Introducing the research corpora 20

The compiled data in this research consists of parallel corpora or, as Hofland and Johansson (1998) collectively call it, a translation corpus. These are corpora that make up a translation corpus “consisting of a set of texts in one language and their translations in another language” (Olohan 2004, p.24). They consist of six machine-readable Text Documents downloaded from Tanzil.net, except for Haleem (2004) as mentioned previously. In this regard, they contain the Arabic Qur’an and five of its English translations: Pickthall (1930); Yusuf Ali (1939/ revised edition 1987); Arberry (1957); Saheeh International (1997); and Haleem (2004). The first text is the Arabic Holy Qur’an (in two versions aligned next to each other: with and without taškīl, which is translated as diacritics); its analysis is employed to address the question whether semantic prosody as a linguistic phenomenon is present in the Qur’an. Furthermore, it is the source text based on which the comparison (e.g., the comparison of frequencies and SPs) among the translations is established. Finally, the translations have been chosen based on the quality of reviews they attained (e.g., Robinson, 1999, p.291 describes Ali's and Pickthall's as the most accurate of their time) and the fact that each of them has enjoyed a good reputation amongst Muslims at different historical periods (as in Al Ghamdi, 2015, p.32), is the diversity of the translators’ backgrounds.

1.9.1 The Holy Qur’an

The Holy Qur’an, consisting of 114 surahs (chapters) and 6,236 ayahs (verses), is considered by many scholars a rich source for linguistic and stylistic research. Although most of its language is said to be familiar to Non-Muslim and Muslim Arabs whose literature and speech have similar features; it still has its unique form inherently obtained from the Divine choice of words. It was promised in the Qur’an that it should not be altered or replaced: “We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)” (15:9).48 This provides a solid ground for a researcher to observe the behaviour of lexical items in different environments and how their semantic features work

48 From Yusuf Ali’s English Translation of the Qur’an (2013). Downloaded from: http://tanzil.net/. Reference to the verses of the Qur’an in this thesis will take the following system: (number of surah: number of ayah or ayahs).

in the representation of meaning. In this regard, the central theme that prevails throughout the Qur’an is the exposition of reality and the invitation to worship God (Malik, 1997, p.104); all other themes revolve around this theme. From the very beginning of the Qur’an to its end, the different topics it addresses (i.e., nature) are said to be intimately connected with its central theme. Also, it is a book with several types of traditional divisions as follows: chronological based on historical revelation; length-based rule; by subject; and Juz’s.49 The most popular division is the one based on chronology, that is, the division of the Qur’an into Makkan and Medinan based on the place of revelation.50 _{The following sub-sections}

of this chapter present the five English translations that were chosen for this study.

1.9.2 M. M. Pickthall (London, 1930)

Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall (1875–1936), a British Muslim novelist, had an interest in the languages of the Middle East and mastered languages such as Arabic, Turkish, and Urdu. Pickthall's translation deserves credit for keeping close to the original Arabic (Haleem, 2004, xxviii). Besides, his work has the merit of being a first-rate English interpretation of the Qur’an at the time of its publication (Kidwai,1987, p.66). In the preface of his book, Pickthall writes:

The Qur’an cannot be translated. The book is here rendered almost literally, and every effort has been made to choose befitting language. However, the outcome is not the Holy Qur’an, that inimitable symphony, the very sounds of which move men to tears and ecstasy. It is only an attempt to present the meaning of the Qur’an -and peradventure something of the charm in English. It can never take the place of the Qur’an in Arabic, nor is it meant to do so (Pickthall, 1930, vii).51

These lines reflect his view on the translation of the Qur’an when he states that “the Qur’an cannot be translated” and that a translation of the Qur’an can never be produced, “nor is it meant to do so”. They show that he endorses the position of Muslim scholars that the Qur’an is untranslatable;52 _{however, he maintains that the general meaning of the text could}

still be conveyed to English speakers. In his translation, he writes an introduction for each

49 The main division of the Qur’an is into chapter (surah) and verse (ayat). The Qur’an is additionally divided into 30 equal sections, called juz' (plural: ajiza). The divisions of juz’ do not fall evenly along chapter lines. These divisions make it easier to pace the reading over a month’s period, reading a fairly equal amount each day. See also:

[http://corpus.quran.com/documentation/versemarks.jsp].

50See also the Index for the division of the Quran inKing Fahd Complex for Printing the Qur’an. [Available from: https://epub.qurancomplex.gov.sa/issues/hafs/standard39/].

51Available from: [http://www.khayma.com/librarians/call2islaam/quran/pickthall/], [Accessed 18 May 2019]. 52 See also Al-Jabari (2008, pp.17-21).

chapter and includes footnotes. Although its language might be “artificially archaic”, Pickthall’s translation was highly regarded by various readers (Haleem, 2004, xxviii; Khan et al., 2013, p.571).

1.9.3 Abdullah Yusuf Ali (Lahore, 1939)53

Perhaps the most popular English translation to this day is the one written by Abdullah

Yusuf Ali (1872-1952), The Holy Qur’an: Translation and Commentary (1st edition 1934

and revised in 1939-40), which was until the 1990s perhaps the most popular English version among Muslims. There are two main revised versions of Ali’s translation: the King

Fahd Qur'an Printing Complex (1987)54 _{and the Amanah Corporation’s (1989).}55 _Both

versions found merits in Ali’s original translation (Jassem and Jassem, 2001, p.36); yet the former is the version used in this research, only because it is the available machine-readable text on Tanzil.net.56 _{As for the publication of this particular version, the committee in the}

King Fahd Qur'an Printing Complex chose Ali’s translation,57 _{for its distinguishing}

characteristics, such as the “highly elegant style” and “a choice of words close to the meaning of the original text”(Deedat, 2012, p.49). In his article, “Assessing English Translations of the Qur’an”, Wild (2015) states that Ali “sought to convey the music and richness of the Arabic with English poetic versification”.58 _{Also, it has been said that Ali}

was “gifted with an eloquent, vivid writing style”, and that the footnotes, despite their abundance, are helpful for those who want to fully understand the background of the text (Haleem, 2004, xxviii).

1.9.4 A. J. Arberry (London, 1957)

Arthur John Arberry was born into and lived in a conservative and well-educated English Christian family from which he established a strong desire for higher education (Skillitee, 1970, p.363). As a Cambridge University graduate, he spent several years in the Middle East perfecting his Arabic and Persian language skills. For a short period of his life, he

53The revised version ofthis translation was used in this research; it is the document retrieved from Tanzil.net as: Ali, A. Y. (1987). The Holy Qur’an: English Translation of the Meanings and Commentary. King Fahd Holy Qur’an Printing Complex. 54King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Qur'an (Arabic: فيرشلا فحصملا ةعابطل دهف كلملا عمجم) is a printing plant located

in Medina, Saudi Arabia that publishes the Qur'an in Arabic and other languages. The company produces about 10 million copies a year, and has published 55 different translations of the Qur'an in 39 languages. [Online] Available from: [https://qurancomplex.gov.sa/].

55 In 1989, Saudi Arabia's Ar-Rajhi Banking Company funded the U.S.-based Amana Corporation's project to revise the translation of the Qur’an(Mohammed, 2005, p.58).

56See also [http://tanzil.net/docs/translations_resources]. 57Alongside Al-Hilali and Khan (1983).

worked as a Professor of Classics at Cairo University; in 1946, he was a professor of Persian at the University of London and transferred to Cambridge the following year to become a Professor of Arabic there until his death in 1969. His translation of the Qur’an, The Koran

Interpreted (1957) was the first English translation by a scholar specialised in Arabic and

Islamic studies. “He rendered the Qur’an into understandable English and separated text from tradition; it has earned the admiration of intellectuals worldwide” (Al-Jabari, 2008, pp.35-6). In addition, having been reprinted several times, his translation remains the reference of choice for most academics (Halimah, 2014, p.124). Finally, it has been said that unlike his predecessors, Arberry “paid close attention to the rhetorical features of the Qur’an and aimed to reproduce these splendid features” (Sadiq, 2010, p.8).

1.9.5 Saheeh International (Jeddah, 1997)

Saheeh International is a team of three American women whose names are not mentioned in this translation of the Qur’an. It is considered one of the most prominent and widely read English-language Qur’anic translations. The translators converted to Islam in the 1980s and lived and worked in Saudi Arabia. Their translation, entitled The Qur'ān, published by Abul Qasim Publishing House,59 _{like Ali’s, contains many notes but in parentheses in the running}

text. In the foreword, the translators say that their adopted word order mimics that of the Arabic text. They also avoided using transliterated Arabic terms. Also, they shift pronouns in many verses to match the Qur’anic style. They also note that particular words and phrases in the source text have various shades of meaning. Therefore, they argue that:

Any translation, which can reflect but one emphasis, must necessarily appear as a severe limitation. Although additions in brackets and explanatory notes are a partial remedy, it remains to be said that nothing can take the place of an in-depth study through the Arabic medium itself (Saheeh International, 1997, viii).

This translation was widely acclaimed and respected for accurately reflecting the meaning

of the original Arabic meanings and was recommended by various well-known scholars.60

1.9.6 M. A. S. Abdel Haleem (Oxford, 2004)

Abdel-Haleem is an Egyptian-British scholar and the editor of the Journal of Qur’anic

Studies. He has an interest in Arabic-English lexicography and Qur’anic studies and has

59See also [https://darulqasim.org/].

published several works in this field. He is recognised for his services to Arabic culture and literature and inter-faith dialogue (Shah 2010, p.1). In 2004, Oxford University Press61

published Haleem’s translation of the Qur’an under the title: The Qur’an: A New

Translation. Following his criticism of the previous translations of the Qur’an, Haleem

(2004) claims that he opted for an explanatory translation of the Qur’anic meanings since the peculiarities of the English versions of his predecessors mostly resulted from “excessive literalism and adherence to the syntactical and stylistic peculiarities for the (Qur’anic) Arabic, (…) which is very concise, idiomatic, figurative and elliptic”(p.67). Finally, Haleem’s translation has been described as the best-appraised translation of the Qur’an to be introduced to English readers by an Arab translator (Shah, 2010, p.2 ; Rippin, 2016, p.12).