The Necessity for Correcting the Translation by Abu Ali Osmani, Extracted from Qashiriyeh Dissertation

Qashiriyeh dissertation is one of the most significant educational texts by Sufi’s which was authored by Abul-Qaasem Qashiri, a prominent Sufi and lecturer of the fifth century A.H. (After Hijira). His motive for creating this work was to introduce Sufism and its principles, in an era in which corruption and deviation in beliefs, tradition and customs had become widespread by those pretending to be Sufi. For this very reason, his dissertation quickly gained popularity among the Sufis of his time. Some time towards the end of his life or shortly after his death, it was translated to Farsi by one of his students by the name of Abu-Ali Osmani. This dissertation was again translated during the middle or the end of the Sixth century. With the exception of some parts, this second translation is considered as a correction to the first one. The second translation was edited by professor Badi-u-zaman-e Foroozanfar for the first time in 1345 (1966) and was published several times along with its lengthy preface. In this essay, an attempt has been made to compare the first and the second translations with the original Arabic version and to focus on some of the existing ambiguities in translations and the corrected versions. This would call for a need to edit the translation by Abu-Ali Osmani.