Lecture on ‘English Translations of Quran’

Aligarh : Prof A R Kidwai, Honorary Director, K A Nizami Centre for Quranic Studies, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) spoke on different translations of the Holy Quran and preliminary rules for comparing and evaluating the discourse structure.

He was delivering the Shah Waliullah Memorial Lecture on ‘English Translations of the Quran: Trends and Issues’ of the Centre for Arabic and African Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi.

Prof Kidwai deliberated the history of English translations of the Quran from 1649 to 2022 and analysed its main contours, approaches and methodology.

Speaking on the translations by scholars of various religious sects and Orientalists, he discussed the spurt in the translations, particularly by Western Muslim scholars.

Prof Kidwai regretted the persistence of the Orientalist misperceptions and misconceptions in the latest versions by Alan Jones and A J Droge.

“The forays by Thomas Cleary and David Hungerford stand out as earnest and sincere attempts to relate the Quranic message”, he said.

Prof Kidwai also spoke highly of the cogent interpretations by Ahmad ZakiHammad, TarifKhalidi and Mustafa Khattab and emphasised the need for a translation in academic and idiomatic English.