Dr Kashif Khan is an independent researcher of Quran who specializes in non-traditional translations of Quranic verses. He comes from a unique position where he try to reject any biases that possibly have affected the traditional translations and understanding of the Quranic words and terms. Dr. Kashif Khan claims to have studied the Arabic language and the Quran for over 20 years, and to have discovered many errors and distortions in the traditional translations of the Quran. He has published his own translations of the Quran on his blog and on Medium, where he also explains his methodology and sources. He also has a YouTube channel where he discusses his findings and challenges the mainstream interpretations of the Quran. He says that his goal is to present the Quran as a clear, consistent, and logical message from God, without any contradictions or ambiguities.

Some of his point of view are highly controversial and falls way beyond traditional understanding and dogmas of Shia or Sunni traditions. His writings and articles can be found here on Linkedin platform.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Please note that this article is shared as an academic study and doesnt necessarily reflect the position or opinion of The IQRA.

In a very long series of articles on Wudu he attempted to retranslate and reinterpret the Quranic verses of 4:43 and 5:6. In the process he has attempted to show how certain Quranic terms are so badly corrupted through influence of Persian scholars and closely linked Persian language where certain words may sound similar but have totally different meanings.

Introduction & Premise

As introduction of these articles, Dr Kashif Khan gave a background and some references based premise of the influence of polytheist into the early days of Islam. I quote the following paragraphs from Part 1.

THIS IS AN IDEAL ARTICLE FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO DEVELOP TRUE UNDERSTANDING OF THE QURAN, TRUE HISTORY OF ISLAM, REALITY OF KAABA AND THE ACTUAL MISSION OF THE MOST EXALTED PROPHET OF GOD MUHAMMAD (PBUH)

RESEARCH SHOWS THAT THE WORD “BELIEVER” IS AN OLD TERMINOLOGY OF POLYTHEIST RELIGIONS, WHICH IS WRONGLY INSERTED IN THE TRANSLATIONS OF THE QURAN

We will have to accept this bitter reality that not quite long after the sad departure of the holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), the land of his first Islamic state was completely reoccupied by the progeny of the same Arab polytheist pagans who were once defeated by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in 630 AD, and surrendered at Makkah. The corrupt people (المنافقین) who were disguised among the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) were in fact the enemy of Islam who internally supported likeminded polytheists to sabotage Islam and seamlessly reverted Muslims back to paganism. As soon as polytheist pagans reinstated their power and took control over Islamic state of Arabia they made some political key announcements to make their rule strong in which they have falsely declared that they have nearly 100% Muslim population in their state and now, no one can enter the holly town of Makkah other than the followers of the religion Islam so that no one can notice what was going on in the sanctuary of Kaaba.

This was the time when the keys of Kaaba went to the same hands who used to manage this shrine before Islam who secretly reinstalled their main gods across the sanctuary of Kaaba in deception of the sacred components of the shrine, e.g. the black stone idol (Hijr-e-Aswad), Arrows of Hubal to start and complete the circumambulation, vertical idol stone having engraved feet known as “mqam-e-Ibrahim” and official symbols of Moon god, the Moon crescents. Apart from the installations of these visible main idols plenty of other idols were built in the foundations of the sanctuary and under the passage of Safa and Marwa. In fact, they have prepared the sanctuary of Kaaba and its surroundings according to the new trend of idol worship in the name of Islam so that no one can dare to raise his voice against their hidden paganism. To keep the left over monotheists quiet, they invented false stories in which the installation of the black stone idol Hajre Aswad was falsely attributed towards the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), the footprint stone idol was attributed to Prophet Ibrahim (pbuh) and the mounts of Safa and Marwa where the statues of, the deities of the Zamzam well, Asaf and Naelah were erected that idol path was attributed to Prophet Ismaeel (pbuh) and his mother. However, no explanation was given for the installations of the Arrows of idol Hubal installed on the outer walls of the corridors near Zamzam and the crescents of Moon god installed high on the minarets of Al Masjid Al Haraam.

We never realised where the most powerful and ruling tribe Quraysh has disappeared that was controlling Makkah and its sanctuary Kaaba, reaching as far as Kashmir as a big merchant. We don’t even think about where the other tribes have gone who were united in alliance with the Quraysh against the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) till the year 630 AD, when Makkah was conquered by the Prophet (pbuh). Furthermore, it is not even logically possible that all Quraysh and their alliance tribes had left or forgotten the religion of their forefathers or their each and every person had accepted Islam.

In classical Arabic Literature the word "Quraysh" means a “big fish” perhaps because they had a big name and power among other tribes and in the Arabian Peninsula. Where has the ever largest tribe Banu Kinanah gone that was the mother tribe of so many other branches of tribes like the Quraysh that was also a branch of the Banu Kinanah tribe?

History of History and History of Religion expert and well-known researcher Christian Julien Robin of French National Centre for Scientific Research states in the Oxford Handbook of Late Antiquity of Arabia and Ethiopia, “that Quraysh were dominant force in western Arabia”.

Johnson, Scott states in Oxford Handbook of Late Antiquity. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-019533693, that the main god of Quraysh was Hubal. "The Qurayshite pantheon was composed principally of idols that were in the Haram of Makka, that is, Hubal (the most important and oldest deity), Manaf, Isaf, and Na'ila.

On page 62 of “The Qur'an An Introduction of Muhammad”, London: ISBN 9781134102945, Abdullah Saeed states that the Quraysh tried to silence Muhammad's (pbuh) claim of “prophet hood” by putting pressure on him from different sources. They rejected Islam's conception of monotheism; while they agreed that there was a single higher God, they also worshipped many lesser Gods, which they believed were intermediaries between mankind and the one higher God. Therefore, many of the clans also began to oppose the followers of the Prophet (pbuh).

The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press mentioned on the page 42 of “Muhammad and the Believers”. Cambridge, Massachusetts: ISBN 978-0-674-05097-6, that the Quraysh fought many battles against Muhammad (pbuh). One major clash, the Battle of Badr in 624 C.E., where the Quraysh were defeated, was later seen as a turning point for Muslims. After Muhammad died, clan rivalries reignited, playing central roles in the conflicts over the caliphate and contributing to the Shia-Sunni divide.

I can provide you many more solid evidence from the authentic research publications of the world renowned universities that lead us to believe that the Western Arab pagans occupied Islam after the death of the holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and created conflicts in Islam but this is not the subject of this article. However, the above references were quoted to establish a short preface before starting the actual article on pagan ritual “ablution” or Wudu (وضو) so that the readers will judge and determine by themselves why and where the actual mistake took place and what was the purpose of incorporating all pagan rituals into Islam by inventing misleading interpretation of the Quran backed by the forged traditions that were falsely attributed to the Prophet of Islam (pbuh).

Until 630, AD, Muslims had no control over Makkans and even were stopped by pagans from going to Makkah till a year before. The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) hardly lived about one and half year after conquering Makkah and he died on June 8, 632 AD, in Medina, Saudi Arabia. How was it possible that each single person from the Quraysh and their big alliance tribes had accepted Islam in just one and half years after conquering Makkah? It is not even possible that those who had been fighting with the Prophet (pbuh) throughout his life were converted to Islam after the death of the Prophet (pbuh) because their fight was not with the Prophet (pbuh) but in fact with Islam and with the orders of Allah that were revealed in the Quran. Except the Quran all Islamic sources are quiet on the question of where these pagans have gone in such a short period? When our scholars say that Allah willed them to become Muslim then another question arises. Why did Allah not will for them to revert to Islam before, when Allah’s dearest Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was struggling day and night and eventually forced to migrate? There is no answer except assuming that Allah wanted to give a really hard time to His Prophet (pbuh).

I believe we Muslims must grow up now and face the reality that the current Islam is the modern shape of the paganism of Dark Age so that we can revert to the actual Islam that was brought by the Quran alone and not by the pagan traditions, which were already in place when the Quran was revealed and the Prophet (pbuh) came to abolish all traditions and all religions in which mankind was shackled with strong iron chains.

When the polytheist pagans occupied Islam first of all they replaced Quranic “صلاۃ” Salaah with the 5 times a day pagan prayer (Namaz) because they were afraid of the Quranic صلاۃ (Salaah) that had defeated them. Then they replaced the Quranic “صوم” Sawom with their dawn to dusk hunger fast which they used to dedicate to their Moon deity “شھررمضان” (Shahar Ramadan). Likewise, they replaced the Quranic “زکوۃ” Zakat with the annual charity in the name of Moon god.

The same practice was known as “رام دان” Ram Dan that was found in the ancient Hindu culture prevailed all across Indian subcontinent and throughout the Middle East. They replaced the Quranic Hajj from broadcasting Allah’s message to circumambulation around their idols that was an act of moving around so called sacred idols in Pre-Islam paganism, which is still an integral part of the devotional practice of Hindus and Buddhists that is known as pradakśina, in which circumambulation of temples or deity images is performed. Wudu “وضو” (ablution) was also a pagan practice before going to worship or before offering prayers in front of idols and kind of a similar procedure of ablution is found in other polytheist religions.

The articles are linked here:

ABLUTION “وضو” (WUDU) – CORRECT TRANSLATION OF QURANIC VERSES 4:43 & 5:6 CONFIRMS THAT OUR SCHOLARS LIED IN THE TRANSLATION OF THESE VERSES.

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

PART 4

PART 5

PART 6

PART 7

PART 8

PART 9

According to Dr Kashif Khan, the correct translation of Quranic verse 4:43 is as follows.

" يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ لاَ تَقْرَبُواْ الصَّلاَةَ وَأَنتُمْ سُكَارَى حَتَّى تَعْلَمُواْ مَا تَقُولُونَ وَلاَ جُنُبًا إِلاَّ عَابِرِي سَبِيلٍ حَتَّى تَغْتَسِلُواْ وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَى أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَاءَ أَحَدٌ مِّنكُم مِّنَ الْغَآئِطِ أَوْ لاَمَسْتُمُ النِّسَاءَ فَلَمْ تَجِدُواْ مَاءً فَتَيَمَّمُواْ صَعِيدًا طَيِّبًا فَامْسَحُواْ بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُمْ إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ عَفُوًّا غَفُورًا" (4:43)

O those who are adherents you do not not express love/you do not care/you do not get near the relationship and you get lost/stuck until you come to know what is wrong/fabricated and no prevention/put away/set aside except a painful crying passage/a distressing way/a killing path/a suffering course/a hurting crossway until you make yourselves right and that is done willingly or on a settlement or any of yourselves reaches from the calmness or the women have realized/felt/noticed then could not restore their matters so, in fact, guide them turn good, indeed comply with yourselves and your associates while God has been a lenient forgiving/an indulgent overlooking.

According to him, this is 100% word to word correct translation of Quranic verse 4:43