Traditionalist Orientation in Translating the Qur'an: A Critical Appraisal of Fatḥ al-Raḥmān fī Tafsīr al-Qur'ān (original) (raw)
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The Holy Quran has been translated into almost every language of the world, and India is also credited for being translated into the majority of its languages-these translations from Muslims and non-Muslims. The legitimacy of the translation of the Quran is widely disputable among Muslim scholars. Though most Muslims do not consider Quran translation to be legal under a theological base, it does aid in conveying the divine message to non-Arabic speakers. The driving force of non-Muslim translations that occurred in the Indian sub-continent is the vision of conveying the message of the Quran and the intelligent discussion within different religions and faiths. The Western oriental translations were criticized for failing to capture the original meaning, while the translations by Indians and Eastern scholars were praised for accurately conveying the text's content and failed to be commonly acknowledged and narrated by the history due to the lack of consistent studies and research. It is a fact that the contribution of non-Muslims to the Quranic study didn't get needed attention by researchers. This Paper aims to study five Quran translations compiled by non-Muslim scholars of the Indian sub-continent, using the Qualitative method. The results of this research show that there is an impact that these translations can make in the social and religious domain in India.
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This essay presents a broad overview of certain key works and intellectual trends that mark traditional scholarship on the Qur’an in South Asia, from the late medieval to the modern periods, roughly the fourteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries. Far from an exhaustive survey of any sort, what I have attempted instead is a preliminary and necessarily partial outline of the intellectual trajectory of Qur’an commentaries and translations in the South Asian context—in Arabic, Persian, and Urdu—with a view to exploring how shifting historical and political conditions informed new ways of engaging the Qur’an. My central argument is this: in South Asia, the early modern and modern periods saw an important shift from largely elite scholarship on the Qur’an, invariably conducted by scholars intimately bound to the imperial order of their time, to more self-consciously popular works of translation and exegesis designed to access and attract a wider non-elite public. In this shift, I argue, translation itself emerged as an important and powerful medium of hermeneutical populism pregnant with the promise of broadening the boundaries of the Qur’an’s readership and understanding. In other words, as the pendulum of political sovereignty gradually shifted from pre-colonial Islamicate imperial orders to British colonialism, new ways of imagining the role, function, and accessibility of the Qur’an also came into central view. A major emphasis of this essay is on the thought and contributions of the hugely influential eighteenth-century scholar Shah Wali Ullah (d. 1762) and his family on the intellectual topography of South Asian Qur’an commentaries and translations.
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Studying translations of the Qur'an into any language spoken and read by a large number of Muslims today is a challenging endeavour, especially since we are faced with an ever-growing number of such translations. Under these circumstances, it is unrealistic to even attempt an all-encompassing, comprehensive analysis. Instead, it is advisable to follow one of two strategies: either focusing on a small selection of translations, or even a single one, illuminating their context, aims, and methods; or undertaking a comparative analysis of how a specific issue is reflected in various translations, thereby identifying broader trends. This paper pursues the latter approach. It seeks to compare Qur'an translations into Bahasa Indonesia, today the official language of the Republic of Indonesia, produced from the 1920s to the present day. In doing so, it analyses patterns underlying the exegetical decisions made by their authors. These exegetical decisions are all related to theology; and I am using the term here to denote the field of uṣūl al-dīn and the debates that have taken place within premodern scholastic theology (ʿilm al-kalām), especially with respect to the actions and attributes of God. These debates, as far as the modern period is concerned, receive much less scholarly attention than socio-political discourses on law and ethics that involve, for example, gender relations or questions of violence, war, and peace. This is unfortunate if we consider the important place that theology takes in the Qur'an, in Muslim intellectual history, and for Muslim beliefs. We know little as yet about the influence that the debates on kalām and their manifestation in tafsīr exercise on the exegetical choices that modern Muslim Qur'an translators make.
Viewpoints in the Translation of the Holy QURAN
International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature, 2012
There is too much literature about the untranslatability of the Quran from its Arabic text into another language. Most Muslims: Arab and Non-Arab, and almost everyone with Arabic language background, will not find any difficulty to prove the untranslatability of the Holy Quran into another language. The Quran is the Word of Allah Almighty to his messenger Mohammed (PBUH) in Arabic. It was intentionally revealed in Arabic to serve specific purpose: To defy the Arabs in their own trade and craftsmanship of producing highly rhetorical and poetic composition in their literature. Although all the scientific, geographical and historical facts mentioned in the Quran have been found true, nevertheless, the Quran remains a book of miracles, but its miraculous ability is in its inimitability (as no one has made similar sura the like of it since its revelation) and untranslatability into another form of reproduction in other languages (as hundreds of translations were made and are still made, but would not come to the absolute final perfect form of translation. These translations are incomplete, as they are mere human efforts). This paper aims to shed some light on the opinions of some Islamic scholars on this issue, as well as to suggest some strategies to help in coming out with some sound translations to help Non-Arab Muslims and other Non-Arabic speakers to understand the truth about the Quran as a true WORD from Allah to all human beings on Earth.
Quran Translation: A Historical-Theological Exploration
The INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ISLAMIC THOUGHT (IJIT), 2021
The traditional prohibition on translating the Quran into other languages is considered to be one of the discussable issues within Islamic theology and jurisprudence. From the eleventh century, when the Islamic state extended politically and geographically, a need arose to understand the Quran, which is the essence of the Islamic religion. Most non-Arab converts were unable to understand the original Quran text. As a result, they could not understand the true message of their new faith and perform the prescribed worship and practices. This article deals with the topic translating the Quran from a historical and theological point of view. Firstly, some historical factors that lead to the realization of the Quran translation are examined, including the need to understand the Quran both by the new Muslim generations and the People of the Book to defend their own faith against the Islam. Secondly, attention is paid to the theological consensus on prohibiting translation of the Quran into other languages because of its inimitable nature and style. Finally, the problem of the Quran translation is discussed with a focus on the current need for understanding the universal message of the Quran that can only be achieved through translation.
Al-Idrak, 2021
The Holy Qur'an has been rendered into English by many Muslim and non-Muslim, Eastern and Western, British and indigenous translators. Among them,there are a number of Ahmadi or Qadiani translators and commentators who believes in Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani as the Promised Messiah and coming Mahdi. In Indian subcontinent, the foremost Ahmadi translation was undertaken by Dr.Muhammad Abdul Hakim Khan who rendered the Holy Qur'an into English in 1905 but he abandoned Qadianism soon after publication of this work. After the death of the Mirza Qadiani and his first khalifa Maulawi Nuruddin the Ahmadiya community split in two factions:Qadian Party led by Mirza Qadiani's son Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad and Lahore Party led by Maulvi Muhammad 'Ali. Both factions undertook translation of the Holy Qur'an and wrote exegeses on it.Maulvi Muhammad 'Ali, the head of Lahore faction, published his translation and commentary in 1917.An other Qadiani translators and commentators was Dr Khadim Rahmani Nuri who put the explanatory words and sentences in brackets within the translation avoiding footnotes or exegetical comments. 'Ali and Nuri are only two Lahori Ahmadis who have published complete rendering of the Holy Qur'an in English language.Some incomplete works were published by Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din and Ch.Mohammad Manzoor Ilahi.Dr. Basharat Ahmad's Urdu translation of and cmmentary on Part (juz) 27 and 30 of the holy Qur'an was retranslated into English.This paper presents a critical study of renderings of some verses which Lahori Ahmadis misinterpret to prove their particular beliefs.
Translation for Admonition: A Study of Moulānā Wahῑddudῑn Khān's Tadhkῑr al-Qur'ān
Although the Muslims believe that it is impossible to render the Arabic Qur'ān into any non-Arabic language with exactness, yet they have left no stone unturned in exerting all their human effort to translate the Qur'ān to convey the message of the Qur'ān to their fellow human beings. Indian Subcontinent has proved to be fertile enough to produce eminent translators who have attempted to translate the Qur'ān into English, Urdu and other languages. These translators have adopted different methodologies that are in harmony with their motivations and objectives. Thus a rich legacy of Qur'ān translations has been produced reflecting the methodologies of juristic nature, linguistic nature, theological nature, etc. Moulānā Wahῑddudῑn Khān's Tadhkῑr al-Qur'ān (1985) holds the distinction of highlighting the admonition aspect of the Qur'ānic message which is the very purpose of the Qur'ānic revelation. He says, "The main aim of Tadhkῑr al-Qur'ān is reminding about the Qur'ān. The Qur'ān is in essence an admonition." (p.12) Avoiding the tedious juristic and theological discussions, Wahiddudin Khān has attempted to translate the Qur'ānic text into simple and lucid Urdu language in the form of admonitions in order to make his reader aware about the "Creation plan of the Creator" in an inspiring and stimulating way. The present paper is a humble effort to study Tadhkῑr al-Qur'ān as a translation meant for admonition.
Viewpoints in the Translations of the Holy Quran
(International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature)
There is too much literature about the untranslatability of the Quran from its Arabic text into another language. Most Muslims: Arab and Non-Arab, and almost everyone with Arabic language background, will not find any difficulty to prove the untranslatability of the Holy Quran into another language. The Quran is the Word of Allah Almighty to his messenger Mohammed (PBUH) in Arabic . It was intentionally revealed in Arabic to serve specific purpose: To defy the Arabs in their own trade and craftsmanship of producing highly rhetorical and poetic composition in their literature. Although all the scientific, geographical and historical facts mentioned in the Quran have been found true, nevertheless, the Quran remains a book of miracles, but its miraculous ability is in its inimitability (as no one has made similar sura the like of it since its revelation) and untranslatability into another form of reproduction in other languages (as hundreds of translations were made and are still made, but would not come to the absolute final perfect form of translation. These translation are incomplete, as they are mere human efforts). This paper aims to shed some light on the opinions of some Islamic scholars on this issue, as well as to suggest some strategies to help in coming out with some sound translations to help Non-Arab Muslims and other Non-Arabic speakers to understand the truth about the Quran as a true WORD from Allah to all human beings on Earth.
The effect of the Translators’ Ideology in the Translation of Qur’an
International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation, 2019
This study examines the translation of Qur'an by two translators. Each translator has different ethnic backgrounds such as religion. The study investigates the effect of religions' ideologies in translating the holy Qur'an. One of the translators is Muslim and the other is Christian. The problem is that ideology of each translator may affect the translation of holy Qur'an negatively causing some difference in meaning while translating the original. The method used in this paper is content analysis methods of ten samples (verses) taken from each translation into English. Each sample contains a verse in Arabic and its translation into English by the two translators where George Sale is a Christian and Abdel Haleem who is a Muslim. The samples are based on Fairclough (2002), Hatim and Mason (2005), Chesterman (1997), Venuti (2005) and Nord (1991). The study concludes a meaningful reading of English version of Qur'an by a Muslim translator who is not going to be affected by different ideology rather than other translators of different religions' ideologies. Ideologies are the tools that the translator manipulates to give different intention to the ST.