QURAN TRANSLATED INTO DAGBANI (PAGE 20)

Story: Zakaria Alhassan, Tamale

THE Holy Quran has, for the first time, been translated into Dagbani, which is spoken by majority of people in northern Ghana.
The initiative is aimed at enabling Dagombas and other ethnic groups who can read Dagbani to be able to understand and appreciate the teachings of the Holy Book that was written in Arabic originally.
An Islamic scholar, Sheikh Muhammed Baba, authored the 1,287-page translated Dagbani version that was published by the Zaintun Centre for Education and Charitable Services, a Muslim charitable organisation based in Tamale.
The book was launched at the Tamale Jubilee Park last weekend. The occasion attracted other Muslim scholars and students from far and near who went in solidarity with the translator and also witnessed the epoch-making ceremony.
The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, observed that even though Islam had existed for centuries now, scholars in the country had not achieved much by way of translating the Quran into the local dialects.
He, therefore, commended the author and all those who contributed to the initiative for their hard work and foresight.
According to him, their efforts were surely going to yield the desired impact, since the book would enable the people to study the Quran among themselves and also easily convey its teachings to their colleagues.
Alhaji Idris urged other scholars in the country to also come up with more innovative means of translating the Quran into more languages to afford majority of Muslims and non-Muslims to study and understand the teachings of the Holy Book.
The minister further entreated the author, his supporting group and other stakeholders in Islam to regularly review the translation and come up with new editions to address contemporary issues.
The author recounted the difficulties he and his committee members had to go through before they were able to come out with the first 200 copies of the local version.
“It was as a result of these challenges that it took me five years to complete this project that we are witnessing today. I, therefore, use this opportunity to appeal to fellow Muslims to lend their support to enable us to produce more copies for distribution,” Sheikh Baba stated.
He noted that such assistance would significantly help students offering Religious Studies to better appreciate the Quran and its teachings.
Sheikh Baba disclosed that he was carrying out more research into the translation of the Hadith (the sayings and works of Prophet Mohammed (S.A.W.) into Dagbani.
The first five copies of the translated Quran was auctioned for GH¢1,500, with Alhaji Idris buying the first copy for GH¢1,000.