A Survey of English Translations of the Quran: Difference between revisions
A Survey of English Translations of the Quran (view source)
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Even bibliographical material on this subject was quite scant before the fairly recent appearance of World Bibliography of the Translations of the Meanings of the Holy Quran (Istanbul, OIC Research Centre, 1986), which provides authoritative publication details of the translations of the Quran in sixty-five languages. | Even bibliographical material on this subject was quite scant before the fairly recent appearance of World Bibliography of the Translations of the Meanings of the Holy Quran (Istanbul, OIC Research Centre, 1986), which provides authoritative publication details of the translations of the Quran in sixty-five languages. | ||
Some highly useful work in this field had been done earlier by Dr. Hamidullah of Paris. Appended to the Cambridge History of Arabic Literature Volume 1, Arabic Literature to the End of the Umayyad Period (Cambridge university Press, 1983) is a bibliography of the Quran translations into European languages, prepared by J.D. Pearson, as is the latter's article in the Encyclopaedia of Islam. It is, however, of not much use to the | Some highly useful work in this field had been done earlier by Dr. Hamidullah of Paris. Appended to the Cambridge History of Arabic Literature Volume 1, Arabic Literature to the End of the Umayyad Period (Cambridge university Press, 1983) is a bibliography of the Quran translations into European languages, prepared by J.D. Pearson, as is the latter's article in the Encyclopaedia of Islam. It is, however, of not much use to the Muslims. | ||
Since none of the above-mentioned works is annotated, the reader gets no idea about the translator's mental make-up, his dogmatic presuppositions and his approach to the Quran as well as the quality of the translation. | Since none of the above-mentioned works is annotated, the reader gets no idea about the translator's mental make-up, his dogmatic presuppositions and his approach to the Quran as well as the quality of the translation. | ||
Similarly, the small chapter entitled 'The Qur'an and Occidental Scholarship' in Bell and Watt's Introduction to the Qur'an (Edinburgh, 1970, pp. 173-86), although useful in providing background information to Orientalists' efforts in Quranic studies, and translations, more or less for the same reasons, is of little value to general Muslim readers. Thus, studies which focus on those aspects of each translation of the Quran are urgently needed lest Western scholars misguide the unsuspecting non-Arabic speaking readers of the Quran. An effort has been made in this survey to bring out the hallmarks and shortcomings of the major complete translations of the Quran. | |||
Similarly the small chapter entitled 'The Qur'an and Occidental Scholarship' in Bell and Watt's Introduction to the Qur'an (Edinburgh, 1970, pp. 173-86), although useful in providing background information to Orientalists' efforts in Quranic studies, and translations, more or less for the same reasons, is of little value to general Muslim readers. Thus, studies which focus on those aspects of each translation of the Quran are urgently needed lest Western scholars misguide the unsuspecting non-Arabic speaking readers of the Quran. An effort has been made in this survey to bring out the hallmarks and shortcomings of the major complete translations of the Quran. | |||
=Different trends in English translations of the Quran= | =Different trends in English translations of the Quran= | ||
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Abdullah Yusuf Ali's The Holy Qur'an Translation and Commentary (Lahore, 1934 37), perhaps the most popular translation, stands as another major achievement in this field. A civil servant by vocation, Yusuf AN was not a scholar in the classical Muslim tradition. Small wonder, then, that some of his copious notes, particularly on hell and heaven, angels, jinn and polygamy, etc. are informed with the pseudo-rationalist spirit of his times, as for instance in the works of S. Ahmad and S. Ameer AN. | Abdullah Yusuf Ali's The Holy Qur'an Translation and Commentary (Lahore, 1934 37), perhaps the most popular translation, stands as another major achievement in this field. A civil servant by vocation, Yusuf AN was not a scholar in the classical Muslim tradition. Small wonder, then, that some of his copious notes, particularly on hell and heaven, angels, jinn and polygamy, etc. are informed with the pseudo-rationalist spirit of his times, as for instance in the works of S. Ahmad and S. Ameer AN. | ||
His overemphasis on things spiritual also distorts the Qur'anic worldview. Against this is the fact that Yusuf AN doubtless was one of the few Muslims who enjoyed an excellent command | His overemphasis on things spiritual also distorts the Qur'anic worldview. Against this is the fact that Yusuf AN doubtless was one of the few Muslims who enjoyed an excellent command of the English language. It is fully reflected in his translation. Though his is more of a paraphrase than a literal translation, yet it faithfully represents the sense of the original. | ||
Abdul Majid Daryabadi's The Holy Qur'an with English Translation and Commentary (Lahore, 1941 - 57) is, however, fully cognate with the traditional Muslim viewpoint. | Abdul Majid Daryabadi's The Holy Qur'an with English Translation and Commentary (Lahore, 1941 - 57) is, however, fully cognate with the traditional Muslim viewpoint. | ||
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1. Al-Hajj Hafiz Ghulam Sarwar, Translation of the Holy Qur'an (Singapore, 1920) | 1. Al-Hajj Hafiz Ghulam Sarwar, Translation of the Holy Qur'an (Singapore, 1920) | ||
2. AN Ahmad Khan Jullundri, Translation of the Glorious Holy Qur'an with commentary (Lahore, 1962) | 2. AN Ahmad Khan Jullundri, Translation of the Glorious Holy Qur'an with commentary (Lahore, 1962) | ||
3. Abdur Rahman Tariq and Ziauddin Gilani, The Holy Qur'an Rendered into English (Lahore, 1966) | 3. Abdur Rahman Tariq and Ziauddin Gilani, The Holy Qur'an Rendered into English (Lahore, 1966) | ||
4. Syed Abdul Latif, Al-Qur'an Rendered into English (Hyderabad, 1969) | 4. Syed Abdul Latif, Al-Qur'an Rendered into English (Hyderabad, 1969) | ||
5. Hashim Amir AN, The Message of the Qur'an Presented in Perspective (Tokyo, 1974) | 5. Hashim Amir AN, The Message of the Qur'an Presented in Perspective (Tokyo, 1974) | ||
6. Taqui al-Din al-Hilali and Muhammad Muhsin Khan, Explanatory English Translation of the Holy Qur'an A Summarized Version of Ibn Kathir Supplemented by At-Tabari with Comments from Sahih al-Bukhari (Chicago, 1977) | 6. Taqui al-Din al-Hilali and Muhammad Muhsin Khan, Explanatory English Translation of the Holy Qur'an A Summarized Version of Ibn Kathir Supplemented by At-Tabari with Comments from Sahih al-Bukhari (Chicago, 1977) | ||
7. Muhammad Ahmad Mofassir, The Koran The First Tafsir in English (London, 1979) | 7. Muhammad Ahmad Mofassir, The Koran The First Tafsir in English (London, 1979) | ||
8. Mahmud Y. Zayid, The Qur'an An English Translation of the Meaning of the Qur'an (checked and revised in collaboration with a committee of Muslim scholars) (Beirut, 1980) | 8. Mahmud Y. Zayid, The Qur'an An English Translation of the Meaning of the Qur'an (checked and revised in collaboration with a committee of Muslim scholars) (Beirut, 1980) | ||
9. S.M. Sarwar, The Holy Qur'an Arab Text and English Translation (Elmhurst, 1981) | |||
9. S.M. Sarwar, The Holy Qur'an Arab Text and English Translation (Elmhurst, 1981) | |||
10. Ahmed AN, Al-Qur'an A Contemporary Translation (Karachi, 1984). | 10. Ahmed AN, Al-Qur'an A Contemporary Translation (Karachi, 1984). | ||
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Even amongst the Muslim translations, some are representative of the strong sectarian biases of their translators. | Even amongst the Muslim translations, some are representative of the strong sectarian biases of their translators. | ||
For example, the Shia doctrines are fully reflected in accompanying commentaries of the following books S.V. Mir Ahmad AN, The Holy Qur'an with English Translation and Commentary, according to the version of the Holy Ahlul Bait includes 'special notes from Hujjatul Islam Ayatullah Haji Mirza Mahdi Pooya Yazdi on the philosophical aspects of the verses' (Karachi, 1964); M.H. Shakir, Holy Qur'an (New York, 1982); Syed Muhammad Hussain at-Tabatabai, al- Mizan An Exegesis of the Qur'an, translated from Persian into English by Sayyid Saeed Akhtar Rizvi (Tehran, 198~). So far five volumes of this work have been published. | For example, the Shia doctrines are fully reflected in accompanying commentaries of the following books S.V. Mir Ahmad AN, The Holy Qur'an with English Translation and Commentary, according to the version of the Holy Ahlul Bait includes 'special notes from Hujjatul Islam Ayatullah Haji Mirza Mahdi Pooya Yazdi on the philosophical aspects of the verses' (Karachi, 1964); M.H. Shakir, Holy Qur'an (New York, 1982); Syed Muhammad Hussain at-Tabatabai, al- Mizan An Exegesis of the Qur'an, translated from Persian into English by Sayyid Saeed Akhtar Rizvi (Tehran, 198~). So far five volumes of this work have been published. | ||
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(i) Kamaluddin and Nazir Ahmad, A Running Commentary of the Holy Qur'an (London, 1948) | (i) Kamaluddin and Nazir Ahmad, A Running Commentary of the Holy Qur'an (London, 1948) | ||
(ii) Salahuddin Peer, The Wonderful Koran (Lahore, 1960) | (ii) Salahuddin Peer, The Wonderful Koran (Lahore, 1960) | ||
(iii) Malik Ghulam Farid, The Holy Qur'an (Rabwah, 1962) | (iii) Malik Ghulam Farid, The Holy Qur'an (Rabwah, 1962) | ||
(iv) Khadim Rahman Nuri, The Running Commentary of the Holy Qur'an with under-bracket | (iv) Khadim Rahman Nuri, The Running Commentary of the Holy Qur'an with under-bracket | ||
comments (Shillong, 1964) | comments (Shillong, 1964) | ||
(v) Firozuddin Ruhi, The Qur'an (Karachi, 1965) | (v) Firozuddin Ruhi, The Qur'an (Karachi, 1965) | ||
Apart from the Qadiyanis, Christian missionaries have been the most active non-Muslim translators of the Qur'an. As already noted, origins of this inglorious tradition may be traced back to the anti-Islamic motives of the missionaries. | Apart from the Qadiyanis, Christian missionaries have been the most active non-Muslim translators of the Qur'an. As already noted, origins of this inglorious tradition may be traced back to the anti-Islamic motives of the missionaries. | ||
Small wonder, then that these ventures are far from being a just translation, replete as they are with frequent transpositions, omissions, unaccountable liberties and unpardonable faults. | Small wonder, then that these ventures are far from being a just translation, replete as they are with frequent transpositions, omissions, unaccountable liberties and unpardonable faults. | ||