Page 141 - Pure Life 08

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175 An Explanatory Model of Word Selection in the Translation of the Holy Quran

The word iyyâka is a pronoun which means
'you', always used as the subject of a sentence, like
'Thou' in English. According to the Arabic syntax,
when the object of the verb precedes its subject, in
that language, the meaning of exclusiveness is
understood. But since exclusiveness just implied
from the position of the word, not in essence of the

word, so it seems more appropriate to be.
Here, the word iyyâka has preceded twice in the
verses, first na'budu and second nasta'inu which
indicates exclusiveness of whom is worshiped and
whom is asked for help. And since the sense of
exclusiveness is just implied by the syntax of
Arabic Language– as an object that preceded the
verb– so, as it has already mentioned, it has to be
enclosed by bracket.
By the way, the word 'only' is more suitable to
exclusiveness of worshiping and asking for help
from God, than other choices, like the word 'alone'
which indicates the oneness of God more than the
exclusiveness of our action. And other equivalents
are much farther than 'alone'.
The verb na’budu derived from the root 'a-b-d',
which has two philological forms in Arabic
language:
ibâdah and ubûdiyyah, and both are possible.
However to know the meaning of the word in this
language, it is necessary sometimes to check the root,
and sometime check the plural form of the word.