Errors in Quran Translations Originate from Misunderstanding the Tafsirs
Translators of the Quran into Persian sometimes have an inaccurate understanding of the Tafsirs (interpretations) of the Quran and thus make errors in conveying the message of the verses, a university scholar said.
Speaking to IQNA, Ali Andishe, sociologist and translator from German, added that the reason for misunderstanding the Tafsirs is lack of mastery over Fiqh and interpretation sciences.
He said he is interested in reading the Quran and comprehend the meaning of the verses by using sociological theories as well as referring to Quran exegeses.
“In the course of my studies, I encounter some renderings of the Quran [into Persian] that, unfortunately, fail to present an accurate meaning of the verses to the reader. When I refer to major Shia exegeses, I can see that eminent Quran interpreters have correctly interpreted the verses but the translators have made mistakes in conveying the meaning.”
The scholar stated that sociologically speaking, the Quran is cohesive and that if one verse is understood inaccurately, there will be problems in understanding other verses as well.
He further regretted that many of the translations of the Quran are merely a repetition of previous renderings and that translators fail to try to present new works.
Mr. Andishe also said that some ideas remaining from the Umayyad era have influenced the translations of the Quran, a trend that should be corrected.
“While in Medina, I studied the majority of Arabic interpretations of the Quran and learned that many of the early translations of the Quran have been done referring to these exegeses. They often promote the ideas of the Umayyads and therefore using them, as a reference for translation of the verses of the Quran, results in making errors.”
Elsewhere in his remarks, the scholar said in order for presenting an accurate translation of the Holy Book, a group of experts should gather together and work on rendering the verses from original Arabic into another language.
He went on to say that a Quran translator should be familiar with Fiqhi (jurisprudential) and interpretational sciences as well as the characteristics of the Arabic language spoken at the time of revelation.
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He said he is interested in reading the Quran and comprehend the meaning of the verses by using sociological theories as well as referring to Quran exegeses.
“In the course of my studies, I encounter some renderings of the Quran [into Persian] that, unfortunately, fail to present an accurate meaning of the verses to the reader. When I refer to major Shia exegeses, I can see that eminent Quran interpreters have correctly interpreted the verses but the translators have made mistakes in conveying the meaning.”
The scholar stated that sociologically speaking, the Quran is cohesive and that if one verse is understood inaccurately, there will be problems in understanding other verses as well.
He further regretted that many of the translations of the Quran are merely a repetition of previous renderings and that translators fail to try to present new works.
Mr. Andishe also said that some ideas remaining from the Umayyad era have influenced the translations of the Quran, a trend that should be corrected.
“While in Medina, I studied the majority of Arabic interpretations of the Quran and learned that many of the early translations of the Quran have been done referring to these exegeses. They often promote the ideas of the Umayyads and therefore using them, as a reference for translation of the verses of the Quran, results in making errors.”
Elsewhere in his remarks, the scholar said in order for presenting an accurate translation of the Holy Book, a group of experts should gather together and work on rendering the verses from original Arabic into another language.
He went on to say that a Quran translator should be familiar with Fiqhi (jurisprudential) and interpretational sciences as well as the characteristics of the Arabic language spoken at the time of revelation.
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