Qur'an translations
Encyclopedia
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
in languages other than Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
. Though translation of the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
is theologically problematic in Islam, it has been translated into most African, Asian and European languages.
The first complete translation of the Qur'an was completed in 884 CE
884
Year 884 was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* March 1 – Diego Rodríguez Porcelos founds and repopulates Burgos....
in Alwar (currently known as Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
) by the orders of Abdullah bin Umar bin Abdul Aziz on the request of the Hindu Raja Mehruk.
Islamic theology
Translation of the Qur'an has always been a problematic and difficult issue in Islamic theology. Since Muslims revere the Qur'an as miraculous and inimitable (i'jaz al-Qur'an), they argue that the Qur'anic text cannot be reproduced in another language or form. Furthermore, an Arabic word, like a Hebrew or Aramaic word, may have a range of meaningsPolysemy
Polysemy is the capacity for a sign or signs to have multiple meanings , i.e., a large semantic field.Charles Fillmore and Beryl Atkins’ definition stipulates three elements: the various senses of a polysemous word have a central origin, the links between these senses form a network, and ...
depending on the context - a feature present in all Semitic languages, when compared to the moderately analytic English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Latin, and Romance languages - making an accurate translation even more difficult.
According to modern Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic theology, the Qur'an is a revelation
Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing, through active or passive communication with a supernatural or a divine entity...
very specifically in Arabic, and so it should only be recited in the Arabic language. Translations into other languages are necessarily the work of humans and so, according to Muslims, no longer possess the uniquely sacred character of the Arabic original. Since these translations necessarily subtly change the meaning, they are often called "interpretations." For instance, Pickthall
Marmaduke Pickthall
Marmaduke Pickthall was a Western Islamic scholar, noted as an English translator of the Qur'an into English. A convert from Christianity, Pickthall was a novelist, esteemed by D. H. Lawrence, H. G. Wells, and E. M. Forster, as well as a journalist, headmaster, and political and religious leader...
called his translation The Meaning of the Glorious Koran rather than simply The Koran.
The task of translation is not an easy one; some native Arab-speakers will confirm that some Qur'anic passages are difficult to understand even in the original Arabic. A part of this is the innate difficulty of any translation; in Arabic, as in other languages, a single word can have a variety of meanings. There is always an element of human judgment involved in understanding and translating a text. This factor is made more complex by the fact that the usage of words has changed a great deal between classical and modern Arabic. As a result, even Qur'anic verses which seem perfectly clear to native speakers accustomed to modern vocabulary and usage may not represent the original meaning of the verse.
The original meaning of a Qur'anic passage will also be dependent on the historical circumstances of the prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
's life and early community in which it originated. Investigating that context usually requires a detailed knowledge of Hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
and Sirah, which are themselves vast and complex texts. This introduces an additional element of uncertainty which can not be eliminated by any linguistic rules of translation.
History
The first translation of the Qur'an was performed by Salman the PersianSalman the Persian
Salman the Persian or Salman al Farisi was one of Muhammad's companions.During some of his later meetings with the other Sahaba, he was referred to as Abu Abdullah .-Birth place:...
, who translated Surah
Sura
A sura is a division of the Qur'an, often referred to as a chapter. The term chapter is sometimes avoided, as the suras are of unequal length; the shortest sura has only three ayat while the longest contains 286 ayat...
al-Fatihah into the Persian language
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
during the early 8th century. According to Islamic tradition contained in the hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
, Emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
Negus of Abyssinia
Ethiopian Empire
The Ethiopian Empire also known as Abyssinia, covered a geographical area that the present-day northern half of Ethiopia and Eritrea covers, and included in its peripheries Zeila, Djibouti, Yemen and Western Saudi Arabia...
and Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
Emperor Heraclius
Heraclius
Heraclius was Byzantine Emperor from 610 to 641.He was responsible for introducing Greek as the empire's official language. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, successfully led a revolt against the unpopular usurper Phocas.Heraclius'...
received letters from Muhammad containing verses from the Qur'an. However, during Muhammad's lifetime, no passage from the Koran was ever translated in to these languages nor any other.
The first ever complete translation of the Qur'an was in Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
in India by Shah Waliullah
Shah Waliullah
Shah Waliullah Muhaddith Dehlvi was an Islamic scholar and reformer. He was born during the reign of Aurangzeb. He worked for the revival of Muslim rule and intellectual learning in South Asia, during a time of waning Muslim power...
. His sons Shah Rafiuddin and Shah Abdul Qadir
Shah Abdul Qadir
Abdul Qadir Saheb Raipuri was a Pakistani Islamic scholar.-Childhood and Education:Maulana Abdul Qadir Saheb was born in the house of Hafiz Ahmad Saheb in 1295 Hijri in district of Sarghoda . The father of Raipuri belonged to a religious and knowledgeable family. Raipuri became a hafiz of the Quran...
translated the Qur'an into the Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
language.
In 1936, translations in 102 languages were known.
Latin
Robertus KetenensisRobert of Ketton
Robert of Ketton was an English medieval theologian, astronomer and Arabist.Ketton, where Robert was either born or perhaps first took holy orders, is a small village in Rutland, a few miles from Stamford.Robert is believed to have been educated at the Cathedral School of Paris...
produced the first Latin translation of the Qur'an in 1143. His version was entitled Lex Mahumet pseudoprophete
Lex Mahumet pseudoprophete
Lex Mahumet pseudoprophete is the translation of the Qur'an into Latin by Robert of Ketton...
("The law of Mahomet
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
the false prophet"). The translation was made at the behest of Peter the Venerable
Peter the Venerable
Peter the Venerable , also known as Peter of Montboissier, abbot of the Benedictine abbey of Cluny, born to Blessed Raingarde in Auvergne, France. He has been honored as a saint but has never been formally canonized.-Life:Peter was "Dedicated to God" at birth and given to the monastery at...
, abbot of Cluny
Abbot of Cluny
The Abbot of Cluny was the head of the powerful monastery of Cluny Abbey in medieval France. The following is a list.-List of abbots:-References:...
, and currently exists in the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal in Paris. According to modern scholars, the translation tended to "exaggerate harmless text to give it a nasty or licentious sting" and preferred improbable and unpleasant meanings over likely and decent ones. Ketenensis' work was republished in 1543 in three editions by Theodor Bibliander at Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
along with Cluni corpus and other Christian propaganda. All editions contained a preface by Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
. Many later European "translations" of the Qur'an merely translated Ketenensis' Latin version into their own language, as opposed to translating the Qur'an directly from Arabic. As a result early European translations of the Qur'an were erroneous and distorted.
Ludovico Marracci, a confessor to Pope Innocent XI
Pope Innocent XI
Blessed Pope Innocent XI , born Benedetto Odescalchi, was Pope from 1676 to 1689.-Early life:Benedetto Odescalchi was born at Como in 1611 , the son of a Como nobleman, Livio Odescalchi, and Paola Castelli Giovanelli from Gandino...
, issued a second Latin translation in 1698. The introductory volume contained an essay titled "Refutation of the Qur'an". This version selectively quoted commentaries to the Qur'an to give the most negative image possible. Marraci himself stated that he aimed to discredit Islam. Marraci's translation too became the source of other European translations (one in France by Savory, and one in German by Nerreter). These later translations were quite inauthentic, and one even claimed to be published in Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
in 1165 AH.
Modern languages
The first translation in a modern European language was in ItalianItalian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, 1547 by Andrea Arrivabene, derived from Ketenensis'. The Italian translation was used to derive the first German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
translation Solomon Schweigger in 1616 in Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
, which in turn was used to derive the first Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
translation in 1641.
The first French translation came out in 1647, and again in 1775, issued by André du Ryer
Andre du Ryer
André Du Ryer was a French orientalist who wrote the third western translation of the Qur'an.-Works:* Grammaire turque * Gulistan, ou l'empire des roses * L'Alcoran de Mahomet -External links:...
. The Ryer translation also fathered many retranslations, most notably an English version by Alexander Ross
Alexander Ross (writer)
Alexander Ross was a prolific Scottish writer and controversialist. He was Chaplain-in-Ordinary to Charles I.-Life:He was born in Aberdeen, and entered King's College, Aberdeen, in 1604. About 1616 he succeeded Thomas Parker in the mastership of the free school at Southampton, an appointment which...
in 1649. Ross' version was used to derive several others: a Dutch version by Glazemaker, a German version by Lange and two Russian versions by Postnikov and Veryovkin.
Spanish
There are four complete translations of the Qur'an in Spanish that are commonly available.- Julio Cortes translation 'El Coran' is widely available in North America, being published by New York-based Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an publishing house.
- Ahmed Abboud and Rafael Castellanos, two converts to Islam of Argentine origin, published 'El Sagrado Coran' (El Nilo, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1953).
- Kamal Mustafa Hallak fine deluxe Hardback print 'El Coran Sagrado' is printed by Maryland based Amana Publications.
- Abdel Ghani Melara Navio a Spaniard who converted to Islam in 1979, his 'Traduccion-Comentario Del Noble Coran' was originally published by Darussalam Publications, Riyadh, in December 1997. The King Fahd Printing Complex has their own version of this translation, with editing by Omar Kaddoura and Isa Amer Quevedo.
English
- This is a sub-article to English translations of the QuranEnglish translations of the Quran-Early translations:The earliest known translation of the Qur'an into the English Language was The Alcoran of Mahomet in 1649 by Alexander Ross, chaplain to King Charles I. This, however, was a translation of the French work L'Alcoran de Mahomet by the Sieur du Ryer, Lord of Malezair...
.
The earliest known translation of the Qur'an in any European language was the Latin works by Robert of Ketton
Robert of Ketton
Robert of Ketton was an English medieval theologian, astronomer and Arabist.Ketton, where Robert was either born or perhaps first took holy orders, is a small village in Rutland, a few miles from Stamford.Robert is believed to have been educated at the Cathedral School of Paris...
at the behest of the Abbot of Cluny
Abbot of Cluny
The Abbot of Cluny was the head of the powerful monastery of Cluny Abbey in medieval France. The following is a list.-List of abbots:-References:...
in c.1143. As Latin was the language of the church it never sought to question what would now be regarded as blatant inaccuracies in this translation which remained the only one until 1649 when the first English language translation was done by Alexander Ross, chaplain to King Charles I, who translated from a French work L'Alcoran de Mahomet by du Ryer. In 1734, George Sale
George Sale
George Sale was an Orientalist and practising solicitor, best known for his 1734 translation of the Qur'an into English. He was also author of The General Dictionary, in ten volumes, folio....
produced the first translation of the Qur'an direct from Arabic into English but reflecting his missionary stance. Since then, there have been English translation by the clergyman John Rodwell
John Medows Rodwell
John Medows Rodwell was a friend of Charles Darwin while both matriculated at Cambridge. He became an English clergyman of the Church of England and a Non-Muslim Islamic scholar. He served as Rector of St.Peter's, Saffron Hill, London 1836-43 and Rector of St Ethelburga's, Bishopsgate, London...
in 1861, E.H. Palmer in 1880, both show in their works a number of mistakes of mistranslation and misinterpretation, which brings into question their primary aim. Followed by Richard Bell
Richard Bell (Arabist)
Richard Bell was a British Arabist at the University of Edinburgh. Between 1937 and 1939 he published a translation of the Qur'an, and in 1953 his Introduction to the Qur'an was published Richard Bell (1876–1952) was a British Arabist at the University of Edinburgh. Between 1937 and 1939 he...
in 1937 and Arthur John Arberry
Arthur John Arberry
Arthur John Arberry was a respected British orientalist. A most prolific scholar of Arabic, Persian, and Islamic studies, he was educated at Portsmouth Grammar School and Pembroke College, Cambridge...
in the 1950s.
The Qur'an (1910) by Dr. Mirza Abul Fazl
Mirza Abul Fazl
Abul Fazl, Mirza , , was a native of Allahabad, India. Among the contemporary Muslim scholars Dr Mirza Abul Fazl, learned in Arabic and Sanskrit, was a pioneer who took interest in the study of the chronological order of the Qur`an and invited the attention of Muslim scholars towards its...
Arabic Text and English Translation Arranged Chronologically. Mirza Abul Fazl (1865–1956) was a native of Allahabad
Allahabad
Allahabad , or Settled by God in Persian, is a major city of India and is one of the main holy cities of Hinduism. It was renamed by the Mughals from the ancient name of Prayaga , and is by some accounts the second-oldest city in India. It is located in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh,...
, India. He was the first Muslim to present a translation of the Qur'an in to English along with the original Arabic text. Among the contemporary Muslim scholars Dr. Mirza Abul Fazl was a pioneer who took interest in the study of the chronological order of the Qur'an and invited the attention of Muslim scholars towards its importance.
With the increasing population of English-speaking Muslims at the turn of the 20th century, three Muslim translations of the Qur'an into English made their first appearance. Maulana Muhammad Ali
Maulana Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali was a Pakistani writer, scholar, and leading figure of the Ahmadiyya Movement.-Biography:Ali was born in Punjab, British India, in 1874. He obtained an English and Law in 1899...
's 1917 translation (but is from a Qadiani
Qadiani
Qadiani is a term, with pejorative connotations, used by Sunnis to refer to the minority Ahmadiyya, primarily in Pakistan...
or Ahmadiyya
Ahmadiyya
Ahmadiyya is an Islamic religious revivalist movement founded in India near the end of the 19th century, originating with the life and teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad , who claimed to have fulfilled the prophecies about the world reformer of the end times, who was to herald the Eschaton as...
perspective rejected by vast majority of Muslims. This was followed in 1930 by English convert to Islam, Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall's translation which is a literal and perhaps the most accurate. Soon thereafter in 1934, Abdullah Yusuf Ali
Abdullah Yusuf Ali
Hafiz Abdullah Yusuf Ali, CBE, FRSL was an Indian Islamic scholar who translated the Qur'an into English. His translation of the Qur'an is one of the most widely-known and used in the English-speaking world....
published his much more expansive translation, featuring extensive explanatory footnotes to supplement the main text of the translation.
With few new English translations over the 1950–1980 period, these three Muslim translations were to flourish and cement reputations that were to ensure their survival into the 21st century, finding favor among readers often in newly revised updated editions. Orientalist Arthur Arberry's translation circa 1955 and native Iraqi Jew N.J. Dawood's unorthodox translation circa 1956 were to be the only major works to appear in the post-war period.
Dr. Syed Abdul Latif's translation published in 1967, regarded highly by some (he was a professor of English at Osmania University
Osmania University
Osmania University , , since 1918, is a public university located in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established and named after the last Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan. It is one of the oldest modern universities in India. It is the first Indian University to have Urdu and...
, Hyderabad), was nevertheless short-lived due to criticism of foregoing accuracy for the price of fluency.
The Message of the Qur'an: Presented in Perspective (1974) was published by Dr. Hashim Amir Ali
Hashim Amir Ali
Ali, Dr. Hashim Amir , was born in 1903, son of Ahmed Ali Khan [?], a native of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India, capital of what was the premier princely state in the center of India. He was brought up in the palace of Salar Jung...
. He translated the Qur'an into English and arranged it according to chronological order. Dr. Hashim Amir-Ali (1903-c. 1987) was a native of Salar Jung, Hyderabad
Hyderabad State
-After Indian independence :When India gained independence in 1947 and Pakistan came into existence in 1947, the British left the local rulers of the princely states the choice of whether to join one of the new dominions or to remain independent...
, Deccan. In 1938 he came under the influence of Dr. Mirza Abul Fazl
Mirza Abul Fazl
Abul Fazl, Mirza , , was a native of Allahabad, India. Among the contemporary Muslim scholars Dr Mirza Abul Fazl, learned in Arabic and Sanskrit, was a pioneer who took interest in the study of the chronological order of the Qur`an and invited the attention of Muslim scholars towards its...
Allahabadi, and took a deep interest in the study of the Qur'an and was aware of the significance of the chronological order of the Qur'an.
Famous Muslim convert and former Jewish rabbi Muhammad Asad
Muhammad Asad
Muhammad Asad , was an Austrian Polish Jew who converted to Islam, and a 20th century journalist, traveler, writer, social critic, linguist, thinker, reformer, diplomat, political theorist, translator and scholar...
's monumental work The Message of the Qur'an made its appearance for the first time in 1980.
Professor Ahmed Ali's: Al-Qur'an: A Contemporary Translation (Akrash Publishing, Karachi, 1984, Reprinted by Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1987; Princeton University Press
Princeton University Press
-Further reading:* "". Artforum International, 2005.-External links:* * * * *...
, New Jersey, 1988, with 9th reprinting 2001), brought new light to the translations of the Qur'an with Dr. Fazlur Rehman of the University of Chicago saying: "It brings out the original rhythms of the Qur'anic language and the cadences. It also departs from traditional translations in that it gives more refined and differentiated shades of important concepts". According to Dr. F. E. Peters of the New York University: "Ahmed Ali's work is clear, direct, and elegant –
a combination of stylistic virtues almost never found in translations of the Qur'an. His is the best I have read".
At the cusp of the 1980s, the 1974 Oil Embargo
1973 oil crisis
The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...
, the Iranian Revolution
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
, the Nation of Islam
Nation of Islam
The Nation of Islam is a mainly African-American new religious movement founded in Detroit, Michigan by Wallace D. Fard Muhammad in July 1930 to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of African-Americans in the United States of America. The movement teaches black pride and...
and a new wave of cold-war generated Muslim immigrants to Europe and North America brought Islam squarely into the public limelight for the first time in Western Europe and North America. This resulted in a wave of translations as Western publishers tried to capitalize on the new demand for English translations of the Qur'an. Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
and Penguin Books
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
were all to release editions at this time, as did indeed the Saudi Government, which came out with its own re-tooled version of the original Yusuf Ali translation. Canadian Muslim Professor T.B. Irving's 'modern English' translation (1985) was a major Muslim effort during that time.
Arrival of the 1990s ushered in the phenomenon of an extensive English-speaking Muslim population well-settled in Western Europe and North America. As a result, several major Muslim translations emerged to meet the ensuing demand. In 1991 appeared an English translation under the title: The Clarion Call Of The Eternal Qur-aan, by Muhammad Khalilur Rahman (Dhaka, Bangladesh).
In 1996 the Saudi government financed a new translation "the Noble Qur'an (Hilali-Khan)" which was distributed free world wide by the Saudi's government's as it was in line with their particular interpretation .
In 2007 appeared the English translation of Laleh Bakhtiar
Laleh Bakhtiar
Laleh Mehree Bakhtiar is an Iranian-American Muslim author, translator and clinical psychologist.-Biography:...
under the title of The Sublime Quran. Her translation of the Qur'an was the first ever by an American woman.
A spate of new translations between 1998 and 2008 owe their roots to two new emerging trends: 1) a need for Muslims to defend and explain the Qur'an to non-Muslims following the September 11 events ; and 2) various sectarian movements among Muslims vying for approval of English-speaking Muslims in the West via publishing of their own translations of the Qur'an . As such over a dozen new translations from various Sufi schools of thought, Progressive Muslim movements, various political movements in the Muslim world, and various mainstream American-Muslim identity groups have all emerged during this time period.
Asian languages
The first translation into Japanese was done by Sakamoto Ken-ichi in 1920. Sakamoto worked from RodwellJohn Medows Rodwell
John Medows Rodwell was a friend of Charles Darwin while both matriculated at Cambridge. He became an English clergyman of the Church of England and a Non-Muslim Islamic scholar. He served as Rector of St.Peter's, Saffron Hill, London 1836-43 and Rector of St Ethelburga's, Bishopsgate, London...
's English translation. Takahashi Goro, Bunpachiro (Ahmad) Ariga and Mizuho Yamaguchi produced Japan's second translation in 1938. The first translation from the Arabic was done by Toshihiko Izutsu
Toshihiko Izutsu
was a university professor and author of many books on Islam and other religions. He taught at the Institute of Cultural and Linguistic studies at Keio University in Tokyo, the Imperial Iranian Academy of Philosophy in Tehran, and McGill University in Montreal....
in 1945. In 1950, another translation appeared by Shūmei Ōkawa (1886–1957), who had been charged with war-crimes after the World War II on account of his anti-Western sympathies. Other translations have appeared more recently by Ban Yasunari and Osamu Ikeda in 1970 and by Umar Ryoichi Mita in 1972.
It is claimed that Yusuf Ma Dexin
Yusuf Ma Dexin
Yusuf Ma Dexin was a Hui Chinese scholar of Islam from Yunnan, known for his fluency and proficiency in both Arabic and Persian, and for his knowledge of Islam.- Hajj :...
(1794–1874) is the first translator of the Koran into Chinese. However, the first complete translation into Chinese did not appear until 1927, although Islam had been present in China since the Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
(618–907). The translation was by Lǐ Tiězhēng, a non-Muslim, who did not translate from the Arabic, but from Rodwell
John Medows Rodwell
John Medows Rodwell was a friend of Charles Darwin while both matriculated at Cambridge. He became an English clergyman of the Church of England and a Non-Muslim Islamic scholar. He served as Rector of St.Peter's, Saffron Hill, London 1836-43 and Rector of St Ethelburga's, Bishopsgate, London...
's English via Sakamoto Ken-ichi's Japanese. A second non-Muslim translation appeared in 1931, edited by edited by Jī Juémí. Wáng Jìngzhāi was the first Chinese Muslim to translate the Koran. His translation, the Gǔlánjīng yìjiě, appeared in 1932, with new revised versions being issued in 1943 and 1946. Other translations appeared in 1943, by Liú Jǐnbiāo, and 1947, by Yáng Zhòngmíng. The most popular version today is the Gǔlánjīng, translated by Mǎ Jiān
Muhammad Ma Jian
Muhammad Ma Jian was a Chinese Islamic scholar and translator.Born in Shadian village, Gejiu, Yunnan, Ma Jian went to Shanghai to pursue his studies in 1928. In 1931, he left China for Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt as a member of the first group of government-sponsored Chinese students to...
, parts of which appeared between 1949 and 1951, with the full edition being published posthumously only in 1981.
Tóng Dàozhāng, a Muslim Chinese American, produced a modern translation, entitled Gǔlánjīng, in 1989. The most recent translation appeared in Taibei in 1996, the Qīngzhēn xīliú – Gǔlánjīng xīnyì, translated by translated by Shěn Xiázhǔn, but it has not found favour with Muslims.
Girish Chandra Sen (1835/36–1910), a Brahmo Samaj
Brahmo Samaj
Brahmo Samaj is the societal component of the Brahmo religion which is mainly practiced today as the Adi Dharm after its eclipse in Bengal consequent to the exit of the Tattwabodini Sabha from its ranks in 1859. It was one of the most influential religious movements responsible for the making of...
missionary, was the first person to translate the Qur'an into Bangla language in 1886. It was his finest contribution to Bangla literature. Abbas Ali of Candipur West Bengal was the first Muslim who translated the entire Qur'an into Bangla.
The Koran has also been translated to Aceh, Bugis, Gorontalo
Gorontalo language
The Gorontalo language is a Philippine language spoken in Gorontalo Province by the Gorontalo people. There is no ISO 639-1 code for Gorontalo. Dialects of Gorontalo are East Gorontalo, Gorontalo Kota, Tilamuta, Suwawa, and West Gorontalo...
, Javanese
Javanese language
Javanese language is the language of the Javanese people from the central and eastern parts of the island of Java, in Indonesia. In addition, there are also some pockets of Javanese speakers in the northern coast of western Java...
, Sundanese
Sundanese language
Sundanese is the language of about 27 million people from the western third of Java or about 15% of the Indonesian population....
, and Indonesian language
Indonesian language
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
of Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, the most populous Muslim country in the world. Translation into Aceh language was done by Mahijiddin Yusuf in 1995; in Bugis language by Daude Ismaile and Nuh Daeng Manompo in 1982; in Gorontalo language by Lukman Katili in 2008; in Javanese by Ngarpah (1913), Kyai Bisyri Mustafa Rembang (1964), and K.H.R. Muhamad Adnan; in Sundanese by A.A. Dallan, H. Qamaruddin Shaleh, Jus Rusamsi in 1965; and in Indonesian at least in three versions: A Dt. Madjoindo, H.M Kasim Bakery, Imam M. Nur Idris, A. Hassan, Mahmud Yunus, H.S. Fachruddin, H. ,Hamidy (all in 1960s), Mohammad Diponegoro, Bachtiar Surin (all in 1970s), and Departemen Agama Republik Indonesia (Indonesian Department of Religious Affair).
William Shellabear
William Shellabear
William Girdlestone Shellabear was a "pioneer" scholar and missionary in Malaysia. He was known for both his appreciation of Muslim society and also his translation of the Bible into the Malay language...
(1862–1948) a British scholar and missionary in Malaysia, after translating the Bible into the Malay language
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
began a translation of the Qur'an, but died in 1948 without finishing it.
There have been numerous translation of the Qur'an into Urdu, the most famous of which is Kanz al-Iman [The treasure of faith] by the Indian Sunni scholar, Imam Ahmad Raza Khan.
Further reading
- M. Brett Wilson, "The First Translations of the Qur'an in Modern Turkey (1924-1938)", International Journal of Middle East Studies, volume 41, issue 03, pp. 419–435. IJMES
- Bein, Amit. Ottoman Ulema, Turkish Republic: Agents of Change and Guardians of Tradition (2011) Amazon.com
- Tafsir of the Holy Qur'an in a couple of languages: http://www.altafsir.com/Languages.asp?LanguageID=2
External links
- Khaleel MohammedKhaleel MohammedKhaleel Mohammed is associate professor of Religion at San Diego State University , in San Diego, California, and a core faculty member of SDSU's .- Specialties and research interests :...
(Spring 2005), "Assessing English Translations of the Qur'an" Middle East QuarterlyMiddle East QuarterlyMiddle East Quarterly is a peer reviewed quarterly journal, a publication of the American conservative think tank Middle East Forum founded by Daniel Pipes in 1994. It is devoted to subjects relating to the Middle East and Islam and analyzes the region "explicitly from the viewpoint of American...
(Philadelphia: Middle East ForumMiddle East ForumThe Middle East Forum is an American conservative think tank founded in 1990 by Daniel Pipes, who also serves as its director. MEF became a 5013 non-profit organization in 1994...
) XII (1): 58-71