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Introduction

The Quran occupies a pivotal position in the Muslim society. It is the guidance par excellence. It is the ultimate source of all norms and values. It is the supreme law in a Muslim society. According to Imam Shafi’I, all the Islamic literature is directly or indirectly an exposition of the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), and the Sunnah is nothing but an elaboration of the Quran. Any attempt to communicate the message of Islam to the four corners of the world should, therefore, start with the dissemination of the verses and teachings of the Quran. It was with the thrilling and forceful verses of the Quran that the Holy Prophet (PBUH) started his mission as the Messenger of God. With the spread of the message of Quran the light of Islam reached the farthest corners of the then known world.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” css=”.vc_custom_1539591636791{padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 2px !important;}” el_class=”page-text”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1538655528005{padding-top: 0px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1540804676956{margin-bottom: 10px !important;}”]During the early centuries of Islam, people who came contact with message of Islam were soon influenced by the spiritual force, intellectual vigor strength of the Islamic culture and civilization. Arabic became not only the lingua franca of the regions and the people where Islam reached, it also became the principal vehicle for pursuing scientific knowledge and philosophy. In those days, Muslims did not feel any pressing and real need to translate the Quran in the languages of the regions where they intended to communicate the message of Islam. In fact, the unparalleled oral stature of the Muslims, the unprecedented character and commitment to the cause and the indefatigable efforts made by the Prophet (PBUH) were adequate guarantees for the effective communication of the message of the Quran. However, with the passage of time Muslims’ religious vigour and missionary fervour started slackening, and consequently Arabic language also lost its status as the major vehicle of intellectual pursuits.

In this situation, Muslim scholars addressed themselves to the heavy task of developing the modalities for communicating the message of Islam. It became necessary to present the message of God in the language of the people and in the style known to them in order to ensure the continuity of the process of Da’wah. It was in this background that Islamic literature began appearing in various languages. Books on the teachings of the Quran, life of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), Islamic beliefs and way of life were written in various languages. The translation of the Quran also started appearing in different languages.

Though the great task of translating the Quran in other languages has been in progress for many centuries but these translations have been mostly confined to the languages prevalent in Muslim-dominated areas with result that Da’wah work suffered encumbrances in purely non-Muslim lands. However, a number of non-Muslim European scholars rendered translations of the Quran and wrote on Islam in their languages; but mostly their work had a biased approach giving a distorted picture of Islamic teaching. It was only during the early period of the previous century when the first-ever English translation of the Holy Book was written by a Muslim European i.e. Muhammad Mermaduke Pickthal. Since then a number of translations of the Quran have appeared in English and some other European languages.

It is an unfortunate fact of Islamic history that no institutionalized collective effort has ever been made for translation of the Holy Quran in world languages as has been done by Christian institutions which have brought out translations of Bible n nearly every known language of the world. The need for such an organized and collective endeavor has always been there, but now with the changes in the world scenario it has assumed a greater urgency and importance. Da’wah is a continuous process and is obligatory on every Muslim. The present-day global science has proved a great opportunity for the Ummah to disseminate the message the true faith.

The resurgence of Islam and its dynamic and revolutionary principles have created a widespread global interest. The educated, the intelligent and the inquiring minds of the modern world are getting more and more interested to learn the reasons for the resilience and tenacity of this great religion. The moral and spiritual crisis from which the present-day hedonistic world is suffering can find an answer to its problems in Islamic teaching. Wide distribution of translations of Holy Quran in different languages will help clear the distortions about Islam in the western mind.

The Da’wah Academy, International Islamic University, Islamabad, has been active for last three decades in publication of the translations of the Holy Quran in different languages. Since 1989, the Academy has printed the following translation of the Holy Quran:[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1540886103640{margin-top: 20px !important;margin-bottom: 10px !important;}”]

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