Lesson 1

Preface
Eternal gratitude be to God, the All-Mighty and the All-Knowing Who
granted upon us opportunity to reflect upon, translate and interpret His Book
deeming us His servants of the Quran and the Household (a).
The Glorious Quran is a comprehensive book and everyone benefits from
this divine table of blessings proportionate to his knowledge and capacity. In
this regard, translators and exegetes try to share their valuable findings with
others and satiate the thirsty for Islamic knowledge with the spring of
knowledge in the Quran.
During the last fourteen centuries, many different exegeses of the Quran in
different languages have been provided written according to different
theological and exegetical backgrounds. To know those translations and their
translators and providing new better translations, one needs to know their
approaches and their backgrounds.
Objectives
The present book pursues the following objectives:
A.
Explaining the logics of translating the Quran through analyzing
the approaches, styles and precepts so far used in the area of translating the
Quran.
Note: Logics of translating the Quran includes the approaches,
styles, precepts, principles and rules of translation, knowing which
avoids translators mistakes or reduces them.
B.
Diagnosis of the problems with different approaches, styles and
principles of translating the Quran.
C.
Reviewing the history of translations of the Quran
D.
Classifying approaches, styles and principles of translating the
Quran
Special Thanks
I would like to thank all the colleagues of the teamwork translation of the
Quran including Hujjat al-Islams: Martyr Ghulamali Homai, Hossein
Shirafkan, Mohammad Amini, Mohsen Ismaili, Mohsen Molla Kzemi and
other scholars who helped us with their suggestions and helpful criticisms
and also the secretary to the Office of Planning and Publishing Textbooks of
the Office of Education, Hujjat al-Islam wal Muslimin Izzuddin Reza
Nejhad and his colleagues who helped actualization of the final product
through their follow-ups and supports. It is wished that God, the Almighty
rewards them best.

And the praise be to God, Lord of the worlds,

Muhammad Ali Rezaee Isfahani,
Qom,
40/81/1488
Dedicated to
The first translator of the Glorious Quran: Salman Farsi and my dear
colleagues in the first teamwork translation of the Glorious Quran
especially the soul of my hardworking and sincere professor, Martyr
Ghulamali Humaee
General Discussions
Educational objectives: 1. Understanding the literal and idiomatic
meanings of translation and its applications; 2. learning about the history
of translating the Quran to English;
Introduction
The Glorious Quran is a great book which has satiated the thirsty by its
knowledge and has attracted the thirsty for the truth at all times.
Hundreds of commentaries have been written to illuminate the facts in the
Quran; but not everyone knows Arabic to benefit from the Quran and
Arabic commentaries directly, thus hundreds of translations of the Quran
have been provided so that everyone can benefit from this divine light.
Writing translations for the Quran has developed during the history of Islam
and has been carried out using different styles and principles, sometimes
satisfactory and sometimes unsatisfactory and sometimes with many
mistakes which need to be analyzed to guide future translators. The present
book tries to illuminate these points which are an important work by itself
and thus this book is a primary step in this way and Quran researchers must
seriously study it so that they can blend the science of translation with the art
and skill of translation.
Etymology of the word tarjumah and its technical definition
There are different opinions about the etymology of this word:
E.
Some have considered it as an Arabic word and have offered the
following opinions about it:
a.
Derived from the root Ra Ja Ma, which is the triliteral
radix (in Arabic it is named ) , originally meaning to stone and
the word tarjumn is taken from the same root.
b.
Derived from the root form of tarjama which is the
quadriliteral radix (in Arabic it is named ) , meaning
"interpretation". Lisn al-Arab has mentioned the word tarjumn
both under the entries of Ra Ja Ma and tarjama, but under the entry

of tarjama, it says that it means the interpreter of language and its

plural form is tarjim and the letters t and nn are additional in the
word tarjumn.
c.
Some sources have mentioned that tarjumah is not an
Arabic word which is a loan word there are different opinions about its
root:
i.
That it has been derived from the Syriac word
Targmana or the Aramaic word Targom or Targumin and it
has been said that the Aramaic translation of Old Testament was
called Targom.
ii.
That the word tarjumn has been derived from the
Persian word Tarzabn which has been Arabicized and it has
been changed to Tarzaqn.
iii.
That the word tarjumah is derived from the
Chaldean root form Ra Ja Ma meaning to throw.
According to the Farhang-e Tatbiqi-ye Arabi be Zabanha-ye Sm va Iranian:
Tarjama literally meaning to transfer into another
language has been equivalent to Tergem in Aramaic
and Hebrew and equivalent to Targem in Syriac.
A.

The technical Meaning of tarjumah

There have been different definitions provided for tarjumah in which
some criteria have been mentioned such as the following:
B.
Ayatollah Marefat defined tarjumah as: Tarjumah is a rub
word which means to explain and illuminate, and it can be understood
from dictionaries that there must be difference between languages,
because it is said that: al-Tarjuman: al-Mufassir al-Lisan [literally
meaning that translation: the interpreter of the language]; thus, tarjumah
[i.e. translation] is: to transfer the speech from one language to another.
However, restating the meaning with another word is only
explanation and it is not what commonly referred to as translation.
B.

Some scholars have defined translation as:

Translation is commonly known as transferring the meaning of
speech from one language to another in a way that it includes all
the messages and ideas in the source language so that it would be
as if the speech itself is transferred from one language to another;
knowing the fact that transferring the speech itself is not easy from
one language to other languages.
3.
Eugene Nida, the head of the Bible societys translation program,
defines translation as:

The closest natural equivalent of the source-language message,

first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style.
4.
It is quoted from other experts in translation studies such as C.
Rabin, defining translation as:
Translation in its broad sense (i.e. written or oral) is a transfer of
meaning from one language to another.
According to this definition, two factors must be distinguished in
translation:
First: meaning or what is referred to as a reality in the outside
world;
Second: differences between languages in explaining that reality.
5.

Some other scholars in translation studies such as Amparo Hurtado

Albir have defined translation as: translation is comprised of procedures
which make it possible to transfer of a message from one language to
another.
6.
Newmark considered translation as a craft consisting in the
attempt to replace a written message and/or statement in one language by the
same message and/or statement in another language
7.
Some other scholars have defined translation as following:
Translation is interpreting a text from one language to another,
considering its meaning and content. Translation must reflect the
concepts and the context in the source language keeping its style
and void of any expansion or addition when presented in the target
language; therefore, to translate a text from one language to
another, two factors seem necessary: first: manner and second:
art.
Analysis
Looking at above definitions, we see each of them focus on one or some of
the aspects of translation and have failed to consider one or more other
aspects. One regards translation as a craft and disregards its artistic and
scientific aspects; another focuses more on written translation while
translation can be applied to text, speech and even symbols and signs;
another has focused on delivering the message in translation and has
neglected the transfer of style and tone of the source language in translation;
however to conclude, translation can be defined as:
The process of transferring a message from the source language to the
target language and in other words, translating the words of the text from
one language to another in order to convey the meanings.
However, one must note that translating the Quran and sacred texts, due to
its difficulties; need other requirements and criteria in definition of
translation as well. In other words, in translating the Quran, the translator

needs to have other requirements and care about other principles and
prerequisites in translation; moreover, he needs to take a certain approach
towards translation; thus translating the Quran can be defined as following:
It is the process of transferring the message from the source language to the
target language carried out by a competent translator who takes appropriate
approaches in translation and pays attention to principles in understanding
the Quran and constantly tries to transfer the style in the context.
Reminder: the Quran has been translated to Arabic; and Shubbars Tafsir,
Muhammad Jawad Mughniyahs Tafsir Muin and Tafsir Jallayn are
examples of commentary-like translations.
Thus, according to above-mentioned point from Ayatollah Marifat in
definition of translation which suggested that difference in languages [of the
source text and the target language] need to exist, then if a concept is
restated in the same language in other ways, this can only be called mere
restatement and it cannot be considered as translation in its common sense;
therefore, such restatement of the Quran in modern Arabic is only an
explanation not translation.
Translation Elements
It can be understood from definitions of translation that its elements are as
following:
1.
Source language (comprised of words, signs, etc.)
2.
Target Language (comprised of words, signs, etc.)
3.
The meaning or message which is intended to be transferred from
the source language to the target language
4.
Style (which needs skill to be transferred)
5.
Principles and prerequisites specific to translation of sacred texts
It is to note that the last element is specific to translation of the Quran and
the Bible and the fourth element is required for perfection of translation and
if not carried out, translation would not be harmed because the translator can
fill this gap by providing extra information in parentheses and this way
convey the atmosphere and style of the original text to the reader.
Aspects of Translation
Some scholars such as Eugene Nida consider translation as a science; but
some others consider it as an art or skill. Dr. Bahrm Tsi thinks that
translation is all these three at the same time:
Translation is not per se a science to be learned through reading and
learning their facts alone such as hadiths, history or geography. It is not per
se a skill such as wrestling or carpentry either to be learned through practice
or apprenticeship so that one reaches mastery in them. It is not per se an art
either such as painting in which the artist would sit and draw his thoughts

and dreams on the canvas and receives praise for it. Translation is a
collection of those three: it is a science since it needs education, and a skill
which requires constant practice and an art because it requires an artistic
sense without which it would be fruitless.
Thus, it seems that translation has three aspects:
6.
Translation is a science; since it is the fruit of knowledge and
research and it has all the elements of science such as subject, issues,
principles, etc.
7.
Translation is a skill since it requires practice to reach mastery like
other skills;
8.
Translation is an art, because it needs taste and emotions so that the
translator can understand artistic and stylistic delicate points in the
source language and transfer them to the target language.
Theories of Translation
Every translator takes an approach in translation which at least would be
comprised of the following elements, a change in each of which may cause a
change in the mentioned approach and thus a different translation would be
made as a result.
9.
Specific method in translation
10.
Specific style in translation
11.
Exegetical principles in translation
12.
Theological principles in translation
13.
Lexical principles in translation
14.
Literary principles in translation
15.
Linguistic principles in translation
16.
Choosing an approach about principles of translation
17.
Specific approach in translation (such as the necessity of
translating all [content] words of the text or optionality of it, etc.)
Any translator needs to choose his approach towards above-mentioned
elements and state his opinion accordingly in order firstly to be able to offer
an orderly, methodical, systematic and valuable translation; secondly, to
inform the target reader of the translation to help them find what they look
for and thirdly to help critics of translation offer a fair criticism about his
translation and avoid invalid criticisms.
Note: Here, the effort is made to elaborate the above elements so that every
translator can offer a good translation by adopting his own specific
approach.