Translating the Quran in the Languages of the World
By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan for New Age Islam
24 April, 2015
Shaikh Sadi Shirazi (d. 1291) was a famous Persian poet. In his acclaimed book Gulistan, he mentions that once while he was on a journey he met a man. He wanted to talk with him but could not do so. This was because he was a Turk and did not know any language other than Turkish.
‘The language of my friend is Turkish,’ Shaikh Sadi wrote, ‘and I don’t know Turkish.’
This story has interesting parallels with the relationship between people and the Quran today. By their very nature, human beings are seekers of Truth. They want to discover their Creator. The language of the book of the Creator is Arabic, but many people do not know Arabic.
This demands that the Quran be translated into every language in the world and in an easily understandable manner, and that it be made available to people who do not know Arabic. Because of the importance of this work, it should be done on a priority basis. In the present-day, this is the first and foremost responsibility of the Muslim community. No other action can be an alternative to this.
Unleashing self-styled jihads against what is called ‘oppression’, creating a big hue and cry in the name of ‘Islamic rule’, community work, enforcement of Islamic law and other such things that present-day Muslims are so busy with are all is as far as this duty is concerned irrelevant.
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