Translation
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Debate Excerpts (2)
Individual points from debates discussing this topic
“Why should Muhammadim be transliterated as a proper name rather than translated as an adjective meaning most lovely?”
Proper nouns in the Bible are never translated by meaning — they are always kept as names. The name David comes from a Hebrew root meaning beloved or cherished, but the Bible never says the most beloved or the cherished one — it always says David. Similarly, the name Muhammad in the Hebrew text should be kept as Muhammad, not rendered as the most lovely or the most praised. The lexicon written by Christian scholars even notes that in Arabic, Muhammad is a masculine noun — a proper name. Since the lexicon confirms the Arabic root and lists it as a noun, the name Muhammad is present in Song of Solomon 5:16 and should be preserved as a name in translation.
“What does the Quran's language principle show about the New Testament's origin?”
Uthman cites the Quranic principle: We did not send a messenger except in the language of his people. Jesus spoke Aramaic — that is agreed by scholars. Yet the earliest manuscripts of the New Testament are in Koine Greek. There are no Aramaic originals of the four Gospels. The Gospels as we have them are already translations (or at best transliterations) of what Jesus said — and as such they are removed by at least one step from the words Jesus himself spoke. This contrasts with the Quran, which is in Arabic as the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, delivered it.