Mauritanian Translator of Quran Mohamed Mokhtar Ould Abah Dies
The scholar, who had rendered the Holy Book into the French language, passed away on January 22, according to Hesspress website.
Born in 1924 in Boutilimit province of Mauritania, he memorized the Quran and started learning religious sciences.
He graduated from Muhammad V University in Morocco in the field of Arabic literature and civilization and then got a PhD from Sorbonne University in France, writing his thesis on the history of Islamic Sharia studies in his home country.
Mohamed el Mokhtar Ould Abah contributed to the establishment of the first university of Islamic education in Mauritania and was considered as a pioneer in the field of Arabic language and Islamic culture studies in the country.
He wrote some 50 books in such fields as Quranic sciences, Hadith, Seerah, Fiqh, religious principles, language and literature.
His translation of the Quran in French is considered to be among the best.
One of his books, “The Legal Literature and the Evolution of Malikism in Mauritania, which was published in 1981, is a major reference for researchers interested in religious currents.
He was also a highly respected politician, serving several times as a deputy and minister in Mauritania. In the early sixties, King Hassan II appointed him director of national radio.
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