It is a common misconception that Islam as a religion is associated only with the Arabs or the Arabic speaking nations. However we know, for example,

It is a common misconception that Islam as a religion is associated only with the Arabs or the Arabic speaking nations. However we know, for example, that the largest Muslim countries in the world are in fact non Arabic speaking nations. Therefore such people rely on translations and explanation of the Qur’an. What are the rules and regulations that must be followed in delivering such translations.

Translating any document can be achieved in one of three ways.

First is the Literal Translation, this means word for word, sentence for sentence and phrase for phrase. This type of translation cannot be achieved if one wants to maintain the originality of the document and keeping the meaning intact. As a result this type of translation is not allowed as far as the Qur’an is concerned.

Second is the Meaning Translation, the Qur’an’s language is very eloquent, it has essential meanings as well as secondary ones. What is meant by essential meanings, are those that can be literally transferred or translated to any other language. However, this type of Qur’anic information may consist of more than one meaning, thus the literal translation may not be accurate of the meaning itself. The secondary meanings, on the other hand, is the type of words structure that gave the Qur’an it’s challenging characteristics to all creatures. Thus the deduction here is that the secondary translation is not just disallowed but in fact impossible, consequently this makes the Meaning Translation not practical.

Third is the Explanatory Translation (translation of the Tafseer): in this translation, the translator or the Mufasir translates what he understands from the explanation (tafseer) of the Qur’an to the other languages. This stresses the point that the translation is based on the understanding of the particular authority be it Islamic Institutes or certain Alim or Ulama. This is why we see a different number of Tafseers with slightly different opinions based on the particular authority which reflects the ability of understanding of those in charge. Obviously, the translation of the Qur’an is not the Qur’an, and with translation the challenging character of wording structure of the Qur’an will be lost . Therefore one can see the importance in learning the language of the Qur’an, that is the Arabic language.