This week we are looking at the poetic Qur’an translation by Theodor Adamovich Shumovskii (1913–2012). Not only is this translation a very unusual piece of work, but the translator’s life is also worthy of a book in itself. Luckily, Shumovskii left behind not only remarkable academic scholarship, works on popular humanities, poetry, and his Qur’an […]
While we typically explore Qur’an translations authored by Muslims, today we delve into the intriguing transformations and faith-based usage of a renowned Orientalist Qur’an translation in Russian. The famous Russian Arabist Ignatii Krachkovskii (1883–1951), known in the academic world for establishing the Soviet school of Arabic studies and for his prolific publication record, is mostly
Ravil Bukharaev, much like the polymaths of the Renaissance, was a multifaceted individual whose interests and expertise spanned various fields. In modern Tatarstan, a republic within the Russian Federation, he is celebrated as one of the major Tatar literary figures of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, and is renowned for his diverse talents
In 2022, a new Qur’an translation into Russian entitled Salsabil: Perevod Smyslov Velikogo Korana Tom I (‘Salsabil: A Translation of the Meanings of the Great Qur’an. Part I’) was published with a curious addendum on the cover page, to the effect that the translation is an ‘experimental edition.’ Aslan Arkhestov, also known as Shaykh Abu
If an ordinary Muslim for whom Russian is the mother tongue were asked today to recite Sūrat al-Fātiḥa from memory, it is very likely that their recitation would be based on Elmir Quliyev’s translation of the Qur’an. The ubiquitous presence of this Qur’an translation in print and online apps, and on peoples’ tongues, reflects the
The Conveying Islamic Message Society (‘Jamʿiyyat Tablīgh al-Islām’, or CIMS) is one of the oldest Islamic non-government organizations in the world, and is especially interested in Islamic missionary activity, or daʿwah. The ‘call to Islam’ has always been its main priority, and it directs its mission to both Eastern and Western audiences. Now operating from
This week our attention is focused on another attempt to translate the Qur’an into Russian by translators from an academic background. Two Tatar Islamicists, Ural Sharipov (b. 1937) and Raisa Sharipova (b. 1940), published the first edition of their translation in 2009, and the second edition in 2012. Koran: Perevod na russkiĭ i͡azyk is associated
The geography of the former Russian Empire and the power of its language have had lasting effects, not only on geopolitics but also on the grassroots level activities of various actors. Our thread today is about how Muslims have used the Russian language and the geography of the Empire to create a Qur’an translation and
This week we present one of the very first tafsīr translations into Russian to be published after the official collapse of the USSR. ‘Tafsīr Hilal’ (Hilol), by Shaykh Muhammad Sodiq Muhammad Yusuf (d. 2015), was originally written in Uzbek and has been both partially and fully translated into some of the languages of the region.
The turn of the millennium gifted Russian-speaking Muslim communities with a new Qur’an interpretation: al-Muntakhab: Tolkovanie Svi͡ashchennogo Korana na Arabskom i Russkom I͡azykakh (2000) [al-Muntakhab: Interpretation of the Holy Qur’an in Arabic and Russian languages]. This publication not only received official approval from Egypt’s al-Azhar University (which has a widespread policy of providing official sanction
