Translations

Main article: Qur'an translations
Translation of the Qur’an has always been a problematic and difficult issue. Since Islam regards the Qur’an as miraculous and inimitable (i'jaz al-Qur’an),[citation needed] many argue that the Qur’anic text can not be reproduced in another language or form.[73] Furthermore, an Arabic word may have a range of meanings depending on the context, making an accurate translation even more difficult.[74]
Nevertheless, the Qur’an has been translated into most African, Asian and European languages.[74] The first translator of the Qur’an was Salman the Persian, who translated Fatihah into Persian during the 7th century.[75] The first complete translation of Quran was into Persian during the reign of Samanids in the 9th century. Islamic tradition holds that translations were made for Emperor Negus of Abyssinia and Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, as both received letters by Muhammad containing verses from the Qur’an.[74] In early centuries, the permissibility of translations was not an issue, but whether one could use translations in prayer.
In 1936, translations in 102 languages were known.[74]
Robert of Ketton was the first person to translate the Qur’an into a Western language, Latin, in 1143.[76] Alexander Ross offered the first English version in 1649. In 1734, George Sale produced the first scholarly translation of the Qur’an into English; another was produced by Richard Bell in 1937, and yet another by Arthur John Arberry in 1955. All these translators were non-Muslims. There have been numerous translations by Muslims; the most popular of these are by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan and Dr. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din al Hilali, Maulana Muhammad Ali, Abdullah Yusuf Ali, M. H. Shakir, Muhammad Asad, and Marmaduke Pickthall.[citation needed]
The English translators have sometimes favored archaic English words and constructions over their more modern or conventional equivalents; for example, two widely-read translators, A. Yusuf Ali and M. Marmaduke Pickthall, use the plural and singular "ye" and "thou" instead of the more common "you." Another common stylistic decision has been to refrain from translating "Allah" — in Arabic, literally, "The God" — into the common English word "God." These choices may differ in more recent translations.[citation needed]