The Forerunner (rāʾid) Nahj al-Balāghah: the Word of Imām ʿAlī
From Classical Arabic into Literary English: a Two-Decade Translation Endeavour by Sayyid Amjad H. Shah Naqavi
Abstract
Translating Classical Arabic into literary English has challenged scholars since the seventeenth century: ‘new’ translations, such as those of the Qurʾān, often regurgitate earlier works. Insights from the author’s twenty-two-year work on an Arabic critical edition and English literary translation of Nahj al-Balāghah, the fifth/tenth century compilation of the word of Imām ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (d. 60 AH/661 CE), demonstrate that scholars must engage directly with language and the text to produce original translations from Semitic languages into Indo-European languages. Palaeography, Classical Arabic grammar, and a thorough knowledge of the literature, culture, and history of both source and target languages are essential. But the scholar must become a ‘forerunner’ (rāʾid), going beyond lexicons, countering linguistic ‘obsolescence’ with ‘literary precedent’, and reflecting the status of Imām ʿAlī as a maker of the Arabic language through original English translations capturing the grammatical, semantic, and literary nuances of Classical Arabic.
In The Forerunner (rāʾid) Nahj al-Balāghah: The Word of Imām ʿAlī from Classical Arabic into Literary English: a Two-Decade Endeavour, Dr Sayyid Amjad H. Shah Naqavi masterfully brings to the fore his interdisciplinary expertise and addresses complex matters on the philosophy of language, linguistics, translation in theory and practice, Classical Arabic, English literature, Islamic studies, and the Nahj al-Balāghah, amongst other important subjects. His erudite article, composed of twelve thousand words, is a must read for any serious seeker of knowledge, students from undergraduate to post-doctoral levels, and is an indispensable source for scholars from a host of academic disciplines.
The Forerunner (rāʾid) Nahj al-Balāghah: the Word of Imām ʿAlī from Classical Arabic into Literary English: a Two-Decade Translation Endeavour is published in UTAFITI Journal of African Perspectives, in volume 21: Issue 1, Brill 2026.
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