Translation of the Holy Qur’an in Bangla: A Historical Perspective

Abstract

Islam came to the Indian Sub-continent in 712 A.D. Since then, Islam spread fast and the need was felt for the translation of the Holy Qur’an into Bengali language. Though, from 12^th to 18^th century, there did appear a good number of literary contributions on the religion of Islam in Bengali language. However, there has not been any translation and explanation of the Qur’an directly in Bengali except few attempts at the translation of certain parts of the Qur’an as poetry or lyrics. The reason may be the lack of awareness about the Muslim culture, backwardness of education in the Muslim society of Bengal and the pervading superstitions in the Muslim society of India. At the end of the 19^th century, a Hindu scholar took the initiative to translate the whole Qur’an and was followed by Muslim scholars along the same line. The translation of the Qur’an brought about a positive change in the educational system and the life-style of the Bengali Muslim community. This paper focuses on how written translation of the Holy Qur’an begun and the scholars who contributed in such an undertaking.