The Urdu Edition of the Encyclopdia of Islam

Author(s): M. Hamidullah
Source: Die Welt des Islams, New Series, Vol. 6, Issue 3/4 (1961), pp. 244-247
Published by: BRILL
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1569427
Accessed: 05-09-2015 01:58 UTC

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THE URDU EDITION OF THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA

OF ISLAM
BY

M. HAMIDULLAH
Paris

In an introductory brochure, published some time ago, the editorial board of the Urdu EI (of the University of Lahore, Pakistan)
have traced the history of encyclopaedias in Islamic languages,
particularly in Arabic and Persian, where they exist since long date.
Yet the Leiden work, product essentially of non-Muslim scholarship,
has struck the imagination of Muslims all over the world, and for
reason. The alphabetical arrangement, the constant references to
sources as also the variety and comprehensiveness were appreciated
on all hands, even if one found errors here and there. The knowledged pooled therein must have been a revelation even to the
promoters of Leiden enterprise. The Egyptians first began the
Arabic version; the Turks followed, and both these editions are
still in the course of publication. Iran published a sample brochure,
and keeps since silent. There was also an announcement for Indonesian version as a project. As far as the Urdu language is concerned, the Haiderabad Academy made some preparations, then
came the second World War followed by the invasion, and abolition there of Urdu as official language. As early as December
I950, the Pakistanian university of the Panjab (at Lahore) appointed the well-known Islamist Prof. Muhammad Shafi' to
supervise the task of an Urdu version of El. His staff had to
translate, control the correctness of the translation, verify the
references, and scrutinize if the contents could not be ameliorated
in the light of latest known facts. As Urdu is written in Arabic
characters, the whole work had to be translated before thinking of
publishing in the new order of alphabet. It is marvellous that in
spite of all these handicaps, the first fascicule of the Urdu EI
came out in July I959; with the avarage rate of one per month,
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THE URDU EDITION OF THE E.I.

245

by the end of the year five fascicules, of 64 pages each, have been
published. The paper is specially manufactured in America, and
it is printed on movable type with vocalization signs. As the Leiden
editors have begun issuing a revised work, it has been decided to
begin the Urdu publication not with the letter alif but with ta;
when A-D will be out in Leiden, this revised edition will serve for
the Urdu version of those letters. The Urdu editors modestly say
that they have profited by the Leiden work, but their scruples are
so great that even the slightest deviation in the translation is
pointed out by the use of square brackets and addition of the word
idarah (i.e. by the Urdu editor). Of course this edition is not a
servile translation of the original Anglo-Franco-German work:
as far as possible all the references are verified; errors of facts
corrected, new and important references added, and what is more,
a large number of new articles have been specially prepared for the
Urdu edition, not only on matters of Pakistani interest but of
Islam in general. Already in these early fascicules, there are some
long and illustrated articles on subjects like tadhhib (gold work of
decoration in books), tadjlid (book-binding), both by Ettinghausen;
another article on takhallus (pen name of poets). A note shows that
the new articles will cover as much as a whole volume of Leiden
dimensions. The Arabic edition adds corrective notes here and there.
The Turkish contribution is confined practically to new information
on Turkish subjects. Urdu people have both these works before
them in addition to their proper lights, which makes that the Urdu
version is so far the best among the "non-official translations".
The classical Arabic script (letters of alphabet and signs of vocalization) does not suffice for other languages. Even as the Greek
and Latin scripts had to be adapted for the requirements of other
European languages, the Arabic alphabet too has undergone a
development since long centuries. Urdu may be considered philologically as a child whose father was Turkish, mother Sanscrit, and
foster mother Persian. It has not only the Turko-Persian p, ch, zh
(as s in pleasure) and g, but also the Indian t, d, r, e, o, nasal i and -h,
which means that it has not only the Arabic t and t, but also the
sanscrit t (as also the Indian d and r in addition to Arabic d and r).
What is more interesting, from scientific point of view, is the fact
that Urdu has evolved a system of diacritical signs (i'rab) in addition
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246

M. HAMIDULLAH

to the one used for the classical Arabic. A few words may be
interesting.
Apart from articles and brochures of long date, to my knowledge
the first Urdu book which used the system of diacritical signs was
Qdnun-e-bain al-mamalik ke usil azwrnaziri (Haiderabad 1936). Its
system was taken over by the Osmania University (for a description
of which, cf. Islamic Culture, I940, p. 486-7); and we see this same
transcription employed in the Urdu translation of Nys, Origines
du droit des gens (Qdnun-e-bain al-mamdlik kd dghdz) published by
the same university in I945, where names or words in about a dozen
European languages have been successfully transcribed with the
help of the said system. Much of this has been taken over by the
Urdu EI, whose needs are even more varied for giving dialectal
variants of many an Oriental language also.
As said, Pakistani people are not translating, but only profiting
by the Leiden EI. That applies particularly to articles of very
mediocre value, for instance, to those of Lammens; these have
been replaced by specially prepared articles by experts. The Leiden
EI did not pay sufficient attention to Islamic arts and sciences,
Persian and Urdu literatures, Islamic countries. They are remedying
to it as far as possible in the Urdu EI. Urdu has been the medium
of instruction even for all modern subjects of natural sciences in
several universities. So there is no difficulty in rendering the AngloFranco-German EI into Urdu, and one feels at home in this edition
so high is the standard of revising the translation. While translating
and verifying the references, a huge quantity of mistakes has been
discovered in the Leiden El. J. J. Hess had published in vols.
7 and 9 of Der Islam, a number of corrections to be made. That was
an individual enterprise. The Urdu EI also intends to publish a
similar "note", of course on a very much vaster scale. That will be
welcome by those who do not know Urdu, and even the editors of
the revised Anglo-French edition would profit by it. On opening
the Urdu edition, on p. I, one sees certain corrections made in the
Leiden edition regarding the question whether Numar, where
Ta'abbat Sharra died, was a mountain or a valley. On p. 2 the
original bibliography mentioned the incomprehensible Ghaudat
al-'arab, which after long research was found to be Rauzdatal-adab
fi tabakdt shu'ard al-'arab. On the same page, the feeble article of
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THE URDU EDITION OF THE E.I.

247

Carra de Vaux on Tdbi'i has been revised by one of the best hadzth
scholars of our age, through the Arabic version of the El.
That would give an idea of what the Urdu EI has done in this
early stage of its publication. No doubt it will learn further from
experience. Certain subventions have reduced greatly its costs and
consequently the price. We congratulate and wish all success and
happy completion to the great enterprise.

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