A Brief Survey of the Publication of the Glorious Qur'an
in the West

By: Abbas Ahmadvand
Translated by Zahra Shuja Khani
The term West in this discussion is used to imply the cultural, political, social and economic sense of the word and is not to be understood in this geographical sense. In other words, it is meant to denote all those countries that share a Westernized culture and have Westernized political, economic, and social systems. Therefore, when we speak of publication, we mean to include all the efforts made by the Westerners in the printing, translation, indexing bibliography, and the historiography of the writing of the Qur'an and in the translation of this Celestial Book; or in a nutshell, it indicates all the efforts that have resulted in the spread of this Glorious Book in the West and have been employed in the field of Islamic studies. It is undeniable that voluminous work has taken place in this field; however, since all the works cannot possibly be addressed in this brief study, we will refer to the most significant efforts in this field following the Middle Ages, with a view to help us to gain a correct picture of Islamic studies in the West.
The Sources
In a study of the relations between Islam and the West or the Muslims and the Christians/Westerners/Europeans we should keep in mind the fundamental fact that these relations, from the very onset, were permeated with certain pre-conceived notions or rather misunderstandings and were, thus, later on too inflicted with political, commercial, and sometimes even imperialistic prejudices. Such a background would only naturally result in either a dearth or a complete lack of wholesome and unbiased studies and in spite of the fact that Islam and the West have shared age-old relations. Some researchers interpret the confrontation and conflict between Islam and the West, or to put it more correctly, between the East and the West as if it were an indispensable tradition of history (1) and even look for its inevitable repetition in modem history.(2) It is obvious that in such a heavy and fiery atmosphere, filled with belligerence and conflict, both sides would fail to see and recognize each other correctly and would remain stuck in their own distorted views.(3) It would thus become inevitable to first attempt to eliminate the old prejudices and misunderstandings between the East and the West and to instead make efforts towards better mutual understanding.(4)
The Christians initially faced the Muslims when the latter rapidly spreading towards the Syria, Egypt, and the other colonies of the Christian Byzantine Empire. Islam was also spreading fast and was attracting more and more followers from all parts of the world. Thus, almost within the batting of an eyelid the Christians found the world in the hands of the Muslims and were left perplexed about what to do next. Were they to remain silent witnesses or were they to attempt to destroy what they considered as their rival? The Christians of those time chose the second option. Moreover, their military efforts did not prevent them from identifying the driving force of their powerful rival.(5) In this manner, the attention of the Westerners was gradually drawn towards attempting to know more about Islam and the Glorious Qur'an. Their efforts took a more serious shape following the Crusades and as the result of the attempts made by people like Peter the Venerable,(6) Raymond Lulio, and Roger Bacon,(7) although the Christians tried to highlight what they thought to be the weaknesses and the contradictions in the Qur'an, in a vain bid to undermine the fountainhead of the belief of the Muslims. Thus, it could probably be said that the first step taken by the Westerners in the field of Islamic and Qur'anic studies was a confrontational and denigrating movement against Islam and the Qur'an. Some examples of their arguments and criticisms against the Glorious Qur'an are presented in the following section.
The initiator of this confrontational approach towards the Qur'an was a person named John of Damascus (Yuhanna Dimashqi 675-749 CE). He was from among the renowned Greek theologians and is considered as the father of the Christianity of the Middle Ages and was the first person to have started an organized and comprehensive onslaught against Islam and the Qur'an, in order to defend the belief in Trinity.
According to researchers, the efforts of John of Damascus - the influence of which can also be traced in the works of the later Orientalists and Islamologists -initiated the trend of Islamic studies in the West.(8) In his attempts to refute the Qur'an and Islam, John of Damascus was left with little option but to acquire some information (even if it did not hold any credibility) about Islam and its Divine Book. Of course, his onslaughts and criticisms were not left unresponded, and right from the beginning, there were some people like Abu Isa Warraq who, on realizing the dangers of his moves, responded to his criticisms appropriately.(9)
Similarly, mention should also be made regarding the steps taken by Peter the Venerable in France and Spain, i.e. the Christianity of the West. Peter the Venerable was the head priest of the Cluniac Churches and had appointed several people including Robertos Katnansis, Itermann Dalmatia, Peter of Toledo, and a person by the name of Muhammad to translate the Glorious Qur'an and the other Islamic texts with a view to starting a big movement of learning about Islam. We shall briefly review the translation of Robertos Katnansis later on in our discussion, however, the important point to be mentioned at this stage is that the efforts of this group - notwithstanding the existing disagreements among scholars about the translators and the writers(10) -resulted in a collection called Toledo Corpus or the Cluniac Corpus; and, interestingly, certain parts of this collection contain the same anti-Islamic waves that were present in the writings of John of Damascus and, thus, as regards the general attitude there is no difference between the Christianity of the East and the Christianity of the West in their repudiation of Islam.
Some parts of this collection are presented under titles like The Birth and the Place of the Emergence of Muhammad, The Flawed and Amusing Narrations of the Muslims, Muhammad's School of Thought, and The Queries of Abdullah bin Salam.(11)
For centuries, this collection was the sole source of the acquaintance of the Christian with Islam and the Qur'an and was considered of great importance in the critical evaluation of Islam and in the area of Islamic studies in the West.(12)
Nevertheless, one of the most serious steps taken by the Westerners in their association with the Glorious Qur'an was the effort made by two church authorities sometime around the 15 century CE when the fear of the Europeans in relation to the Ottoman army was on the rise. It all began when a person by the name of John of Segovia who had retired from the church made up his mind to find a solution to end the opposition between Islam and Christianity. To fulfill this ideal he arranged for a Latin translation of the Glorious Qur'an which has apparently been lost. As per the preface of this translation which is available at hand and contains his critical views, he was of the opinion that the problems and disagreements between Islam and Christianity could be solved through "contra ferentia", meaning "dialogue" (among the followers of Islam and Christianity).(13)
John of Segovia made great efforts in this regard and wrote letters to some of his friends and attempted to persuade them to support him in fulfilling on his vision. Apparently, some of his friends including Pope Pius II who did not share his enthusiasm did not respond to his call. However, on going through the names of the people who had received John of Segovia's letter we come cross the German Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, Nicholas of Cuse (1401-1464), who was a Neo-Platonist and shared John's views. A little later on, Nicholas wrote a book entitled, Cribratio Alcorani that was a relatively fair book as compared to the existing superstitious and unjust views held about Islam, the Qur'an, and the noble Prophet of Islam (S.A.W.) in those times. Although Nicholas was of the opinion that his writings had correctly highlighted what he presumed to be the distortions in the Qur'an and that his methodology of limiting the subject and defining it had been quite successful, it is however quite obvious that he had adopted a critical approach. Nicholas' reason for choosing this methodology was because he was hopeful that by limiting the subject he would be able to arrive at solutions for issues of dispute between Islam and Christianity.(14) This critical approach continued through out the following centuries and in the year 1691 CE on the order of the Church authorities a book entitled, Prodromus ad Refutatie Alcorani, was published in Rome which actually trained its readers on how to criticize and refute Islam and the Qur'an. Nevertheless, many harsh and vulgar refutations were written on Islam and the Qur'an and despite the fact that new scientific research methodologies had emerged in the nineteenth century, encouraging people like Higgins(15) to write in defense of Islam and the Qur'an, there were yet other fanatical people like Father Inchbald who repeated the earlier trend apparently to reject Higgins's views but in fact to reject Islam that resembled the writings of the Christian priests of the Middle Ages who did not hold a correct perception of Islam.
Fortunately, as a result of an improvement in the cultural level of the masses, and particularly after the Vatican issued a declaration recognizing Islam as a divine religion (16) in 1967, the earlier trend of targeting Islam gradually waned.(17) This move as well as the efforts made in the area of the publication of researches, translations, and the analyses of Islamic texts, including the Qur'an, increased the hopes for a more realistic perception of Islam and a more impartial attitude on the part of the Westerners.
The Publication of the Qur'an
At this point, after referring to certain basic matters on our topic of discussion, let us enter into the main subject viz., the publication and translation of the Qur'an in the West. Here we need to keep in mind that since the printing machine was invented by Guttenberg only in the fifteenth century, the publication of Islamic texts began much later than their translations. The reason for the translations to have taken place earlier was that the Europeans were unable to read the Qur'an in its original language. The truth of the matter is that prior to the establishment of chairs in Islamic-Arabic studies in the universities of the West and prior to the beginning of the trend of studying Arabic by the Europeans, the need for the publication of the Arabic texts of the Qur'an and the other Islamic text was never experienced. However, later on the employment of the printing industry in the improvement of teaching and research techniques became indispensable, and this industry, too, provided researchers with their desired texts in well-printed forms. According to the investigations of researchers, the Qur'an was first published in the West by a person named Paganini in Venice. This work was published some time between the years 1503 and 1523 but was soon confiscated and destroyed on the orders of the Pope. The sole researcher to have seen this translation is apparently a person called Von Erpe (Thomas Erpenius) who has made a mention of the translation in his book entitled, The Fundamentals of the Arabic Language. In later times, some people like Von Erpe, Johanne, Kristanos Ravios, Mathias Beckius, and others also published certain sections of the Glorious Qur'an until a complete version of this noble Book came to be published by Abraham Hinckelmann (1652-1692) in Hamburg. Following him, a cleric from the Society of the Monks of the Divine Path by the name Ludovico Marracci published a better version of the same. In Russia, too, a person called Mulla Uthman Ismail was commissioned by Queen Catherine to publish a Qur'an for the benefit of her Muslim subjects living in St.Petersburg. The last section of this work contained a list of the thirty parts of the Qur'an as well as a corrected list of the printing errors in the Book and also contained some useful notes to facilitate the reading. However, the best Qur'an published in Europe, which later on became the main source material for all the researchers, was the one published by Gustav L. Flugel,(18) the renowned German orientalist and bibliographer. This Qur'an was printed by Caroli Tauchnitii in Leipzig in the year 1834. The first page of this work is left blank and is followed by an Arabic title on the second page; the third page is blank, too, and the next page which is left unnumbered contains the Opening Chapter of al-Hamd (The Praise). This work was reprinted several times and was made widely available. However, within a short while a person by the name of Gustav Maurice Redslob who had a doctorate in philosophy somehow succeeded in manipulating for the book to be printed under his name by the very same publishers.
The Publishing of Bibliographies and Qur'anic Indexes (Ma'ajim)
The Westerners, unlike the Muslims of those days who were in the practice of memorizing most of the Qur'an, did not know the Qur'an by heart. Therefore, keeping in mind the Western expectations and for the purpose of an easy access to the Qur'an in the course of their Islamic studies, certain researchers began to write indexes for it. The oldest printed index of the Qur'an was entitled, Nujumal-Furqan which was compiled by a person called Mustafa bin Muhammad in Calcutta who had also written a preface for it in the Persian language.
Despite the fact that the book was compiled by a Muslim author and was published in a country under Muslim rule (India) with a preface in the Persian language, since it was published by the publishing department of the College of Fort William in Calcutta, a subsidiary of the East India Company, it could be considered as a Western Qur'anic research. This book was reprinted several times and was in wide use. However, Gustav Flugel was the first person to publish the first index of the Qur'an in Europe in the year 1842. This index was based on the roots of the Arabic words and was alphabetically ordered and contained about 219 pages. Another index comprising 343 pages was also compiled and lithographically printed by a person by the name of Mirza Muhammad Kazim Beik, apparently an Iranian, in the printing house of the Academy of Sciences of the Russian Empire in the year 1859. This index has a preface of ten pages in the Persian language and contains mot of the words and phrases required by Orientalists in their studies. The book has been compiled on the basis of the hija letters of Arabic and also contains some key words that could be beneficial for research purposes as well as some examples for each word. With the passage of time and with the growth of science and technology the trend of indexing the verses of the Glorious Qur'an became more advanced until some people like Jule La Beaume(19) compiled the subject-wise index of the Divine Book for the first time. Jule La Beaume has presented a subject-wise compilation of the Qur'anic verses and has, thus, made a subject-wise reference to the Qur'an simpler. His book was accepted very widely and some Muslim scholars like Muhammad Fu'ad Abd al-Baqi have made use of his work as the source book in compiling their own indexes.(20)
Translation of the Glorious Qur'an
According to most researchers,(21) the Qur'an was first translated into Latin by Robertos Katnansis on the orders of Peter the Venerable, some others believe that it was Peter of Toledo who first translated the Qur'an.(22) They were also of the opinion that another person by the same (Peter) was in charge of the supervision of the translation work.(23) It appears that this work had been a group effort since another person by the Muslim name Muhammad has also been listed among its translators. There are some researchers who have also mentioned the name of Hermann of Dalmatia among the translators of the Qur'an.(24) However, this is not a valid belief and as a matter of fact, Hermann of Dalmatia had translated some other parts of the Cluniac Corpus but not the Qur'an itself.(25) This translation, along with some other writings like Robertos Katnansis preface to the translation as well as some other articles that we have mentioned earlier on in our discussion were mainly translated by Hermann and collectively formed the famous Cluniac Corpus which occupies an important place in the field of Islamic studies in the West.(26) Robertos Katnansis' translation came to be recognized as a model for the later translations and became one of the most important sources for the Westerners in the study of Islam. However, it must be mentioned that his work is an abridged translation containing vile and caustic remarks against Islam and its noble Prophet (S.A.W.).
It appears that for his work, Robert had tried to select the most vulgar and obsolete phrases instead of best ones.(27) A copy of the manuscript of this translation in Robertos' own writing is currently housed in the Arsenal Library of Paris.(28) Despite the fact that this translation was presented to St. Bernard before the second Crusades and was displayed publicly, it remained in its original manuscript from for a long time. Finally, in the year 1542 and as a result of the joint efforts of Von Erpe and Bibleander, with a preface by Martin Luther and Phillip Melanchton. the Protestant leaders, and after undergoing great effort, it was published in the year 1542 and had it not been for Luther's support it was most likely that this book would never have been published.(29) There is also a dispute among researchers as regards the place of its publication and while some believe it to be Zurich(30) others say that it was published in Basle.(31) But if we were to take into consideration the ban that was placed on the publication of this work in Basle in the year 1542 according to which this book would need to be published elsewhere, it appears that this book was indeed published in Zurich in 1542 and if at all any publication of the work did take place in Basle it was only in the later years.(32) Another Latin translation of the Qur'an worth mentioning is the one by Ludovico Marracci (1612-1700) which was published alongside the Arabic text of the Qur'an with many explanatory notes 1698.(33) A person by the name of Andre Arrivabene, too, translated the Qur'an into the Italian language in the year 1547 and although he claimed to have translated it directly from the Arabic version, it was obviously a translation of the work of Robertos Katnansis.(34)It was Solomon Schweigger, a preacher of the Frauen Kirche Church of Nuremburg who translated the Qur'an into the German language from the work of Andre Arrivabene and this work in turn became the source for a translation into the Dutch language by an unknown translator.
The first French translation of the Qur'an is by Ander du Ryer which was reprinted many times between the years 1647 and 1775 and contained a preface entitled, A Summary of the Religion of the Turks; and this translation and its preface became the source for the English translation of Alexander Ross.
However, the first English translation of the Qur'an belongs to George Sale, who also wrote an introduction to his translation.
The outstanding feature of this work is that it was translated directly from the original Arabic text of the Book.(35)
The other famous English translations of the Qur'an are those of Ross,Palmer, Rodwell, Bell, Arthur J. Arberry who was also a poet and a litterateur, and Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall who was a sincere Muslim and whose translation is in the biblical style.(36) Among the modern and reliable French translations of the Qur'an, mention should be made of the work of R. Blachere.
In our times, besides the fact that the number of translations of the Glorious Qur'an is on the increase, the number of Muslim scholars well-versed in various Western languages as well as the number of Western Muslims interested in the translation of the Qur'an is on the rise too, and the trend of the translation of the Qur'an into the various Western languages, which began in the Indian subcontinent has seen much progress and promises brighter future horizons.(37)
History of the Qur'an
The historiography of the writing of the Qur'an in the West has paid the maximum attention to aspects such as the structure, the phraseology, the background of the Revelation of the various verses, recitation, accents, compilation, and calligraphy.(38)
The first person to have conducted a research in these fields and particularly on what he alleged as the influence of other religions on the Qur'an was Boutierre.(39) Later on, Gustav Weil(40) continued in his footsteps and did some research on the historical methodology and the subjects covered by the Qur'an; however, he has made some arbitrary divisions of the Makkan Chapters of the Book.(41) But it was probably Theodor Noldeke, the renowned German Orientalists, who was the first person to have paid serious attention to the history of the Qur'an and who became a pioneer in the activities of the Orientalists in this field.
He had selected to work on the history of the Qur'an (Geschichte des Qorans) for his doctoral thesis and received an award for conducting a research on a novel subject in the Latin language.
He published his work in Guttingen in the year 1860 and later on his student, Schwally, republished the work between the years 1909 and 1919 with a useful commentary. The book of Noldeke became the basis for the efforts of the Westerners in the field of Qur'anic studies - which is one of the most important and favorite topics among the Westerners - and even today there are many who strive to follow in Noldeke's footsteps.(42)
Nevertheless, his book contains some grave mistakes such as his discussion on the use of the certain letters of the Arabic alphabet that appear at the beginning of some Surahs (al-Huruf al-Muqatta'ah) which has unfortunately also influenced the works of the later Orientalists.(43) However, the attention that he has paid to the linguistic analysis is interesting.(44) Blachere, the renowned French Orientalist, too, has done some research on the Qur'an, one of which works is entitled, An Introduction to the Qur'an.(45) In spite of the fact that this book mainly concentrates on Qur'anic sciences and exegesis it also contains some interesting and controversial points in the field of the historiography of the text of the Glorious Qur'an.(46)
In any case, by taking a fleeting glance at such works or at the Qur'anic entries of the Encyclopedia of Islam (2nd Edition) or the works of Eastern non-Muslim researchers such as Tosihiko Izutsu and Western Qur'anic researchers like R.Hawting(47) as well as hundreds of others we could say that the trend of Qur'anic studies in the West is on the rise and it is hoped that after centuries of varied experiences in the publication, the translation, and the printing of the Glorious Qur'an, the Westerners take on a more fair approach in their researches on this sacred Book so that their links with the scientific methods of Islamic studies gain more strength.
The Eastern Muslims, too, should endeavour to take on new methods and the queries of the Westerners on Islamic and Qur'anic studies more seriously and in this way they should try to enter into a genuine interaction and dialogue with their Western counterparts because for the Muslims the Qur'an is the Book of their and guidance even though for the Westerners it is merely their main source of Islamic studies.
Notes:
1 - Zarrinkub, Abd al-Husayn, Karnameh-ye Islam, Tehran Amir Kabir, p.17.
2 - Like some new views in this regard such as the theory of The Clash of Civilizations of Samuel Huntington.
3 - For further details and the impact of such relations on the trend of Islamic studies in the West, see Martin, The History of Islamic Studies in the West, the section on Religious Conflicts and the Crusades.
4 - One of the important factors in building a deeper understanding for paying more attention to dialogue among civilizations and cultures.
5 - From the viewpoint of Islam and the Glorious Qur'an, the different religions compliment one another and there is no rivalry among them. For e.g. see the Glorious Qur'an; 2:136 and 285; and 5:82.
6 - For more details on Peter the Venerable and his views, see Martin, op; the research section of the Cluniac Corpus; Badawi, Farhang-e Kamil-e KhavarShenasan, p.85.
7 - For more details on Lulio and Bacon and their activities, see Tarikh Arab,vol. 2, p. 839; Minavi, Islam az Daricheh-ye Chashm Masihiyan, p. 23 onwards;Martin, commentary notes by the translator.
8 - As adi, Murtaza, Yuhanna Dimashqi wa Aghaz Mujadalat,p. 63.
9 - Ibid.
10 - Ibid.
11 - Badawi,p. 475; compare with Wardenberg, Orientalists, 737/EI 2; and Martin, section on Cluniac Researches.
12 - Martin, section on Reforms.
13 - Refer to the article, Islam and Christianity, 218/OEMIW.
14 - Minavi, op cite, pp. 79-84.
15 - Godfrey Higgins, Author of the book, Defending Muhammad (S.A.W.); Minavi,op cite, p.114.
16 - Ahmadvand, Guzari bar Mutala at Shi'i dar Gharb, pp.175-176.
17 - Although one can occasionally witness the impact of such false views even today, it should however be admitted that the general view has been altered and a majority of the Westerners consider the Qur'an to be a divinely-inspired Book.
18 - For more details on Gustav L. Flugel and his biography and works, see Badawi, op cite, 257-261.
19 - For more information on La Beaume's works, see Khorram Shahi, Daneshnameh, vol. 1,p. 1166.
20 - Badawi, op cite, p. 474.
21- Arberry, Preface to the Translation of the Qur'an, p.7; Minavi, op cite, p.62; Zaryab Khu'i, Abbas, Qur'an, p. 438; Badawi, op cite, p. 747; Salmasi Zadeh,Tarikh Tarjamah-ye Qur'an dar Jahan, p. 96; As adi, Murtaza, Kitabshenasi Jahani, p. 48; Saghir, Khavarshenasan wa Pazhuhishha-ye Qur'ani, p.59;Pearson, the article Qur'an, section on the translation of the Qur'an, EI2;Khorram Shahi, Baha'al-Din, op cite, vol. 1, p.566.
22 - Zaryab Khu'i, Abbas, op cite.
23 - Badawi, op.cite.
24 - Asadi, op.cit.
25 - Badawi, op. cite, p. 475.
26 - Kritzeck, James, Peter the Venerable and Islam, Princeton University Press, 1964.
27 - Pearson, op. cite, the section on Latin Translations.
28 - Ibid.
29 - Martin, op.cit.
30 - Arberry, op.cit.
31 - Saghir, op. cite, p. 59; Martin, op cite; Monavi, op cite, pp. 95-97.
32 - Badawi, op.cit, pp. 474-475.
33 - Zaryab Khu'i, Abbas, op cit.
34 - Pearson, op. cite.
35 - For a critical evaluation of his translation and some other English translations, refer to Arberry, The Preface to the Qur'an.
36 - Khorram Shahi, Baha' al-Din, Qur'an pazhuhi, pp. 532-536.
37 - To see a complete list of the translations of the Qur'an in various languages including.
38 - Saghir, op cite, p. 31.
39 - Ibid.
40 - Weil, Gustav, the writer of a critical historical Introduction on the Holy Qur'an.
41 - Saghir, op. cite.
42 - Like John Burton, the author of the book, The Compilation of the Qur'an, Cambridge, 1979.
43. Tabataba'i Naqd Athar Khavarshenasan, pp. 61-69.
44 - Arghun, Islam Diruz wa Emruz, pp. 32-33.
45 - The translation of Dr. Asadullah Mubashsheri, Arghanun Publications, First Edition, Tehran, 1993.
46 - The entire book.
47 - Professor of the London University and one of the editors of a new book entitled, Approaches to the Glorious Qur'an, 2000.