‘K. A. Nizami Centre for Quranic Studies’ and 21st Century Quranic Studies in English: Difference between revisions

very fairly, its objectives.

Among other fields, Professor Abdur Raheem Kidwai (Professor of English, and  Director,  KANCQS,  AMU),  has  contributed  significantly  to  the  field  of Quranic Studies, especially in the sub-area of English Translations of the Qur’an. In this field, some of his books are: The Qur’an: Essential Teachings (2005); Daily Wisdom: Selections from the Holy Qur’an (2011); What is in the Quran? Message of the Quran in Simple English (2013); and 365 Selections from the Holy Qur’an (2014). Besides these, his three (3) significant works on the critical assessment of English translations of the Qur’an  are: Bibliography of the Translations of the Meaning of the Glorious Quran into English 1649-2002 (2007); Translating the Untranslatable: A Critical Guide to 60 English Translations of the Quran (2011); and God’s Word, Man’s Interpretations (2018). Below is provided an assessment and appraisal of his last work, published by Viva Books, New Delhi in association with KANCQS.

Despite  such  kind  of  slips/  shortcomings,  this  196-page  work  is  a remarkable one, for it presents, very succinctly and lucidly, the (de) merits and features of each translation. Such kind of assessment helps a reader in his/ her selection of the translation. And, in the end, such kind of works prove that Quran is indeed the Word of God, and all the translations are just human endeavors and attempts of ‘Translating the Untranslatable’. In Sum, Kidwai’s God’s Word Man’s Interpretations not only validates and substantiates its title but meets all the expectations and undoubtedly succeeds in presenting a balanced and fair ‘critique’ of 32 translations of the Qur’an published in between 2000 and 2017: it thus serves, fairly and genuinely, as an extension of author’s previous works ‘Bibliography of the Translations’ and ‘Translating the Untranslatable’ on the same theme.

In the scholarship on Islam—which includes works on Islam, its Primary Sources (Quran and Hadith), history, law, and Islam vis-à-vis contemporary issues—one of the interesting and exciting academic disciplines is the Quranic Studies: the studies related to Quran and its varied aspects. This area is spread over a  number  of  branches,  and  both  Muslims  and  non-Muslims  (Orientalists/ Islamicists: literally ‘those who study Islam academically’) have contributed to it extensively. The major branches in the area of Quranic Studies are: ‘Ulum al- Qur’an, Tafsir literature, translations of the Qur’an in various languages (especially  

Arabic, Urdu, English and other indigenous languages), and such new trends as Quranic hermeneutics, contextualist approach to Quran, thematic interpretations of the Quran, simple introductions to the Quran, and personal wrestling(s) with the Sacred Text.