حلقات الذكر

05:08 May 21, 2020 

The decision to use or not to use the word always is the prerogative of the writer (in this case, the translator). More to the point, M-W does not say that "dhikr" is the correct translation of الذكر. It is the translator's prerogative to make this judgment -- and then make another judgment the next time the same word appears, depending on the context and the translation's target readership. In the context we have, my judgment (and yours) is that Doaa is best advised to use "dhikr." my additional advice is that if she wants to use a word that makes the meaning accessible to the English-language reader, she should (1) avoid "remembrance" and (2) try "invocation" for size because invocation is the meaning of the word as it appears in most instances in the Quran.

This is a roundabout way of saying that "dhikr" is right, but not because it is listed in M-W.

What about English-language scholarly works on Islam? To me such works are a minefield, especially with regards to terminology. I hinted to Orientalist bias, but that is not the only problem. Many scholars of Islam have good intentions but not the right approach to terminology.

I'd better stop here. This has gone far enough.

04:40 May 21, 2020 

And now on to M-W:

Merriam-Webster's defines "dhikr" as "the ritual formula of a Sufi brotherhood recited devotionally in praise of Allah and as a means of attaining ecstatic experience."

I have much to quarrel with in this definition, but regardless of how much I would change the definition, the mere listing of "dhikr" in M-W does not offend. And yet, I would not rely on the mere listing of "dhikr" as proof that this is how we should render الذكر in English. Let's delve deeper.

Merriam-Webster's, like most current dictionaries, is a descriptive lexical reference, not a prescriptive one. When the editorial board decides to include a word and give it a definition, they editors do not claim to give the word or its definition an imprimatur of legitimacy. All they claim is that, based on statistical data, the word has attained such a level of currency that a learned reader should expect to find it in a standard reference work. Applied to "dhikr," all they are saying is that "dhikr" has been used with such frequency as to be part of the today's language. The board does not arrogate to itself the function of legitimating the word. (to be continued)

18:57 May 20, 2020 

On "remembrance" continued:

I realize now that by placing "invocation" in the answer box, I gave it prominence that was not intended. So, if Doaa is still reading, here is what I meant: I find "Dhikr" acceptable as a translation of الذكر, but if you are inclined against a romanized phonetic rendition, then "invocation" is the only word I can think of to bring out the meaning behind the الذكر. No matter which term you choose, please avoid "remembrance." Thank you, Doaa.

Back to instances of ذكر الله in the Quran. Four of the 39 instances I counted had a slightly different meaning from verbal invocation:

البقرة، الآية 152: فاذكروني أذكركم

البقرة، الآية 200: فاذكروا الله كذكركم آباءكم أو أشدّ ذكرا

النور، الآية 37: رجال لا تلهيهم تجارة ولا بيع عن ذكر الله

المنافقون، الآية 9: يا أيها الذين آمنوا لا تلهكم أموالكم ولا أولادكم عن ذكر الله

In these instances, the faithful are being exhorted to keep their minds focused on God. Verbal invocation is not expressly excluded, but the point is to be mentally focused on God rather than being overtaken by worldly distractions.

The two concepts of Invoking God and keeping God in mind clearly overlap but can be distinguished in each instance.

18:22 May 20, 2020 

Let me first continue my thoughts re "remembrance," and then I will address Orientalist bias.

On "remembrance": Although the Sufi practice of الذكر, especially in its late and fanciful manifestations, including richly decorative singing (e.g., Naqshabandi), as well as dancing, is not conterminous with the basic Quranic notion of ذكر الله, it is nonetheless a direct, if extravagant, development thereof. It is rooted in the same notion in the sense that no Sufi practitioner would be able to justify the Sufi practice without reference to the Quranic notion of ذكر الله.

I have counted 39 instance of ذكر الله in the Quran (there may be more), none of which would make any sense of translated to "remembrance." The overwhelming majority are exhortations to invoke God, even aloud, as a pious practice. The idea is to keep the awareness of God constantly alive by frequently invoking Him. Indeed, the Sufi practice consists of a repetitive invocation of divine attributes. That is why I suggested "invocation" as a translation in case Doaa's purpose of posting her question was mainly to find an English word to replace "Dhikr." Perhaps I should not have placed it in the answer box.

17:10 May 20, 2020 

@Fuad Yahya Thanks for your feedback. Very fair points! You're right, you did say it was justifiable and made basically the same point as me. I just meant I would settle on a different translation than the one you put in the heading. My mistake.

If you're inclined avoid relying on M-W or Islamic studies sources because of Orientalist biases (understandable), I'm wondering what English texts you may align more with. I mean, one could argue that most of the English corpus on Islamic topics is Orientalist to a degree. That's an earnest question as I'd love to expand my perspective.

16:50 May 20, 2020 

I am very pleased to receive your comment. I am also somewhat bemused, because your suggestion re الذكر is identical with my very first point: using a Romanized phonetic rendition, such as Dhikr, would be quite justifiable.

My reasoning is somewhat different from yours. I am not one who gives much deference to what is listed as a legitimate English word in M-W, especially words denoting concepts related to the Islamic tradition. The same goes for "Islamic studies" books, whether written by Orientalists or by modern Muslim writers writing in English (who often defer to Orientalists in their choice of terminology).

In this case, however, M-W happens to be correct. The Arabic word ذكر in this context refers to a type of service that is unique in many aspects of its traditional practices and its cultural associations that the traditional word used in Arabic could justifiably be used in a Romanized form in an English-language context.

I am also gratified that you agree with me that "remembrance" misses the concept by a mile or more.

I am looking at the character counter and I see that I am fast running out of space, so I will continue the discussion in the next comment.