Quran Translators Urged to Mull over the Verses before Embarking on Translation

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

Quran Translators Urged to Mull over the Verses before Embarking on Translation

A translator of the Holy Quran said lack of knowledge about the concepts of Quranic verses has led to publication of weak Persian translations of the Holy Book in recent years.

Abolfazl Bahrampur told IQNA that Quran translators ought to be well acquainted with the concept and meaning of the verses so as to be able to convey the concepts in the target language.

He also said translators should be able to convey the meaning in the shortest and most eloquent sentences. “We see that some translators use parentheses and brackets to give further explanations whereas a good translator should be able to convey the meaning within the sentences.”

Mr. Bahrampur stressed that merely knowing the Arabic and Persian languages does not make one a good translator of the Quran. “He should first understand the meaning well so that he can put it in another language through appropriate and accurate words. Otherwise, lack of proper understanding of the verses will lead to weak renderings.”

The author of Nasim-e Hayat (breeze of life) also highlighted the need for better supervision for Quran translation.

He added that translators of the Holy Book need to attend review sessions where their works are evaluated. “Scientific criticism of works will lead to improvement of Quran translation. Thus, we should try to pave the way for methodological evaluation.”

Comparing Persian translations of the Quran rendered in the past and present, Mr. Bahrampur said, “In recent years, the Quran translators have taken a step forward compared to previous translators. In the current works, translators tend to prevent the influence of their personal ideas on their translation.”

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