The Ascendant Qur’an: A Masterful English Translation – Part II

Developing Just Leadership

Mohamed Ousman

Sha'ban 02, 1446 2025-02-01

News & Analysis

by Mohamed Ousman

The Ascendant Qur’an, a remarkable English translation of the noble Scripture, embodies a tone and structure that resonates deeply with readers. This essay delves into the nuances of the translation, exploring its formal and solemn tone, authoritative and instructive language, and complex sentence structures.

From the outset, The Ascendant Qur’an’s formal and solemn tone establishes a sense of reverence and awe. The language is deliberately chosen to convey the sacred and divine nature of the text, inviting readers to approach the scripture with humility and respect. This tone is expertly maintained throughout the translation, creating a sense of continuity and cohesion.

One of the most striking aspects of The Ascendant Qur’an is its authoritative and instructive tone. The language is guiding and directive, conveying a sense of command that is both reassuring and cautionary. The translator’s use of imperative verbs, such as “obey” and “admonish,” create a sense of urgency and emphasizes the importance of following the divine guidance. This authoritative tone is balanced by a reassuring and promising tone, offering comfort and hope to those who obey and follow the guidance.

The structure of The Ascendant Qur’an is equally impressive, featuring complex sentence structures that reflect the sophistication and nuance of the original Arabic text. The translator’s use of Arabic rhetorical devices, such as metaphor and allusion, adds depth and richness to the language, while the emphasis on divine authority reinforces the idea of a higher power guiding human actions.

The Ascendant Qur’an’s use of poetic language is another notable feature, with vivid imagery and figurative language that evokes a sense of wonder and awe. The translator’s mastery of language is evident in the way they convey the beauty and majesty of the original text, making The Ascendant Qur’an a truly exceptional translation.

Final Reflections

The Ascendant Qur’an is a masterful English translation that embodies a tone and structure that is both reverent and authoritative. The translator’s use of formal and solemn language, complex sentence structures, and poetic devices creates a sense of depth and nuance that is unparalleled in other translations. As a sacred text, the Ascendant Quran is a testament to the power of language to inspire, guide, and transform.

Returning to the dangers associated with AI, informed participants identified the trend of relying on AI as a teacher of the Qur’an to pose significant concerns. Such concerns were summarized as the potential erosion of traditional scholarship with negative consequences for human society, and lack of critical thinking and nuanced understanding of the Qur’anic text.

An interfaith and anti-zionist debater highlighted how AI could not distinguish between a tafsir and a translation as well as how Israel used AI manufactured kill lists to kill innocent people misidentified as enemy combatants. He noted a dangerous future ahead if AI replaced thousands of years of knowledge and scholarship while the brainwashed enablers believe they are correct when in fact they are wrong!

Another participant equated AI to being a member of the clergy-class with shared characteristics of its inability to think, where opinions of the preponderant, dominant or popular view is palmed on as correct. AI has a predetermined agenda to which algorithms are applied by the various AI tools of analysis. It cannot produce knowledge. It does meta-analysis or analysis using previously generated knowledge, hence it is characterized as artificial.

The edge it has over the clergy-class is its ability to scan voluminous data over which it conducts analysis or meta-analysis and that it is subject to correction, unlike the clergy-class who read one or two or a few books and think they’re on top of the world and beyond reproach and correction.

Those who write algorithms hold the key to the final opinion that is churned out. So like every sect that doesn’t want to speak about contentious issues, and thus suppresses literature, it too can suppress the data set to have a manipulated final opinion.

This is where we enter the realm of real intelligence. Should the human driving the AI query be well informed, (s)he will be able to argue with the AI tool regarding its blind-spot. At this point, the danger is that AI too becomes like the clergy-class: stiff-necked, mule-like, beyond reproach and correction and thus unable to adjust to new facts and information. Being that AI is agenda driven, biased and not neutral, this possibility is very real.

Finally, AI in textual analysis has limitations. The quality of its output is dependent on the quality of human intervention and the data-set used.

So while AI is making the clergy-class irrelevant, it has not made the Ulama irrelevant. AI, like the clergy-class, is for blind followers and lazy minded people. It only impacts those who are the equivalent of the flock of the clergy-class. This development is much of a muchness when one looks at how the clergy-class reduced and replaced thinking Muslims. It represents a new variation but the nature thereof remains the same.

People with the ability to stand up, scrutinize and question the output of AI, as they do to the clergy-class, will hold sway when it matters.

The responsibility and challenge of the Ulama remains the same: getting people to think beyond what the clergy-class and AI churn out.

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