Translation of ʻZakātʼ Terms: Problems and Strategies
Date
2017-12-24
Authors
عموري, عبدالله أحمد عبدالله
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
An-Najah National University
Abstract
ʻZakātʼ is the third pillar of Islam, and thus it is necessary to translate correctly ʻzakātʼ terms to non-Arab Muslims. This study examined the problems and strategies of translating ʻzakātʼ terms in five Hadith collections by five translators. This thesis found that the translated ʻzakātʼ terms have low accuracy and low consistency to the original text. Descriptive comparative analytical methods were drawn between the original terms and their translated ones. The five translations were studied, analyzed, and compared to highlight the problems and strategies utilized. Results showed that partial translation was the most used translation method by the five translators. The translators accounted for at least one of connotative meanings of a ʻzakātʼ term. More importantly, ʻzakātʼ terms are quite sensitive Islamic texts since they involve content from the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Most translators failed to maintain the function of the source text in the target text, which led to loss of meaning and inaccuracy because they did not take context as a tool for accuracy. Finally, the research found out that transliteration and explanation are preferable strategies in translating ʻzakātʼ and other Islamic terms.
Keywords: Translation, ʻzakātʼ terms, translation strategy, partial translation, transliteration, source text, target text, suggested translation, intended meaning.