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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Qur'an and Its Translators Chapter 3 Earliest Translations in Different Languages Based on Muhammad Hamidullah's study, Prof Ihsanoglu, in his introduction to the IRCICA bibliography, gives the following details about the first translations of the Qur'an in different languages, beginning with those of Asia.

Persian: The first translation, a team effort, was that of alp-Tabari's Tafsir done in the period of the Samanid king Abu Salih Mansur ibn Nuh (348p-364/961p-976). The first printed Persian commentary was Mawabp-e 'Aliyyah or Tafsirp-e Husayni (Calcutta 1837). Turkish: According to one opinion a Turkish version of alp-Tabari's Tafsir was prepared simultaneously with the Persian version of it.

According to another opinion the Turkish version was prepared a hundred years later in the 5th/llth century. None of these is, however, extant. The first Turkish translation to be published was the Tafsir alp-Tibyiin (Cairo 1842). Urdu: The first complete translation in Urdu is commonly considered to be made by Shah Raft alp-Din in 1190/1776. Its first edition was published in Calcutta in 1840.

It was followed by the translation of Shah 'Abd alp- Qadir in 1205/1790 and its first edition was published in Delhi in 1829. Both were sons of Shah Wali Allah. There is an old translation in Deccani Urdu done in the beginning of the l0th century. The first printed partial translation in Urdu in Basa'ir alp-Qur'an was by Nikhat Shahjahanpuri (Bombay 1731). Bengali: The first complete translation was by Garish Chandra Sen, a Brahmin, in 1881p-1886. Views differ as to the first partial translation.

According to one opinion it was the translation of the 30th Juz' by Ghulam Akbar 'Ali of Mirzapur in 1868. According to others, the first incomplete translation was by Mawlana Amir alp-Din Bachchumiyan. Gujrati: The first complete translation was by 'Abd alp-Qadir b. Luqman (Bombay 1879). Kashmiri: The first partial translation was by Muhammad Yahya Shah, published in 1887.

Hindi: Reportedly, the first "Hindi" translation was done as early as 2701 883 by an scholar from Iraq deputed by 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar, the ruler of Sindh, at the request of Raja Mahrook of Punjab and Kashmir. The translation did not go beyond Surat Ya Sin. In view of the fact that the word "Hindi" is understood in the sense of "Indian" by many West Asians, the translation might have been in some Indian language of the time (see the following para).