Ideological Aspects in Religious Texts: A Critical Analysis of George Sale’s Translation of the Holy Qur’an

Safa Abdullah Hasan Abu Mousa; Marlina Jamal; Mohamed Abdou Moindjie

doi:10.35516/hum.v52i6.7329

Authors

Safa Abdullah Hasan Abu Mousa School of Languages, Literacies and Translation, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Gelugor, 11800 USM, Penang, Malaysia https://orcid.org/0009-0002-4286-845X
Marlina Jamal School of Languages, Literacies and Translation, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Gelugor, 11800 USM, Penang, Malaysia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3326-1261
Mohamed Abdou Moindjie School of Languages, Literacies and Translation, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Gelugor, 11800 USM, Penang, Malaysia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2518-9033

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35516/hum.v52i6.7329

Keywords:

Field, Ideology, Mode, Tenor, Sale, Translation, Quality Assessment.

Abstract

Objectives: This study meticulously explores the ideological aspects of Sale's translation of Holy Qur'an, focusing on twelve samples from diverse chapters: The Cow, The Prophets, The Bees, Cattle, The Wind (Curved Sandhills), The Rock, The Letter Sad, and The Troops. These chapters share a thematic unity that emphasizes the universality of Islam for a global audience.

Methods: The research is grounded in Van Dijk's (2013) Theory of Ideology and House's (2014) Theory of Translation Quality Assessment. It examines both macro (field, tenor, mode) and micro (lexical) elements.

Results: The analysis reveals consistent stereotypical patterns in Sale's translation, which appears to be narrowly focused on Arab people, particularly those of Mecca. This is in contrast to the universal message of Islam, which transcends racial boundaries. Despite the limited scope of examining a specific set of verses, this study serves as a catalyst for future research, encouraging broader explorations of various themes within Sale's Qur'an translation.

Conclusion: The study underscores the importance of critically evaluating the ideological nuances in translated sacred texts to achieve a general understanding of religious text translations.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Abdul-Rahman, M. S. (2018). Tafsir Ibn Kathir Part 17 of 30: Al Anbiyaa 001 to Al Hajj 078. MSA Publication Limited.

Abdul-Raof, H. (2001). Qur'an translation: Discourse, Texture and Exegesis. Routledge.

Alalily, H. M. H. (2023). Objective opinions of the orientalist George Sale in the biography of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in his historical introduction to his translation of the Holy Qur’an. Journal of the College of Education for Humanities, 13(2).

AlGhamdi, R. S. (2016). Translating religious terms and culture in ‘The Sealed Nectar’: A model for quality assessment [Doctoral thesis, The University of Leeds].

Allibaih, M. (2019). Presenting the Qur'anic Text in a Developed Mapping Technique and Reflecting the Related Theories of Linguistics. Journal of Arts and Humanities, 8(8), 17-39.

Al-Tarawneh, A. (2021). The role of Quran translations in radicalizing Muslims in the west and misrepresenting Islam. Journal of Religion and Violence, 9(1), 101-122.

Althuwaini, M. F. A. (2006). Ideology in translating religion related discourse [Master's thesis]. American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, UAE.

Baker, M. (2018). In other words: A coursebook on translation. Routledge.

Bnini, C. (2007). The Empirical Status of Text, Discourse and Genre in the Training of English/Arabic Translators [Doctoral dissertation, Heriot-Watt University].

Catford, J. C. (1965). A Linguistic Theory of Translation. Oxford University Press.

Chesterman, A. (2016). Memes of Translation. Benjamins.

Cornell, V. J. (2007). Voices of Islam. Praeger.

Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Elnemr, M. I. R. (2023). The English Translations of the Qur'an by Jews: A Critical Study of Nessim Dawood’s Translation The Koran. International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation, 6(2), 157-166.

Fairclough, I., & Fairclough, N. (2013). Political discourse analysis: A method for advanced students. Taylor and Francis.

Faryad, W., Aziz, A., Bibi, T., & Abdul-Rahaman, M. (2021). The Application of House’ Model of Translation Quality Assessment on Pakistani Fictionist Saadat Hasan Manto’s short story. Ilkogretim Online, 20(5).

Foran, L. (2023). Untranslatability and the ethics of pause. Perspectives, 31(1), 44-58.

Gunawan, F. (2022). The ideology of translators in Quranic translation: Lessons learned from Indonesia. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 9(1), 2088438.

Harfmann, M. (2004). Contrasting Arabic and German School Essays. In: N. Kassabgy, Z. Ibrahim, & S. Aydelott (eds.), Contrastive Rhetoric: Issues, Insights, and Pedagogy (pp. 25-46). Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press,.

House, J. (1997). Translation Quality Assessment: A Model Revisited. Narr.

House, J. (2014). Translation quality assessment: Past and present. In A. Pym, M. Shlesinger, & D. Simeoni (Eds.), Translation: A multidisciplinary approach (pp. 241-264). Springer.

Ibraheem, A. (2018, January). The Untranslatability of the Holy Qur'an. Research Gate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328051830_THE_UNTRANSLATABILITY_OF_THE_HOLY_QUR'AN

Israel, H. (2019). Translation and religion: Crafting regimes of identity. Taylor & Francis.

Jensen, J. S. (2014). What is Religion? Routledge.

Khaleel, H. M. (2016). Ideology and the translation of Islamic-related texts: Strategies, procedures and problems (Master's thesis). Middle East University, Jordan.

Lefevere, A. (2017). Translation, rewriting, and the manipulation of literary fame. Routledge.

Madayenzadeh, M., & Monsefi, R. (2019). Translation quality assessment of Translation and Power: The House’s model.

Mahasneh, A. A. (2023). (Re) constructing Narratives in Qur'an Translation. International Journal of Arabic-English Studies, 23(2), 101-124.‏

Mahasneh, A. A. (2021). The translation of jihad verses after the emergence of ISIS: Distortion or reality. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 10(5), 129-140.‏

Mehrach, M. 2003. Introducing Translation as Text (2nd ed). Tangiers: Altopress.

Mustapha, H. (2001). Qur’ān (Koran) Translation. In M. Baker (Ed.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies (pp. 200-205). Routledge.

Mustafa, L. (2018). The strategies of domestication and foreignisation in translating the meanings of the Holy Quran - a comparative study. Depot institutionnel de l'Universite Abou Bekr Belkaid Tlemcen UABT: Accueil. Retrieved March 15, 2023, from http://dspace.univ-tlemcen.dz/handle/112/13412?mode=full.

Munday, J. (2016). Introducing translation studies: Theories and applications. Routledge.

Munday, J. (2007). Translation and ideology: A textual approach. The Translator, 13(2), 195-217.

Naudé, J. (2010). Religious translation. Handbook of Translation Studies Online. https://benjamins.com/online/hts/articles/rel3.

Nazir, N., & Ahmad, S. (2022). Qur’an Translation and the Semantic Diversity: Assessment of Urdu Quran Translations (Application of Julian House Model of Quality Assessment). Al-Idah, 40(1), 1-22.

Nida, E. A. (2003). Toward a science of translating with special reference to principles and procedures involved in Bible translating. Brill.

Nord, C. (2002). Manipulation and loyalty in functional translation. Current Writing, 14(2), 32–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/1013929x.2002.9678123

Price, J. A. (2010). Sacred Scriptures of the world religions: An introduction. Continuum International Pub.

Ricci, R. (2010). On the untranslatability of “translation”: Considerations from Java, Indonesia. Translation Studies, 3(3), 287-301.

Saldanha, G., & O’Brien, S. (2015). Research methodologies in translation studies. Routledge.

Sale, G. (2023). The Alcoran of Mohammed. Outlook Verlag.

Shahbazi, M. S., & Qadri, H. K. A. (2017). A Critical Analysis of Quranic Translation of George Sale. Abha'th, 2(8), 22.

Shehab, E., Shadid, R., & Ahmad Al-Harahsheh, A. (2020, December 31). Islamic Discourse, Ideology and Translation: Sayyid Qutb’s Milestones as a Model. https://staff.najah.edu/media/published_research/2021/07/08/Islamic_Discourse__Ideology_and_Translation__Sayyid_Qutbs_Milestones_as_a_Model.pdf

Sideeg, A. (2015). Traces of Ideology in Translating the Qurān into English: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Six Cases across Twenty Versions. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 4(5), 214-226.

Suaidi, A., & Arifin, M. N. (2021). Ideological Tendencies in the Six English Qur’an Translation on Qs. Ar-Rum 41. Jurnal Studi Ilmu-ilmu Al-Qur'an dan Hadis, 22(2), 279-300.

Traboulsi, K. (2015). Ideology, Bias and Tafsir: The Science of Quran Interpretation. The New Arab. https://www.newarab.com/opinion/ideology-bias-and-tafsir-science-quran-interpretation

Van Dijk, T. A. (2013). Ideology and Discourse. In The Oxford handbook of political ideologies (pp. 175-196).

Van Dijk, T. A. (2019). Ideologies, racism, discourse: Debates on immigration and ethnic issues. In Comparative perspectives on racism (pp. 91-115). Routledge.

Wélé, M. K. (2019). George Sale’s English Translation of the Qur’ān (1734). In Qur’ān 12-21. Translations of the Qur’ān in Europe, 12th - 21st centuries. Retrieved from https://quran12-21.org/en/contexts/sale

Zhyrkova, A. (2020). Logic and religious language. In The Routledge handbook of early Christian philosophy (pp. 94-109). Routledge.