[UNDER CONSTRUCTION]
The Qur’an was revealed in 7th century in the Arabic language, and is a mixture of classical prose and poetry. Throughout history it has been regarded as the highest form of spoken and grammatical Arabic. The sophistication and deep meaning of each word and phrase leaves the Qur’an as literally untranslatable into any other language. Even native Arabic speakers require interpretation of many of its complex or classical passages.
Whenever a translation of the Qur’an is presented, it is always presented as an explanation of the meaning, or as an interpretation. Although we call them translations, they are never true translations because the Qur’anic Arabic has such deep meaning that word-to-word correlations with other languages is not possible. Only the Arabic Qur’an is considered to be the true Qur’an; While renderings into other languages are considered as attempts at explaining the Qur’an in other languages. Translating and interpreting the Qur’an into other languages is still necessary to convey its universal message to all people.
Despite the importance of the Arabic language in understanding the Qur’an, knowledge of Arabic is not a requirement to be Muslim. The only Arabic that Muslims should know are just a few short verses that will enable them to perform their daily prayers. But the message and spirit of the Qur’an is accessible to anyone who explores it in whatever language they speak. The Qur’an itself says that its message can be clearly understood by people who believe in it, and this means that the Qur’anic message transcends the boundaries of language.
“A Messenger conveys to you the revelations of God which makes things clear; To bring people who believe and do righteous deeds, out of darkness and into light.” Quran. Chapter 65 : Verse 11
By far, the most famous and widely used English translations of the Qur’an are by Muhammad Pickthall (translated in 1930) and Yusuf Ali (translated in 1934, and which includes in-depth explanatory footnotes). These translations were presented in an old-English, archaic style language. The old English style prose as presented in many Bible translations, has widely become associated with religious feelings and a divine connection. It was this spirit that the early Qur’an translations were imitating, and were also attempting to capture the linguistic beauty of the original Arabic. Despite their monumental contribution, many people hold the view that the old English style language limits the readability and comprehension of the translation.
This has led to recent attempts of presenting the Qur’an in a modern English language. In the last 20 years, dozens of new translations have appeared in an effort to fill the need for a more readable English Qur’an. This shift in language style is reflective of a new trend which focuses on getting the message across instead of focusing on imitating the linguistic beauty of the original Arabic.
The Followers of Abraham project is currently engaged in translating a number of excerpts from the Qur’an dealing with narratives of the prophets. These excerpts are presented in a language believed to be true to the original Arabic verses while also being relevant to the modern reader.
The language used in these booklets were formed using a combination of a number of available translations. The translations were compared side-by-side, and were cross referenced with Arabic works of tafsir (exegesis). Modern translations such as Saheeh International, Emerick, TB, Oxford, Khan, (which use modern English phraseology)were relied on more heavily than older translations such as Yusuf Ali, Pickthall, Muhammad Asad (which use old English phraseology). The result is an attempt at harmonizing the various translations together.
Here is a list of the texts that were consulted:
1. The Qur’an: Arabic Text with Corresponding English Meanings
Saheeh International, 1997
2. English Translation of the Message of THE QUR’AN
Translated by: Dr. Syed Vickar Ahamed
Book of Signs Foundation, 2007
3.
4… [Many More To Be Listed]