BY jenadams
The central religious text of the Islam is the Quran. Literary meaning “the recitation” it has been considered the verbatim of God (Allah) by Muslims.
Whether it is possible to translate the Quaran into another language has always been a problematic issue. One of the reasons this task to be so tough is that it has always been theologically problematic in Islam. Accurate translation is made more difficult by the fact that an Arabic word may have different meanings depending on the context, a typical feature or all Semitic languages.
The first complete translation of the Qur'an was in 9th century into Persian. Until 1936 the Koran had already been translated into 102 languages. The first translation into a European language was into Latin and was made in 1143 by Robert of Ketton.
A second Latin Translation was made in 1698. The first translation into a modern European language was into Italian and was made by Andrea Arrivabene in 1547.
Later, in 1616, this Italian Translation of the Quran was used by Solomon Schweigger in Nuremberg to derive the first German Translation, which in turn was used to derive the first Dutch Translation in 1641.
The first English version was offered in 1649 by Alexander Ross who used the French Translation of L’Alcoran de Mahomet by Andre du Ryer. The first academic translation of the Koran directly from Arabic was in English. It was made in 1734 by the English lawyer George Sale.
The first Japanese Translation was done by Sakamoto Ken-ichi in 1920.
Although Islam had been present in China since the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the first complete Chinese Translation did not appear until 1927. It was made by Li Tiezheng who derived it from the Rodwell’s English version of 1861 via Sakamoto Ken-ichi.
Other Asian languages the Quran has been translated into are: Aceh, Bugis, Javanese, Sundanese and Indonesian.
During the period 1998-2008 there appeared over a dozen translations of the Quran by various Sufi schools of thought and various political movements in the Muslim world.
This revival of the efforts to translate the Quran is a result of two new emerging trends: the need for Muslim to defend and explain their main religious book to non-Muslims following the 11 September terrorist attacks and the emergence of various sectarian movements that feel the need to produce a faithful translation of the Quran to be read by the English-speaking world.
jenadams is based in Richardson, Texas, United States of America, and is a Stringer for Allvoices.
Sources:http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/11370981-translations-of-the-quran
World’s biggest handmade Holy Quran unveiled in Kabul
The inauguration ceremony for the world’s largest hand written Holy Quran was formally launched in the presence of high level Afghan government delegation, key religious figures, religious clerics, scholars and a huge audience of the Afghans in capital Kabul on Thursday.
The inauguration ceremony was also accompanied by opening of Hakim Nasir Khusraw Balkhi Cultural Center and arts exhibition displaying the history of Khurasan.
The initiative for the art of the world’s largest Holy Quran was proposed and sponsored by His Excellency Alhaj Syed Mansoor Naderi, a well known religious personality and leader of the Shia Ismailies in Afghanistan.
The drawing and painting work of the world’s largest Holy Quran was completed in almost 5 years, under the supervision of Hakim Nasir Khusraw Balkhi’s talented artist.
The composition work was started in September 2004 and was completed in September 2009, with at least two years of continuous work for the shafting and archiving work.
The calligraphy work has been done on 218 pages, having a dimension of 228 cm length and 155 cm width. All the 30 parts of the Holy Quran has been done in 30 different designs.
His Excellency Alhaj Syed Mansoor Naderi while speaking during the inauguration described the completion of the art as a major achievement for the Afghan nation and all Muslims in the world.
In the meantime the second deputy for president Hamid Karzai Mohammad Karim Khalili conveyed his message for the inauguration of the world’s largest Holy Quran Calligraphy and opening of the Hakim Nasir Khusraw Balkhi Cultural Center. He said, the completion of the world’s largest Holy Quran calligraphy is a major achievement for the Afghan nation and conveyed his congratulations remarks for His Excellency Syed Mansoor Naderi.
Also, Afghan Senate House speaker Fazal Hadi Muslimyar handed over Appreciation Letters to His Excellency Alhaj Syed Mansoor Naderi, Mr. Sabir Yaqoot Hussaini Khedri and his 9 students who were involved in the calligraphy of the world’s largest Holy Quran calligraphy.
The completion of the calligraphy work of the world’s largest Holy Quran was also praised by Hujat ul Islam Waez Zada Besudi and described the initiative as a vital and major service for the history and culture of Afghanistan.
The inauguration ceremony was also accompanied by the appreciation remarks from Nematullah Shahrani Afghan presidential palace adviser and religious cleric. He also spoke on the history of Khurasan and urged for more steps for further recognition of Nasir Khusraw Balkhi.
He also praised the work of His Excellency Alhaj Syed Mansoor Naderi towards the cultural and historical services.
Several other congratulatory messages were also sent on the occasion of the inauguration ceremony by civil organizations, political parties, religious and cultural personalities.
Sources:http://www.khaama.com/worlds-largest-holy-quran-calligraphy-inaugurated-in-kabul-410
Pictures:
1.Unveiling ceremony of the world's largest Holy Quran (12) (Photo 1 of 15 photo(s)).
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