Qur'on, Alloh bilan inson o'rtasidagi so'nggi xitob, so'nggi Payg'ambarning (r) tilida nozil bo'ldi — u kishi o'sgan va so'nggi xabar dunyoning eng chekka nuqtalariga yetkazilishi lozim bo'lgan qavmning tilida. Alloh insonni turli ranglarda yaratdi va unga turli tillarni o'rgatdi. Hikmat egasi bo'lgan Alloh har bir elchisini o'z qavmining tilida yubordi, toki ilohiy xabarni yetkazish osonlashsin. Bu haqda quyidagi oyatda aniq bayon qilingan:

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:

Shunga ko'ra, barcha payg'ambarlar o'z qavmlari orasidan yuborilgan, garchi ularning hammasi bir xil asosiy xabarni olib kelgan bo'lsalar ham:

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

Shunday qilib, yakuniy xabarning umumjahonligi, aytilgan oyatda ta'kidlanganidek, ...

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

va oyat,

and the verse,

Bu xabar arab tilida nozil qilingan.

this message was revealed in the Arabic language.

Islom davlati Arabiston yarimorolida paydo bo‘ldi, uni qamrab oldi va tez orada qo‘shni yerlarga — Afrikaga, Kichik Osiyoga, Hindistonga va Osiyoga tarqaldi. Arab tili ko‘p o‘tmay nafaqat Islomning so‘nggi vahiysi tili, balki turli madaniyatlar va tillarni o‘z ichiga olgan keng Islom imperiyasining rasmiy tiliga aylandi. Ba’zi xalqlar arab tilida allaqachon gaplashardi, lekin ko‘pchilik gaplashmasdi.

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.

Biroq, juda qisqa muddat ichida Islom va arab tili xalq orasida tez tarqaldi. Ba'zi chet tillar arabcha-islomiy atamalarni o'zlashtirdi va ularda so'zlashuvchilar bu so'zlarni arab yozuvida yozishni boshladilar. Oxir-oqibat, bu tillarning ko'pchiligi arab tili tomonidan soya qoldirildi yoki almashtirildi. Misrliklarning qibtiy tili va Shimoliy Afrika berberlarining tili milliy tillarning arab tili bilan almashtirilishiga misol bo'la oladi, Hausa, fors va malay tillari esa arabcha so'zlarni ko'p miqdorda o'zlashtirib, arab yozuvida yozilgan tillarga misol bo'ladi. Boshqa hududlarda mahalliy tillar va katta miqdordagi arabcha so'zlar aralashuvidan iborat savdo tillari vujudga keldi, ammo bu tillar ham arab yozuvida yozilgan. Biroq, 'Abbosiylar xalifaligi zaiflashgach, fors va turk harbiy boshliqlari davlatni bir qancha o'zaro raqobatlashuvchi sultonliklarga bo'lib yuborishdi. Bu davlatlarning ko'pchiligida fors tili davlat boshqaruvi tili bo'lib xizmat qildi.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

“Kimki Allohning kitobidan bir harf o‘qisa, unga savob bor”, degan hadis7 yangi ma’no kasb etdi. Bu so‘z arabtilli musulmonlarga Qur’oni karimni imkon qadar ko‘proq o‘qishga undash uchun aytilgan edi. Bu rag‘batlantirishning maqsadi Allohning xabariga ko‘proq duch kelish edi va u hech qachon olib kelingan vosita so‘zini shunchaki takrorlash uchun mo‘ljallanmagan edi. Biroq turk madaniy millatchiligining kuchayishi bilan Qur’on harflarini va so‘zlarini faqat savob uchun o‘qish tushunchasi paydo bo‘ldi. Ko‘plab talabalar yodlagan narsalarining bir so‘zini ham tushunmasdan, butun Qur’onni yodlay boshladilar. Qur’onni tovlab takrorlash qabul qilingan va yuqori baholanadigan amaliyotga aylandi.

“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.

Musulmon davlatining parchalanishi va inqirozga yuz tutishi hamda Yevropa mustamlakachiligining kuchayishi bilan musulmon xalqlarining tillari arab tiliga tomon rivojlanayotgan o‘tish jarayoni butunlay to‘xtab qoldi. Mustamlakachilar musulmon hududlarini bo‘lib oldilar va arab tiliga o‘tish jarayonini to‘liq bosib o‘tmagan tillarni lotin yozuvida yozishni talab qildilar. Bu orqaga qaytarish urinishining misollarini Afrika tillari, masalan, hausa va suvohili tillarining lotin yozuvini majburan qabul qilishida; Yaqin Sharq tillari, masalan, turk tilida; hamda Osiyo tillari, masalan, malay tilida ko‘rish mumkin. 8 Arab tili o‘qitiladigan Qur’on maktablarining ko‘pchiligi yopildi yoki nasroniy maktablari bilan almashtirildi, qolgan bir necha maktablarda esa faqat arab tilining talaffuzi o‘rgatildi.

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.

Natijada, musulmonlarning aksariyati arab tilini tushunmas edi, garchi ko‘pchilik uning yozuvini o‘qishda va talaffuz qilishda davom etgan bo‘lsa ham. Bu bo‘shliqni to‘ldirish maqsadida arab tili bo‘lmagan bu mamlakatlarning ba’zi musulmon olimlari Qur’oni Karimni mahalliy tillariga tarjima qilishga kirishdilar. Ma’lum bo‘lgan eng dastlabki bunday tarjima Dehlilik Shoh ‘Abdul Qodir tomonidan qilingan (vafoti m. 1826 y.).9 Tarjima harakati milodiy XVIII asrning ikkinchi yarmida kuchayishni boshladi.

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.

Shu bilan birga, bular Yevropa tillariga qilingan eng birinchi tarjimalar emas edi. Zamonaviy Yevropa tillari shakllanishidan oldin, Muqaddas Rim imperiyasining tili bo‘lgan lotin tili Yevropada madaniyat tili edi. Shu sababli qayd etilgan eng dastlabki tarjima lotin tiliga qilingan. U 1143-yilda Klyuni monastiri uchun tayyorlangan, ammo 1543-yilda Bibliander tomonidan Bazelda nashr etilgan.10 Bu lotincha tarjima keyinchalik 1616-yilda Bavariyada Shveyger tomonidan nemis tiliga, 1647-yilda Parijda Dyu Rayer tomonidan fransuz tiliga, 1776-yilda Sankt-Peterburgda esa rus tiliga tarjima qilingan.11 Birinchi ingliz tilidagi tarjima, A. Ross tomonidan qilingan, faqat Dyu Rayerning fransuzcha tarjimasining tarjimasi edi va Dyu Rayerning tarjimasidan bir necha yil keyin nashr etilgan.12 Shu davrda Papa Innokentiy XI ning ruhoniysi Maraççi 1698-yilda yana bir lotincha tarjima yaratdi. Unga arabcha matn, shuningdek turli arabcha sharhlardan tanlab olingan va buzib ko‘rsatilgan iqtiboslar kiritilgan edi, maqsad Yevropaliklarda Islom haqida iloji boricha eng yomon taassurot qoldirish edi. Maraççi bilimli odam edi, uning niyati esa aniq edi. U o‘z asarini Muqaddas Rim imperatori Leopold I ga bag‘ishladi va unga “Qur’onni rad etish” deb nomlangan kirish jildini yozdi.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

Eng keng tarqalgan ingliz tilidagi tarjimalardan biri George Sale tomonidan 1734 yilda qilingan edi. Sale tarjimani Maracci ning lotin tilidagi nusxasidan qilgan va unga o'zining xolis bo'lmagan izohlari hamda kirish qismini kiritgan. 14 Boshqa misollar esa Rev. J.M. Rodwell tarjimasi bo'lib, u 1876 yilda nashr etilgan va unda suralar taxminiy xronologik tartibda joylashtirilgan, hamda Professor E.H. Palmer tarjimasi, u ham 1876 yilda nashr etilgan.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

Biroq, bu tarjimalarning barchasida yo‘naltirilgan islomga qarshi qarash bor edi, ular matnlarida ham, muqaddimalarida va izohlarida ham. Shu sababli Hindistonning ba’zi musulmon olimlari Qur’oni karimning ma’nosini ingliz tiliga aniq yetkazish kabi og‘ir vazifani boshlab yuborishdi. Bunga birinchi bo‘lib 1905 yilda Patiyaladan kelgan doktor Muhammad ‘Abdul Hakeem Xon kirishdi. Afsuski, bu tarjimani 1917 yilda Ahmadiy olimi Mavlavi Muhammad ‘Aliyning tarjimasi davom ettirdi, u esa Ahmadiya soxta islomiy mazhabining qarashlarini aks ettiradi. Mazhabning kuchli missionerlik faoliyati tufayli ularning tarjimasi yaqin vaqtgacha G‘arbda juda keng tarqalgan edi. 1919 yilda Dehlilik Mirza Hayrat ham tarjima nashr etdi, Hofiz G‘ulom Sarvarning tarjimasi esa 1929 yilda chop etildi. Biroq ularning hech biri keng o‘qilmadi.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

1930-yilda ingliz arabshunosi Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall musulmonlikni qabul qilgan kishi tomonidan yaratilgan birinchi ingliz tilidagi tarjimani nashr etdi. Bu olim o‘zi "deyarli so‘zma-so‘z tarjima" deb atagan ishni amalga oshirishga harakat qildi va izohli eslatmalarni juda kam kiritdi.17 Shunga qaramay, uning tarjimasi musulmonlar orasida ikkinchi eng keng qabul qilingan tarjimaga aylandi. Ehtimol, eng keng o‘qiladigan ingliz tilidagi tarjima ‘Abdulloh Yusuf ‘Aliyniki bo‘lib, u 1934-yilda Lahorda birinchi marta nashr etilgan. Bu ancha erkin tarjima bo‘lib, ingliz klassik adabiyoti bo‘yicha ta’lim olgan muallif asl matnning go‘zalligini aks ettiruvchi adabiy shedevr yaratishga intilgan. U xulosalar va ko‘plab izohlar berdi, ularning bir qancha joylarida juda noan’anaviy, hatto bid’atga yaqin fikrlar kiritilgan. 1980-yilda Saudiya Arabistonida ishonchli ingliz tilidagi Qur’on tarjimasini tayyorlash uchun komissiya tuzildi. Ular ‘Abdulloh Yusuf ‘Aliyning tarjimasini mavjud variantlar ichida eng yaxshisi deb tanladilar, uning "juda nafis uslubi, asl matn ma’nosiga yaqin so‘z tanlovi hamda ilmiy izohlar va sharhlar bilan birga kelishi"ni qayd etdilar. 18 Shu bilan birga, ular tarjimada jiddiy kamchiliklar borligini tan oldilar, shuning uchun uning tarjimasini joy-joyida qayta ishladilar va eng yorqin xatolarini bartaraf etish uchun izohlarini sezilarli darajada tahrir qildilar. Ushbu qayta ishlangan nashr 1985-yilda Madinadagi Qirol Fahd Qur’on bosmaxonasi tomonidan chop etildi.

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.

Saudi tekshiruv qo‘mitasi rad etgan tarjimalar orasida avstriyalik musulmon-o‘tkinchi Muhammad Asadning tarjimasi ham bor edi. Uning nashr etilishi avvalroq Raabitah (Jahon Musulmon Ligasi) tomonidan ko‘rib chiqilgan, ammo uning mu‘taziliy (ratsionalist) qarashlarga aniq moyilligi sababli rad etilgan edi.19 Shundan so‘ng Asad tarjimani o‘z hisobidan 1980-yilda nashr ettirdi va uni tarqatish uchun taniqli orientalist nashriyot E.J. Brill bilan kelishuvga erishdi.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

Yana bir musulmon, aylangan professor T.B. Irving, Pikthol va Yusuf Aliy tarjimalarining eskirgan tilidan norozi bo‘lib, 1992 yilda nashr etilgan “zamonaviy ingliz tilidagi amerikacha versiya”ni yaratdi.21 Uning Qur’oni Karimni zamonaviy ingliz tiliga tarjima qilish muammolari haqidagi foydali kirish qismi bor. Har bir bob uchun juda qisqa kirish izohlari kitobning boshida to‘plangan, ammo sharh yo‘q.

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.

Professor Muhammad Taqi-ud Din Al-Hilali va Doktor Muhammad Muhsin Xon, ikkalasi ham Madina Islom universitetining professorlari, 1985 yilda "Oliy Qur'onning ma'nolarining tarjimasi va tafsiri"ni nashr etdilar. Bu asar at-Tabariy, al-Qurtubiy va Ibn Kasirning sharhlarini qisqartirib, tarjima qilingan matnga qavs ichida qo'shimcha materiallar kiritish orqali yaratilgan urinishdir. Ko'plab arabcha atamalar, masalan, fasiqun, abror, hanif, lotincha transliteratsiya qilingan va ulardan keyin ma'nolari qavs ichida tushuntirilgan. Izohlarning ko'pchiligi ularga tegishli oyatlarga mos keladigan Sahihi al-Buxoriy hadislaridan iborat. Bu asarda foydali jihatlar ko'p, lekin takrorlanuvchi qo'shimchalar gap oqimini buzib, uni tilshunoslik jihatdan noqulay qilib qo'ygan. Shuningdek, sharh gaplar oqimiga kiritilgani sababli, arab tilini bilmaydigan o'quvchilar qo'shilgan sharhni asl matnning ajralmas qismi deb tushunishi mumkin. Masalan, an-Niso surasining 157-oyati Iso alayhissalomning xoch ustida o'ldirilganligi haqidagi da'voni rad etadi.

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:

Biroq, "Oliy Qur'on" tarjimasida bu oyat quyidagicha berilgan: "[Lekin ular uni o'ldirmadilar, xochga ham mixlamadilar, balki Iso ning o'xshashligi boshqa bir kishiga berildi (va ular o'sha kishini o'ldirdilar)...]"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

Orientalistlar bu asrda ham faol bo‘lib, boshqa ingliz tilidagi tarjimalarni ham yaratdilar; masalan, R. Bell, Edinburg, 1937–39; va 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. Biroq, yetarli darajada musulmon asarlari mavjud bo‘lgach, bu tarjimalar endi musulmonlar tomonidan chetlab o‘tilmoqda.

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