520 |
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|b The meaning rendered by several translators of the Qur’an into English has often achieved a rather simplistic and reductionist equivalence, opting for the literal translation of the source text, which has ended up distorting Islamic concepts. As a case in point, the term“عبد”(’abd) has most generally been translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall, and Muhammad Mahmud Ghali as “slave,” “bondman,” or “servant,” though a careful reading of the Qur'anic text reveals the existence of at least four distinct meanings of the same term in accordance with its contextual occurrences. The commonly known “slavery,” which concerns a human- to-human relationship is but one of the senses of the term; nevertheless, the three translators considered in this study have generally opted for the same “equivalents” despite its use for other purposes in the source text. On the one hand, the word“عبد”has a specific meaning associated with “devoted worship of Allah,” and on the other, it expresses a general meaning that encompasses all mankind regardless of their faith and deeds, or even other beings as subdued creatures. As a result, formal equivalence turns fidelity into infidelity, making thus the final product misleading to the readership, especially non- speakers of Arabic. Therefore, Qur’an translation calls for other strategies based on semantic and exegetic interpretations, opting for a dynamic approach to render accurately the relevant Islamic concepts, and to convey adequately the corresponding divine messages.
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