Mistranslating Jannah
﷽
Language comprises words and words have meaning. Communication emerges from understanding these meanings. Communication works when meanings are accurately understood. A good translation, then, is one that presents the most accurate meaning of a word in a different language. Deficiencies in translation may create confusion, conflict, and at times, inauthenticity.
Part of the I'jaz (inimitability) of the Qur'an is decisiveness in word-choice. Qur’anic words are neither random nor approximations, but deliberately intended. This uniqueness has resulted in many branches of knowledge drawing closely from particularities of Qur’anic expression, with scholars examining every detail of word usage, syntax, and meaning (amongst many other things).
This has also resulted in a problem when the Qur'an is translated into English. It is well known that English often doesn’t capture the spirit of the Arabic. In some cases, however, the consequences of this can be quite unique.
Take Jannah as an example.
The standard translation of Jannah is 'garden'. Some add: '... beneath which rivers flow'. Understandings of Jannah centre around the notion of a garden: beautiful, green, with rivers. However, this understanding does disservice to how Jannah should be authentically conceptualised.
Jannah in Arabic is derived from the roots ج ن ن, which when morphed into the active singular past tense [1] :
جَنَّ الشيءَ يَجُنُّه جَنّاً: سَتَره
He covered/shrouded (janna) a thing. [2]
The Masdar [3] then means:
to cover, hide, conceal, veil [4]
In the Qur’an, in the description of the early life of Ibrahim عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ, Allah ﷻ describes:
فَلَمَّا جَنَّ عَلَيْهِ ٱلَّيْلُ
So, when the night enveloped (janna) him [5]
When the night covered (janna) him over [6]
About this, Ibn Manzur says, in reference to the phrase used in a hadith:
جَنَّ عَلَيْهِ الليلُ: أي ستَره
i.e. (the night) covered him [7]
The root ج ن ن means a concealing or covering of a sort. From this comes the word Jinn (جِن), who are named as such due to them being concealed and hidden from sight [8]. This is also why the foetus is called Janeen (جَنين), from the same roots, due to its hiddenness inside it’s mother’s belly [9].
The meaning of concealment permeates the various morphs of ج ن ن. The word الجَنن means a grave, due to it covering the dead body [10]. The word الجَنانُ refers to a heart, due to it being hidden inside the chest. One of the words for a shield is الجُنَّةُ, a weapon that conceals you, behind which you hide [11]. Junnah (الجُنَّةُ) also refers to a coat of mail, and at times, a cloth a woman wears to cover her head [12]. Lexicographers generalise the word:
كُلُّ مَا وَقاك جُنَّة
All that protects/shelters you is termed Junnah [13]
This is why the hadeeth:
الصِيامُ جُنَّة
Fasting is Junnah [14]
ascribes Junnah to fasting, because fasting protects from desire.
This also why the Imam is a Junnah:
إنما الإمام جنة
يقاتل من و رائه و يتقي به
as people fight behind him and through him seek protection [15].
Hence when the linguistic Jannah is defined by Ibn al Munzoor [16], he states:
الجنة: الحَديقةُ ذَاتُ الشَّجَرِ وَالنَّخْلِ
Jannah: the garden which is of trees and date palms [17]
Building upon the linguistic meaning, the Jannah of the Akhirah is:
الجنة:هِيَ دارُ النَّعِيمِ فِي الدَّارِ الْآخِرَةِ، مِنَ الاجْتنان، وَهُوَ السَّتْر لتَكاثُفِ أَشْجارِها وَتَظْلِيلِهَا بالتِفافِ أَغصانِها
The Jannah is the abode of felicity in the hereafter. It is from the word Ijtinaan, which means to conceal, and this naming is because of its dense trees and the emergent shade from intertwined branches within it [18]
Drawing upon the meanings of ج ن ن, Jannah is then that garden which has trees so dense that all sunlight is blocked.
A profound explanation of Jannah is in Shaykh Nuh Keller’s Once and Future Hermeneutic:
‘the root meaning of the term janna signifies a grove of trees whose shade is so dense it blocks out (jann) all sunlight. Now a ‘garden,’ the invariable (and biblical) rendering, unless it is more neglected than most, seldom reaches above chest-level, so does not bear the Quranic implication very well.’ [19]
Shaykh Nuh points to a problem with common translations of Jannah: the translation of it as a mere garden doesn’t reflect the tall-treed imagery that should harken to the reader’s mind.
This is extremely significant. This suggests that the true conceptualisation of the Quranic Jannah is lost in translation. In the case of Jannah, the absence of imagining trees may not be as serious. In many other cases, however, ramifications may be severe.
Take the word Sabr. In Western nomenclature, it is readily translated as patience. It is a positive trait, which embodies maturity, gentleness, and self-restraint. But there are also connotations of repression and passiveness with the word patience.
This is readily seen in the example of a man told to have patience with a controlling boss. In lieu of the injunction, the man would repress his feelings, keep a submissive attitude, and may even work harder, in a situation where his boss may be abusing him. This problem then multiplies when the man sees himself in this situation as doing good, as to himself, he is merely following the attribute of Sabr. This may form a harmful loop in his life, where he thinks the solution to a bad workplace is to persist, stay-low, and apply Sabr harder.
This can be traced to a misapplication of Sabr. Sabr, in its authentic meaning, transcends being limited to the word patience. Ghazali states that there are four attributes central to good character, all of which must be balanced for its emergence [20]. These are:
1. Wisdom
2. Bravery
3. Decency
4. Inner strength
Sabr is an emergent quality from decency, but this must be accompanied with the bravery trait to be expressed in a balanced way. Not doing so may make one be seen as a pushover. A perfect application of Sabr would thus be one that embodies all four traits, making a man able to forbear difficult trials, but also stand for his rights and others when wronged. Some psychologists refer to this as being assertive i.e. the balance between being completely passive and completely aggressive.
Hence, when a Muslim exercises authentic Sabr, they are exercising patience with fortitude, honour, and strength, all arising from the trait of bravery. All these meanings are lost in translation when we’re told to be patient, without truly understanding what true patience is, nor where true virtue lies.
It is thus incumbent on Muslim students in the Western world to set their sights upon the development of more authentic translations of Arabic texts. This is paramount not only in future translations/exegeses of the Qur’an, but also in Hadith, and eventually, all Islamic sciences. Whilst translations are plentiful, many rely upon outdated English expressions, or close approximations of Arabic words. This is vital if we are to remain in the West and be true Da’ees (inviters) in the English world. Work must be done so we can begin to apply our religion authentically. This is so we can ultimately live our lives in ways more pleasing to Allah ﷻ, and more closely with the blessed Sunnah of our Prophet ﷺ.
سبحان ربك رب العزة عما يصفون
و سلام على المرسلين
و الحمد لله رب العالمين
References
[1] To predicate discussion on the word Jannah, the active singular past tense of ج ن ن has been chosen as opposed to its Masdar, in accordance with the Kufan school in Arabic Grammar
[2] [92:13] لسان العرب
[3] The Masdar is the infinitive in grammar
[4] The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic
[5] (6:76) The Noble Qur’an, Mufti Taqi Usmani
[6] (6:76) The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary, Yusuf Ali
[7] [92:13] لسان العرب
[8] وَبِهِ سُمِّيَ الجِنُّ لاسْتِتارِهم واخْتِفائهم عَنِ الأَبصار [92:13] لسان العرب
[9] وَمِنْهُ سُمِّيَ الجَنينُ لاسْتِتارِه فِي بطنِ أُمِّه [92:13] لسان العرب
[10] ُوَ القبرُ لسَتْرِه الْمَيِّتَ [92:13] لسان العرب
[11] مَا واراكَ مِنَ السِّلاح واسْتَتَرْتَ بِهِ مِنْهُ [94:13] لسان العرب
[12] خِرْقةٌ تَلْبسها المرأَة فتغطِّي رأْسَها مَا قبَلَ مِنْهُ وَمَا دَبَرَ غيرَ وسَطِه [94:13] لسان العرب
[13] [94:13] لسان العرب
[14] Sahih al-Bukhari
[15] Sahih Muslim
[16] The author of Lisaan ul-Arab
[17] [100:13] لسان العرب
[18] [100:13] لسان العرب
[19] Nuh Keller, Introduction to Qur’an Beheld
[20] إحياء علوم الدين كتاب عجائب القلب
