when translation is not enough – a critical review of qutbuddin’s new translation of nahj al-balāghah

A much anticipated new english translation of nahj al-balāghah was published by brill this year and, courtesy of the shia research institute of canada (at a considerable cost), it was kept open access for everyone’s benefit. since the generally accepted consensus was that no ‘good’ english translation of the seminal text exists, and those who had read dr. tahera qutbuddin’s translation had heaped praise upon praise for the author’s excellent translation, many scholars and researchers were keenly anticipating the release of the book. in this paper, we will note that despite her commendable efforts, dr. qutbuddin was not always able to convey the intent of the imam, and there are a number of areas where improvement can definitely be made in her translation. we have used an analytical-critical approach to examine her work and note certain phrases that have problematic or inaccurate translations. overall, our argument is that for a text like nahj al-balāghah, translation is not sufficient. instead, a full-fledged commentary is required to make its subtleties clearer and get the readers to appreciate the beauty and eloquence of amīr al-muʾminīn’s words. this is also the conclusion we arrive at in this paper.