شبكة المعلومات العربية التربوية

Students at the College of Languages and Translation (COLT) take an Islamic Translation course in which they practice translating different kinds of Islamic texts (genres) including excerpts from the Holy Quran and the Prophet's Sayings. The aims of the present article are to introduce the students to the history of the translation of the Holy Quran. The Quran was translated by Arabists, non-Arab and Arab Muslims. Consequently, English translations vary in style and accuracy. Some translators preferred archaic English words and structures; some used simple modern English; others added commentary. Some translated the meanings of the Quranic verses; others gave a word-for-word translation. There are occasional misinterpretations, mistranslations, and even distortions. Translating the meanings of the Holy Quran has always been challenging for translators, as the Quran has an exoteric and an esoteric meaning. The Quranic style is characterized by "rhyming prose" and its message is conveyed through various literary styles and devices. In addition, a Quranic lexical item may have multiple versatile meanings, making an accurate translation even more difficult to produce as there is no on-to-one correspondence between the Arabic lexical items in the Quran and target language equivalents. The article proposes examples of activities in which translation students can engage in based on the English Quran translations, gives some resources and defines the role of the instructor. (As Provided)