THE NEW YORUBA QURAN TRANSLATION IN THE UK

THE NEW YORUBA QUR'AN TRANSLATION IN THE UK Jam'iyyatul-Islamiyyah UK invited a group of the committee for the production of the ongoing Yoruba Quran translation project for the presentation of the project on the 24th June 2018 at Islamic cultural centre Camberwell Road, London. The programme kicks off immediately after Mallam Babandi Abubakar Gumel delivered the opening prayer. Group Picture In attendance: Mallam Abubakar Gumel, Supervisor Immigration at Nigeria High Commission, Alhaji Abdullahi Abdul-Mumini-Immigration department, Alhaji Ahmad Adam, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC),Ustash Abdul-Hakeem Omotosho-Imam of Jam'iyyatul- Islamiyyah, Ustadh Saeed Jum'ah, Mission board Secretary, Ustadh Abdul Fatai Ayeni (Missioner),Ustadh Ahmad (Missioner),Ma'ruufddeen Oyekan (Trustee),Tajuddeen Iginla (Trustee),Usama Owolarafe (Trustee),Abdurrahman Abdur-Rauuf (Trustee),Mrs Omoniyi Anike,(Assistant PRO Tsgnd, UK),Hajiya Zulikha Zakariyau and Hajiya Mujjeedat Laniyan. The translator's official speech BEING A SPECIAL SPEECH DELIVERED AT CAMBERWELL DURING THE PRESENTATION OF THE PROJECT BISMILLAHI WAKAFAA,WASSOLAATU WASSALAAM ALAN-NABIYYIL-MUSTAPHA,WABA'DU. ASSALAAMU ALAYKUM WARAHMATULLAAHI WABARAKAATUHU Greetings……… People may be asked. Is there any need for a fresh Yoruba Quran translation? Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) enjoins Muslims to search for knowledge from the cradle till the grave. ''Utlutul-Ilma Minal-Mahd-ilal-Lahd. Qur'an Majeed Translations of the Qur'an into any language is very helpful to any Muslim community and Non-Muslim community to understand the interpretations of the scripture of Islam from the Arabic Language which was originally revealed to Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam). Alhamdu lillaahi. The Holy Quran has been translated to most major African, Asian and European languages in the world today. Qaalallaahu Ta'aala:Wamaa Arsalnaa min Rasuulin illaa bilisaani Qaomihi,liyubayyina lahum .''And We sent not a Messenger except with the language of his people so that he might make (the message) clear for them''. During my 16 years of this scholarly project, I discovered that Transliteration and Translation of the Holy Qur'an have always been difficult tasks in Islamic theology. Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad in Arabic because he was an Arab and speaks the Arabic Language. Translation of the Holy Quran began during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U H). Translation of the Holy Quran into other languages is necessary and helpful. The first translation of the Holy Quran was produced by Salman Faris who translated Suratul-Fatihah from the Arabic language to Persian Language, then Zamghashriy, Qurtubiy. Around 7thcentury.Jafar Abu Talib translated some verses from the Holy Quran, then, the complete Quran translation followed between the 10th and 12th centuries in the Persian language. A Group of Islamic Scholars from Khorasan translated the Holy Quran known as Tafseer ibn Jareer At-Tabariy 11 century, then tafseer Thalabiy then, tafseer al-baghwiy then, al-wahidiy, then, tafseer zamghashri, then tafseer al-qurtubiy then, ibn katheer then, jalalayni and others followed till today. Islam spread to Ile-Ife-Yorubaland through Mali 1450, the first mosque was built in Oyo-Ile 1550, In Iwo 1655, Iseyin in 1760.Islam spread to Ilesha in 1890, Ondo in 1886, Ikare 1917,Ado Ekiti in 1840,Shaki in 1790,Ibadan in 1811,Badagry in 1819, Oshogbo in 1889, Ilorin 1700, Ikirun 1886, Ogbomosho 1770, Lagos 1775,Lagos central mosque was built 1864. Yoruba-land can be classified into three zones; northwest is Oyo, Iseyin, Ogun, Ibadan, Lagos. Yoruba-land central are Akure, Ilesha, Ekiti, Yagba, Ilorin Igbomina and Offa. Southeast Yoruba are Ondo, Owo, Ilaje, Idanre, Ikare, Shagamu, Okitipupa and some part of Ijebu. Southwest Yoruba are the Republic of Benin. There are lexical affinities between Arabic and Yoruba Languages. There are shreds of evidence of the interplay between Arabic and Yoruba Languages despite the distance in space between the two cultures. There is a multitude of Arabic loan words and expressions found in the Yoruba language which prove the relationship between the two languages long years ago. Influence of Arabic on the Yoruba language and culture. According to historian-Rev. Samuel Johnson said in his book the history of Yoruba published in 1921:''Yoruba race emanated from among the Arabs''.Yorubas are said to have sprung from Lamrudu the king of Mecca in the olden day, it was prophet Muhammad who expelled him out of Mecca, but I don't believe this, I believed Yoruba originated from Yarba ibn Qahtan, not Lamurudu as he said because Lamurudu (Namruudhu) reigned during the lifetime of Prophet Ibrahim not the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad as he said. Historians' links the term Yarba to Yoruba. Some say Yio ru ebo (he will make a ritual sacrifice) later turned to the term Yoruba. Some other African languages that acquired loans from Arabic words include Somali, Wolof, Hausa, Fulfude, Kanuri, Swahili and Mandinka. British colonial masters who ruled over Nigeria introduced Christianity through their missionary activities but Islam had already established itself in the Northern part of Nigeria. Evidence to this, Yoruba says in local words 'Aiye laba'fa,Aiye laba'mole,osan gangan nigbagbo wole de-we met ifa (the Yoruba traditional religion)in the world, we met Islam in the world, but Christianity came later in the day. Christianity came to Nigeria in the 15th century but the first Church in Nigeria was built in 1842 in Badagry by Henry Townsend who published the first Newspaper in Abeokuta. The Arabic language has had a considerable influence on the Yoruba language. The contact of the Yoruba land through Islam has affected the social, cultural and commercial life of the Yoruba today in Nigeria. ARABIC WORDS IN YORUBA BIBLE Samples of the Arabic loan words used in various editions of the Yoruba bible are Al-aafiyah,Adduaau and al Wa'asu. Jesu pade won o wipe Alafia -Jesus met them and said al aafiyah 1-Alafia is a loan word from the Arabic word. Al-aafiyah means good health-well-being. It is used in Matthew 28:9 Samuel 3:21 and Iwe Owe 17:1-Proverb. 2-Gbo Adura mi Oluwa- Hear my prayer O lord. The Yoruba word-Adua is borrowed from the Arabic word. Adduau meaning prayer-supplication-this is used in Orin Dafiidi 102:1 65:2 and 142:8 3-O si wi fun won pe: E jeki a losi ilu miran ki emi o le wasu nibe pelu. And he said to them, let us go onto the next towns and that I may preach there, also the Yoruba iwasu is borrowed from the Arabic word meaning sermon-preaching. The word is used in Mark 1:38 and i:7 and also in Matthew 10:7 Samples of loan words Arabic Yoruba Meaning Al-amr Alamori matter Albarkah Alubarika blessing Ar-Rizq Arisiki Provision Al-Qadar kadara Destiny Ar-Ra'd Ara Thunder Al-wajhu iwaju Forehead Al-qaadi Alikali Judge Assabab Sababi Cause Addarar Laluri Necessity. Athulaathau Atalata Tuesday Al-Khamees Alamisi Thursday Al-Ju'mah Jimoh Friday The standard word for the days before Islam was Aiku-Sunday,Ojo Aje-Monday,Isegun-Tuesday,Ojoru-Wednesday,Ojobo-Thursday,Ojo eti-Friday,Abameta-Saturday. Labare in hausa was an Arabic word from Khabar.Khitaamuhu Miskun-Miskun is an Arabic word-it's Persian loan word in the Holy Quran. Translation of the Quran in Europe The first translation attempted by a European was a Latin version, later translated by an Englishman Robert of Retina, a German Hermann of Dalmatia based on the request of Peter Abbot of the Clogny in 1143 A.D, It was hidden for nearly four hundred years till it was published in Baste in 1543 by Theodore Bibliander and later rendered into Italian, German and Dutch. The next translation in German was by Schweitzer at Nuremberg in 1616, it was followed up in 1698 by a work of Marracci de Alacran consisting of the Quran in Arabic with Latin version. The French translation was done by De Ryer in Paris in 1647. Russian version appeared in the at St. Petersburg in 1778. The first English translation was written by Alexander Ross. But most of the old translations by Non-Muslims contain much error as it has happened to the first Yoruba Quran published in 1906 in Nigeria. The first Muslim to undertake the correct English Quran translation was Dr Muhammad Abdul Hakeem Khan in 1905. Another one was written by Marza Hairat in 1919 in India. After the version of Muhammad Ali 1917. Abdullahi Yusuf Ali produced another English version in 1934 reprinted in 1946 with the pattern of Muhammad Ali. The Holy Quran with text, translation and commentaries was produced by Ahmadiyyah mission in Islam in Rabwa 1960. Today Quran has been translated into many languages including 15 International languages. English, Yoruba, Hausa, French, Latin, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Greek, German, Hindu, Swahili, Italian, Spanish, Hebrew and Arabic. Dr Sayed Abdul Latif's translation published in 1967, is regarded highly by some Scholars. A Jewish who converted to Islam-Muhammad Asad also translated Holy Quran from Arabic to English titled 'The Message of The Qur'an' in 1980. The arrival English-speaking Muslim population well-settled in Western Europe and North America. As a result, several major Muslim translations emerged to meet the ensuing demand. In 1991 an English translation under the title: The Clarion Call of The Eternal Qur-aan, by Muhammad Khalilur Rahman who is from Bangladesh appeared in Europe. In 1996 the Saudi government financed a new translation "the Hilali-Khan Qur'an" which was distributed free worldwide by the Saudi government. In 2007 The Sublime Qur'an appeared by Laleh Bakhtiar; it is the first translation of the Qur'an by an American woman. In 2015 Dr Mustafa Khattab of Al-Azhar University completed The Clear Quran: A Thematic English Translation, after three years of collaboration with a team of scholars, editors, and proofreaders.it is believed to be the first English translation done in Canada.[ I Daud Awwal completed my translation of the Holy Quran into the Yoruba Language, the project started in 2004 and completed in 2018, the first of its kind to be produced in the UK, full of Arabic text, full transliteration, full of Yoruba translation and commentaries. Yoruba Speaking Muslim communities home and abroad deserve a comprehensive Yoruba Quran. None of the existing copies has full transliteration and is full of commentaries. This project will create peace and harmony between Nigerian Muslim's community and the Christian's community because I refer to many relevant references from the bible to many Quranic verses in this version. More than 50 million Yoruba speakers are in Nigeria and about 600 million of them living around the world. They are genuinely worried and looking forward to the fresh free error of the Yoruba Quran translation many years ago. They need a comprehensive Holy Quran in their mother tongue and not Holy Quran riddled with wrong interpretations and grammatical errors. Kudos to the blessed memory of the late Bishop Ajayi Crowther, the first Nigerian who translated the English Bible into the Yoruba language. Bishop Crowther was a great scholar. He first translated the English dictionary into the Yoruba language in 1842 and the second edition or what you call a reprint came out in 1852. Ajayi Crowther (1809-1891) and his colleagues formed 26 Yoruba alphabet in 1830 - A B D E E F G GB H I J K L M N O O P R S SH T U W Y-These Yoruba alphabets was derived from Latin Alphabet to make Yoruba language easier to write. The only Latin letters that were not used are c,q,v,x and z. He translated Bible into the Yoruba language 1843-1880, Samuel Johnson also contributed to the work. In the 17th century, Yoruba was written in Ajami script-a form of Arabic, Arabic is written from right to the left, it is called hurul-hijaahiyyah,it is made of 30 letters. Arabic is the second largest language spoken in the world. The quality of the Yoruba alphabet aided me to do this great work, without these alphabets, I can't do this great work in the Yoruba language. Sometimes in the Yoruba language, we have one word with much different meaning for instance OGUN-this one word with a different consonant gives twelve meanings 1- Ogun means Medicine-2-Ogun-He clamp,3-Ogun-he pound it 4-Ogun-war,5-Ogun-A state in Nigeria,6-Ogun-charms.7-Ogun-sweat, 8-Ogun-its long,9-Ogun-inheritance,10-Ogun-20,11-Ogun-iron idol.12-Ogun-he stabbed. Yoruba is a tonal long with three-level tones, high, low and middle. Yoruba has seven oral and five nasal vowels. Yoruba also have a different way of counting numbers. 100-ogorun,200-igba,300-orundin ni rinho,400-irinho,500-orundinlegbeta,600-egbeta,700-orundinlegbeta,800-egberin,900-orundinlegberun,1000-egberun. Sheikh Abubakar Gumi (1922-1992) was the first Islamic scholar in Nigeria who translated Holy Quran from the Arabic language into the Hausa language in 1979. Some notable Yoruba Islamic scholars like the late Sheikh Adam Abdulahi Al-Ilory, Sheikh Kamaldeen Al-Adabiy and others also have translated the Holy Quran from the Arabic language into the Yoruba language from 1962-1973 and 25,000 copies were printed in Lebanon funded by ate King Khalid of Saudi Arabia. I am not so sure if the respected Sheikh Adam Al-Ilory has fully participated in the translation of the Arabic Quran into the Yoruba language published in 1773. Although he wrote the preface of the version, yet For example, Suratul Baqarah-Chapter 2 has 286 verses but I spotted 216 errors in the translation from Arabic to the Yoruba language in this single chapter. QURAN 1 carries three mistakes QURAN 2 the following verses misinterpreted wrongly 2,3,4,5,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,22,23,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,39,40,41,42,43,45,46,48,49,50,51,53,55,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,67,69,72,73,74,76,78,80,81,82,83,84,85,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,99,101,102,103,105,107,108,110,111,113,114,115,116,117,118,119,120,121,122,123,124,125,126,127,128,130,131,132,133,134,135,136,137,138,139,141,144,145,146,149,150,151,152,153,154,155,157,158,159,160,162,164,165,166,167,168,170,172,173,174,175,176,177,178,179,183,184,185,166,187,188,189,191,194,199,200,202,203,204,205,206,209,210,213,215,217,219,220,221,222,224,225,228,229,230,231,232,235,238,242,243,245,246,247,248,250,252,253,254,255,257,258,261,264,265,266,267,270,271,273,274,275,276,279,280,281,282,283,284,289, and 286. Sheikh Adam said in his preface of that Yoruba version of 1973 ''Whoever spots any mistake in this edition-(Yoruba Quran of 1973) he should correct it''. Quran 3, contains 200 verses,138 mistakes were spotted: Quran 4, consists of 176 verses, there were 127 mistakes, and Many mistakes were also identified in virtually all the chapters of the Qur'an. I commend Sheikh Adam (Secretary), Sheikh Kamaluddeen-(chairman of the committee for the 1973 edition), Alhaji Burhaanuddeen Sanusi Alaka (Ibadan), Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Solahuddeen Al-Adabiyy(Ilorin), Alhaji Muhammad Raji Sulayman, Alhaji Musa Aliyyu Yahya Ajetumobi and another member of the committee for their great efforts-Alhaji Muhammadul-Awwal Augustus (Lagos), Alhaji Tijani Akanni (Lagos), Alhaji Hasan Yuushau Dindey (Abeokuta). Alhaji Abdul-Lateef Ahmad Ede,Alhaji Khidru Mustapha (Ilorin),Alhaji Yeesa Bello,(Ibadan),Alhaji Abdulwahhabi Sanusi (Ilorin) Most of them have passed away.May Almighty Allah reward them abundantly for their great efforts which opened ways for us to continue this legacy. With my knowledge of Arabic grammar and morphology. I applied years of experience in Arabic in this project and I spotted many errors in the translation of the Holy Quran from the Arabic language to Yoruba written by Samuel Cole 1907 Revd S.M Cole who made the first attempt to translate Holy Quran into the Yoruba language, he was not a Muslim. He did not know about Islam or the Arabic language but I commend him for the great work. He only wrote the book in the Yoruba language without any Arabic text and not the expected Arabic transliteration parts along with the English translation. He just translated directly from English Quran. It was not an easy task to get a copy of Revd Cole's Quran. I refused to give up. I went to the University of London library and I was later directed by the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and when I eventually set my eyes on the only copy in the library after more than four hours of searching through all the shelves and I was so happy beyond words. Cole relied on English translation to do his work because he lacks Arabic and Islamic studies, he was a Christian, and his 410 pages are pure Yoruba language, with no single Arabic text except the front page. He did not know hadith, fiqh, etc. The amount of knowledge available to do the job is limited. I worked hard to get a copy of his work. Cole put two dots on Nuun instead of one, he put the fatiah sign under the hamzah instead on top. Cole made many errors from the front page to his 410 pages.No no single Arabic text is the original text of the Holy Quran. Page 47 he named surat un-Nisai as Nisa and translated it as –sura Obinrin instead Awon Obinrin, because Nisau in Arabic means women, not the woman. He also translated Raheem to Oludawa instead Alaanu julo or Asake julo (ni orun). In 1965 E.K Akinlade also published the second Yoruba translation of the Quran. 3-Ahmadiyyah also published Yoruba 1976 and igbo-(1990) Hausa-1992, but Gumi produced another Hausa Quran 1979. An Indian man called Naeem came to Nigeria and produced a Yoruba Quran. I sat down to do a compilation analysis of the copies and spotted many errors, no one is perfect, wamaa uuteetum minal ilmi illa qaleela-there is a limitation for knowledge for everyone in this world. My work has been reviewed by many scholars and also I have more than 18 professors and scholars reserved to review it, such as Sheikh Habeeb Adam Abdullahi Al-Ilory, Prof Daud Naibi, Prof Shuaib Baaqee Agaka, Ilorin and Prof Lanre Badmas before the final printing, insha Allah. Most of my Yoruba translation is based on Oyo dialects because I believe the Oyo dialect is the genuine and standard Yoruba. Transliteration is added which is the conversion of a text from one script to another. This new version is a continuity of the translation of the Holy Quran with updates to new global history, events and technology. I shed more light on the global crisis in the world. New ideas on Islamic banking regarding Riba issues, mortgages, new views on Islamic crisis in the middle-east, Nigeria and Africa generally, issues on terror, ways to curb terrorism, how to harmonize between Muslims and non-Muslims to allow peace to reign in our society. Usage of 99 names of Allah and some other verses for spiritual purposes to solve problems, protections against evils. History of Sheikh Alimi, Sheikh Uthman Dan Fodio, Sheikh Alimi, Sheikh Bisiriyyu of Lagos and many other Shuyukhus who created peace and harmony during their life. Relationship between Arab and Yoruba. My brothers and sisters, we need your moral support for the final production of this project. We shall organize world press; invite more scholars, journalists and interested members of the general public to cross-examine my work. There are misconceptions in the translations of the Holy Quran to local languages by scholars. Perhaps some intellectuals have embarked on the translation of the Quran into local tongues with hidden agenda for ulterior motives. Attaorah was revealed to Jews through Prophet Musa in Hebrew language, today it has been translated to 70 different languages for better understanding by the people. Injeel-Bible was revealed to the Israelites through Prophet Isa-Jesus Christ in Aramaic language, it has been translated into 531 languages and some portions interpreted in 2,883 languages. It is true that Quran divinely guarded, the 114 chapters and the Holy Qur'an had been revealed in classical Arabic for 23 years from 610 AD to 632 AD; and remain un-edited, un-reviewed, and unblemished till eternity; but the translations to various languages are being revised due to human errors. Quran has been translated into over 55 languages. The Quran is not only the scripture of the Muslims but also a treasure trove for their spiritual, social, and political guidance. it is written in the Arabic language. Several efforts have been made by scholars to translate it into a variety of languages. The need for understanding the Quran continues to exert itself on both Muslims and non-Muslims in society. This book is full of the source of information for Muslims and non-Muslims on the history of the complete Quran. Muslims hold Quran and it's the word of god and the most perfect of his revelations to mankind. While they believe that other great prophets such as Moses and Jesus had existed before Muhammad, they maintain that Muhammad is the seal of the prophets, the last in line that extended back to Adam. Quran is divided into 114 chapters, the shortest chapter is Kaothar, while the longest chapter is Baqarah, 93 were revealed in mecca,21 were revealed to Muhammad in Madina.