Reflection of Authentic Narrations on revelation occasions in Contemporary Persian Translations of the Holy Quran; A case study of Ilāhī Qumshiʾī, Riḍāyī Isfihānī, Fūlādvand, and Mishkīnī Translations

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

• Khorshid Bahari ¹
• Sahebali Akbari ²
• Mohammadali Rezaei Kermani Nasabpoor ³

¹ Ph.D. Student, Department of Quranic Sciences and Hadith, Faculty of Theology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

² Associate Professor, Department of Quranic Sciences and Hadith, Faculty of Theology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

³ Associate Professor, Department of Quranic and Hadith Sciences, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

10.22067/jquran.2024.88524.1708

Abstract

The universality and the eternity of the Quran necessitate that its translation be done according to a set of evidence that is effective in the understanding of the verses and reflects its high intentions in the best way. Authentic revelation occasions (Asbāb-e-nuzūl) are among the most important factors that are effective in understanding and translating the Quran. Still, neglecting them has sometimes led to obvious differences and mistakes in the translations of the Quran. So, to illustrate the role of the revelation occasions in understanding and translating the verses, these narrations have been reread in four famous Persian translations. Also, the translations of some verses with revelation occasions were evaluated, and based on this evidence, their correct translations were identified. According to the results, although it is impossible to consider all revelation occasions as valid, those authentic revelation occasions that correspond with the meaning of the verse and have reached us from reliable sources have a significant role in understanding and translating the Quran and clarifying the denotation of the verses and their interpretation. The evidence of the revelation occasion has the least effect on translating the multi-sense words and the most impact on clarifying denotations of the verses and then removing the ambiguity from their exoteric meanings. Out of 30 sample verses that have authentic revelation occasions, the number of the cases that have been translated based on these narrations by selected translations are as follows: Mishkīnī: 16 cases, Ilāhī: 14 cases, Riḍāyī: 7 cases, and Fūlādvand: 4 cases.

Keywords

• Revelation occasions
• Translation of the Quran
• Ilāhī Qumshiʾī
• Riḍāyī
• Fūlādvand
• Mishkīnī

Main Subjects

• Quran and Hadith Studies

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©2025 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

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