George Sale, The Koran, commonly called the Alcoran of Mohammed, translated into English immediately from the original Arabic; with Explanatory Notes, taken from the most approved Commentators. To which is prefixed A Preliminary Discource (1734)
immediately from the Arabic *; wherefore it is no wonder if the transcript be yet more faulty and absurd than, the copy †.
About the end of the fifteenth century, Johannes Andreas, a native of Xativa in the kingdom of Valencia, who from a Mohammedan doctor became a Christian priest, translated not only the Korân, but also its glosses, and the seven books of the Sonna, out of Arabic into the Arragonian tongue, at the command of Martin Garcia ‡, bishop of Barcelona, and inquisitor of Arragon. Whether this translation were ever published or not I am wholly ignorant: but it may be presumed to have been the better done for being the work of one bred up in the Mohammedan religion and learning; though his refutation of that religion, which has had several editions, gives no great idea of his abilities.
Some years within the last century, Andrew du Ryer, who had been consul of the French nation in Egypt, and was tolerably skilled in the Turkish and Arabic languages, took the pains to translate the Korân into his own tongue: but his performance, tho’ it be beyond comparison preferable to that of Retenensis, is far from being a just translation; there being mistakes in every page, besides frequent transpositions, omissions, and additions §, faults unpardonable in a work of this nature. And what renders it still more incomplete is, the want of Notes to explain a vast number of passages, some of which are difficult, and others impossible be understood, without proper explications, were they translated ever so exactly; which the author is so sensible of that he often refers his reader to the Arabic commentators.
The English version is no other than a translation of Du Ryer’s, and that a very bad one; for Alexander Ross, who did it, being utterly unacquainted with the Arabic, and no great master of the French, has added a number of fresh mistakes of his own to those of Du Ryer; not to mention the meanness of his language, which would make a better book ridiculous.
In 1698, a Latin translation of the Korân, made by father Lewis Marracci, who had been confessor to pope Innocent XI. was published at Padua, together with the original text, accompanied by explanatory notes and a refutation. This translation of Marracci’s generally speaking, is very exact; but adheres to the Arabic idiom too literally to be easily understood, unless I am much deceived, by those who are not versed
* His word are: — Questo libro, ehe già havevo à commune utilità de molti fatto dal proprio cèsto Arabo tradurre nella nostra volgar lingua Italiana, &c. And afterwards: Questo è l’ Alcorano di Matometto, il quale, come ho gia detto, bo fatto dal suo idimo tradurre, &c.
† V. Jos. Scalig. Epist. 361, & 362; & Selden. de success ad leges Ebræor. p. 9.
‡ J. Andreas, in Præf. ad Tractat. suum de Confusione Sectæ Mahometanæ.
§ V. Windet. de vita functorum statu, sect. 9.
