International Journal of Textual and Translation Analysis in Islamic Studies
Volume:1 Issue: 1, Winter 2023

The issue of literal versus free translation has always been a controversial matter in the translation of the Holy Scriptures, including the Holy Qurʼān. Explicitation, as a translation universal, has received increasing attention in the area of translating religious texts. The aim of this paper is to investigate the effects of explicitation on the translation of coherence in the first 13 surahs of Part (Juz) 30 of the Holy Qurʼān. In doing so, the model proposed by Vinay and Darbelnet (1995), along with coherence aspects in Sherman’s (2010) framework were used. To this end, the first 13 surahs of Part (Juz) 30 of the Holy Qurʼān in Arabic and their five English translations by Asad, Shakir, Pickthal, Yusufali and Saffarzadeh were examined. The overall goal of the analysis was to find whether explanatory coherence was used in the English translation and how explicitation affected the coherence of the content in all translations. Findings show that explicitation not only resolved ambiguity but also strengthened the coherence of the text. However, translators, in some translations, preferred to be loyal and faithful to the original and did not add anything to their translation. Additionally, in a few cases, the addition of more words to the translation turned it into redundant mess, leading to an incoherent translation.

In the Islamic school, there are examples and models that all their personal, social and political status is beyond time, place, race and culture. In this school, after the Prophet (PBUH) and the infallible Imams (PBUT), their prominent companions are among the best examples and role models. One of these companions is Miqdad bin Amr. He is one of the first Muslims who, in addition to his high status among the Sunnis, is also considered to be of high status among the Shiites. Despite the wide range of sources related to the personality of Miqdad bin Amr, the materials available about him are brief, scattered or limited to a specific time period, and some aspects of his personality have not been analyzed. Therefore, this article provides a linguistic analysis of his character as a role model by collecting relevant historical, and narrative sources and paying special attention to Miqdad’s personality traits and characteristics. This article uses a descriptive method based on qualitative and quantitative linguistic content analysis. The analysis of Miqdad’s character using the pattern of character classification in Islamic sources shows that Miqdad’s personality is described as chaste, calm, self-confident and clever in narrative, historical and Qur’ānic sources.

The present study centered around the problem of functional equivalence in source-text-target-text pairs. In fact, this study was an attempt to investigate patterns of professional translators’ main approaches to the production of functionally equivalent Qur’ānic translations. The ultimate objective was to investigate the practicality of Reiss’s theoretical functionalist text-oriented model of translation. Hence, five selected English translations were descriptively and linguistically analyzed and compared with their corresponding Qur’ānic surahs. The analysis included content-specific and formal features of the texts to discover common and frequent translation strategies applied in the production of each target text. The descriptive findings were then calculated using frequency and percentage. The findings on the translations of the informative and expressive texts revealed that Reiss’s relevant prediction was right. However, in contrast to Reiss’s view, the operative text was mostly translated literally rather than adaptively by most of the translators.

The meaning of the word Ḍaraba in the phrase iḍrebuhunna in the verse 34 of Surah An-Nisa is one of the words of the Holy Qur’ān that has occupied the minds of commentators. According to this verse, the Holy Qur’ān gives three orders to men whose wives are disobedient: advise them, forsake them in bed or beat them. Throughout the history of the Holy Qur’ān interpretation, there have been many discussions about the meaning of iḍrebuhunna by commentators, and in the contemporary era, many scholars of the Holy Qur’ān have talked about the meaning of this word. The purpose of this article is to clarify the meaning of Ḍaraba in this verse. Indeed, this study tries to find what the exact meaning of Ḍaraba in the phrase iḍrebuhunna in the verse 34 of Surah An-Nisa is. To figure out the meaning of iḍrebuhunna, we used the method of semantics and the method of qualitative content analysis and examined and classified the commentators’ opinions. The result is that what God means by “beating” in this verse, based on the severity of beating/hitting, is the psychological beating in such a way that a man is ready to hit with anger so that the woman stops disobeying her husband; however, this does not involve the stage of physical hitting.

Tafsīr literature has a long and rich history among all fields of Islamic sciences. In spite of this, it has not been able to form an independent scientific discipline along with all its dimensions. We believe that to turn Tafsīr into science, it is necessary to take some measures, including redefining the basic terms. This paper aims to provide some possible answers to the problem of defining, namely, what the most important terms in the Tafsīr field are, and how to come up with comprehensive definitions for its terms. Building on terminological evidence, this descriptive-analytical research discusses the formation of the four terms “Tafsīr” (interpretation), “Mabnā” (basis), “Aṣl” (principle) and “Qā'ida” (rule), as the key concepts in the Tafsīr field. We argued that these terms must be redefined through terminological methods. We believe that the very concept of Tafsīr means expressing the meanings and practical contents (Mūfād Isti‘mālī) of the Qur’ānic verses and discovering their Purposes (Maqāsid) and Referents (Madālīl). The Mabānī al-Tafsīr are the basic concepts and macro scientific presumptions for the Qur’ānic text. Finally, the term “Uṣūl al-Tafsīr” are radical components with a Qur’ānic nature which are the mediator between “Mabnā” and “Qā‘ida”.

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) is derived from the umbrella term ESP, which means to meet learners’ and employers’ needs. It has gained a noticeable role as a language of knowledge dissemination, which has developed into an ongoing need for the improvement of language proficiency among non-English major university students. This has highlighted the significance of EAP courses, which are dominant in the context of Iranian universities. Although there is a reasonable body of contemporary research in the realm of ESP/EAP instruction nationwide, much of the literature in the Iranian EAP setting has been concentrated mainly on quantitative survey-based or experimental studies examining the syllabus and teaching contents with little or no attention to the teaching methodology. Moreover, there is scant research on the body of current EAP literature demonstrating a holistic picture of the running courses in terms of syllabus and methodology in EAP. The present paper aims at shedding light on the existing status of EAP courses for Iranian Islamic students in the tertiary educational system of Islamic universities of Iran through a comprehensive review of some major studies conducted in the related realm. Furthermore, it examines some of the major challenges and criticisms levelled at EAP instruction and EAP courses for Islamic students in Iranian higher education, with a focus on two major dimensions: syllabus and teaching methodology. The paper concludes by giving some practical and pedagogical implications for EAP practitioners, emphasizing the role of teaching methodology, aiming to raise the practitioners’ awareness in promoting the efficiency of EAP courses.