To Dhimmi: Transliteration and Translation

Submitted by Mahfooz-ur Rahman (Bangladesh), Sep 26, 2007 at 15:25

1. Transliteration:

Dhimmi, please do not waste my time by your uncalled for lectures. If ever I need to learn further about this subject, I shall refer to a wealth of literature easily available and specifically to the ISO manual of which I gave information earlier. Nothing more that you may ever say is likely to be world shaking or likely to influence the ISO or the United Nations to alter their relevant manuals in this respect.

2. Translation

Dhimmi gave quite unnecessary and long word-by-word translation of a line from the Quran that I quoted long ago, and concluded:

.."And like I say: you are here defending the religion of the arabs[sic] that brutalized your Hindu ancetors[sic]. Shame"

As usual, the construction of this short sentence is poor, slangy [..like I say..'] and with one grammatical and one spelling mistake in 18 short words!

However, as to the translation and meaning of the Arabic line from the Quran, I quote:

Chapter 110:

AN-NASR (SUCCOUR, DIVINE SUPPORT) Total Verses: 3 Revealed At: MADINA
Y: = Quran Translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali
P: = Quran Translation by Marmaduke Pickthall
S: = Quran Translation by M H Shakir

110.002
Y: And thou dost see the people enter Allah's Religion in crowds,
P: And thou seest mankind entering the religion of Allah in troops,
S: And you see men entering the religion of Allah in companies

Dhimmi: and you see the people enter(ing) the religion of Allah in (big) crowds

Self: "you shall see that people in multitude will enter the Faith of Allah.."

The above three translations are from three great authorities of Quranic translations. The 4^th and the 5^th ones are by Dhimmi and I, respectively.

For the record, I never claimed any great scholarship of Arabic, only a working knowledge. I was not out to literally translate the line in question, but only to get to the meaning and the sense of it. In that, any neutral observer is likely to find that there is little to choose between these different translations. The only difference is that for Dhimmi it is only a game, only a ploy to belittle others, But for those scholars, as for my humble self as well, these words are more than mere words, they convey divine wisdom, as also all Muslims strive to get to the meaning, teaching and the instructions of the Divine Source of knowledge and wisdom that is Quran to them. Therefore whatever may be the difference in wording, those are trifling for us Muslims; its the deep inner meaning that they seek, of which, obviously Dhimmi is devoid of a modicum of understanding.

By the way, as regards Dhimmi's fallacious and contention oft repeated ad nausium that Arabic be language is only understood by the Arabs, or by native speakers, all the above 3 authorities are NON-ARABS. The late lamented Marmaduke Pickthall was an Englishman by birth but earned his place of honour by his Arabic and Islamic studies as he converted to Islam, the True Faith..

1. A Very Brief History of Muslim East Bengal (the Gangetic plains south of the Himalayas, currently comprising the state of Bangladesh)

The Muslim era commenced with the conquest of Bengal by Mohammad Bakhtiyar in 1204 and continued till 1526 under a period known to the historians as the Delhi Sultanate. During this long period, sometimes Bengal was ruled by appointed governors from the central government at Delhi and at others by the independent Sultans of Bengal. From 1526 to 1858 successive Mughal dynasties ruled Bengal by appointed governors. With the weakening of the Mughal Empire, independent Nawabs came to power who ruled the Suba-e-Bangal consisting of current Bangladesh, Indian States of West Bengal, Orrisa and Bihar, the capital having shifted from Dhaka to Murshidabad. The last independent Nawab of Bengal was Siraj al Daula whose armies were defeated by the armies of British East India Company, more by treachery and deceit than by honest application of arms, at the Battle of Plassy. East India Company rule was replaced by the British Crown from 1858 and continued till the independence on 14 August 1947, when the State of Pakistan came into being with the Muslim majority areas of India, Eastern parts of Bengal being Muslim majority became the province of East Bengal in the then Pakistan, which in 1971, after a bitter civil war waged on political grounds, earned its place among comity of nations as the independent state of Bangladesh. It is an ancient land with a chequered history but a new nation with a young population forging ahead in spite of all the historical forces that played against its fortunes.

The wheel of history has indeed turned. A Muslim state is once again in place where for centuries they ruled these areas in the spirit of tolerance, justice and equality and lived in amity with Hindus and peoples of many other religions such as Christians, Buddhists, Persies, Bahais, Jains, Jews and Animists.

There was no forceful conversion to Islam. Rather, the Muslim rulers as a rule discouraged conversion, as did the British much later. Politics, administration and religion are three different entities that do not mix well, is a principle that was well understood by the enlightened Muslim Rulers of Bengal.

Although voluntary conversion did take place, by and large, the Muslims expanded in Eastern Bengal by colonisation by bringing virgin forests and marshes under the plough for wet rice cultivation.

In historical records, there was no brutality by the Muslim Rulers of Bengal upon their Hindu majority subjects, rather, Hindus occupied most important positions in the Muslim governments [The Commander in Chief of the armies of Emperor Akbar was a Rajut Hindu, Raja Man Singh for example, under whose able leadership those armies conquered most of India] and many were large and important land holders by their own rights.

Muslims in large numbers from different areas of India, Persia, Arabia, various states of Turkistan and the Central Asia settled in Bengal, for it was the richest state in the world at that time. The balance of trade was heavily in favour of Bengal, as her textile, rice, spices and other valuable produce were exported to all over Asiatic regions, and to far away places such as Rome, Paris, Moscow, Amsterdam, Florence and other cities of Europe. The bullion in silver and gold reached high levels in the treasury as well in private hands, such that it attracted European traders from England, France, Holland, Spain and many other nations. They opened trading posts and connived to capture political power of rich Bengal for their own enrichment by direct exploitation. The era of colonisation had beguan which would continue till the oppressed people threw out the ruthless foreign exploiters who pauperised their once rich country and called themselves championos human rights and freedom! Bengal had an agonised colonial past but look forward to an era of prospertiy and freedom that she enjoyed for long 650 years of Muslim rule.

There is no historical fact Dhimmi that my ancestors were Hindus. But even if they were, there is nothing shameful about it, as all Muslims at the time of Prophet of Islam (SM) were converted from other or no faith at all. Islam makes no such distinction of race, colour or antecedent, only the ill informed bigots make any such distinction. Newly converted Muslims are highly respected to this day, as those brothers and sisters made a life changing choice, one from darkness into light of Islam and are shinning examples to others.

Please refer to the authoritative modern history book ‘ The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier: 1240-1760' by historian Richard M. Eaton, Oxford University Press, 1993, copy right, University of California as the most recent addition on the subject.If anyone wishes, I shall be only too glad to give dozens of historical references on the subject, specifically history of Muslim Bengal.

Dhimmi, do please pay credence to historical facts and do not spread popular fallacies and propaganda for, in the face of cold fact, they become counterproductive.

With best regards

Mahfooz

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