Al-Qur'ani, zance na ƙarshe tsakanin Allah da mutum, an saukar da shi cikin harshen Annabi na ƙarshe ﷺ, harshen mutanen da aka tashe shi a cikin su, kuma waɗanda aka ƙaddara za su isar da saƙon ƙarshe har zuwa iyakokin duniya. Allah ya halicci mutum da launuka iri-iri, kuma ya koyar da mutum harsuna daban-daban. Allah, Mai hikima ƙwarai, ya aiko kowane manzonsa yana magana da harshen mutanensa, domin a sauƙaƙa isar da saƙon Allah. Wannan an bayyana shi a fili a cikin ayar:

The Qur’aan, the final discourse between God and man, was revealed in the language of the final Prophet (r), the language of the people among whom he was raised and by whom the last message was destined to be carried to the ends of the world. Allaah created man in a variety of colors and taught man diverse languages. Allaah, Most Wise, sent each of His messengers speaking the language of his people in order to facilitate the transmission of the divine message. This was clearly stated in the verse:

Saboda haka, dukkan annabawa an tayar da su daga cikin mutanensu, duk da cewa dukkansu suna ɗauke da saƙo ɗaya na asali:

Consequently, all prophets were raised up from among their own people, even though they all carried the same basic message:

Duk da haka, duk da cewa saƙon ƙarshe duniya ne baki ɗaya, kamar yadda ayar ke nunawa,

Thus, in spite of the final message’s universality, echoed in the verse,

Da ayar,

and the verse,

Wannan saƙon an saukar da shi ne a cikin harshen Larabci.

this message was revealed in the Arabic language.

Daular Musulunci ta tashi a tsibirin Larabawa, ta mamaye shi, kuma cikin sauri ta bazu zuwa kasashen makwabta na Afirka, Asiya Karama, Indiya da Asiya. Ba da jimawa ba Larabci ya zama ba kawai harshen wahayin ƙarshe na Musulunci ba, har ma harshen hukuma na babbar daular Musulunci mai ƙunshe da al'adu da harsuna daban-daban. Wasu mutane sun riga sun iya magana da Larabci, amma yawancinsu ba su iya ba.

The Islaamic state arose in the Arabian peninsula, engulfed it, and quickly spread to the neighboring lands of Africa, Asia Minor, India, and Asia. Arabic soon became not only the language of the final revelation of Islaam, but also the official language of a vast Islaamic empire encompassing diverse cultures and languages. Some of the people already spoke Arabic, while most did not.

Sai dai cikin ɗan gajeren lokaci, Musulunci da harshen Larabci sun yaɗu cikin sauri a tsakanin mutane. Wasu harsunan baƙi sun karɓi kalmomin Larabci-Musulunci, kuma masu magana da su suka fara rubuta su da rubutun Larabci. Daga ƙarshe, yawancin waɗannan harsuna sun koma baya ko kuma Larabci ya maye gurbinsu. Harshen Coptic na mutanen Masar da harshen Berber na arewacin Afirka misalai ne na yadda Larabci ya maye gurbin harsunan ƙasa, yayin da Hausa, Farisanci da Malay misalai ne na harsunan da suka karɓi kalmomin Larabci da yawa kuma aka rubuta su da rubutun Larabci. A wasu yankuna kuma, an samar da harsunan kasuwanci waɗanda suka haɗa harsunan gida da kalmomin Larabci masu yawa, amma su ma an rubuta su da rubutun Larabci. Sai dai bayan raunana daular ‘Abbasiyyah, sarakunan yaƙi na Farisa da Turkawa sun raba daular zuwa sarautu da dama masu gogayya da juna. Harshen Farisanci shi ne harshen gwamnati a yawancin waɗannan sarautu.5

However, within a very short period, Islaam and Arabic spread rapidly among the people. Some foreign languages absorbed Arabic-Islaamic terms and those who spoke them began to write them in the Arabic script. Eventually, many of these languages were overshadowed or replaced by Arabic. The Coptic language of the Egyptians and Berber of the North Africans are some examples of the replacement of national languages by Arabic, while Hausa, Persian and Malay are examples of languages which absorbed large amounts of Arabic words and were written in Arabic script. In other areas, trading languages developed, made up of a mixture of local languages and large amounts of Arabic, but even these languages were written in Arabic script. However, when the ‘Abbaasid caliphate weakened, Persian and Turkish warlords carved the state into a number of competing sultanates. Persian was the language of government of many of these states.5

"Duk wanda ya karanta harafi daga littafin Allah yana samun lada,"7 ya samu sabuwar ma'ana. Wannan magana an yi ta ne ga Musulmai masu magana da Larabci don ƙarfafa su su karanta Alƙur'ani gwargwadon iko. Manufar wannan ƙarfafawa ita ce ƙara fahimtar saƙon Allah, kuma ba a taɓa nufin ta zama maimaita kawai ba na abin da aka kawo shi da shi. Duk da haka, tare da tasowar kishin ƙasa na al'adun Turkawa, sai aka samu ra'ayin karanta harufa da kalmomin Alƙur'ani kawai saboda neman lada. Da yawa daga ɗalibai suka fara haddace dukan Alƙur'ani ba tare da fahimtar kalma ɗaya daga abin da suka haddace ba. Maimaita Alƙur'ani ya zama al'ada da aka karɓa kuma aka daraja ta sosai.

“Whoever reads a letter from Allaah’s book earns a blessing,”7 took on new meaning. This statement was made to Arabic-speaking Muslims to encourage them to read as much of the Qur’aan as possible. The goal behind this encouragement was increased exposure to Allaah’s message, and it was never intended to be the mere parroting of the vehicle in which it was brought. However, with the rise of Turkish cultural nationalism, there arose the concept of reading the letters and words of the Qur’aan simply for the blessing. Many students began memorizing the whole Qur’aan without understanding a word of what they had memorized. Parroting the Qur’aan became an accepted and highly regarded practice.

Tare da rugujewa da watsewar daular Musulunci da bullowar mulkin mallaka na Turawa, tsarin canji na hankali wanda harsunan al'ummar Musulmi ke sauyawa zuwa Larabci ya tsaya cik gaba daya. Turawan mulkin mallaka sun raba yankunan Musulmi, kuma sun bukaci harsunan da ba su kammala canzawa zuwa Larabci ba su rubuta su da rubutun Latin. Misalan wannan yunkurin juyawa za a iya gani a tilasta wa harsunan Afirka kamar Hausa da Swahili karbar rubutun Latin; da harsunan Gabas ta Tsakiya kamar Turanci; da harsunan Asiya kamar Malay. Yawancin makarantun Alkur'ani inda ake koyar da Larabci an rufe su ko kuma an maye gurbinsu da makarantun Kirista, kuma kadan daga cikin makarantun da suka rage suna koyar da lafazin Larabci kawai.

With the decline and break up of the Muslim state and the rise of European colonialism, the transitional process by which Muslim people’s languages were evolving into Arabic was totally halted. Colonialists divided Muslim territories and required languages that had not completed the transition to Arabic to be written in Latin script. Examples of this attempt at reversal can be seen in the forced adoption of the Latin script by African languages, such as Hausa and Swahili; Middle Eastern languages, such as Turkish; and Asian languages, such as Malay. 8 Many of the Qur’aanic schools in which Arabic was taught were closed down or replaced by Christian schools, and the few schools which remained taught only the pronunciation of Arabic.

Sakamakon haka, mafi yawan Musulmai sun ci gaba da rashin fahimtar harshen Larabci, duk da cewa da yawa daga cikinsu sun ci gaba da karatu da furta rubutunsa. Domin cike wannan gibi, wasu malamai Musulmi a waɗannan ƙasashe waɗanda ba sa magana da Larabci suka fara fassara Alƙur'ani zuwa harsunan yankunansu. Fassarar farko da aka sani irin wannan ita ce ta Shah ‘Abdul Qaadir na Delhi (d. 1826 CE).9 Wannan motsi na fassara ya fara samun ƙarfi a ƙarshen karni na sha takwas miladiyya.

Consequently, the vast majority of Muslims remained unable to understand Arabic, even though many of them continued to read and pronounce its script. In an attempt to fill this vacuum, some Muslim scholars in these non-Arabic speaking countries began to translate the Qur’aan into their local tongues. The earliest known translation of this type was by Shah ‘Abdul Qaadir of Delhi (d. 1826 CE).9 This movement to translation began to gather momentum around the latter part of the eighteenth century C.E.

Duk da haka, waɗannan ba su ne fassarorin farko da aka yi zuwa harsunan waje ba. Kafin ci gaban harsunan Turai na zamani, Latin, harshen Daular Roman Mai Tsarki, shi ne harshen al'adu a Turai. Saboda haka, fassarar farko da aka rubuta ita ce zuwa Latin. An yi ta ne domin Gidan Ibada na Cluny a shekara ta 1143, amma ba a buga ta ba sai shekara ta 1543 a Basle ta hannun Bibliander.10 Daga nan aka sake fassara wannan fassarar Latin zuwa Jamusanci ta hannun Schweigger a Bavaria a shekara ta 1616, zuwa Faransanci ta hannun DuRyer a Paris a shekara ta 1647, kuma zuwa Rashanci a St. Petersburg a shekara ta 1776.11 Fassarar Ingilishi ta farko, ta hannun A. Ross, kwafin fassarar DuRyer ta Faransanci ce kawai, kuma an buga ta 'yan shekaru bayan ta DuRyer.12 A wannan lokaci, Maracci, mai ba Fafaroma Innocent XI shawara a ruhaniyance, ya samar da wata fassarar Latin a shekara ta 1698, wadda ta haɗa da rubutun Larabci da kuma ambato daga sharhohin Larabci daban-daban, waɗanda ya zaɓa da gangan kuma ya murɗe, domin ya ba Turawa mummunan ra'ayi game da Musulunci. Maracci mutum ne mai ilimi, kuma manufarsa a bayyane take. Ya sadaukar da aikinsa ga Sarkin Daular Roman Mai Tsarki, Leopold I, kuma ya rubuta masa gabatarwa mai taken, "Raddi ga Alƙur'ani."13

However, these were not the earliest translations made into foreign languages. Before the evolution of modern European languages, Latin, the language of the Holy Roman Empire, was the language of culture in Europe. Hence, the earliest recorded translation was into Latin. It was made for the Monastery of Cluny in 1143, but it was not published until 1543 at Basle by Bibliander.10 This Latin translation was subsequently translated into German by Schweigger in Bavaria in 1616, into French by DuRyer in Paris in 1647, and into Russian at St. Petersburg in 1776.11 The first English translation, by A. Ross, was merely a translation of DuRyer’s French translation, and was published a few years after DuRyer’s. 12 During this period, Maracci, a confessor to Pope Innocent XI, produced another Latin translation in 1698, which included the Arabic text as well as quotations from various Arabic commentaries, carefully selected and garbled, in order to give Europeans the worst possible impression of Islaam. Maracci was a learned man, and his agenda was clear. He dedicated his work to the Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, and wrote an introductory volume for it entitled, “Refutation of the Quran.” 13

Daga cikin fassarorin Turanci mafi yawan yaduwa akwai na George Sale, wanda aka yi a shekara ta 1734. Sale ya fassara daga fassarar Latin ta Maracci, kuma ya haɗa da gabatarwarsa da bayanansa masu son zuciya. 14 Wasu misalai kuma su ne na Rev. J.M. Rodwell, wanda aka buga a shekara ta 1876, wanda a cikinsa aka tsara surori a cikin tsari na kusan bin lokaci, da kuma na Farfesa E.H. Palmer, wanda aka buga a shekara ta 1876.15

Among the most widely circulated English translations was that of George Sale, made in 1734. Sale translated from Maracci’s Latin version and included his biased notes and introduction. 14 Other examples are that of Rev. J.M. Rodwell, published in 1876, in which the chapters were placed in a rough chronological order, and that of Professor E.H. Palmer, published in 1876.15

Sai dai duk waɗannan fassarori sun ƙunshi son zuciya mai ƙarfi a kan Musulunci, ko a cikin rubutun fassarar ko a cikin gabatarwa da bayanan ƙasa. Saboda haka wasu malaman Musulunci na Indiya suka fara wannan aiki mai girma na fassara ma'anar Alƙur'ani daidai cikin Turanci. Na farko da ya yi haka shi ne Dakta Muhammad 'Abdul Hakeem Khan na Patiala a shekarar 1905. Abin takaici, bayan wannan fassara sai aka yi ta Maulvi Muhammad 'Alee, malamin Ahmadiyya, a shekarar 1917, wanda ke nuna ra'ayoyin ƙungiyar Ahmadiyya, ƙungiyar bata-gari mai da'awar Musulunci. Saboda ƙarfin aikin da'awa na ƙungiyar, fassararsu ta sami yaɗuwa sosai a Yamma har zuwa kwanan nan. A shekarar 1919, Mirza Hairat na Delhi ma ya buga fassara, kuma an buga fassarar Hafiz Ghulam Sarwar a shekarar 1929. Sai dai babu ɗayan waɗannan da aka karanta sosai.16

However, all of these translations contained a strong anti-Islaamic bias, either in their translated texts or in their introductions and footnotes. Consequently some Muslim scholars of India began the formidable task of accurately rendering the Qur’aan’s meaning in English. The first to do so was Dr. Muhammad ‘Abdul Hakeem Khan of Patiala in 1905. Unfortunately, this translation was followed in 1917 by that of the Ahmadee scholar Maulvi Muhammad ‘Alee, which reflects the ideas of the Ahmadeeyah psuedo-Islaamic sect. Due to the strong missionary activity of the sect, their translation has, until recently, enjoyed a very wide circulation in the West. In 1919, Mirza Hairat of Delhi also published a translation, and Hafiz Ghulam Sarwar’s translation was published in 1929. However, neither of these was ever widely read.16

A shekara ta 1930, masanin harshen Larabci na Ingilishi, Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall, ya fitar da fassarar Alkur'ani ta farko cikin Turanci wacce wani Musulmi wanda ya karɓi Musulunci ya yi. Wannan malami ya yi abin da ya kira "fassara kusan kalma-da-kalma", kuma ya saka ƴan bayanai kaɗan a ƙasan shafi.17 Duk da haka, fassarar tasa ita ce ta biyu mafi yaɗuwa a wajen Musulmi. Watakila fassarar Turanci da aka fi karantawa ita ce ta 'Abdullaah Yusuf 'Ali, wadda aka fara bugawa a Lahore a shekara ta 1934. Wannan fassara ce mai sassauƙa, inda marubucin, wanda ya samu ilimi a cikin adabin Turanci na gargajiya, ya yi ƙoƙarin mayar da ita aikin adabi mai kyau wanda ke ɗauke da kyawun asalin. Ya bayar da taƙaitaccen bayani da kuma bayanai masu yawa a ƙasan shafi, waɗanda a wasu lokuta sun ƙunshi ra'ayoyi marasa madaidaiciya, idan ba ma bidi'a ba ne. A shekara ta 1980 aka kafa wani kwamiti a Saudiyya don samar da ingantacciyar fassarar Alkur'ani cikin Turanci. Sun zaɓi fassarar 'Abdullaah Yusuf 'Ali a matsayin mafi kyau da ake da ita, suna lura da cewa tana da "salo mai kyau ƙwarai, zaɓin kalmomi kusa da ma'anar asalin rubutun, tare da bayanai da sharhi na malamai." 18 Sun amince, duk da haka, cewa tana da manyan kura-kurai, don haka suka sake gyara fassarar a wurare daban-daban, kuma suka yi gyare-gyare masu yawa a bayanansa domin cire manyan kura-kuransa. Wannan sabon bugu ya fito ne daga Kamfanin Buga Alkur'ani na Sarki Fahd a Madina a shekara ta 1985.

In 1930, the English scholar of Arabic, Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall, produced the first English translation by a Muslim convert. This scholar attempted what he termed an “almost literal translation” and included very few explanatory footnotes.17 Nevertheless, his translation has become the second most widely received among Muslims. Perhaps the most widely read English translation is that of ‘Abdullaah Yusuf ‘Ali, first published in Lahore in 1934. This is a rather free translation, in which the author, who received an education in the English classics, attempted to make a literary masterpiece capturing the beauty of the original. He provided summaries and profuse footnotes which, in a number of instances, included very unorthodox, if not heretical, opinions. A committee was formed in Saudi Arabia in 1980 to produce a reliable English translation of the Qur’aan. They chose ‘Abdullaah Yusuf ‘Ali’s as the best available, noting its “highly elegant style, a choice of words close to the meaning of the original text, accompanied by scholarly notes and commentaries.” 18 They recognized, however, that it had serious flaws, so they revised his translation here and there and made substantial revisions of his notes to remove his most glaring errors. This revised edition was published by the King Fahd Qur’aanic Printing Press in Madeenah in 1985.

Daga cikin fassarorin da kwamitin dubawa na Saudiyya ya ki amincewa da su akwai na Balarabe ɗan Ostiriya wanda ya musulunta, Muhammad Asad. An dai fara la'akari da bugar fassarar, amma Raabitah (Ƙungiyar Musulunci ta Duniya) ta ƙi amincewa da ita saboda karkatarsa sosai zuwa ra'yoyin Mu‘tazila (masu tunani na hankali). Asad ya ci gaba da bugawa da kansa a shekarar 1980, sannan ya cimma yarjejeniya da fitaccen mawallafin masana ilimin gabas, E.J. Brill, domin ya rarraba ta.20

Among the translations rejected by the Saudi review committee was that of the Austrian Muslim convert, Muhammad Asad. Its publication had been earlier considered but rejected by the Raabitah (Muslim World League) due to his marked leaning toward Mu‘tazilee (Rationalist) views.19 Asad then went ahead and published it on his own in 1980, and he reached an agreement with the prominent orientalist publisher, E.J. Brill, to distribute it.20

Wani Musulmi mai juyowa addinin Musulunci, Farfesa T.B. Irving, wanda bai gamsu da yaren tsoho da ke cikin fassarorin Pickthall da Yusuf ‘Ali ba, ya samar da “fassarar Amurka cikin Turancin zamani,” wadda aka buga a shekarar 1992.21 Tana da gabatarwa mai amfani game da matsalolin fassara Alkur’ani zuwa Turancin zamani. An sanya takaitattun bayanai na gabatarwa ga kowane babi a farkon littafin, amma babu sharhi a cikinsa.

Another Muslim convert, Professor T.B. Irving, dissatisfied with the archaic language of both Pickthall and Yusuf ‘Ali, produced “an American version in contemporary English,” published in 1992.21 It has a useful introduction about the problems of translating the Qur’aan into contemporary English. Very brief introductory notes for each chapter are gathered at the beginning of the book, but there is no commentary.

Farfesa Muhammad Taqi-ud Din Al-Hilali da Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, dukansu na Jami'ar Musulunci ta Madina, sun buga Fassarar Ma'anonin Alkur'ani Mai Girma a shekarar 1985. Aiki ne na takaita tafsirin at-Tabaree, al-Qurtubee da Ibn Katheer ta hanyar saka wasu karin bayanai a cikin rubutun fassara, a cikin baka. Kalmomin Larabci da yawa, kamar faasiqoon, abraar, haneef, an rubuta su da harafin Turanci, sannan ana saka bayanin ma'anarsu a cikin baka a bayansu. Yawancin bayanan gefe kuma hadisai ne daga Saheeh al-Bukhaaree da suka dace da ayoyin da suke yi wa bayani. Akwai abubuwa masu amfani da yawa a cikin wannan aiki, amma yawan karin bayanai masu maimaituwa da ake saka su a cikin jumloli na karya kwararar magana, lamarin da ke sa harshen ya yi tsauri da wahalar karatu. Haka kuma, saboda ana saka sharhi a cikin kwararar jumloli, masu karatu wadanda ba sa iya karanta Larabci na iya zaton cewa wannan karin bayani wani bangare ne na asalin rubutu. Misali, aya ta 157 a cikin Suratun Nisaa'i ta karyata da'awar cewa an gicciye Isa.

Professor Muhammad Taqi-ud Din Al-Hilali and Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, both of the Islaamic University of Madeenah, published their Interpretation of the Meanings of the Noble Qur'an in 1985. It is an attempt to summarize the commentaries of at-Tabaree, al-Qurtubee and Ibn Katheer by inserting additional material in parentheses into the translated text. Many Arabic terms, such as faasiqoon, abraar, haneef, are transliterated, with explanations of their meanings inserted after them in parentheses. Most of the footnotes consist of hadeeths from Saheeh al-Bukhaaree relevant to the verses they annotate. There is much that is useful in this work, but it is marred by repetitive insertions that disrupt sentence flow, making it linguistically clumsy. Also, because commentary is inserted into the flow of the sentences, readers unable to read Arabic may understand the added commentary to be an integral part of the original text. For instance, verse 157 of Soorah an-Nisaa’ refutes the claim that Jesus was crucified:

Amma, kamar yadda aka fassara shi a cikin Alkur'ani Mai Girma, yana karanta: "[Amma ba su kashe shi ba, kuma ba su gicciye shi ba, sai dai an sanya kamannin Isa a kan wani mutum (sai suka kashe wannan mutumin)...]22

However, as rendered in The Noble Qur’an, it reads: “[But they killed him not, nor crucified him, but the resemblance of Jesus was put over another man (and they killed that man)...”22

Masana gabashi (orientalists) sun kuma yi aiki sosai a cikin wannan karni, kuma sun samar da wasu fassarorin Turanci; misali, R. Bell, Edinburgh, 1937-39; da A.J.

The orientalists have also been active during this century and have produced other English translations; for example, R. Bell, Edinburgh, 1937-39; and A.J.

Arberry, London, 1964. Sai dai, an ƙauracewa waɗannan fassarori daga Musulmi yanzu, tun da an samu isassun ayyukan Musulunci a harshen Larabci da na Ingilishi.

Arberry, London, 1964. However, these translations have been shunned by Muslims now that sufficient Muslim works are available.