necessary that its meanings be accurately conveyed in translation. Three important matters should be kept in mind in order to translate the Quran into another language:

• The ostensible sense of the language as it is understood by the learned tradition of the
Arabic usage;
• The judgment of naturally guided reason;
• The interpretation of those who were endowed with inerrancy, such as the Prophet and the Imams.

Moreover, the translator should avoid personal opinions attributed to some commentators, because such exegesis will necessarily render the translation as based on personal opinion. If the above prerequisites are adhered to in the translation, then the translations should be made available in the language of the peoples who will benefit from its guidance.
٩. The reference here is to a genre of poetry, or argumentation, known as fakhr (boast‌ ing), in which a person boasts of his ancestry, his tribe, and his own achievements and be‌ littles those of his opponents. This genre survived, especially in poetry, long after the estab‌ lishment of Islam.-Trans.
١٠. MuQammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Tarlkh al-Rusul wal-Mu/Uk, ed. M. J. de Goeje, ١٥
vols (Leiden: Brill, ١٨٨٢-١٩٠٢) vol. ٣, p. ١٣٠٠.
ll. Biblical quotations in this translation are from The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, rev. and enl. std. ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, ١٩٧٧).-Trans.
١٢. Compare this with the Quranic narrative of the event surrounding the crucifixion in
٤:١٥٤-٥٩, which actually criticizes Jews for violating their compact and rejects their claim to have killed the Messiah themselves.-Trans.
١٣. Many of these absurdities are cited and discussed in Balaghi, Huda; Balaghi,Al-Ri la
al-Madrasiyya (Karbala: Muassat al-Alam!lil-Matbaat al-I:Iadithat, n.d.); and Abu ai-Qasim al-Musawi al-Khui, Nafa at
١٤. Al-rajaz is a common meter employed in Arabic poetry, though it is considered infe‌
rior to other classical meters.-Trans.
١٥. Abu Jafar MuQammad b. Janr al-Taban, Tafslr al-Tabarl: Jami al-Bayan an Tawll al-Quran, ed. MaQmud b. MuQammad Shakir, ٢٩ vols. (Cairo: Dar ai-Maarif, n.d.) vol. l, pp.
١٦. Qurtubi, Tafslr, vol. ١٩, p. ٧٤.
١٧. For more details, see Balaghi, Huda, vol. ٢, pp. ١٧-١٨, ٣٠-٣٤; Balaghi, Al-R*la al‌ Madrasiyya; pp. ١-٢٠٠; Khui, Nafa at.
١٨. The reference here is to the Arabs of Arabia before Islam.-Trans.
١٩. Games of chance were played with arrows without heads and feathers, for stakes of
slaughtered and quartered camels.-Trans.
٢٠. MaQmud Shukri al-Alusi, Bulugh al-Arab fi Marifat A wcli
Mul)ammad Bahjat al-Athari, ٣ vols. (Cairo: Dar ai-Kitab al-Arabi, n.d.) voL ٢, p. ٥٢;
vol. ٣, pp. ٤٣, ٥٤.
٢١. The Quraysh was the tribe of the Prophet MuQammad , and the dominant tribe in Mekka at the beginning of MuQammads prophetic mission.-Trans.
٢٢. MuQammad b. Yaqub Kulayni, Al-Furu min al-Kafi, vols. ٣-٧ of Kulayni Al-U ul min al-Kafi, ed. Ali Akbar al-Ghaffari, ٨ vols. (Tehran: Maktabat al-Saduq, ١٩٥٧-١٩٦١) vol. ٥, pp. ٣٤٠-٤١.
٢٣. Al-Jami a/ $a lbi-Sharal-Minawl (Beirut: al-Maarif, ١٩٨١), vol. ٤ p. ٤٣٢.
٢٤. One example of this was the marriage of the daughter of Ziyad b. Labid-who was one of the noblest members of the tribe of Banu Biyaqa-to Juwaybir, a Muslim, who was short, ugly, needy, and destitute, and a repulsive black person. See Kulayni, Al-Furu, vols.
٣-٧ of Kulayni, al-Kafi, vol. ٥, pp. ٣٤٠-٤٣.