Translation of the Qur'an
From Free net encyclopedia
Translations of the Qur'án are versions of the book of Islam in languages other than Arabic. Translations of the Qur'án are popular in the English-speaking world, and are in general use by people who cannot understand the original Arabic text.
For Muslims, the Qur'án is an Arabic revelation, and so they always recite it in the original language during ritual prayers (salah). Translations of its divine speech into other languages are necessarily the work of humans, and so no longer possess the uniquely sacred character of the Arabic original. Scholars, purists and others regard these translations as necessarily falling short: they dub them interpretations.
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. 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 thus always an element of human judgement involved in understanding and translating a text. This 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 Muhammad's life and early community in which it originated. Investigating that context usually requires a detailed knowledge of Hadith 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.
All the prominent translations of the Qur'an have each been the product of a single individual, so there is no translation which truly reflects the collective and opposing thoughts of a range of scholars. Such a large-scale collaborative effort would most likely be required to establish any one translation as most authoritative. Since this has not yet happened, there is no translation of the Qur'an as widely accepted (for example) as the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.
As a result, individual English-speaking Muslims tend to have their own personal favourites. Indeed, those who read more than one translation often develop a fondness for different aspects of each. For example, the renowned scholar Annemarie Schimmel, author of dozens of books on Islam and formerly professor of Islam at Harvard University, favoured the translation of Arthur John Arberry for beauty of expression, and that of Marmaduke Pickthall for literal rendering of Arabic phrases.
Salman the Persian made the first translation of the Qur'an.Template:Fact
Translations of the Qur'an
The Qur'an has been translated several times.
References
- Khaleel Mohammed: Assessing English Translation of the Qu'ran, Middle East Quarterly, sectarian bias and political agendas mar most publications.
- The Koran Interpreted : A Translation by A. J. Arberry, Touchstone, 1996. ISBN 0684825074
- The Meaning of The Glorious Koran: an Explanatory Translation by Marmaduke Pickthall, Everyman's Library, 1992. ISBN 0679417362