Authenticity, Simplicity and Beauty, Distinguishing Features of Dr. Gohari’s English Translation of Quran

Sources: www.ahl-ul-bayt.org, www.iqna.ir/en/

Authenticity, Simplicity and Beauty, Distinguishing Features of Dr. Gohari’s English Translation of Quran

-- Authenticity, simplicity and beauty are the areas on which I put a great deal of emphasis while translating the holy Quran into English, Dr Mohammad Javad Gohari told IQNA.

The first edition of Dr Gohari’s translation was published in 2002 and the third edition has just come out. In an interview with IQNA, he talked about the translation and how it started.

“It was nearly ten years ago when I felt that it was immensely useful for my children and other children to dedicate some time to reading the Quran, starting with the stories. So I opted to choose a selection of the translations that could be used for that purpose,” he said. “I started reading them trying to choose the areas that I felt were useful for children. Every now and then, since I know Arabic as well, I felt that there were irregularities in the translations. Many of the words had not been translated the way they should have been translated."

Oxford University Lecturer

Irregularities could be forgiven if one were reading the translation of a literary work, not a holy book of immense ideological significance to a large group of people

He stressed that irregularities could be forgiven if one were reading the translation of a literary work, not a holy book of immense ideological significance to a large group of people. “The Quran is different. It is a source of knowledge.”

Dr Gohari noted that irregularities and mistranslations were not the only problem. “Some of the translations did not have errors but I felt they do not really give out the intended meaning. Some used very difficult and obsolete words.”

He said he felt there was somehow some gap in the English speaking world as far as the translation of the Quran is concerned. “There are Muslims who speak English and also Non-Muslim speakers of English who want to know about the Quran. They needed a reliable source.”

This was his main incentive and so he expanded his search for a good translation and studied all the translations that came to his attention but could not find what he was looking for. “Every translation I came across had some problems that I felt could not be overlooked. Eventually when I felt my pursuit was futile, it became clear to me that it was my duty to do something and so I started the translation.”

Speaking about the distinguishing features of his translation, the Oxford University lecturer said, “The translation of the Quran has to be simple, readable, understandable and comprehensible not only to scholars but to all the people because the Quran is for everyone. If a translator of the Quran wants to do a good job, he has to consider everyone and I took this into account in my translation. If there is a translation that some people have difficulty understanding, there must be something wrong with it. So simplicity was something that I aimed for. At the same time beauty of the translation was also taken into account.”

Dr Gohari

Authenticity, simplicity and beauty are the areas on which I put a great deal of emphasis while translating the Noble Quran

Dr Gohari referred to authenticity as the most important feature of his translation. “A translation of the Quran must be authentic as much as possible because the Quran is a book of law for so many people who base their lives on its teachings and injunctions. So for me as a Muslim it would be unacceptable to present a translation of the holy book which is not authentic. So authenticity, simplicity and beauty are the areas on which I put a great deal of emphasis while translating the Noble Quran.”

Asked how he assesses the success of the translation, he said it is up to others to decide how successful he has been in translating the book of God. But he said feedbacks from those who have read the work shows it has been quite a success. “Even before the translation was published, I put it to those at whom it was aimed, those whom I wanted to understand the translation. And I received positive feedback. For example, there were six or seven year old children to whom the translation was read out and children that young well understood it.”

Director of Oxford Quran Institute went on to say that there is still a long way to go before the translation is acceptably perfect. “Of course the Quran can never be perfectly translated into any language. But through repeated revisions the translation can become more perfect.”

He noted that the third edition of the translation has just come out. “In the third edition I have added commentaries and explanations as footnotes. There is a fourth edition planned which we are working on.”

Mohammad Javad Gohari got his M.A. in theology from Imam Sadeq (AS) University in Iran and then moved to Britain to continue his education there. He holds two PhDs, one in religions and mysticism from the University of Leeds, and the other in international law from the University of Oxford.

His scholarly works include “Islamic Judaism”, “Islamic Christianity”, and “Brief Encyclopedia of Iraq”. He has also translated Toshihiko Izutsu’s “Sufism and Taoism” into Persian.