Scientists of the Institute of the Lithuanian Language participated in the international project, which was dedicated to the research of the Tatarʼs written heritage

The second part of the project „Tefsir – projekt filologiczno-historycznego opracowania oraz krytycznego wydania tzw. tefsiru Tatarów Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego z 2. połowy XVI w. (pierwszego przekładu Koranu na język polski)“ („Tefsir –  linguistic and historical research and critical edition of a Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) Tatar Tefsir of the second half of the 16^th century (the first translation of the Koran into Polish)“) was undertaken in 2017–2022 in Centre for Kitab Studies at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland. Most scientists researching the heritage of Tatar manuscripts from five countries participated (Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Turkey), representing 12 research centres. Two scholars from the Centre for Written Heritage Research of the Institute of the Lithuanian Language took part ‒ senior researcher assoc. prof. dr. Galina Miškinienė and senior researcher prof. habil. dr. Sergejus Temčinas. The purpose of the project was to prepare a critical edition of the oldest Polish translation of the Koran in Europe.

The most important undertaking related to Kitab studies has been accomplished: a GDL Tatar Tefsir with the slavic layers transliterated and the oriental ones transcribed in accordance with ISO (International Organization for Standardization) standards. The Tefsir Tatarów Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego: XVI-wieczny przekład Koranu na język polski consists of three volumes: the first contains a linguistic and historical commentaries, the second is a facsimile of the Tefsir, and the third contains the transliterated text. They were published by the academic press of Nicolaus Copernicus University.

In addition to this publication, it is planned to prepare a philological edition of GDL Tatar Tefsir in English.