Translation enjoys a history of several thousand years. Before Christ, literal translation was in vogue. Cicerone founded and proposed free translation. After him, some suggested literal translation and some free. In his translation of the Bible, Jerome benefited from the literal method. He deemed free translation as suitable for the non-sacred texts and suggested literal translation for rendering the Bible. After the advent of Islam, differences in translation methods intensified. In the beginning, literal method was employed and Salmān Fārsī was the first translator of the Qur'anic verses. After Salmān Fārsī, Abū Ḥanīfa regarded the translation of the Qur'an as possible and permissible. Shāfi‘ī, on the other hand, took position against Abū Ḥanīfa by proclaiming the impossibility of translation. In his discussions on the translation of poetry, Jāḥiẓ, the Mu‘tazilī literary figure, spoke of the requirements of a translator and his equal standing to the author. Translators contemporary to Jāḥiẓ employed the two methods of literal and free translation. Ḥanīn b. Isḥāq considered as necessary the translator's familiarity with the Creator of the Qur'an. Ibn Qutayba, after Ḥanīn, would bring two meanings for the text. Of these two meanings, he deemed one as translatable. Later on, dispute over the permissibility and the impermissibility of the translation of the Qur'an intensified. Ghazālī is considered among the opponents of translation who has his own reasons to prove his view. In contrast, Zamakhsharī is a proponent of the translation of the Qur'qnic verses. Abu al-Ḥasan b. Fārsī, Fakhr al-Rāzī etc. are among the opponents of translating the Qur'an. Among those who have discussed the translation of the Qur'anic verses are such thinkers as Ibn Taymiya, Shāṭibī, Bayḍāwī, Zarkashī, Dihlawī, Rashīd Riḍā, etc.
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