2017 02 The Light February 2017

February 2017 The
Light 6
For the German translation, it is not only sufficient
for a person to be master both Arabic and
German languages, but he must also be thoroughly
acquainted with the various commentaries
on the Holy Quran; and he should have
studied the Holy Quran so frequently that he
could keep all of its main subjects and underlying
purposes before his eyes, when translating.
would strengthen the hands of the Muslim Mission
in Berlin. Consequently, the Ahmadiyya
Anjuman-i-Isha‛at-i-Islam, Lahore, have decided
to start work for a German translation of
the Holy Quran without any further delay.
I Shall Love All Mankind.
Just as there are difficulties to be met with
in conducting the German Mission like training
Muslim Missionaries not only in the Islamic lore
and religion but also in mastering the German
language, similarly there are peculiar kinds of
difficulties to be faced in preparing a German
translation of the Holy Quran. For the German
translation, it is not only sufficient for a person
to be master both Arabic and German languages,
but he must also be thoroughly acquainted
with the various commentaries on the
Holy Quran; and he should have
studied the Holy Quran so frequently
that he could keep all of
its main subjects and underlying
purposes before his eyes, when
translating. For, to understand
the Quran one must intelligently
study the Quran itself as its parts
always help to explain one another.
In addition to the above
qualifications, the translator
must also be familiar with the
traditions and sayings of the
Holy Prophet and the Islamic
History, as they prove of great help in fully understanding
the Holy Quran. It was rather difficult
to find a person, as a translator, who was
master of Arabic and German languages both.
But, with the grace of Allah, we have been able
to find a German Muslim who is thoroughly conversant
with both the languages. In fact, he has
translated several Arabic books into German.
The lack of his thorough acquaintance with the
Holy Quran and the Hadis Sharif would be removed
and compensated for, by the full cooperation
of Maulana Sadr-ud-Din Sahib
who has become conversant with the German
language after his two years’ stay in
Germany.
It is planned to invite that learned German
Muslim so that he may come to India
and start the work under the supervision of
Maulana Sadr-ud-Din Sahib. We have got in
touch with him about this matter; and it is
to be hoped that, God willing, the work of the
projected German translation of the Holy Quran
would commence about next October (1928).
Now comes the question of expenses. It is
estimated that it would take at least three years
to finish the translation in a manuscript form;
and it would entail an expense of six or seven
hundred rupees a month, in addition to the initial
expenditure like journey expenses from
Germany to Lahore. The members of the Ahmadiyya
Anjuman-i-Isha‛at-i-Islam, Lahore,
though small in number, have promised, by the
grace of Allah, to bear one-half the regular
monthly expenses; and we are appealing to the
rest of our Muslim brethren to supply the
money for the remaining
one-half. I am sure,
every Muslim knows,
what a good, pious and
fruitful act it is to carry
or help to carry the
Word of Allah to other
people, and in the present
case, we want to
carry the Word of Allah
to a people, who have so
far read about Islam
through smoky glasses
and with a prejudiced
mind. The already existing
German translations of the Holy Quran have
been rendered by non-Muslim persons who, at
the most, knew something about the Arabic language,
but whose hearts were filled with prejudice,
jealousy and enmity towards Islam. All this
concerns a nation whose greatest literary genius
and philosopher, Goethe, has said that the
Holy Quran is a book, which one might start
The already existing German
translations of the Holy
Quran have been rendered by
non-Muslim persons who, at
the most, knew something
about the Arabic language,
but whose hearts were filled
with prejudice, jealousy and
enmity towards Islam.