Islam: Empire of Faith

== TLF HALFCD Team == 时间轴/校对：RERO

真主至大，真主至大（呼唤礼拜）

在开罗，穆安津（唤拜者）呼唤虔诚的穆斯林前来礼拜。

In Cairo, a muezzin calls faithful Muslims to prayer.

同样的呼唤声，一天五次，每一天，

It's the same call that sounds five times a day, every day,

在城市各个响起。

in cities across the world.

而世上近四分之一的人响应这种呼唤。

Nearly a quarter of the people on earth respond to it,

“真主至大，真主至大”，穆安津（唤拜者）呼唤着

'God is most great' the muezzin calls.

“我作证：万物非主，唯有真主。”

'I testify there is no other god but God.'

“我作证：穆罕默德是主的使者。”

'I testify Muhammad is the messenger of God.

“快来礼拜，快来成功。”

'Come and pray. Come and flourish.

“真主至大，真主至大。”

'God is most great.

“万物非主，唯有真主。”

'There is no god but God.'

在历史演变中，

In the unfolding of history,

伊斯兰文明是人类的伟大成就之一。

Islamic civilisation has been one of humanity’s grandest achievements.

一种仅仅建立在信仰上的世界性力量，

A worldwide power founded simply on faith.

一场深刻改变了三大洲，

A spiritual revolution that would shape the nations of three continents

奠定了一个帝国基础的宗教革命。

and launch an empire.

在西方，伊斯兰历史的大部分，

For the West, much of the history of Islam has been obscured

被恐惧和误解的面纱所遮蔽，而不为人所知。

behind a veil of fear and misunderstanding.

然而隐秘的伊斯兰历史，却深深并令人惊讶的，

Yet Islam's hidden history is deeply, and surprisingly,

与西方文明交织在一起。

interwoven with Western civilisation.

是穆斯林学者让希腊的古典文化得以重生，

It was Muslim scholars who reclaimed the ancient wisdom of Greeks.

那时的欧洲在黑暗时代（指欧洲的中世纪）中日渐衰落，

while Europe languished in the Dark Ages.

是他们播撒下了文艺复兴的种子，

It was they, who sowed the seeds of the Renaissance,

早在达芬奇出生前600年。

600 years before the birth of Leonardo da Vinci.

从医疗方法，

From the way we heal the sick...

到计数方式，

to the numerals we use for counting...

世界文化藉由伊斯兰文明而发展。

cultures across the globe have been shaped by Islamic civilisation.

而这一切，起始于一个普通人的一生，

But all this, began with the life of a single, ordinary man,

他所昭示的深刻的启示将永远改变世界，

and the profound message he proclaimed would change the world forever.

他的名字是穆罕默德 （愿主福安之）。

His name was Muhammad (S.A.V.)

（FLUTE PLAYS PLAINTIYELY）

在穆斯林看来，穆罕默德的一生是一部崇敬史，

To Muslims, the life of Muhammad is a story revered.

在其中，传说和史实不相上下，

In its mysteries as much as its certainties,

这是始终神圣的信条。

there are beliefs held sacred.

无论我们怎样谈论这位先知，当然，

Whatever we can tell about the Prophet, of course,

都必须筛选出哪些是数世纪来被保留的，

is screened through the filter of what has been preserved over the centuries

而哪些是人们想保留的历史。

and what people have wanted to preserve.

抽丝剥茧是非常困难的，

It’s very difficult to pull out,

在种种同样被尊重的资料来源中，

from all these different sources that are very adoring,

还原出一个普通人。

the ordinary human being...

我们知道穆罕默德于公元570年左右，

We do know that Muhammad was born in or around 570 AD

出生在烈日炎炎的阿拉伯半岛，

in the sun-blasted Arabian peninsula.

一片蒙昧的土地。

A land of savage scarcity

当地的贝都因部落陷于持久的部落战争之中。

whose Bedouin tribes were locked in a constant state of tribal war.

在还是个婴儿的时候，

While still an infant,

穆罕默德的父母就让他初尝了沙漠生活的滋味。

Muhammad's parents gave him his first taste of life in the desert.

穆罕默德来自于一个城市，麦加，

Muhammad was from a town, Mecca,

却被送到了贝都因部落，

but he was sent off to live with the Bedouin

因为相当多的麦加人认为

because the people even the town of Mecca

贝都因人是深厚的阿拉伯价值文化体系的拥有者。

felt that the Bedouin were the holders of the deeper cultural Arab values.

而贝都因人则认为城里人

and the Bedouin view the towns people

失去了阿拉伯文化的真正可靠的根基：

as having lost their really authentic roots in Arab culture

诗歌和游牧，

and the poetry and animal husbandry

而这些事都是贝都因人擅长的。

and all the things that they do so well.

穆罕默德六岁时，双亲都已去世，

By the time Muhammad was six, both of his parents had died

他被他的伯父，也就是族长收养。

and he was taken under the protection of his uncle, chief of his clan.

作为一个局外人，给予他一个光明的前途。

Being an outsider gave him a singular perspective.

他早早成为了孤儿，

He'd been orphaned early

这使他早早的产生了强烈的焦虑感，

and developed very early on a passionate sense of concern

对那些被社会遗弃的人。

for those who are left out of society.

作为部落社会的一个孤儿，

To be orphaned in a tribal society

宗族和家庭关系是你一切的关键，

where clan and family relationships are your keys to everything...

成功，地位，名誉，尊严，

success, status, honour, dignity...

而直面真正的需求被边缘化了。

is to face what it really feels like to be marginalised.

这显然对年轻的穆罕默德有着深深的影响。

That obviously had a very deep impression on him as a young man.

一方面来说，没有父母陪伴他成长，当然是不利的，

In some ways, it was detrimental, of course, to grow up without parents.

但就另一方面而言，他很快就适应了，

But in other ways he was so adaptable.

他有了许多家长，他有了许多“父亲”，

He had many parents. He had many fathers.

他有了许多“母亲”，他成为了每个人的孩子。

He had many mothers. So it made him a child of everybody.

穆罕默德的家族，同整个阿拉伯半岛的阿拉伯人一样，

Muhammad's clan, like Arabs all across the Arabian peninsula,

共同分享着世世代代口耳相传的故事。

would share the stories that had been told and retold for generations.

伊斯兰之前的阿拉伯文化主要是一种口头文化。

Pre Islamic Arabian civilisation was largely an oral culture

人们非常尊重和钦佩

and there was tremendous respect and admiration

那些能够用口述阐述他们自己的人，

for people who could express themselves orally,

尤其是那些出口成章的人。

especially those who could recite poetry almost at the drop of a hat.

一些部落显贵就是诗人。

Some of the most important people in a tribe were the poets.

他们歌颂部落的荣耀，讲述部落的传说。

They sang of the glory of the tribe. They told the story of the tribe.

对贝都因人而言，词句具有神秘的力量。

To the Bedouin, the word had a mystical importance.

诗人联系着部落和比记忆更久远的祖先和英名。

Poets linked the tribe to its ancestors and celebrated values older than memory.

诗歌是连接贝都因人的肌腱，

Poetry was the sinew that bound the Bedouin together,

歌颂凯旋，哀叹失利。

celebrating their victories, lamenting their defeats.

这些诗，如同荷马史诗，

The poems themselves, like the poems of Homer,

即歌颂英雄气概，

both celebrate this great heroic ethos

在骨子里，又蕴含着

and yet intimate, in the deepest way,

嗯，悲剧。

the tragedy that, um...

这种气质是频繁的部落战争带给人们的。

this war... this ethos of constant tribal warfare brings to people.

战争和冲突是危险时期的残酷事实。

Warfare and conflict were the grim realities of a dangerous time.

穆罕默德的伯父教授他生存所需的技能。

Muhammad's uncle taught him the skills he'd need to survive

在一个甚至先知也要拿起弓和箭的世界。

in a world where even a prophet would wield a bow and arrow.

在这个自然肆虐，水源匮乏的蛮荒之地，

In a wilderness punished by the elements and bereft of water,

个人恩怨可能会引起世世代代的血亲复仇。

rivalry over a single well could provoke a blood feud for generations.

真正的对抗，真实的战斗，有时相当血腥。

A real rivalry. Real battles, and sometimes quite bloody.

所以个人直接效忠的对象是家庭，

So the allegiance of individuals was the family, immediately,

大的范围上，就是对部落忠诚。

and, a larger extent, to the tribe.

失去部落的保护，没人可以坚持。

Without the tribe's protection, no one could endure.

无数分散在半岛上的派系，

Scattered across the peninsula were countless factions,

都卷入仇杀之中，

all embroiled in bitter struggles,

各自保护珍贵的牧场，商路，

each defending its precious grazing lands, trade routes

以及最重要的——水井。

and most importantly, its wells.

要知道，这里大部分地区缺水，

You have to understand that most of the lands are dry.

所以水被每个人视为珍宝。