A Critical Study of Contemporary English Translations of Women Related Verses from the Holy Quran

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,