History of Science and Islam

The Quran is not a book of history. It is a book of guidance. It is a book of wisdom. The Quran refers to historical events from which one can receive guidance and gather wisdom. One may therefore legitimately ask: What is the significance of a translation of the Quran in an Encyclopedia of Islamic History?

The answer quite simply is this: It is impossible to understand Islamic History without an understanding of the Quran. The great intellectual upheavals within the fold of Islam have taken place within the framework of conformance with or violation of Quranic teachings. For instance, the Mutazilah revolution of the eighth century, and the counter-Mutazilah revolution that overwhelmed it, were both formulated in terms of Quranic teachings. Timur, who was undoubtedly one the greatest conquerors the world has seen, always found it expedient to obtain a legal opinion from his jurists justifying his invasion and plunder of neighboring Muslim lands, claiming that the neighboring monarchs had violated the injunctions of the Quran. The sufis and the salafis, the modernists and the traditionalists, the reformists and the conservatives have all looked to the Quran for a justification of their positions.

That said, it is a truism that the Quran just cannot be translated. It is self-sustained eloquence that defies semantic equivalence. The grandeur of its language, its infinite, variegated nuances pose a continuous challenge to the mind and soul. Nonetheless, through the ages, Muslim scholars have considered it an honor to undertake a translation of the Quran.

There are excellent translations of the Quran available in the English language. Each one presents a view of the text as it is understood by the translator. This translation was done by Professor Dr. Nazeer Ahmed, a scientist, historian and legislator, over a period of three years, between 2007 and 2010, although some of this work was done as early as 1972. The distinguishing characteristics of this translation are: