- A prominent Iranian cleric believes that translating Nahj al-Balagha (peak of eloquence), as the summit of Arabic literature, is a delicate task which needs diligence and thoroughness.
"It is very difficult to render Nahj al-Balagha due to its style, as a result translators must have perfect command of both the source and target language as well as complete mastery of the concepts of the book itself," Secretary General of the World Forum for Proximity of the Islamic Schools of Thought (WFPIST) Ayatollah Mohammad-Ali Taskhiri said yesterday at a specialized session on the translation of Nahj al-Balagha into foreign languages.
The scholars and experts attending the session, which had been organized by the Center for the Origination of the Translation and Development of Islamic Knowledge and Human Sciences, exchanged ideas on the translation of Nahj al-Balagha into foreign languages.
Ayatollah Taskhiri urged those who are going to translate this book to highlight in the interlocution of their works that their efforts are only their perceptions of the book which do not cover all the concepts of it.
He also criticized translations of Islamic books made by non-Muslim Orientalists as incorrect translations which have distorted the concepts of the Quran and Islamic books.
Nahj al-Balagha or the Peak of Eloquence is an anthology of Imam Ali's speeches, letters and aphorisms, compiled by famous Shia scholar Seyyed Radi in the 11th century A.D.
