Mumbai ready to host Quran Conference, experience Marathi translation

Friday, January 22, 2010 05:49:26 PM, ummid.com Staff Reporter

Mumbai: Preparations for the two-day International Quran Conference which will also see unveiling of the Marathi Translation of the Holy Quran is underway in full speed, said Maulana Abdus Salam Salafi - President of Jamiat Ahle Hadees Greater Mumbai and Dr. Saeed Ah Faizee - President of Jamiat Ahle Hadees Maharashtra.

The duo were jointly addressing the media at Marathi Patrakar Sangh's office in Mumbai today evening.

"The two-day International Conference beginning January 23 in the evening would be held at two different venues with two different topics but with a single message", they added.

"While the conference will begin with a public meeting at Jhula Maidan in Mumbai Central on January 23, the release of the Marathi translation of the Holy Quran would take place at Hajj House next day at 10:00 in the morning", they said. 

"The first day of the conference is titled as Mohsin-e-Insaniyat Conference and the theme of this conference is to propagate the preaching of Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him). The next day's conference will be the International Quran Conference that will also release the Marathi Translation of the Holy Book", said the organisers.

Elaborating on the motives behind organising the conference, Maulana Salafi said, "Islam is the religion of peace, prosperity and equality. However, due to misconceptions - created deliberately or because of misunderstandings, the real message of Islam fails in reaching to the masses in India. The motive behind this conference is to bring to fore the real face of Islam in its true and pure form."

In reply to a question, Dr. Saeed Ah Faizee said, "There was a persistent demand from non-Muslims as well as Marathi speaking Muslims in Maharashtra to have an easy yet authentic translation of the Holy Book in the state's official language."

"Moreover", he added, "The Quran is actually the Book of Guidance, which is for the mankind irrespective of their religions. We consider it our duty to make the Quran available for the masses in a language which is familiar to them."

"We are sure", he said, "The translation will not only meet the requirements of the people but also help in creating an atmosphere of understanding between the people from different faiths."

According to the details unveiled by the organisers in front of the media, the Marathi Translation of the Quran is done by Mohd. Qasim of Nandurbar in North Maharashtra who used Ahsanul Bayaan, the popular Urdu Translation of Maulana Mohd. Junagadi. Ahsanul Bayaan is considered as one of the authentic Urdu translations widely read in the Indian sub continent. Few years back, it was also published by the Saudi Arabian Govt. through its Quran Centre in Madinah, said the statement.

Jamiat Ahle-Hadees Maharashtra the publisher and sponsor of the entire project of the Marathi Translation of the Holy Quran to be released on January 24 at Hajj House took four years to complete the work.

“Translating the Quran has never been an easy task. For, it requires lot of concentration, determination and efforts so that it does not have any mistake. Doing it in a language like Marathi was even more difficult”, Dr. Saeed Faizee said while speaking to ummid.com.

“However", he added, "Considering the importance of the Marathi language in Maharashtra and looking at the persistent demand from various circles, we took it upon ourselves to do the job. While working for four long years, instead of looking at any time-limit we concentrated on perfection and to make the final copy free from a single error."

Interestingly, the Marathi Translation of the Holy Quran that will be released this Sunday is perhaps the only Quran translation of its kind that has the name of a Hindu, Ajay Sonar imprinted on it.

Ajay Sonar a computer DTP operator from Malegaon, who will be felicitated by the organizers during the International Quran Conference in Mumbai, helped Jamiat Ahle Hadees Maharashtra in composing and proof reading the entire Marathi script that runs over more than a thousand pages.

The Two-day conference in Mumbai is jointly organised by Jamiat Ahle Hadees Greater Mumbai and Jamiat Ahle Hadees Maharashtra. Renowned scholars from India and abroad including Maulana Abdul Hameed Rahmani - President of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Islamic Awakening Centre, New Delhi, Editor of Sirat-e-Mustaqueem Birmingham, UK Dr. Abdul Haadi, Maulana Zafarul Hasan from Sharjah, Maulana Ab Qayyum from Qatar, Maulana Sayyad Mairaj Rabbani from Riyadh, Saudi Aarabia, Maulana Abdullah from Nepal, Gen. Secretary All Indian Milli Council, New Delhi Maulana Abdul Wahab Khilji, Malegaon MLA Mufti Mohd Ismael Qasmi and Dr. Fazlurrehman Madani, Mansoora are expected to address the conference.

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