Telling Someone to Bite Their Father’s Genitals: Explicit Phrase or Misunderstood Expression? Abstract When dealing with any Islamic text in English, it is absolutely crucial to use the most accurate Arabic translation, in order to reflect the true intended meaning of the text. Not only is an incorrect translation completely irresponsible and misleading, but it actually removes the implication of the original statement by misquoting the one who said it. Using such types of translations makes it very easy for a person to prove their point, regardless of what the truth is. This article will bring forth one such commonly mistranslated and misunderstood hadith, and provide it with a better translation and its proper significance. This will further be supplemented by other narrations that use the same words and are more explicit in their meaning. 1. Introduction Knowing that their claims about the essentials and generalities of Islam are proven to be false, some critics of Islam pick on isolated narrations, translating them as they like to make the average person feel uneasy about Islam. One such narration appears as: Ubayy b. Ka‘b told that he heard God’s messenger say, “If anyone proudly asserts his descent in the manner of the pre-Islamic people, tell him to bite his father’s penis, and do not use a euphemism.”[1] 2. Actual wording and literal analysis The actual words of the Prophet are: من تعزى بعزاء الجاهلية فأعضوه بهن أبيه ولا تكنوا Its literal translation would be: “He who so asserts his relationship in the manner of the time of ignorance, make him bite the membrum of his father and make no allusion.”[2] Three words here need special attention. We shall show their original denotative and connotative meanings, and in the light of that, make a lucid and truly justified translation. a) عض (adh) literally means “to bite” but often implies to “stick to.” b) هن (han) originally means a thing but often it is used to refer to the genitals. c) كنى (kuna) literally means metonymy and is used for any kind of indirect speech. 2.1 Meaning of the word عض (adh) Literally عض (adh) means “to bite;” however it implies to “stick to.” The following is an example to show the “stick to” connotation of this word. The Messenger of Allah said: فعليكم بسنتي وسنة الخلفاء الراشدين المهديين تمسكوا بها وعضوا عليها بالنواجذ Dr. James Robson, whose translation the missionaries use for the hadith in question, translates this one as: “You must therefore follow my sunna and that of the rightly guided Caliphs. Hold to it and stick fast to it (adhdhu alaiha bin-nawajiz).”[3] Moreover, he adds a note to the last phrase of the part of hadith quotes here; “Lit. ‘bite on it with the molar teeth.’”[4] Where the actual wording says “bite with teeth” Dr. Robson gives the implied meaning and where it simply says “bite,” he somehow feels compelled to go for a literal rendering. It is thus clear that word عض (adh) is not always understood literally and often[5] implies to “stick to.” 2.2 Meaning of هن (han) Literally the word هن (han) means “a thing.”[6] And by the way of euphemism it is used for the male (or female) organ. Ibn al-Athir al-Jazari (d. 606 AH) defines it: كناية عن الشيء لا تذكره باسمه “It is a metonymy for anything which is not mentioned by name.”[7] Abul-‘Abbas al-Fayyumi (d. 770 AH) says: وكني بهذا الاسم عن الفرج “And this word is used as a euphemism for the genitals.”[8] Evidently, the word used is not the proper explicit word for the male genital; rather it is a euphemism for it. For this reason, the rightful translation of it is “membrum” and not the word used by Dr. Robson. Membrum is a euphemism[9] for the word “penis”[10] and therefore the appropriate word here. Prof. Josef Horovitz correctly used it in his English rendering of this hadith while translating Ibn Qutayba’s ‘Uyun al-Akhbar.[11] This is no trivial a difference. In fact, it governs the central-most idea – failing to understand it or twisting the entire saying is ill-conceived. 2.3 Meaning of كنى (kuna) Towards the end of the hadith, it is said “and make no allusion” (ولا تكنوا). To understand this correctly, one needs to consider the above explanation of the word هن (han). When هن (han) itself is a euphemism, what does the last part of the hadith refer to it? We see these missionaries use the translation that fails to keep the euphemistic meanings of the original word and then they stress on the subsequent words “and do not use a euphemism” to suggest that the hadith asks for making an explicit mention of genitals. This is where the true meanings of the hadith are lost. In reality, it is about bluntly speaking about the disbelief and evil acts of one’s forefathers and that in doing so one should not stop with simply alluding to it because this will not bring about the forceful reproof. 3. Context of the saying To have a profound understanding of the hadith, we need to see its context. Firstly, even in Mishkat the hadith is placed in the chapter “Boasting and Party-Spirit.” Likewise, it is placed in similar chapters in Sunan al-Kubra[12] of an-Nasa’i, Sharh as-Sunnah[13] of al-Baghawi and ‘Amal al-Yawm wa al-Laylah[14]ofIbn as-Sani. It is well known that Islam does not tolerate any ideas that can undermine the universal Islamic brotherhood and for this reason, party-spirit, tribalism or narrow-nationalism is severely condemned. This was stressed more for the first recipients of the Prophet’s message because their ancestors were idolaters and their training was pivotal in setting up the new faith based on universal Islamic nationalism and brotherhood. The following hadith tells us the same: عن أبي هريرة، قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، إن الله عز وجل قد أذهب عنكم عبية الجاهلية، وفخرها بالآباء مؤمن تقي، وفاجر شقي، أنتم بنو آدم وآدم من تراب، ليدعن رجال فخرهم بأقوام، إنما هم فحم من فحم جهنم، أو ليكونن أهون على الله من الجعلان التي تدفع بأنفها النتن It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: “The Messenger of Allah said: Allah has taken away your pride of Jahiliyyah and your boasting about your forefathers. One is only a righteous believer or a doomed evildoer. You are the sons of Adam and Adam was created from dust. Men should stop boasting about their forefathers, who are no more than the coal of Hell, or they will certainly be more insignificant before Allah than the beetle that rolls dung with its nose.”[15] The hadith under discussion is also in the same backdrop as we shall explain shortly. 4. Meanings of the phrase “make him bite the membrum of his father” Knowing the context and understanding the key words puts us in a better position to understand the meaning of the phrase “make him bite his father’s membrum.” All this makes it clear that the hadith actually asks for putting to shame one who boasts for the condemned ideals by reminding him of humble origins and the disbelief and evildoings of his idolater ancestors. Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 751 AH) tells us the wisdom of mentioning the membrum: وكان ذكر هن الأب هاهنا أحسن تذكيرا لهذا المتكبر بدعوى الجاهلية بالعضو الذي خرج منه “The mention of father’s membrum here is a good reminder for the boastful, making the call of the ignorance through the organ from which he originated.”[16] This can be related to the Qur’an: هَلْ أَتَى عَلَى الْإِنْسَانِ حِينٌ مِنَ الدَّهْرِ لَمْ يَكُنْ شَيْئًا مَذْكُورًا (.) إِنَّا خَلَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ أَمْشَاجٍ نَبْتَلِيهِ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ سَمِيعًا بَصِيرًا “Has there [not] come upon man a period of time when he was not a thing [even] mentioned? Indeed, We created man from a sperm-drop mixture that We may try him; and We made him hearing and seeing.” (Qur’an 76:1-2) Mulla Ali al-Qari (d. 1014 AH) explains it further: من انتسب وانتمى إلى الجاهلية بإحياء سنة أهلها، وابتداع سنتهم في الشتم واللعن والتعيير، ومواجهتكم بالفحشاء والتكبر، فاذكروا له قبائح أبيه من عبادة الأصنام والزنا وشرب الخمر، ونحو ذلك مما كان يعير به من لؤم ورذالة صريحا لا كناية ; كي يرتدع عن التعرض لأعراض الناس “Whoever attributes and associates himself to the times of (pre-Islamic) ignorance in reviving their ways (by boasting for his forefathers), and in following their practices of abusi
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 09:20:34 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015