Badam Natawan

Badam Natawan was a Sindhi poet and translator of the Quran. She was born in a village called Kundi in Shikarpur, Sindh, Pakistan, in 1924. Her father was Muhammad Hassan, a farmer and a religious scholar. Badam Natawan received her early education from her father and then from various teachers in Sindh. She learned Arabic, Persian, Urdu and English languages. She also studied Islamic sciences and literature. She was a moderate Islamic scholar and a follower of the Chishti Sufi order. She wrote poetry in Sindhi and Urdu languages, and also translated some Persian and Arabic works into Sindhi. Her most famous and remarkable work is her poetic translation of the Quran in Sindhi language, which she completed in 1958. She named it Noor-ul-Quran (The Light of the Quran). It is considered to be the first and the best poetic translation of the Quran in Sindhi language. It is also a masterpiece of Sindhi poetry and literature. She also wrote a commentary on her translation, explaining the meanings and interpretations of the Quranic verses. She died in 1988 and was buried in Shikarpur.