Post-Revolution Quran Translation
--Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, a growing trend started in translation of the Quran into Persian and a wide variety of works with varying degrees of qualities have been rendered by veteran translators with a wealth of experience in this field.
The Persian language is the first language into which the Quran was rendered. Historical facts indicate that during the lifetime of the prophet Mohammad (PBUH) some verses of the Quran were for the first time translated into Persian and this recurred more than one thousand times throughout history. Such a record is unique among 106 languages into which the Quran has been translated and this is a tremendous honor for speakers of Persian.
The process of Quran translation underwent massive changes throughout years. Quran translations in every era were in sync with the properties of the language spoken and written by Iranians of that era. As time went by, translators achieved a more comprehensive mastery of the job and were able to provide more exact equivalents for Quranic terms and expressions and develop new methods. They gradually formed different methods for translating the Quran, known today as “literary”, “word for word”, “conceptual”, “free”, “interpretive” and “structural” translations.
After the victory of the Islamic revolution, thanks to the efforts made by a number of Quran researchers and literary figures, 30 Persian translations of the Divine Revelation were published. This valuable collection created a unique opportunity for other researchers to do Quran studies and the post-revolution era was dubbed “the age of the great leap in Quran translation”.
Post-revolution Quran translation works are superior to those rendered earlier, which were mainly based on “word for word” method and were usually replete with loaded words that made it difficult for readers to understand. Quran translations underwent a distinct shift toward “conceptual”, “free” and “interpretive” methods in the last three decades. Some experts believe that not all the 30 translation works produced after the revolution are noteworthy and that some are even poor in quality; however, it is beyond dispute that they all contain innovative ideas and methods.
In general, it is widely believed that the post-revolution Quran translations sustained a steady growth in terms of fluency, using precise equivalents and being more conceptual.
According to Quran translator Mohammad Khamehgar there has been a noticeable growth in Quran translation in recent years and as a result many works came onto the market. “But now it is time to conduct more research in the field of Quran translation and I hope we will soon have a methodology for translating the Quran.”
Mohammad-Javad Najafi, who is a board member at the University of Qom, believes that despite an accelerating trend in Quran translation after the Islamic revolution, there are still much to be done.
Professor Mohammad-Ja’far Yahaqqi from the Firdowsi University of Mashhad agrees. He says that as the translations improve, the more profound people’s understanding of the Quran will be.
Seminary instructor Hojjat ul-Islam Mohammad-Baqer Hojjati expresses pleasure over the progress in the field of Quran translation. “There have been a number of outstanding translations of the Quran after the Islamic Revolution including those by Mohammad-Mehdi Fouladvand and Jalaleddin Mojtabavi. Other translations have mostly been attempts to correct faults in previous works,” he says.
Literary critic Hojjat ul-Islam Mohammad-Ali Kousha points to pioneering translations of the Quran produced by prominent cleric Mahdi Elahi-Qomshe’i and Zeinolabedin Rahnama, whose works rank among the most popular translations.
Other leading religious and literary figures who embarked on translating the word of God into Persian after the revolution include grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem-Shirazi, Ayatollah Ali Meshkini, Mohammad-Mehdi Fouladvand, Bahaoddin Khorramshahi, Abdolmohammad Ayati, Jalaleddin Farsi, Tahere Saffar-Harandi and Ali Mosavi-Garmaroudi.
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The process of Quran translation underwent massive changes throughout years. Quran translations in every era were in sync with the properties of the language spoken and written by Iranians of that era. As time went by, translators achieved a more comprehensive mastery of the job and were able to provide more exact equivalents for Quranic terms and expressions and develop new methods. They gradually formed different methods for translating the Quran, known today as “literary”, “word for word”, “conceptual”, “free”, “interpretive” and “structural” translations.
After the victory of the Islamic revolution, thanks to the efforts made by a number of Quran researchers and literary figures, 30 Persian translations of the Divine Revelation were published. This valuable collection created a unique opportunity for other researchers to do Quran studies and the post-revolution era was dubbed “the age of the great leap in Quran translation”.
Post-revolution Quran translation works are superior to those rendered earlier, which were mainly based on “word for word” method and were usually replete with loaded words that made it difficult for readers to understand. Quran translations underwent a distinct shift toward “conceptual”, “free” and “interpretive” methods in the last three decades. Some experts believe that not all the 30 translation works produced after the revolution are noteworthy and that some are even poor in quality; however, it is beyond dispute that they all contain innovative ideas and methods.
In general, it is widely believed that the post-revolution Quran translations sustained a steady growth in terms of fluency, using precise equivalents and being more conceptual.
According to Quran translator Mohammad Khamehgar there has been a noticeable growth in Quran translation in recent years and as a result many works came onto the market. “But now it is time to conduct more research in the field of Quran translation and I hope we will soon have a methodology for translating the Quran.”
Mohammad-Javad Najafi, who is a board member at the University of Qom, believes that despite an accelerating trend in Quran translation after the Islamic revolution, there are still much to be done.
Professor Mohammad-Ja’far Yahaqqi from the Firdowsi University of Mashhad agrees. He says that as the translations improve, the more profound people’s understanding of the Quran will be.
Seminary instructor Hojjat ul-Islam Mohammad-Baqer Hojjati expresses pleasure over the progress in the field of Quran translation. “There have been a number of outstanding translations of the Quran after the Islamic Revolution including those by Mohammad-Mehdi Fouladvand and Jalaleddin Mojtabavi. Other translations have mostly been attempts to correct faults in previous works,” he says.
Literary critic Hojjat ul-Islam Mohammad-Ali Kousha points to pioneering translations of the Quran produced by prominent cleric Mahdi Elahi-Qomshe’i and Zeinolabedin Rahnama, whose works rank among the most popular translations.
Other leading religious and literary figures who embarked on translating the word of God into Persian after the revolution include grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem-Shirazi, Ayatollah Ali Meshkini, Mohammad-Mehdi Fouladvand, Bahaoddin Khorramshahi, Abdolmohammad Ayati, Jalaleddin Farsi, Tahere Saffar-Harandi and Ali Mosavi-Garmaroudi.
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