Translating faith

He believes that people should rightfully know about Islam, as it is. No personal interpretations, no prejudices. Just what the religion ...

He believes that people should rightfully know about Islam, as it is. No personal interpretations, no prejudices. Just what the religion says, in a language that8217;s native to the city. And that is why Mohammed Dalvi sat down after his retirement in 1980 and translated the Quran into Marathi 8211; in both forms 8211; poetry and prose.

Also to his credit are other literary works, all pertaining to Islam, written either in English or translated into Marathi. All because 8220;I feel that there is a paucity of Islamic literature in Marathi, and this can be effectively handled by a man from Maharashtra.8221;

Hailing from the coastal village of Dabhil, Dalvi headed the British Library in Pune in the years after 1960. A brief stint at the Kenya Institute of Education in Nairobi in 1975 was followed by his retirement five years later. 8220;It was thereafter that I decided to pay more attention to this issue. And I began with the translation of the Quran. First in its poetic form. The Quran is actually written in prose, but its words are recited during the prayers, giving it a poetic rhythm. The original 6,666 verses were translated into Marathi, the shlokas amounting to 10,000 in number. This is because in order to maintain the essence of the content, one may use more or less words than the original. That way, care is taken not to distort the original text and its meaning,8221; he explains. And the Quran Karim was readied.

The process that began then did not end once the translation was completed. Dalvi then undertook a second translation, Quran Majeed, this time in prose. 8220;I had read of a couple of Marathi translations of the Quran, published sometime around 1960. But these copies were not easily available. And it is imperative that people know what Islam is all about, as is written in the holy book,8221; explains Dalvi.

His other endeavours include Sharia: its substance and significance, the background reference for which came from his thesis for LLM. Then there are booklets that describe 8220;the 99 names of Allah,quot; and another on quot;the 99 names of the Prophet.8221; A recent endeavour, that is yet to go to print, is a deskbook on the religion titled 1400 Years of Islam. Another such work is in Marathi 8220;since Marathi is my chief area of interest8221;, tracing historical references and including social, religious aspects. Included is also a glossary of the Quran. And also just finished is a biography of the Prophet. 8220;Most of what people need to know about Islam is now on record in Marathi. Nobody can complain that there is no literature available. And this should enable people to understand what the religion is, instead of harbouring any half-ideas or misconceptions. And one would realise that Islam, which is the world8217;s youngest religion, upholds and reiterates what has been written in the texts of other older religions.8221;

While most of us would wish that religion in its true essence is understood by all, very few can or actually do anything towards that end. Here8217;s one man who can rest assured that he has done his bit for harmony and tolerance amongst different faiths.