The Quran and its Translation: An Analysis of Discourse on Jihad in Selected English Translations
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Abstract
Translation of a literary text from its original language to another requires not only great skill in both languages, but also in-depth knowledge of the background and culture as well. A scripture, particularly the Qur’ān, which proclaims itself as a linguistic marvel, presents a higher level of difficulty. The translating the Qur’ān is different from all other texts and scriptures. The Word of God cannot be presented in any human language and it is difficult to have the formal and dynamic equivalence. This paper aims to analyze the verse 9:5 of the Qur’ān which deals with the concept of Jihād and how different versions appear in the five representative English translations. The selected translations are those rendered by Yusuf Ali (apologetic and pseudo-rational), Hilali and Muhsin Khan (salafi), Abul Ala Mawdudi (traditional) Muhammad Asad (apologetic) and Tarif Khalidi (modern). Modification of the Qur’ānic terms, distortion of the syntactic structure, selection of biblical archaic lexicon, negation of the semantic coherence of the Qur’ānic verse, marginalization of important message etc. are found. They find room for accommodating their ideologies and viewpoints in their translation of the Qur’ānic verse.
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