The quran, untranslatability, translatability, qurans untranslatability, linguistic untranslatability, cultural untranslatability, theological untranslatability. Why is it often claimed that the quran is untranslatable. The only problem is the competence of the translator. The holy quran must be preserved as it is, the way it. The quran is the arabic speech kalam of allah, which was revealed to muhammad pbuh in wording and meaning, and that has been preserved and reached us by. He demonstrated that concerning the translation of the quran there are three types of untranslatability for both muslim. The quran is the holy book of allah almighty and his word sent to all. Muslims to make the meanings of the quran accessible to nonarab communities. To followers of islam, the quran is the literal word of god, revealed through muhammad, the last of the line of prophets, containing all that is necessary to lead. Untranslatability is the property of text or speech for which no equivalent can be found when translated into another language. Arberry entitled his rendering of the qur an into english the koran interpreted. The great book of islam, was made in 1971 by the israeli aharon benshemesh, a lecturer of muslim law at tel aviv university.
Annajah national university faculty of graduate studies the untranslatability of the cognate accusative in the holy quran. Translating the quran has always been a difficult task which stems from the holy status of the book as well as the unique use of arabic language in it. The quran, believed by muslims to be the word of god, was revealed to the prophet muhammad 1400 years ago. The term arises when describing the difficulty of achieving the socalled perfect translation. Inshaallah, ahadith will also be taught in this process. Some reflections on the italian translations of the quran, between the classical doctrinal untranslatability of the book, the ancient agenda of the orientalists and the exegesis of. The fact that the quran is in arabic is an integral part of the definition of the quran. Muslim and christian make new quran translation to show the. The quran is considered untranslatable for several reasons. Viewpoints in the translation of the holy quran gumaa. Jqs publishes articles both in english and arabic, to encourage the bridging of the gap between the two.
Alhamdulillah, many institutions are already doing this work. When it comes to translating the quran, its untranslatability is more often talked about than its translatability. Quran, states, it is the duty of every muslim man, woman or child to read the quran and understand it according to his own capacity. On the one hand, the view of the untranslatability of sacred texts is championed by stieners comments in ali 6, p. In his book, the construction of the bible and the quran, arbuthnot 1985 states. The book might be considered a presentation of the strong version of professor abdulraofs theory of quran translation, as he told me in personal correspondence that. Like any other muslim scholar, pickthall maintains that the quran being the word of allah could not be translated. Introduction the present monograph is an attempt to demonstrate the fact that translation studies is not a mere branch of linguistics but an extensive disciplin.
Chapter two is devoted to a historical account of rst latin and then english. A text that is considered to be untranslatable is considered a lacuna, or lexical gap. Oct 21, 2014 a lot is made of the untranslatability of the quran, by muslims and others both. We must distinguish between recitation of the arabic quran on the one hand and the dissemination of the holy book on the other.
The present study is an attempt to raise some points that should be considered when translating the quranic text into english. In 1979 he went on to produce an english translation of the quran as well, the. Echoing this is the relationship between quran translation and commentary, as this interpretive tradition is strongly reflected in other languages through translations. Aldahesh 12 conducted a study on untranslatability of the quran. Both sets of references make this an indispensable companion or guide book for reading, engaging and studying the quran. The book is here rendered almost literally and every effort has been made to choose befitting language. Arab and nonarab, and almost everyone with arabic language background, will not find any difficulty to prove the untranslatability of the holy quran into another language. Muslim and christian make new quran translation to show. In the process, she develops a fascinating tableau of ways in which the book of one thousand questions was translated or moved from its arabic or persian source to a local language the. It carries a universal message to all human beings regardless of their race or color.
It states that god is the source of all good and that he should be praised before appreciating anything of his creation. When it comes to translating the qur an, its untranslatability is more often talked about than its translatability. Muslims hold it to be the final revelation from god to all humanity, specifically the original arabic version. Alfatiha the opening the opening verse of the quran is extremely important to practicing muslims and are a prayer that forms the core of the both obligatory and nonobligatory prayers.
The former reference betrays a sense of reluctance to call a quran translation what it seems to. Anissa daoudi untranslatability of algeria in the black. The quran is the only sacred book that remains unchanged since it was first revealed and written down for over than fourteen hundred years ago. The book will also explore the different genres of islamic discourse. The book as a whole focuses on the following questions. There are various views among the scholars on the etymology of the word quran. Its creative and artistically rich style is only one element on which its eloquence is based. Apr 17, 2019 this beautiful manuscript performs the quran s untranslatability and reminds us of alternative, nonwestern attitudes to translation that the show, already overflowing, largely ignores.
The abdulraof of 2007 is not the same as the abdulraof of 1997. The notion of untranslatability can be clearly understood. We have looked into some samples of translations, selected from well known english translations of the holy quran and critically examined them. In spite of long controversial discussions about the translatability or nontranslatability of the quran, it is essential to provide an accurate translation of the quran. Jul 05, 2018 al farouqs example and many others make up the core of this article, which discusses the untranslatability of algeria, to borrow apters title apter, 2006. Keynote lecture by ahmed allaithy american university of.
There are some other good answers, and some lousy ones, as if those who comment on the untranslatable nature of the quran are trying to hide something. Often, islam apologists will say that the quran is untranslatable to cover up for. For nonarabic muslims, this poses something of a problem. It is also divided into sections juz as a 30day reading schedule for ramadan.
A theoretical perspective with reference to the translation of culturebound euphemistic expressions in the quran the present study investigates the notion of untranslatability where the concept of equivalence is reconsidered since the misconceptions, related to the said concept, inevitably lead to the. The untranslatability of the holy quran request pdf. There have also been several unfortunate attempts to translate the quran with a hostile intent or deviant purpose. Its content is the wisdom of allah as received and preached by muhammad. If one reads the english, thats what one has read, not the quran, which is explicitly in arabic. Accordingly, expressions such as translation of the meanings of the quran and translating the untranslatable are commonly used in writings on quran translation. The qur an is the central religious text, or scripture, of islam. A great deal of literature has been devoted to the question of the untranslatability of the quran. The authors, who are also friends, said they hoped the text would.
In such cases, the great healer, the quran, has only aggravated the sickness of those who approached it with a malicious motive, and this great spring 2. The quran is the uncontested central religious text of islam. The quran is divided into chapters called surah and verses ayat of differing length and topics. From the literary point of view, the koran is regarded as a specimen of. Buy a cheap copy of an interpretation of the quran. Development of translation studies and approaches free. Quran, little research in english has examined the remarkable role of metonymy in the quran in general and in surat annisa in particular. The calligraphy and patterns in this quran from the 16th century emphasise the untranslatability of the classical arabic text. Doc viewpoints in the translations of the holy quran dr. Being a deliberate text, every word in the quran serves a specific purpose and cannot be replaced by what may be considered a synonym. Viewpoints in the translation of the holy quran there is too much literature about the untranslatability of the quran from its arabic text into another language. Recitation of the arabic quran and dissemination of the quran. From the literary point of view, the koran is regarded as a specimen of the purest arabic, written on half poetry and half prose. The quran is addressed to all peoples without exception.
A comparative study of quran english translation by tahereh saffarzadeh and abdullah yusuf ali with a focus on tariq chapter. This has been a massive labour of love and scholarship together, and one which it seems has been fruitful in both directions. This is stefan wilds last lecture sponsored by harvards center for middle eastern studies. Undoubtedly, this kind of special language poses enormous challenges for translators due to the frequently close connection and overlap between connotative and denotative meanings. It is the supreme authority in islam and the living source of all islamic teaching. The evocation of untranslatability is not without grounds. The polemics surrounding the translatability of the quran bring to light other enduring debates on the. And yet the quran is translated, constantly, into every language. Mir ahmad ali, the holy quran with english translation. Again and again it reminds us that it is an arabic quran and hence communicates its meaning in a perfect manner. According to many prominent scholars of the quran, such as aizarqani. Echoing this is the relationship between qur an translation and commentary, as this interpretive tradition is strongly reflected in other languages through translations. On this occasion, i would like to share with you my thesis. The objective of the academy is to make ordinary muslims understand the basic message of the quran.
Quran translatability at the phonic level request pdf. We break down the text into its smallest linguistic form levels to make the task a bit easier and pave the way for a gradual and more methodical process for. Word repetition in the quran translating form or meaning. The article demonstrates that for both muslim intellectuals and quran translators there exist three types of untranslatability when it comes to translating the quran. Specifically, this article concentrates on the untranslatability of algeria during the 1990s, known as the black decade during which the whole country descended. Oct 07, 2016 a muslim and a christian have made a new translation of the quran to underline the similarities between their two religions. In spite of long controversial discussions about the translatability or nontranslatability of the quran, it is essential to provide an. Read semitically, its the paradigmatic case of muslims being bound to the letter of revelation instead of being open to its spirit, which as in the christian case is open to translation. This beautiful manuscript performs the quran s untranslatability and reminds us of alternative, nonwestern attitudes to translation that the show, already overflowing, largely ignores. Because the quran is for every human being, it transcends the boundaries of the arab world and goes beyond it. The bengali story stanadayini is composed by the well known. A muslim and a christian have made a new translation of the quran to underline the similarities between their two religions. Arabic quran, the like of which cannot be reproduced in arabic, nor, or course, in any other language. For muslims the qur an is kalimatullah, the very word of allah, revealed verbatim to prophet muhammad through the angel jibril.
The muslim need for translating the quran into english arose mainly out of the. However, when translating the holy quran, since it is a sacred book and each aspect has its significant importance, various arguments arise. It highlights nidas theory of equivalent effect, formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence in addition to the issues of translation difficulty and untranslatability. The full meanings of the quran as muslims sacred book cannot be covered by a single translation. Sep 24, 2018 sunday 30th september is international translation day 2018 and cause for us to celebrate. Another aim is to examine aspects of the untranslatability of the quran and the possible reasons for these aspects as expressed by both muslim intellectuals and quran translators. Translating euphemisms of sexual taboos in the quran. Translation loss in translation of the glorious quran. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. With the quran, god has shown humanity, one last time, a shortcut to his good pleasure.
Sunday 30th september is international translation day 2018 and cause for us to celebrate. This entails that arabic quran is not its english translation. A further, attractive feature of droges annotations is the highlighting of subsets or pericopes of each chapter in the footnotes. Quran, untranslatability, inimitability, translation, tafseer, miracles, divine. It does not give readers an idea of the variety of genres, styles, and themes in the qur an and of their changes throughout the qur an s history. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. The first part investigates the notion of untranslatability as dealt with by linguists and translation theorists.
Doctrinal untranslatability the divine nature of the qur anic text is taken to be a major argument against its translatability. This is a complete online text version of the meaning of the holy qur an by abdullah yusuf ali, a widely respected english translation. Translating euphemisms of sexual taboos in the quran 9783659553127. Some scholars are of the opinion that the word qur. Further complicating the picture is the oftevoked untranslatability of the qur an, an issue which has caused much controversy. Imagine any literary book, its translation is mere convenience but it cannot carry the same effect. The next section presents some more literature on the quran and its translation as well as the translation of religious texts, and poetry or similar literary works. University kasdi merbah ouargla faculty of letters and. Tamil land, and malaysia with arabic, its sanctity, and the notion of the quran s untranslatability. Request pdf the untranslatability of the holy quran this. Further complicating the picture is the oftevoked untranslatability of the quran, an. Often, islam apologists will say that the quran is untranslatable to cover up for problems with the translation.
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