Copyediting sample 54:
Qur’ânic exegesis

In this religious book, there are problems with accuracy of scriptural citation (according to the Nooruddîn translation of the Qur’ân), American (not British) spelling of English words, parallelism, and usage. I also needed to ensure that the salawât—“(pbuh),” which stands for “(peace be unto him),”—was inserted after every instance of Muhammad or the Holy Prophet. According to the instructions for this assignment, I needed to ensure that Arabic names and common words were transliterated according to the ‘Omar system, a modification of the UNGEGN [United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names] system (for example, salawât), not the International Journal of Middle East Studies [IJMES] system, a slight modification of the ALA-LC [American Library Association and the Library of Congress] system (for example, ṣalawāt), the system I had followed on academic jobs that included transliterations from Arabic.

Note: The two authors of this piece were not native English speakers. They very much appreciated the heavy commentary that explained my thinking behind the many suggested revisions. The highlighted comments elucidated for them many of the subtle peculiarities of American English.

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This sample is presented here with the author’s permission.

Original
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Exegesis(Tafsîr) of the Holy Qur’ân is explaining the message of the Qur'ânic verse, clarifying its import and discovering its significance. Tafsîr of the Holy Qur’ân was one of the earliest academic activities in Islam. It began with its revelation: “We have sent to you a Messenger from among yourself who recites to you Our Messages and purifies you and teaches you the Book and the wisdom and teaches you that which you did not know” (2:151). The Holy Prophet (pbuh) was himself the first exegetist. He explained and put into practice the Divine Commands. After his death, his Companions who were close to him like Abu Bakr, 'Umar, Alî, 'Uthmân, his wife 'Aisha and others, narrated how the Holy Prophet (pbuh) explained with his actions and behaviour the Qur’ânic verses and its injunctions. Later, other Companions of the Prophet (pbuh) like Ibn 'Abbas, ‘Abdullah ibn 'Umar, Ubayy ibn Ka'b took up this task. Exegetists of the Holy Qur’ân in the early days confined themselves to the explanation of literary aspects of the verse, the background of its revelation and occasional interpretation of one verse with the help of the other. This was a correct approach as the people who were listening to the Holy Words were Arabs who were well acquainted with the Arabic expressions spoken in those days and understood well what was being conveyed to them. If the verse was about historical events or contained the realities of genesis or resurrection, then sometimes a few traditions of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) were narrated to make its meaning clear. The same was the style of the disciples of the Companions like Mujâhid, Qatadah, Sha'bi, Suddî and others, who lived in the first century of Hijrah. About hundred years after the death of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), Mu'tazilî theology originated in Basra (Iraq) when Wasil ibn Atâ left the teaching sessions of Hasan al-Basrî after a theological dispute. Wasil ibn ‘Ata’, also known as al-Ghazzal, was born probably around the year 80 AH / 699 CE and died in 131 AH / 748 CE. He is considered by the Mu'tazilite biographers to be the founder of the Mu‘tazilî school. The Mu'tazilî considered themselves to be rationalists. They debated philosophical questions such as whether the Qur’ân was created or eternal, whether evil was created by God, the issue of predestination versus free will, whether God's attributes in the Qur’ân were to be interpreted allegorically or literally, and whether sinning believers would have eternal punishment in hell and many more. The Hanbali school was founded by Ahmad ibn Hambal about 80 years later (164–241 AH /780–855 CE). His views were later upheld by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhâb in his various works on theology (Wahâbi School) and are now prevalent in Saudi Arabia and most Gulf states. The Hanbali school teaches that salvation depended on believing in the apparent meanings of the Qur’ân and the Traditions. They avoided delving into extensive theological and philosophical speculation. They explained the Holy Qur’ân with the help of the Traditions ascribed to the Companions of the Holy Prophet and their disciples and disciples of the disciples. They looked into of the literary value of the words and left the verses of the Qur’ân in question simply as they are, accepting the statements just as they occurred, without applying much effort to explain or expand upon them.They argue their belief on verses such as: "We believe in it, it is all from our Lord."

Markup
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Exegesis(Tafsîr) of The exegesis (tafsîr) of the Holy Qur’ân is explaining Qur’ân involves explaining the message of the Qur'ânic Qur’ânic verse, clarifying its import and import, and discovering its significance. Tafsîr of the Holy Qur’ân was one of the earliest academic activities in Islam. It began in Islamic history; it began with its revelation with this Divine Revelation: [Is this what you mean?] “We have sent to you a Messenger a great Messenger [I have edited all quotations from the Qur’ân to conform to the Nooruddîn translation (according to the assignment instructions); sometimes this involves quite a bit of revision from the original manuscript (the Yusuf Ali translation?)] from among yourself who among yourselves who recites to you Our Messages and purifies you and teaches you the Book and the wisdom and teaches you that which you you what you did not know” (2:151). The Holy Prophet (pbuh) was himself the first exegetist. He first exegete. He explained and put into practice the Divine Commands. After his death, his Companions who were close Companions—those close to him like Abu Bakr, 'Umar, Alî, 'Uthmân, his him, such as Abû Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Alî, ‘Uthmân, his wife 'Aisha and others, narrated wife ‘A’ishah, and others—narrated how the Holy Prophet (pbuh) explained with his actions and behaviour the and behavior [American, rather than British, spelling for publishers in the U.S.] the Qur’ânic verses and its injunctions and their injunctions. Later, other Companions of the Prophet (pbuh) like Ibn 'Abbas, ‘Abdullah ibn 'Umar, Ubayy (pbuh)—such as Ibn ‘Abbâs, ‘Abd Allâh, ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar, Ubayy ibn Ka'b took ibn Ka‘b—took up this task. Exegetists of In these early days, exegetes of the Holy Qur’ân in the early days confined Qur’ân confined themselves to the explanation of literary to explaining the literary aspects of the verse of each verse, the background of its revelation and occasional interpretation of one verse with the help of the other. This of another. This was a correct approach as the a suitable approach, since the people who were listening to the Holy Words were Arabs who Arabs, who were well acquainted with the Arabic expressions spoken in those days and understood well what was being conveyed to them. If the verse was about historical verse concerned historical events or contained the realities of genesis contained such concepts as genesis or resurrection, then sometimes a few traditions of few Traditions of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) were narrated to were needed to make its meaning clear. The same was the clear. This was also the style of the disciples of the Companions like Mujâhid Companions—such as Mujâhid, Qatadah, Sha'bi, Suddî and Qatadah, Sha‘bi, Suddî, and others, who others—who lived in the first century of Hijrah. About hundred years after the death of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), Mu'tazilî theology Mu‘tazilî theology originated in Basra (Iraq) when Wasil ibn Atâ left in Basrah [This is the official transliteration for this well-known city. Is it OK?] (Iraq) about a hundred years after the death of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), when Wâsil ibn ‘Atâ’ left the teaching sessions of Hasan al-Basrî after a theological dispute. Wasil ibn dispute. Wâsil ibn ‘Ata’, also known as al-Ghazzal, was born probably around the year 80 AH / 699 CE and died in 131 AH / 748 CE. He is considered by the Mu'tazilite biographers the Mu‘tazî biographers to be the founder of the Mu‘tazilî school of their school. The Mu'tazilî considered The Mu‘tazilî considered themselves to be rationalists. They debated philosophical questions such as debated such philosophical questions [I rearranged these philosophical questions more logically, and made each conform to the "whether ... or" structure] as whether the Qur’ân was created or eternal, whether evil was created by God, the issue of predestination versus free will, whether God's attributes in the Qur’ân were to be interpreted allegorically or literally, and whether sinning believers would have eternal punishment in hell and many more ["and many more" is unnecessary after "such as" (or "for example"), which introduces an inclusive rather than an exclusive list] eternal, whether God’s Attributes in the Qur’ân were to be interpreted allegorically or literally, whether humans had free will or their fate was predestined, whether evil had been created by God, and whether sinning believers would have eternal punishment in hell. The Hanbali school was founded by Ahmad ibn Hambal about 80 years later (164–241 AH /780–855 CE). His Hambal (164–241 AH / 780–855 CE) about eighty years later. His views were later upheld by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhâb ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhâb in his various works on theology (Wahâbi School) and theology (the Wahâbi school) and are now prevalent in Saudi Arabia and most Gulf states. The Hanbali school teaches that salvation depended on believing that one’s salvation depends on his believing in the apparent meanings of the Qur’ân and the Traditions. They avoided delving Traditions. It avoids delving into extensive theological and philosophical speculation. They explained the speculation. This school explains the Holy Qur’ân with the help of the Traditions ascribed to the Companions of the Holy Prophet and their Prophet (pbuh), their disciples and disciples disciples, and the disciples of the disciples. They looked into of the literary disciples. It looks only into the literary value of the words and left the verses words, and it leaves any questionable verses of the Qur’ân in question simply Qur’ân simply as they are, accepting the statements just as they occurred, without applying much without extending much effort to explain or expand upon them.They argue their them. [Is this your meaning?] Its adherents defend their belief on verses such as: "We believe belief with such verses as: “We believe in it, it is all from all [the basic and decisive verses as well as the allegorical ones] [Here is an example of my use of square brackets: [xxxx], rather than the ( -xxxxx), with that hyphen, that the Nooruddin has and which seems obscure to the reader.... This kind of inserted text within the verse is to provide an explanation (not an elaboration, which the curved parentheses enclose) for a term... in this case, the word all] from our Lord." Lord.”

Result
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The exegesis (tafsîr) of the Holy Qur’ân involves explaining the message of the Qur’ânic verse, clarifying its import, and discovering its significance. Tafsîr of the Holy Qur’ân was one of the earliest academic activities in Islamic history; it began with this Divine Revelation: “We have sent to you a great Messenger from among yourselves who recites to you Our Messages and purifies you and teaches you the Book and the wisdom and teaches you what you did not know” (2:151). The Holy Prophet (pbuh) was himself the first exegete. He explained and put into practice the Divine Commands. After his death, his Companions—those close to him, such as Abû Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Alî, ‘Uthmân, his wife ‘A’ishah, and others—narrated how the Holy Prophet (pbuh) explained with his actions and behavior the Qur’ânic verses and their injunctions. Later, other Companions of the Prophet (pbuh)—such as Ibn ‘Abbâs, ‘Abd Allâh, ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar, Ubayy ibn Ka‘b—took up this task. In these early days, exegetes of the Holy Qur’ân confined themselves to explaining the literary aspects of each verse, the background of its revelation and occasional interpretation of one verse with the help of another. This was a suitable approach, since the people who were listening to the Holy Words were Arabs, who were well acquainted with the Arabic expressions spoken in those days and understood well what was being conveyed to them. If the verse concerned historical events or contained such concepts as genesis or resurrection, then sometimes a few Traditions of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) were needed to make its meaning clear. This was also the style of the disciples of the Companions—such as Mujâhid, Qatadah, Sha‘bi, Suddî, and others—who lived in the first century of Hijrah. Mu‘tazilî theology originated in Basrah (Iraq) about a hundred years after the death of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), when Wâsil ibn ‘Atâ’ left the teaching sessions of Hasan al-Basrî after a theological dispute. Wâsil ibn ‘Ata’, also known as al-Ghazzal, was born probably around the year 80 AH / 699 CE and died in 131 AH / 748 CE. He is considered by the Mu‘tazî biographers to be the founder of their school. The Mu‘tazilî considered themselves to be rationalists. They debated such philosophical questions as whether the Qur’ân was created or eternal, whether God’s Attributes in the Qur’ân were to be interpreted allegorically or literally, whether humans had free will or their fate was predestined, whether evil had been created by God, and whether sinning believers would have eternal punishment in hell. The Hanbali school was founded by Ahmad ibn Hambal (164–241 AH / 780–855 CE) about eighty years later. His views were later upheld by Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhâb in his various works on theology (the Wahâbi school) and are now prevalent in Saudi Arabia and most Gulf states. The Hanbali school teaches that one’s salvation depends on his believing in the apparent meanings of the Qur’ân and the Traditions. It avoids delving into extensive theological and philosophical speculation. This school explains the Holy Qur’ân with the help of the Traditions ascribed to the Companions of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), their disciples, and the disciples of the disciples. It looks only into the literary value of the words, and it leaves any questionable verses of the Qur’ân simply as they are, accepting the statements just as they occurred, without extending much effort to explain or expand upon them. Its adherents defend their belief with such verses as: “We believe in it, it is all [the basic and decisive verses as well as the allegorical ones] from our Lord.”