Shia Translation of Quran into Russian Aimed at Bridging Cultures
Publish Date: 5/9/2016 Code: 50784

Shia Translation of Quran into Russian Aimed at Bridging Cultures

Nazim Zeynalov, a renowned Russian Islamologist whose translation of the Holy Quran has been published recently, said the rendering is a bridge to bring cultures closer together.

 

Zeynalov made the remark in an address to a ceremony held at Russia’s pavilion in the 29th Tehran International Book Fair (TIBF) to unveil the translation, which is based on Shia teachings.

He said the first Russian translation of the Quran came 300 years ago during the reign of Peter I.

Since then, he noted, some 20 rendering of the Holy Book into Russian have been done.

Zeynalov said his rendering is different from others in several ways.

"First, this is the first translation done by a translator who has religious education,” he said, stressing that a translator of the Quran ought to have religious knowledge.

The second feature of this rending is that he tried to combine the two methods in translation of the Quran, namely meaning-based and word-for-word.

But one of the main aspects of Zeynalov’s translation is that he has benefited from Hadiths by the Ahl-ul-Bayt (AS) about the verses of the Quran.

"This is something lacking in all other Russian translations of the Quran and, in fact, in many of the Holy Book’s translations in other languages.”

He noted that evidence from the Old and New Testaments has also been used to show the links between Islam and other divine religions.

Shia Translation of Quran into Russian Aimed at Bridging Cultures

Nazim Zeynalov was born in 1979 in Derbent, a city in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia.

He started learning the Quran at the age of ten. After finishing school, he came to Iran and started studying religious sciences in the holy city of Qom.

Zeynalov is the director of the Noor Islamic Center and Friday prayers leader in mosques in Derbent and Moscow.

The 29th edition of Tehran International Book Fair kicked off here in the Iranian capital on May 4 and will run until May 14.

Russia is special guest in this edition of the international cultural event. 

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