften its real message.

“Even though Muslim clerics have issued a fatwa (a death decree for any person who tries to translate the Qur’an), four years ago I felt compelled to translate the Qur’an accurately into English.

“With the great help of many friends and scholars who have given of their time and effort, this translation has been completed. As we examine every word and every sentence with the magnifying lens of truth, the reader will discover that the Qur’an contains little more than repetitive legends, contradictions, and corrupted selections that have been borrowed from the Bible.” [1]

The contents of Usama’s translation is interesting. There are 114 chapters and he lists where each chapter was written (e.g. Mecca, Medina, etc.). Each chapter highlights sections of the Qur’an with Usama’s explanation for that section. This brings out the truth that the Qur’an “commands Muslim to believe in and accept the Bible as well as the Qur’an.” [2] Based on this, it is clear that Muhammad taught that the Bible was fully correct at the time he spoke the words concerning the Bible. Yet today, many Muslims will tell you the exact opposite. In doing so, they are contradicting Muhammad, their prophet.

Now, it must also be stated that any dyed-in-the-wool Muslim will come out against this translation because they will generally not believe that Usama translated it with an unbiased mindset. He may not have, but the question is not whether he was unbiased, but whether he was truthful in his translation? In other words, is his translation of the Qur’an accurate and even more accurate than any other translation?

There are a multitude of translations of the Bible. Anyone can translate it and some very unqualified people have done so. Normally though, a new translation appears on the market when new pieces of manuscripts become available. People use this as an argument against the veracity of Scripture, but in reality, it represents the fact that the Bible is believable. The more manuscripts that archaeologists find, the more we learn that these new (and sometimes older) manuscripts verify what we have already known about Scripture. There are no surprises at all.

What is most interesting is Usama’s understanding and explanation of the Doctrine of Abrogation. He quotes verse 4:82, which states this: “Do they not consider the Qur’an? If it were from other than Allah, they would have found in it many inconsistencies.” What is clear here is that the Qur’an itself is saying that it is completely devoid of any inconsistencies. Beyond this, numerous verses point to the fact that the Qur’an cannot be changed and the original is kept in heaven where it is guarded so that it cannot be changed.

Abrogation means to abolish, or to treat as if something is non-existent. The Qur’an teaches that abrogation has been part of the history of the Qur’an, meaning some things have changed or have been abrogated. With respect to the Qur’an, abrogation then means “the removal of a verse or the change of a verse within another (newer) verse, or to make something lawful which was unlawful or vice versa.” [3]

Usama’s point is that “abrogation in the Qur’an is actually the only way to explain the inconsistencies throughout the Qur’an.” [4] The truth of the matter is that we are not talking about a word or two here or there. We are talking about changing something major so that it becomes something else.

Mormonism has done this since its inception. Many cults have done this and this abrogation is necessary because nothing makes sense like God’s Word except God’s Word. When people add to God’s Word, they find themselves getting into trouble because they are not God and cannot see how all things in Scripture come together to represent God’s intended meaning.

The same is true with the Qur’an, yet the Qur’an was written over a 20 year period of time and simply records the verbalization of one man. The Bible was written over a period of roughly 1,600 years, by more than 40 individual human beings, with God overseeing all of it. The consistency is remarkable. That alone speaks to its veracity.

When you take the Book of Mormon, or even the New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses), what you find are inconsistencies that are unable to be explained a way. Both Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses are left with egg on their faces. The same situation exists with Islam and their holy book. The Qur’an is filled with inconsistencies and as scholars find them, they are abrogated. This process has existed for quite some time and shows no sign of letting up. Ultimately, Islam wants Western society to see the Qur’an one way – a gentle, peaceful way, yet the truth related to the Qur’an is obviously far sinister.

I really appreciate Usama’s efforts in this translation. I already have several other translations and I’m looking forward to comparing them with this one. I also very much appreciate the fact that Usama is interested in the Muslim people. He wants to see them see and embrace the truth about Jesus Christ. He wants them to know that what they believe does not stand up against the truth of the Bible.

I applaud Usama’s work both in his translation and his desire to see Muslims come to know the Lord Jesus Christ. May God bless him in his efforts and may He be glorified in and through Usama Dakdok!

For more information on this Qur’an, please contact Usama through this page:

http://thestraightway.org/

[1] Usama Dakdok, translator, The Generous Qur’an, 2009, back cover

[2] Ibid, 1

[3] Ibid, xvi