AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, among flag bearer of translation, authoring Shiite works: Kermani

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Thursday, 05 January 2023

The former head of the translation Department of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly stated, “The requirement for authoring books for international activities is the translation of important and basic Shiite sources into all languages of the world, and in this regard, the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly is among flag bearer of translation and authoring Shiite works.”

ABWA Official Website – On the Sideline of the “Lights of Guidance” exhibition, the session of “The effect of translated works in publishing AhlulBayt (a.s.) teachings” was held on January 5, 2023, in the conference hall of the Islamic Propagation Office of Qom Seminary, by the ABNA News Agency and Translation Department of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.

In this session, Sayed Mohsen Sebt Ahmadi, an expert in the Translation Department of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, was the secretary of the session, and Dr. Sabiti Engoy, an expert and French translator, as well as Abdul Karim Kermani, the former head of the Translation Department of the Assembly discussed their views.

In the first part of this meeting, Abdul Karim Kermani, on the translation and its necessity stated, “The importance of translation in the era of information and technology is evident for everyone and considering the activity of about 2000 languages in the world and the importance of propagating Islam in the current situation, the importance of translating works becomes more evident.”

“ISIS tried to present a harsh image of the Islamic world, and this highlights the importance of spreading the thought of the Imams (a.s.). By the grace of God, the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly has published 2,500 volumes of books in 30 years and has made a decisive contribution to the promotion of Shiite ideas. But it should be noted that the activities of the enemies in this area are very extensive,” he said.

“The Bible has been translated into all the languages of the world. But unfortunately, the Holy Quran, as the main source of knowledge of Islam, has only been translated into a few languages., and this has been achieved by spending a lot of money and having excellent experts,” added the former head of the Translation Department of the Assembly.

Regarding the problems in the field of translation, Kermani stated, “Institutions active in translation do not have a proper understanding of the audience in the target society, or they do not cooperate with distinguished experts. The most important problem in this area is the lack of financial resources, which can be compensated by the serious determination of the political institutions of the countries.”

“In a hadith, Imam Reza (a.s.) stated, “May God’s mercy be upon the servant who revives our cause.” Imam (a.s.) was asked, “How is your cause revived?” The Imam replied, “By learning and our sciences and teaching them to others. If people know the beauty of our word, they will follow it.” According to this hadith, the priority is to translate and revive the virtues of the words of the Imams (a.s.). Some Shia sources are not translated into any language or are presented in only a few languages. This makes it difficult to introduce to know Islam,” he said about priorities in translation.

“Books about Shia beliefs, introducing the moral virtues of the Imams (a.s.), as well as explaining rules and beliefs for children, are important topics that should be translated into all languages of the world. The translation of the books of Shahid Motahari or Shahid Sadr is among the important and influential works that are presented in several languages,” added the former head of the Translation Department of the Assembly.

At the end of the first part of the session, while pointing out the importance of authorship, Kermani said, “The requirement for authoring books for international activities is the translation of important and basic Shiite sources into all languages of the world, and in this regard, the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly is among flag bearer of translation and authoring Shiite works.”

In the second part of this session, on the dissemination of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) teachings in African countries, Hojat al-Islam Dr. Sabiti Engoy, an expert and French translator expressed, “Translation is a specialty and art. We must have a special look at this field to witness its growth.”

“There are 4 indigenous languages on the African continent, and also languages such as English, French and Portuguese have become dominant among the people as a result of colonization and the influence of the imperialist countries. Therefore, it is important to translate religious texts in this region,” he said.

“The translation of the works must be correct in terms of grammar. Otherwise, the reader’s mind will get involved in the problems of the text and he will not be able to understand the content. One of the strategies for quality translation is to hold review meetings before publishing the translated work,” added the French language expert and translator.

“We have neglected to translate the Holy Quran into different languages. For example, there is no complete Tafsir for the Holy Quran in French. These cases of negligence have led to the idea that “Shiites do not care about the Quran”! Of course, we should mention successful translated works such as “Then I was guided”, or the book “Peshawar Nights”, which with a fluent translation are suitable for any audience,” Dr. Sabiti Engoy said.

Regarding the situation of Islam in Africa, he stated, “Islamophobia is one of the problems of the Islamic world that we must try to solve. African countries are involved in many doubts about Islam, which is due to the influence of Western countries. For example, it is suggested that Islam was in favor of slavery by colonialists and confirms it! While this doubt is answered by explaining the importance of human dignity in the AhlulBayt (a.s.) teachings.”

“Translation and authoring complete each other. We should take advantage of the ideas taken from the AhlulBayt (a.s.) school and not suffice ourselves to translation. In this regard, dignitaries like the late Allameh Misbah Yazdi are a reference for us,” he said.

In the end, the French expert and translator stated, “We should pay attention to the publication of electronic books. The AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly has moved in this path with the design of “Naba” application.”

In the end, Sayed Mohsen Sebt Ahmadi, the secretary of the “The effect of translated works in publishing AhlulBayt (a.s.) teachings” session, concluded the discussed issues.

This session was held by the ABNA News Agency and Translation Department of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.

It should be mentioned that on the establishment anniversary of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, the exhibition of the achievements of institutions and organizations active in the international propagation of Islam, entitled “Lights of Guidance” is being held from Saturday, December 31, 2022, until January Thursday 5, 2023, in the conference hall of the Islamic Propagation Office of the Seminary.

It is also worth noting that the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly was established on December 31, 1990, with the aim of gathering Shiites, establishing relationships within the Shiite world, promoting Shiites seminaries, solving the problems of Shiites with other Islamic Denominations, and benefiting from real and legal capabilities of Shiites.

The Assembly was established by the order of Grand Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, on December 25, 1990, with the aim of introducing the revolutionary foundations, and thought of the Islamic system of Iran to Shiites all over the world. /345/

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