
By Zillur Rahman Haider
New Delhi: The latest translation of the Holy Quran into English was formally launched on Saturday (February 8) at the India Islamic Cultural Centre.
The event drew a diverse audience, encompassing scholars, religious leaders, students, and community members, underscoring the significance of the message of Islam for the present times.
Dr. Zafarul-Islam Khan, the translator and commentator of this work titled, The Glorious Quran, spoke at length about the need for a modern translation in simple English which should be accessible to everyone when English has spread to all corners of the world. The available English translations do not meet today’s needs nor do their commentaries answer questions raised in recent times.
The translator, Dr Khan, is a well-known Islamic scholar who studied at Al-Azhar and Cairo University and obtained PhD from Manchester University in the UK. He has written and translated over 50 books in Arabic, English and Urdu. He said this annotated translation is available in two editions: one with parallel Arabic text and its translation and the other with only the English translation.
He said this translation is now also available online at https://thegloriousquran.net/ though the Net edition is still in progress.
Dr. Khan said that during this work only the most authentic and earliest Arabic sources were used and great effort was made to present the translation of the Quran and introduction of Islam as they were understood by the earliest Muslim scholars and commentators of the Holy Quran.
He said though his work started as an attempt to correct the translation of Abdullah Yusuf Ali it slowly evolved into a new translation with a lengthy introduction of the Quran, a chapter on the life of Prophet Muhammad, and several indices including Islamic terms and a Quranic index which has made it a comprehensive guide of the Holy Quran and Islam.
The launch ceremony was presided over by Dr. Syeda Syedain Hameed, a former member of the Planning Commission of India. The speakers included Prof. Saleem Engineer, Vice President of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Maulana Muhibullah Nadwi, Member of Parliament, Professor Abdul Majid Qazi of the Department of Arabic, Jamia Millia Islamia, Professor Muhammad Qutbuddin of the Department of Arabic, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Dr. Waris Mazhari of the Department of Islamic Studies, Jamia Hamdard, and Abdul Wadood Sajid, editor of the north Indian editions of the Urdu daily, Inquilab.