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What is the exact text of Quran Surah 9:29 in English translation?
Executive Summary
The analyses agree that English renderings of Quran Surah 9:29 vary by translator but converge on a core instruction about fighting certain People of the Book until they pay jizyah and are subdued; the frequently cited Sahih International wording is representative of this cluster of translations [1] [2] [3]. The key disputes in modern discussion revolve around precise wording (choice of terms like “fight,” “jizyah,” “humbled/subdued”), the historical context of Tabuk cited by commentators, and how translators’ theological or methodological commitments shape English phrasing [2] [4]. This report extracts the main claims in the provided analyses, catalogs translation variants they present, and compares scholarly and editorial perspectives with dates where available to show how recent summaries characterize the verse and its contested meanings [5] [2].
1. The Straight Quote Claim: Translators Converge on a Core English Text
All analyses supplied locate a recurring English formulation of 9:29 that begins “Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day…” and ends with a requirement that they give jizyah and be humbled or subdued. The Sahih International text is cited repeatedly as a concise, commonly referenced modern English rendering, and longer classical translations (Yusuf Ali, Pickthall, Muhsin Khan, Maududi, Abdel Haleem) are listed to show modest lexical and syntactic variation [1] [2]. The sources treat the Sahih International line as representative while acknowledging other translators render key terms—especially “jizyah” and “humbled/subdued”—in different registers, affecting perceived force or legal implication of the verse [2].
2. Context Matters: Historical Backdrop and Classical Tafsir
Analyses emphasize the verse’s classical exegesis locating the revelation in the campaign of Tabuk and addressing relationships between the early Muslim polity and “People of the Book.” Several commentaries and modern summaries treat the verse as both prescriptive and tied to a specific historical confrontation; this contextualization is used to explain why scholars read the command as bounded by wartime or treaty conditions rather than as an abstract eternal injunction [3] [4]. The sources show that historical situating is central to how translators and exegetes choose terms: a translation stressing a wartime context may render the clause less universal, while a textualist translation may present the line more universally without situational framing [3].
3. Variant English Renderings and What They Signal
The provided catalog of translations demonstrates consistent core meaning but notable lexical choices. Yusuf Ali uses older English idiom (“feel themselves subdued”), Pickthall and Maududi favor slightly different phrasing for “tribute” or “jizyah,” and Abdel Haleem and others soften legal framing by translating jizyah as a form of tax or submission [2]. These differences are not trivial: word choice changes perceived intent—“fight” vs. “wage war,” “jizyah” vs. “tax,” “humbled” vs. “subdued/ brought low”—and signal translators’ interpretive frameworks (traditionalist, modern contextualist, or academic). The analyses treat these variants as evidence that there is no single “exact” English text, only competing translations that reflect differing scholarly priorities [1] [2].
4. Scholarly Disagreements Highlight Translation Limits and Debates
The summaries point to ongoing debates about the verse’s scope and legal implications: whether the instruction is general or context-specific, whether jizyah is a purely fiscal arrangement or a marker of political subordination, and how to render Arabic conjunctions and verbs that carry multiple meanings. Islam Stack Exchange commentary and contemporary syntheses cited in the analyses stress that classical jurists and modern scholars diverge on application and interpretation, making translation a secondary locus of larger hermeneutical disputes [4] [6]. The presence of tafsir-based readings in the sources underscores that translation choices often follow prior jurisprudential or theological commitments [4].
5. Recent Summaries and Editorial Dates: What Changed by 2025
Among the analyses, one source is explicitly dated July 15, 2025 (Wikipedia summary) and another dated 2023 (myislam.org compilation), while other entries lack dates but are presented as contemporary commentary [5] [2] [1]. The most recent item (p2_s1, dated 2025-07-15) largely reiterates the consensus wording and notes the translation plurality; the 2023 compilation catalogs translations and tafsir notes, showing continuity rather than radical revision over recent years [2]. The available materials indicate no single recent upheaval in textual rendering; instead, contemporary discourse has continued to focus on context, translator stance, and legal-theological implications rather than on changing the basic English formulations presented across sources [2] [5].