Publisher's Synopsis
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
The Qur'ān is the primary source of knowledge for guidance in Islam.
Islamic ethics, laws, and practices all have been derived from the Holy
Qur'ān. In order to know the Islamic teachings, the understanding of the Holy
Qur'ān plays a vital role. Since the language of Qur'ān is Arabic, it, therefore,
becomes difficult to understand Qur'ān for non-Arabic speaking people.
As Islam started spreading far and wide across the world, the strong
need to understand the Holy Qur'ān arose so that people can understand,
contemplate and practice the guidance of the Holy Qur'ān in letter and spirit.
The translation of the Qur'ān now is regarded as one of the major branches
of Qur'ānic studies and an important part of the Islamic scholarship. A large
number of Muslim scholars from the non-Arab world have engaged with the
learning of the Arabic language so as to understand the Qur'ānic text
effectively. With the spread of Islam, non-Muslim scholars too started taking
interest in Qur'ān due to various reasons. In 1649, an orientalist Alexander
Ross, for the first time attempted to translate the Qur'ān in English relying on
a French translation through secondary sources even without knowing. Later
in the 19th century, some more orientalists like Rodwell and Parmer
attempted to translate the Qur'ān in the English Arabic language. Thus, the
orientalists were a pioneer in the English translation of the Qur'ān however
their motive was different rather than understanding the Qur'ānic teachings.
In the early 20th century many Muslims also attempted to translate the
Holy Qur'ān but they lacked the required scholarship for such a task. Their
purpose was simply to counter orientalist translations. The serious and
honest attempt taken with the advent of Muhammad Marmaduke William
Pickthall's translation 'The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'ān' published in
London in 1930. He tried to produce a faithful translation meant for academic
scholars and today it has become widely read translation across the world.
Thereafter, such an attempt was taken by many other scholars of various
backgrounds. There are more than 80 English translations available now,
