Nadeem Qureshi Brings Prince Shakib Arsalan’s Ideas to Modern Readers

Nadeem Qureshi is not a native speaker of Arabic, but he fell in love with the language during his time living in the Middle East. Eventually, his interest in Arabic led him to a Master’s in Arabic literature, with a special interest in writers from the first five centuries of Islam. One of Qureshi’s favorite authors is Lebanese statesman and prolific author Prince Shakib Arsalan, who lived from 1869 to 1946.

Arsalan advocated for Arab independence, writing 20 books and hundreds of articles, and earned the prestigious title “Prince of Eloquence.” Arsalan’s book Why Muslims Lagged Behind and Others Progressed was originally published in articles that came out between 1898 and 1935. Almost 100 years later, Qureshi translated Arsalan’s book into English, and Kirkus Reviews calls the result a “stimulating peek into an argument now rarely made.” Qureshi notes in his preface that he believes Arsalan’s thoughts are just as timely now as they were then. Indeed, Arsalan’s own historical analysis hinges on how events of the past build on themselves to create the present:

There is no doubt that the Islamic world today is going through a period of intense transformation at all levels—material and spiritual. There is an impressive awakening that has caught the attention of the Europeans. Some of whom are wary of its consequences. This wariness is not hidden from their public writings. However, this awakening has not taken the Muslims to a level where they are equal to the Europeans or the Americans or the Japanese. This being established, we need now to look at the reasons behind the retreat of the Islamic world from its position of leadership which it retained for the best part of one thousand years. This was a period during which it ruled the world and was respected and feared by all nations. But before we look at the reasons for its retreat, we need to understand the factors that lifted it, in the first place, to a position of leadership among nations. 

Before Qureshi embarked on his Master’s from the University of Karachi, he attended MIT for two degrees in civil engineering as well as Harvard for an MBA. He has founded companies and even a political party, Mustaqbil Pakistan, of which he now serves as chairman. After such a varied career and wide education, Qureshi found Arsalan’s life and mission to free Arab nations from colonial rule inspiring and timely enough to embark on a translation.

“I was moved not just by the eloquence of his words, but by the heartfelt sincerity of his message,” says Qureshi about his decision to translate Why Muslims Lagged Behind and Others Progressed. “The failure of Muslims to keep pace with the West in science and technology since the Industrial Revolution resulted in the invasion and occupation of their lands. And so Arsalan’s message is a plea to Muslims of his time to make progress in these vitally important disciplines. And yet, a century after Arsalan wrote his book, Muslims stand exactly where they were then. Cosmetics aside, there is no real discernable progress. Everywhere and in all respects, we remain in thrall to the whims of the West. The time has come to escape these bonds. In ancient times, mariners looked to the North Star for guidance. Arsalan’s book shines a similar light for those who have lost their way.” 

As far as the act of translation itself, Qureshi had no illusions about the challenges his project presented. Not just the challenge of translating the inimitable writing of someone like Arsalan, but the difficulties of translating Arabic into English. Qureshi notes that each language has “a very different structure, and the aesthetics of style vary widely.” Where Arabic is well suited to long, elegant sentences, the English language favors comparatively fewer words and shorter lines.

Most of all, though, Qureshi does not believe that there is such a thing as the “perfect translation.” “In principle, I feel that most literary works cannot be translated. A work of literary writing, fiction or nonfiction, is, as it comes together in the mind of the writer, an amalgam of words, meanings, and sounds. The best that a translator can do is extract the meaning. The rest of the elements that make up the original work remain inaccessible and inscrutable.”

As he writes in the preface, Qureshi was a great admirer of Arsalan, both as a thinker and as a writer. “Those who read his prose understand immediately that this was an exceptional writer,” he says. “Arsalan’s words flow like poetry. They are eloquent and moving. Sentences glide into each other. Words have a music all their own. Meaning is expertly married to form.”

With all these considerations in place, Qureshi knew he could only do his best. He always came back to his admiration and appreciation of the Arabic language, and he is grateful that he is skilled enough in the language to admire “the brilliance of those in history who wielded it with precision and excellence.” Though translating Arsalan’s book was even more difficult than he thought it would be, Qureshi committed himself to “find words and structures in translation that do justice to the brilliance of the original.” Just like any other form of writing, this meant Qureshi spent a lot of time writing and revising, writing and revising, never quite feeling satisfied with the results.

But when it comes to the finished work, Qureshi hopes his translation will remind modern readers of how historical thinkers have insight into contemporary issues and how Christianity influenced the goals of European colonizers. “While Arsalan’s words were directed to the Muslims of his time, they remain relevant to the Muslims of today. My hope is that the book will be enlightening and informative for them. My feeling is that people of other faiths will find the book to be just as useful.”

While Qureshi doesn’t have another translation project lined up just yet, he says he is “always on the lookout for work that is moving, eloquent, and relevant to our lives today and the world that we live in.” 

Chelsea Ennen is a writer living in Brooklyn.