Translation of Islamic Texts: An Introduction

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Translation of Islamic Texts An Introduction

• Dr. Nasrin Altuwairesh
• 1436/1437

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Which is more difficult religious or literary
translation? And why?

• Religious translation is more difficult because
  the subject matter of religious texts implies
  the existence of spiritual world that is not
  fictive, but has its own external realities and
  truths. The author is understood not to be free
  to create the world that animates the subject
  matter, but to be merely instrumental in
  exploring it Dickens et al. (2002 178).

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Islamic texts, mainly the Quran, is more
difficult to translate than the Bible and other
religious texts, why?
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Requirements of an Islamic Translator

• Islamic Knowledge
• Knowledge of Arabic Syntax
• Being bicultural bilingual
• Faithfulness sincerity in conveying the
  meanings of texts

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Translatability untranslatability of Islamic
terms
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Approaches to Translating Proper Nouns

• Translation
• There is no god but God
• Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Jesus
• Transliteration
• There is no god but Allah
• Translation preceded by additional descriptor
• Mount Arafat