(Un)Translatability of the Qur’ān: A Theoretical Perspective (original) (raw)
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Translatability of the Qur'an: An Analysis of Linguistic and Theological Elements
Islamic Insight Journal of Islamic Studies, 2019
The Qur'an is a divine source of guidance not for the Muslims alone, but for the entire humanity. Since the Qur'an is revealed and has been meticulously preserved since then in Arabic, while majority of Muslims and human beings are dominantly non-Arabs, rendering its meanings into different vernaculars bears crucial importance. However, for various reasons, its translatability is considerably controversial. The present paper attempts to analyse the linguistic and theological elements related with its translatability. In order to achieve this, the study scrutinizes relevant linguistic theories related with the translatability and connects them with the viewpoints of classical and contemporary Muslim scholarship. The paper suggests that there are certain linguistic and theological elements which challenge the possibility of the Qur'an's translation. On the other hand, the scope of the divine text beyond any specific linguistic boundary constantly necessitates the very same rendering mission. This notion is well reflected in the discourses of classical and contemporary Muslim scholarship on the topic: it is permissible, and to some extant obligatory, to translate the meanings of the Qur'an into different vernaculars. However, none of the translation can serve as a substitute for the original revealed text and a perfect translation of the Qur'an is beyond the scope of human possibility, for the word of God cannot be reproduced by the word of man.
2012
Translation of the Holy Qur’an has been a difficult topic for discussion and research by translators and research specialists because of its sacred status. The wording of the Qur’an is so precise that no word is out of place, redundant or used haphazardly in a way that serves no purpose. Available translations of the Qur’an are often being judged as imprecise and looked at out of its context (i.e., the Qur’an). To overcome this ambiguity in Qur’an translation, translators have adopted different strategies such as transliteration, explication, cultural substitution, and footnotes. Even though, available translations of the Qur’an have been critiqued by Muslim scholars and researchers at different degrees. Practically, translation of the Qur’an, being the Word of Allah, brings to the surface the limits of translatability. The wording, the structure, the rhetoric and lexical choices vary from the Qur’an Arabic to standard Arabic, let alone a foreign language. It is fair enough to bear in mind while performing a Qur’an translation that you are dealing with Allah’s Words and not human.
Viewpoints in the Translation of the Holy QURAN
International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature, 2012
There is too much literature about the untranslatability of the Quran from its Arabic text into another language. Most Muslims: Arab and Non-Arab, and almost everyone with Arabic language background, will not find any difficulty to prove the untranslatability of the Holy Quran into another language. The Quran is the Word of Allah Almighty to his messenger Mohammed (PBUH) in Arabic. It was intentionally revealed in Arabic to serve specific purpose: To defy the Arabs in their own trade and craftsmanship of producing highly rhetorical and poetic composition in their literature. Although all the scientific, geographical and historical facts mentioned in the Quran have been found true, nevertheless, the Quran remains a book of miracles, but its miraculous ability is in its inimitability (as no one has made similar sura the like of it since its revelation) and untranslatability into another form of reproduction in other languages (as hundreds of translations were made and are still made, but would not come to the absolute final perfect form of translation. These translations are incomplete, as they are mere human efforts). This paper aims to shed some light on the opinions of some Islamic scholars on this issue, as well as to suggest some strategies to help in coming out with some sound translations to help Non-Arab Muslims and other Non-Arabic speakers to understand the truth about the Quran as a true WORD from Allah to all human beings on Earth.
Viewpoints in the Translations of the Holy Quran
(International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature)
There is too much literature about the untranslatability of the Quran from its Arabic text into another language. Most Muslims: Arab and Non-Arab, and almost everyone with Arabic language background, will not find any difficulty to prove the untranslatability of the Holy Quran into another language. The Quran is the Word of Allah Almighty to his messenger Mohammed (PBUH) in Arabic . It was intentionally revealed in Arabic to serve specific purpose: To defy the Arabs in their own trade and craftsmanship of producing highly rhetorical and poetic composition in their literature. Although all the scientific, geographical and historical facts mentioned in the Quran have been found true, nevertheless, the Quran remains a book of miracles, but its miraculous ability is in its inimitability (as no one has made similar sura the like of it since its revelation) and untranslatability into another form of reproduction in other languages (as hundreds of translations were made and are still made, but would not come to the absolute final perfect form of translation. These translation are incomplete, as they are mere human efforts). This paper aims to shed some light on the opinions of some Islamic scholars on this issue, as well as to suggest some strategies to help in coming out with some sound translations to help Non-Arab Muslims and other Non-Arabic speakers to understand the truth about the Quran as a true WORD from Allah to all human beings on Earth.
Translating the Genre of Quran: the Challenge of translating the inimitable
The main question raised in this paper is: Is it possible to translate the 'genre' of Quran? And if this 'genre' is Quran specific, a 'genre' of its own, i.e. a unique one, how can the Quranic text be translated from Arabic into English or any other language? This question has been raising a lot of controversy among translation theorists, linguists, philosophers and scholars of Islam and specialists in the sciences of Arabic language let alone Quran exegetes. Scholars of the Arabic language and scholars of Islam have argued that because of the genre of Quran is the genre of (ijaz), translatability can never be possible. Equivalence, thus, cannot be achieved especially if we know that so far there has been no unanimous definition of the term. Therefore, what translators of the Quranic text are involved with is transferring meaning of the Quranic text. But meaning (content) is encapsulated in the Form which is distinctly and uniquely rhetorical in Quran. In other words, such an inextricable content-form relationship should make the process of transferring meaning not an easy one at all, especially as we know that the Quranic text is sacred and sensitive. Thus, the periphrastic way which has already been put forward by Raof (2001: 6) can be seen as a convenient solution to achieve a degree of approximation between the source text and the target text. Having supported the notion of approximation, I opted to choose certain verses with certain syntactic and lexical aspects from the Quran. The point is to compare three versions of translations of each verse to see which version is most approximate to the Quranic text of the verse. The three versions are by Abdullah Yusuf Ali (non Arab Moslem), Marmaduke Pickthall (a British national who converted to Islam) and Ahl-lul-Bait institution (a Moslem Assembly with Arabic as mother tongue). To support my argument, I relied on Al-Mezan Fi-Tafseer Al-Quran (Al-Mezan Exegesis) by the Moslem scholar Mohammed Hussein Tabatabae (2006) and the authentic monolingual Arabic Dictionary Lisan Al-Arab (Ibn Manzur: 2005 ed.4). One main conclusion made in this paper is that the task of translating the meaning of Quran cannot be rightfully carried out by translators on individual basis. Rather, it must be institutionalized. There is a need for setting up a special institution entrusted with such a meticulous job.
“Is the Qur’ān in English Still the Qur’ān? Of Translators, Traitors, and Traders”
In this essay I offer a set of critical reflections on the nature of translation (what it has been, what it could be, and what I think it should be), as well as on translation practice (free vs. literal, rhyme vs. reason, domestication vs. estrangement), before addressing the particular problems involved in translating the Qur’ān. The essay serves as the centerpiece of a new introduction to a translation-only edition of my annotated Qur’ān (2013), published by Equinox in 2022.
Translation Studies and the Translation of the Holy Qur`an
The Sixth Conference on Translating the Meanings of the Holy Qur`an, 2019
Al Kindi Center for Translation and Training In collaboration with The Knowledge Integration and Translation Research Laboratory, Faculty of Arts and Humanities- Marrakech And Mohammed VI Institute of Qur’anic Studies Organizes The Sixth Conference on Translating the Meanings of the Holy Qur`an Under the theme Translation Studies and the Translation of the Holy Qur`an In honour of Professor Mohammed Didaoui Date: 20 - 21 November 2019 Website: http://takc.org
The Dilemma of the Translation Concept in Islamic Sources
Global Journal of HUMAN-SOCIAL SCIENCE: G Linguistics & Education, 2019
Epistemology is a theory of knowledge, especially with regards to its methods, validity, and scope; it is an investigation of what distinguishes that which needs to be justified as belief or opinion. In explaining the monotheistic law, the religious perspective looks at the Quranic epistemology as a theory of knowledge which is an absolutely primordial and ineluctable precept of the oneness of God as the prior premise. In explaining knowledge formation based on emergent, events the contemporary Islamic scholars have failed to incorporate substantively the Quranic methodology worldview in the form of epistemological analytics and its function. How to understand Quranic epistemology? The prerequisite is an understanding of the Arabic language, including syntax, morphology, rhetoric, and the ability to recite the Quran. Without these, Islamization of knowledge would regards as academic rhetoric. This research critically discusses issues on some blockages facing the Islamization agenda. Abstract-Epistemology is a theory of knowledge, especially with regards to its methods, validity, and scope; it is an investigation of what distinguishes that which needs to be justified as belief or opinion. In explaining the monotheistic law, the religious perspective looks at the Quranic epistemology as a theory of knowledge which is an absolutely primordial and ineluctable precept of the oneness of God as the prior premise. In explaining knowledge formation based on emergent, events the contemporary Islamic scholars have failed to incorporate substantively the Quranic methodology worldview in the form of epistemological analytics and its function. How to understand Quranic epistemology? The prerequisite is an understanding of the Arabic language, including syntax, morphology, rhetoric, and the ability to recite the Quran. Without these, Islamization of knowledge would regards as academic rhetoric. This research critically discusses issues on some blockages facing the Islamization agenda 1
Challenges in Translating the Qur'ān -Translating the Untranslatable: Omission/ Ellipsis
Handbook of the Changing World Language Map, 2019
It goes without saying that since Arabic is not English, this entails that Arabic Qur'ān is not its English translation. Accordingly, expressions such as translation of the "meaning(s) of the Qur'ān" and "translating the untranslatable" are commonly used in writings on Qur'ān translation. The former reference betrays a sense of reluctance to call a Qur'ān translation what it looks to be, while the latter seems to reflect a desire to add a dimension of mystery to the Qur'ān and/or its translation. Each expression in its own way implies that rendering the Qur'ān into a foreign language with sufficient accuracy is an impossible task. True as the case may be, it is not common to find research works dealing with "why" the Qur'ān