[Colorostikse]

Now the point which has been raised is that a lot of these translation refer to imamin mubeenin as 'clear record/book'
The translation by Ali Quli Qara'i seems to point to an imam?

Any ideas why there is a difference an arab speaking Iraqi brother has bought this to my attention and convinced that the 'clear record' translation is completely wrong and states the translation by Ali Quli Qara'i is closest to the true meaning.

Assalaamu'alaikum,

With all due respect, simply because this Iraqi brother speaks Arabic does not in any way make him an authority on interpreting the Qur'an. One may look at the word in arabic and the actual word used is 'imam', so one may think this is what the verse refers to, but there are so many references in the Qur'an where something a layman may regard as meaning a certain thing means something completely different.

In tafsir al jalalayn it is translated as 'a clear register' which is explained again as referring to the Preserved Tablet (al lawh al Mahfuz)

And as was mentioned earlier in the thread, tafsir ibn Kathir has examples of where this phrase has been used elsewhere.

Wallahu a'lam