MUHAMMAD MOZAMMIL HAQ is an Assamese scholar. He is rendering Maulana Maudoodi’s widely acknowledged Tafheem al-Qur’ān into the Assamese language. DR. WAQUAR ANWAR, Secretary Board of Islamic Publications, during his recent sojourn in Assam, talked to him on the various aspects of the translation work. Excerpts:
Tell us about your family, studies and career.
We are basically villagers. My ancestral home is in Barapeta of Assam. I shifted to Daldoma in Golpara district because of my employment and settled down there. I am an Aalim-e-Deen (a product of a religious seminary). After completing my studies from a madrasa (seminary) I joined the modern system of education and in due course did M.Sc. in Mathematics. Thereafter I joined a college as a Lecturer and retired as Professor in January, 2010. Both Mathematics and Arabic have been my favourite subjects.
How many people in Assam are Assamese-speaking?
My understanding is that about three crore people in Assam are Assamese-knowing and among them Muslims would be around one crore.
But all these people may not be literate?
The literacy rate in Assam is high, as high as 70%.
What are available translations of the Qur’ān in the Assamese language and which translations and the tafseers (exegeses) of the Qur’ān are popular?
There is only one translation of the Qur’ān in the Assamese language. It was done by Mr. Shamsul Huda and is available, entitled Qur’ān Bodh. No other person did any other translation. I will be the second person as and when my work is published. The religious scholars in Assam are Urdu-knowing and they study popular tafseers in Urdu like that by Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi. No tafseer in the Assamese language is available. There are only a few scholars who can refer to standard Urdu tafseers and as such most of the educated people in this part of the country cannot be benefited with them.
You are translating Tafheem al-Qur’ān into Assamese. Are you making use of the translation of the Arabic text as contained in Qur’ān Bodh or doing it afresh?
Mr. Shamsul Huda, the translator of the Qur’ān, was a learned man with strong base in the Arabic language. He deserved translating the Qur’ān direct from Arabic and could afford to disregard the Urdu translation of Maulana Maudoodi. He did what he was capable of. I do not place myself in that category and my task is to prepare an Assamese version of Tafheem al-Qur’ān. I have to keep my translation nearest to the Urdu translation of Maulana Maudoodi and be faithful to the Arabic text while translating the Qur’ānic verses. You can call it my limitation or the task at my hand! I am trying not to disturb, and be closer to, the fahm (understanding) of Tafheem.
Which other translations you have referred to while translating the Qur’ānic text?
I have been referring to the Qur’ān Bodh, the only Assamese translation of the Qur’ān. I have also been referring to the English translations by Pickthall and Abdullah Yusuf Ali. However, I have concentrated on Tafheem al-Qur’ān and I found the translation of the Qur’ān by Maulana Maudoodi most successful in conveying the meaning as well as spirit of the original Arabic text of the Qur’ān.
Translation of the Qur’ānic Text needs caution but one may get a free hand in translating the footnotes and exegeses. Are you using your own linguistic flow in translating the Urdu part of Tafheem al-Qur’ān?
I am a faithful translator. My mission is to transfer the spirit of Tafheem al-Qur’ān in Assamese. The Tafheem is characterised by its spirit. Maulana Maudoodi has tried to reproduce, as far as humanly possible, the spirit of the Qur’ān in Urdu. My duty is to bring that spirit to Assamese. In other words, Tafheemul Qur’ān is a tahreeki tarjuma and tafseer (translation and exegesis that activates persons and societies). It charges a person and nation to translate the message of the Qur’ān into practice. I intend to do the same and infuse, rather carry, the same traits.
How much work has been done?
It is nearing completion. I have completed five volumes and am working on Surah Mulk. One volume up to Surah Ana’m has been published and the printing process for the second volume has started.
When did you start this work, and was it an assignment by Jamaat-e-Islami Hind here or you commenced it yourself?
I started this work in 2005. I was assigned this by the Jamaat. Initially, I was given a part of the job and some other person, whom I do not know, was given the other part. I completed my part of the job early whereas the other part was undone. It was further opined that piecemeal translation by different persons would tell upon the uniformity. However, I was asked to take the rest of the job too and I happily accepted the assignment.
Printing of Assamese version of Tafheem al-Qur’ān is an expensive task whereas resources available to the Jamaat in Assam are meagre. How about funding of the project?
I am most incapable of contribution in fund collection? It shall have to be done by the Assamese Maktaba (Publishing House). I was offered remuneration for this job but I refused because for me it is a pure service of the Qur’ān which I am doing to please Allah and get reward hereafter.
How much further time you think the task in your hand will take?
Translation would be complete within a few months, Insha Allah (Allah willing) while other related work may take one year. The other related tasks include preparation of the Index and a glossary of Arabic terms with explanation in Assamese for ease of understanding of the readers.
waquaranwar@yahoo.com