Reciting the holy Quran is considered an essential aspect of Islamic belief. Scholars insist and the general perception pertains, that the effort should extend to understanding its meaning and essence.
While the Quran is in Arabic, and on an interesting note, statistics show, roughly, only 15 percentage of the Muslim population comprise of Arabs. Fact is, Islam since its inception went beyond Arabic shores and over the century, the faith has spread to the Indian subcontinent, Africa (particularly North Africa), Far East, Balkan, Caucasus region and has a noticeable presence in different parts of Asia and Europe. While the Islamic faith was embraced, the Non-Arab Muslims proficiency in Arabic is usually limited to reading and memorising it only.
In an effort to bridge the gap between reading and understanding the Quran, Zamir Ahmad Muzmir has come up with a multilingual Quran dictionary. Beginning with the original word in Arabic, the 723-page dictionary goes on to provide its meaning in not less than four languages. The selected languages for the meanings go as Hindi, Urdu, English and Persian. “I have opted for these four languages since it covers a wide gamut of people. Hindi and Urdu has an extensive reach in the sub-continent, while Persian is another classical language, primarily spoken in Iran and also has its patrons in Afghanistan, and West Asia. Bengali with its massive Muslim population finds a place too. And of course English’s popularity is well known,” reasons Zamir.
Besides providing the meaning in different languages, other information like the origin of the word, the correct pronunciation (highlighted in Roman English), the Surah (chapter) and Aayat (verse) where the word has been used and the number of times it has appeared in the Quran, all find a mention.
Delving further, the writer who happens to be a journalist and his previous work includes a book on Islamic quiz, says, “In Arabic, certain words have two different meanings, the dictionary marks out the distinction and the context in which it has to be used.”
According to him, “It took me 17 years to complete this labour of dedication. And I consider this, only the beginning. Next on my agenda is addition of Kashmiri and Gujarati languages in the dictionary. And I hope to continue with the process, in the form of inclusion of more languages in the next edition.”
“My endeavour comes attached with the hope that more and more people, both the faithful as well as those researching on the Quran, can benefit from the information provided in the book,” he underlines.
“This is the first of its kind dictionary in the world and it might make it to the Guinness Book of World Records,” Zamir ends on a hopeful note.