An-Najah National University 

Faculty of Graduate Studies 
 

 

 

 

 

Traces of Ideology in Qur’an 

Translations: A Critical Discourse 

Analysis of Some Themes 
 

 

 
 

By 

Shaima’ Hanini Al-Hanini 
 

 
 

 

Supervisor  

Dr. Sufyan Abuaraah  

 

Co-Supervisor 

Dr. Rami Qawariq 
 
 
 

 

 

This Thesis is submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the 

Requirements of the Degree of Master in Applied Linguistics 

and Translation, Faculty of Graduate Studies, An Najah 

National University, Nablus, Palestine. 

2019 





iii 
 

Dedication 

I dedicate this work to my father for his endless support, for giving 

me all the needs during my master experience. For teaching me that even 

the largest tasks can be accomplished if it is done one step at a time. To my 

mother, the official sponsor of love and passion who believed in me and 

encouraged me till the last minute. To my sister Raja‟, my soul mate, to my 

supporter brothers Ala‟, Diea‟, Baha‟, Bashar and Ahmad without whom I 

could do nothing, to the seeds of my heart, my two daughters Yara and 

Taleen who supported me with their endless love and smiles. 

 

  



iv 
 

Acknowledgement 

The first and utmost thanks are to Allah, for guiding my path all the 

way till the final step in this work.  

I thank my parents, my family and all those who encouraged me tell 

the final step of this thesis. 

I am indebted to my supervisors Dr. Sufyan Abu Arrah and Dr. Rami 

Qawariq for their endless support and their valuable suggestions and 

advice.  

I greatly thank my friend Rania Jarar for her continuous support and 

her appreciated efforts in proofreading my work. 

Thank you all. 

 

 

  





vi 
 

Table of Contents 

No. Subject Page 

 Dedication iii 

 Acknowledgment iv 

 Declaration v 

 Table of Contents vi 

 Transliteration Table viii 

 Abstract ix 

Chapter One: Introduction 1 

1.1 Overview 1 

1.2 Statement of Problem and Purpose of the Study 5 

1.2.1 Significance of the Study 6 

1.3 Research Questions 7 

1.4 Limitation of the study 8 

1.5 Definition of Terms 8 

1.6 Methodology  10 

1.6.1 Methodology Overview 10 

1.6.2 Procedures of Analysis  13 

1.6.3 Footnotes and Commentary 16 

1.7 Study Layout 17 

Chapter Two: The Review of Literature 19 

2.1 Overview 19 

2.2 Translation and Ideology 19 

2.3 Translation and Critical Discourse Analysis 25 

2.4 The Ideology of Translation: Translation Strategies: 

Domestication and Foreignization 

27 

2.5 Conscious vs. Unconscious Translation 29 

2.6 Translatability of Qur‟an 31 

2.7 Related Studies  34 

2.8 Translators Historical Background 40 

2.8.1 Mohammed Asad 40 

2.8.2 Mohammed Ali 42 



vii 
 

No. Subject Page 

Chapter Three:  Data Analysis 45 

3.1 Overview 45 

3.2 Translating the Theme of Miracles 45 

3.3 Ideology in Translating the Theme of Angles, Al jinn and 

Satan 

69 

 3.4 Ideology in Translating the Image of Al Ka’bah 82 

Chapter Four: Discussion and Conclusion 86 

4.1 Overview 86 

4.2 Lexical Choices   87 

4.3 The Effect of Ideology on Constructing  Meanings of  the 

Qur‟an  

88 

4.4 Conscious or Unconscious Translations 90 

4.5 Conclusion and Recommendations 92 

 References 97 

 ب الممخص 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  



viii 
 

Transliteration Table 

 S  َ M ض  , ء

 Sh  ْ N ش  a , ā أ

 Ṣ  ٖ H ص  B ة

 ḍ  ٚ w , ū ض  T ث

 آ ٞ  ṭ ط  Th د

 t , h ة  ẓ ظ  J ج

 l ā ال  ⸲ ع  H ح

 Al اي  Gh غ  Kh خ

 F  ٜ Y ف  D د

 Ā آ  Q ق  Dh ذ

    K ن  R ز

    L ي  Z ش

Source: (Nassimi, 2008). 

 

 

  



ix 
 

Traces of Ideology in Qur’an Translations: 

A Critical Discourse Analysis of Some Themes 

By 

Shaima’ Hanini Al-Hanini 

Supervised by 

Dr. Sufyan Abu Araah 

Co-Supervisor 

Dr. Rami Qawariq 

Abstract 

This research attempts to explore the effect of translators' ideology 

on the translation of the Holy Qur‟an. To achieve its end, the study relies 

on a critical discourse analysis of Mohammed Asad‟s The Message of the 

Qur’an (1980) and Mohammed Ali‟s English Translation and Commentary 

of The Holy Qur’an (1973). The two books are analyzed and compared on 

the basis of their translation of a number of Qur‟anic themes; namely 

Miracles, Angles, Satan, Al jinn and Al Ka‟bah. For each theme a number 

of representative examples are given from both translations. The study 

shows that both translators were consciously implying their ideologies as 

consistently expressed by their lexical choices. Mohammed Asad was 

influenced by his Mu‟tazila‟s ideology and by the neo-Mu‟tazila figures 

Mohammed Abdu and Rashid Ridha. In addition, the way he translated 

some concepts reflects his beliefs as a Jewish person before converting to 

Islam. The study also shows that Mohammed Ali‟s attempt to rationalize 

miracles was influenced by his Qadiani doctrines, which proved to 

influence the understanding of the meanings of the Holy Qur‟an, especially 

among non -Arabic readers who assume that these translations are 

authentic and professional. Readers are more likely to adopt the translators‟ 



x 
 

ideologically-motivated world view which may contradict the true Islamic 

conceptualizations, especially if the readers are not aware of the translators‟ 

backgrounds. In the end, the study gives some insights of how to get into a 

more faithful and authentic translation of the Qur‟an. 



Chapter One 

Introduction 

1.1 Overview 

Translating the Holy Qur‟an into English has always been a sensitive 

issue. The religious status the Qur'an enjoys as being Muslims' main source 

of legislation poses extra challenge on translators who try to preserve the 

original meaning of its message when transferred to other languages. As 

noted by Sideeg (2016), “Producing a final or authoritative translation of 

the Quran (in English or any other language) is virtually a mission 

impossible” (p. 1). This means that there has been no translation of the 

Holy Qur‟an that is equivalent to or authoritative like the Arabic Qur‟an 

yet.  

The task of translating the Holy Qur‟an is hard to achieve because of 

the Qur‟anic style, diction and discourse which are hard to be transformed 

into other languages. Abdul-Ra‟uf (2004) asserts that the “ontological” 

status of the Qur‟an in Arabic and the unique, inimitable nature of the 

Qur‟anic discourse are “translation resistance”. 

The unique linguistic and stylistic characteristics of the Qur‟an do 

not mean that the Qur‟an is above human‟s capacity of understanding, for it 

is in the end the language of the Arabs. This means, however, that 

translating the language of the Qur‟an needs deep knowledge in Arabic and 

its history. The lack of this knowledge may lead to a failure in conveying 



2 
 

the exact meaning of some words or concepts, which result in different 

linguistic variations between the source text and the target text. Sometimes 

these variations, or “discrepancies”, as Sideeg (2016) calls them, are not 

pure or a result of misunderstanding of the source text, rather they illustrate 

“substantial translational” variations that intend to change the meaning of 

the source text‟s discourse and message. 

It is not the translation of a whole Sura or a long verse that 

could expose the quality and quantity of the linguistic 

variations in the existing versions of the Quran in English. 

Indeed, a very short verse or sometimes even one word is 

sufficient to illustrate substantial translational variations 

with utterly perplexing and baffling discrepancies translating 

the Holy Qur’an (Sideeg, 2016, p.1). 

 Discrepancies are not always innocent and a result of 

misunderstanding of the source text, but they may reflect an ideological 

stance of the translator. Schaffner (2003), Tymocozko (2003), and 

Snell&Horby (2006) claim that the translator‟s ideology and the linguistic 

choices s/he makes serve ideological beliefs and agendas.  In the same vein 

Shunnaq (1994) adopted the dichotomy of managing and monitoring from 

de Beaugrande and Dressler (1981). He applied it to translation. As a result, 

the translator can also control this discoursal parameter. If the translator 

chooses to intervene in the message of the text, then managing will be the 

dominant, while if he chooses to just render the message as it is, monitoring 

will occur. Moreover, Shunnaq (1994) adds that managing in the process of 



3 
 

translation will alter the text to serve the translator's purposes regardless of 

the text‟s type and that the text is steered toward the translator's rather than 

the text producer's goals. For Example, Shunnaq (1994) demonstrates the 

way in which information about the Gulf War was manipulated 

linguistically by different Arabic- language radio stations in order to 

support their own general stance or that of their governments. 

This dissertation, as such, endeavors to explain how the different 

ideologies of translators influence their translations of the Holy Qur‟an. 

Ideology in the sense of Hatim &Mason is the body of assumptions that 

reflect the beliefs and interests of an individual, a group of individuals, and 

is ultimately reflected in language or discourse (Hatim and mason, 1997). 

Linguistic choices (linguistic variations, discrepancies) conceal the 

translator's ideology; therefore, to examine ideology, they should be 

considered carefully. Berman (2012) and Toury (1995) argue that cases of 

ideological motivations may not be completely obvious to readers; they 

may be partially or completely hidden. Therefore, they must be uncovered 

in order to let readers know that these lexical choices reflect the translators‟ 

beliefs and ideologies not the source text‟s ideology. In other words, 

linguistic choices made by the translator are very significant to understand 

the ideological motivations and purposes of the translator. To uncover 

ideological beliefs of the translator, lexical choices have to be analyzed and 

scrutinized in light of their appropriateness as target text equivalents and 

within the light of the translators‟ ideology. By doing this we will be able 



4 
 

to understand the reason of their selection to be TT equivalent by 

uncovering their underlying meanings. 

This study addresses the issue of the translation of the Holy Qur‟an 

from a critical perspective. I will provide a critical reading of the 

translators' choices and judge them in light of their ideology to examine 

whether their translations conveyed the original meanings of the Holy 

Qur‟an or they were influenced by their ideological stance. For this 

purpose, I will consider very specific themes in the Qur‟an, such as 

Miracles, the belief in Angles, Jinn and Satan. I will also investigate how 

the proper name of “Al Ka‟bah” is rendered in both translations. The 

reason why I chose these themes is that while reading Asad‟s and Ali‟s 

translations I noticed that they translated concepts like death, Tabut (in the 

context of miracles)for instance in a strange and distinctive way that urged 

me to read their footnotes and index to understand what they mean. Their 

conceptualization of Angles and Satans is also distinctive in a way that 

made me investigate all related concepts in their translations, and to make 

the analysis easier and scientific I categorized them into the above themes. 

I will consider Mohammed Asad‟s and Maulana Mohammed Ali‟s 

translations of the Holy Qur‟an. A brief biography of every translator is 

given to help outline and understand his ideology and background. I will 

adopt Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA therein) as a general framework to 

pinpoint the relation between language and ideology and to analyze the 

ideological impact on the translation of Qur‟an. I will explain the lexical 



5 
 

choices of each translator and the relevance of their functions to the 

translators' ideological assumptions. CDA through its interest in ideology 

will help us to uncover any ideological interests or motivations underlying 

the translator‟s choices. It will also help understand the reason behind such 

distinctive choices and the effect of these choices on constructing meanings 

of the Holy Qur‟an. 

1.2 Statement of the Problem and Purpose of the Study 

Translations of the Holy Qur‟an occupy a major position as they 

decode Islam message to the whole world. Qur‟an translation is a 

problematic field as it holds the responsibility of conveying the message of 

Islam and the instructions of Qur‟an. Besides, the language of the Qur'an 

(Arabic) is very sophisticated as many of the words have various shades of 

meaning, which, sometimes, cannot be easily transferred into other 

languages. All scholars and translators agreed that translations of the Holy 

Qur‟an that exist today, no matter how accurate they are, can never 

preserve the rhythm, diction, style and deepness of the language of the 

Qur‟an. However, since translation is the only way to help non-Arabic 

speakers to understand the message of the Qur‟an, translation is still needed 

in which translators are assumed to be faithful to the source text. 

Nonetheless, this cannot be taken at the face value. Translations cannot be 

considered in isolation from the translators' attitudes toward the 

source/target language/culture. According to Alvarez and Vidal (1996), 

translators' ideology and their feeling about the target language are among 



6 
 

the factors that affect the process of translation. Such attitudes may lead to 

the manipulation of the translated text, causing a deliberate elimination of 

some meanings and construction of some others. 

In this thesis I will examine the ideology of two translators of the 

Holy Qur‟an according to some Qur‟anic themes; the proper name Al 

Ka‟bah, the belief in Angles, Jinn, Satan and Miracles, to study the role of 

ideology in translating these themes. In other words, I will try to explain 

the extent to which ideology can influence the translator‟s style and choice 

of words that will, accordingly, shape the receivers‟ understanding of the 

Holy Qur‟an. The analysis of the ideological impact on translation implies 

considering the choices of the translator as being intentionally loading the 

text with new meanings. This is necessary to distinguish between the 

inaccuracies in translation due to linguistic and pragmatic incompetence, 

and the choices intentionally employed to serve particular world views and 

beliefs. This study will be mainly concerned with the latter quest, which is 

sough through fine qualitative analysis of the translators' lexical choices 

including all the verses, introductions and footnotes of the translators.   

1.2.1 Significance of the study 

This research is a comparative analysis of two of the widely read 

English translations of the Qur‟an. It will be helpful for those who consider 

language from a critical point of view as an ideologically motivated 

element. It will help them to relate language use to ideology and examine 

the relation between them in a text like the Holy Qur‟an. The study will 



7 
 

function as a model to distinguish the correct and qualified translation from 

biased choices that reflect subjective and ideological motivations. It will 

clarify reasons for differences between the source and target text, lead 

readers to the correct understanding of the meanings of the Holy Qur‟an, 

and reduce any chance of misunderstanding of the source text. Ultimately, 

it will serve as a model for researchers to evaluate the works produced by 

other translators. I hope that this research will make a valuable addition to 

the existing knowledge about the English translations of Qur'an. This is 

relevant for the academic community which is concerned with developing 

appropriate strategies in translating sacred texts. In addition, the research 

has a practical value by helping producing a more acceptable translation of 

the Qur'an that conveys the closest meaning to that of the ST. 

1.3 Research Questions 

The thesis aims at answering the following overarching questions 

and their subsidiary questions: 

1.  To what extent does the ideology of Mohammed Asad and Maulana 

Mohammed Ali influence their translation of the Holy Qur'an into 

English? 

A.  What are the lexical choices that reflect their ideological   

background? 

B.  Is the use of these choices consistent? In other words, do they try 

to serve specific functions? 



8 
 

C.  What meanings does the text loose and gain due to these lexical 

choices? 

2.  What are the insights about translating the Qur‟an that can be gained 

from the analysis between ideology and translation? 

1.4 Limitation of the study 

This thesis is a comparative and analytical study of the translation of 

the Quran, but is limited to two translations carried out by Mohammed 

Asad and Mohammed Ali, mentioned earlier. Furthermore, it is limited to 

the previously mentioned Qur‟anic themes such as, the proper name Al 

Ka‟bah, Miracles, and the belief in Angles Al jinn and Satan.   

1.5 Definition of Terms 

Since the study includes ideological aspect of the translators, it is 

necessary to define some of the ideological streams that will be repeated 

along the study. 

Israelites:  Arabic, Isra‟iliyyat, refers to stories and narrations from 

Jewish and Christian origin and traditions. They are not from well accepted 

sources that quote the Islamic Prophet Mohammed sayings. These 

narratives are found in works of Qur'anic commentaries and history 

compilations. They contain information about earlier prophets mentioned in 

the Bible and the Qur'an, stories about the ancient Israelites, and fables 

allegedly or actually taken from Jewish sources (Vagda 1973).  Some 



9 
 

aspects of the Qur‟an can be explained by referring to such sources 

provided that they are not contradicting the Qur‟an like some stories about 

children of Israel or some prophets. However, references to such sources 

must be used with great caution and cannot be considered sound according 

to the standards of 'ilm al-hadîth (Hadith Studies), unless traced back to the 

Prophet himself and his Companions (Denffer 2009). 

Mu’tazila: The Mu‟tazila refers to a sect (party) which arose in the 

early second century Hijrah. This sect made reliance upon reason (intellect) 

and took a purely intellectual approach in studying and confirming matters 

of creed and belief. It was heavily influenced by the Greek Hellenistic 

philosophy. As a result of their reliance on reason they were led to 

numerous positions like assuming that the inherent good and evil of things 

are known by reason before revelation and led to the distortion (ta'weel) of 

the attributes of Allah because  they assume that affirming them does not 

agree with reason (Abu Iyaad 2018). 

Qadiyanis: The term Qadiani is used to refer to the movement which 

developed under the leadership of the late Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud 

Ahmad (based first at Qadian, India, till 1947, and then at Rabwah, 

Pakistan), and was later led by Mirza Tahir Ahmad, who was in England 

from 1984 onwards (The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement 2003). Qadiyanis 

establish an autocratic, despotic khilafat, contrary to the teachings of Islam 

and they used to believe that Prophet Mohammed is the Last Prophet and 

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is Mujaddid of the 14th Century Hijra and a 



10 
 

wali (saint). Furthermore, they tend to consider all non-Ahmadi Muslims as 

“kafir” and outside the fold of Islam. This belief was opposed to the plain 

teachings of the Quran and Hadith and led Maulana Mohammed Ali to 

separate from Qadian and laid the foundation in Lahore of the Ahmadiyya 

Anjuman Isha`at Islam.  The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement shares the 

same believes with Qadiyanis except for their main reason of their split 

(The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement 2003). 

Qadiani and Ahmadi movement share the denial of miracles and 

their attempt to rationalize miracles. They try to explain Qur‟an in a way to 

suit the western culture and the Christian world. 

1.6 Methodology 

1.6.1 Methodology overview 

This study is a contrastive and critical study of two translations of 

the Holy Qur‟an from Arabic to English. The translations that will be 

considered are: 

1. Muhammad Asad; The Message of The Qur’an, Translated and 

Explained, Dar al   Andalus, 1980. 

2. Maulana Muhammad Ali; English Translation and Commentary of 

the Holy Qur’an, Lahore, Pakistan 1973.  

The choice of these books is based on the fact that they are common 

among wide groups of readers. In addition, both translators reflect the 



11 
 

ideology of two important groups that have their own understanding of the 

Qur‟an in a way that sometimes contradicts basics of Islam. Mohammed 

Asad is considered to be one of The Mu'tazila followers. Maulana 

Mohammed Ali, on the other hand, is a follower of Qadiyanis. His 

translation was a reference for many Qadiyanis translators who follow his 

path in translation and consequently spread his ideologies and 

understanding of the Holy Qur‟an.  I can add that these translations include 

some brief explanatory commentary by their translators, and since 

commentary and footnotes are the place where the translators‟ voice 

becomes obvious, they are useful and essential to clarify the translators‟ 

understanding of the verses and their ideologies and beliefs about every 

Qur‟anic verse.  

A critical analysis of verses and footnotes is applied on the two 

translations under the framework of critical discourse analysis which 

specifically assumes a relationship between language (discourse) and 

ideology.  CDA is used to evaluate whether the translators‟ ideologies 

influenced Qur‟an translations. CDA provides a good tool to understand 

reasons for the translators‟ lexical choices through linking choices to the 

ideology of each translator. Wodak (2001) asserts that CDA function is to 

investigate and examine aspect of social life by observing and criticizing 

language. Following this, CDA will help evaluate how ideology as part of 

social life affects language and language use or in our case how ideology 

affects constructing Qur‟an meaning and message. 



12 
 

  For this end, each verse that represents each of the following 

themes, Miracles, Al jinn, Satan, Angles and the image of Al Ka‟bah is 

critically examined. Each of the previous themes is investigated in the 

whole Qur‟an. For example, under the theme of Al jinn, the exact meaning 

of the term Al jinn is assigned in all verses where it occurs. Definition of 

each lexical choice of the translator is conducted from Arabic and English 

dictionaries. These dictionaries include Arabic –Arabic dictionary; Mu’jam 

Al-Waseet (1961), Arabic-English/ English- Arabic dictionary; Al Ma’ani 

Dictionary (2010-2018), besides two English-English language 

dictionaries: The Longman Dictionary (1987) and Mariam Webster’s 

dictionary. In addition, meanings of each verse is conducted depending on 

exegeses of the Quran as they appear in Al-Qurtubi (2008), Al Saadi 

(1422), Ibn Kathir (759H), Al Tantawi (1431, 1997), Al Tabari (1422H) 

and Al Maududi (2006). The second step is where the translated verses are 

examined through examining the translated lexical choice of the translators 

looking for lexical items that function discursively and convey meanings 

that are not suggested by the Qur‟anic verse; their meanings and functions 

are highlighted and compared with meanings of the Arabic verses 

according to Qur‟an exegeses. 

Themes that gained new or distinctive functions after translating 

them are then linked to the translators‟ ideologies and understanding of the 

verse and the overall theme.  Knowing the translators‟ ideology helps in 

understanding their choices. For example, knowing that a translator doubts 

miracles makes the reader understands why this translator choses to 



13 
 

translate the noun “death” to “stupor” in verses that talked about the 

miracle of giving life back to the dead. It must be noted that each translator 

defines certain Qur‟anic themes according to his point of view and 

according to his beliefs and ideologies in different sections of his 

translation such as in preface, footnotes and appendixes.  In some cases 

translators translate the verse literally but explain it in footnote in a way 

that contradicts Qur‟an exegeses and mainstream Muslims. In other cases 

translations were vague and not clear to the extent that urge the reader to go 

to footnotes and commentary on that verse in order to understand what is 

meant. 

The reason why the research analysis covered all verses under each 

theme and not selected samples is because I looked for patterns of 

consistency to prove the intentionality of the translator. Consistency in the 

use of distinctive lexical choices is a clue that they are part of the 

translators‟ ideology and not a result of misunderstanding of the verse. In 

other words, these consistent patterns are a reflection of intentional 

behavior that aims to reflect certain world view and ideology through 

constructing new meanings and believes. 

1.6.2 Procedures of the Analysis 

The investigation of the translation of the Holy Qur‟an from Arabic 

into English in the light of the ideological motivations of the translator 

needs a methodology that relates the (micro) language choices of the 

translator with their historical as well as socio-cultural context.  Therefore, 



14 
 

this study works within the boundaries of critical discourse analysis (CDA) 

in order to find the correlation between language choices and frames of 

thinking. Within this field of inquiry, I will apply a detailed micro 

linguistic analysis of specific lexical items related to the themes of 

Miracles, Al jinn, Angles, Satan and the proper name of Al Ka‟bah.  

I will analyze the translators‟ lexical choices that are distinctive and 

do not convey the Qur‟an meaning of terms and concepts in the selected 

themes (the proper name of Al Ka‟bah, Miracles, Al jinn, Angles and 

Satan). The importance of the translators‟ lexical choices lies in the fact 

that they reflect the translators' understanding of the original verse and 

theme.  For example, a lexical choice like a heart instead of Al Tabut 

explicates the translators‟ attitude toward miracles. The content of the two 

translations will be individually examined at the micro level, by which I 

mean every single linguistic choice at word level. Beside the textual 

analysis, this study applies paratextual analysis for the introduction(s) and 

footnotes added by the translators. The reason why this kind of analysis is 

necessary is that these additional texts play an important role in the 

interpretation and understanding of some Qur'anic verses.   

This study, as such, is based on a comparative analysis between 

Mohammed Asad‟s and Mohammed Ali‟s translations and the English 

versions of the Qur'an adopted by the mainstream Islamic scholars. The 

analysis, therefore, is conducted in different steps. In the first step, I refer to 

the Qur‟anic verse and then introduce the two translations of Asad‟s and 



15 
 

Ali‟s.  I introduce the verse and its interpretation in Arabic according to 

different exegeses to clarify the conceptualization of each theme and the 

context of its revelation which can help in examining its intended meaning. 

In the second step I investigate both translations. Here, I examine the 

distinct linguistic choices of the translators, which will be highlighted in 

order to be explained in the light of the source text meaning.  The function 

of lexical items is investigated to see if they convey the original meaning of 

the theme of the verse by relying on different Arabic and English 

dictionaries. Then, the function of translators‟ choices is identified and the 

linguistic realization is compared with the original text (Holy Qur‟an). In 

some cases, both translations have the same lexical choices, and in others 

they are translated distinctly. This step answers the first question of the 

research about the type of the distinctive lexical choices that are used and 

the third question about the effect of such choices on the meaning of the 

themes of the Qur‟an. 

Then, the analysis goes beyond the mere description of the 

translators' choices to a process where choices are critically analyzed. Each 

lexical choice is linked to the translators‟ ideological background.  I look 

for discursive patterns; the lexical items that serve the same or very similar 

discursive functions, which means that the choice of these linguistic items 

is intentional to construct a specific meaning. When inconsistencies in the 

selection of the lexical terms arise, we may conclude that other factors 

rather than ideology are behind the translation, such as misunderstanding of 



16 
 

the verse. Footnotes and comments of the translators are part of the 

analysis, and they help in showing the translator‟s patterns. 

1.6.3 Footnotes and commentary 

Due to the especial status of Arabic in the meaning of the Qur'an, 

and due to the failure to find exact equivalences of key Qur'anic terms and 

unique styles, scholars and translators try to convey its message by 

interpreting its meaning. For example, Abdul Raof (2001) suggests that to 

translate the Qur‟an one needs to refer to exegetical books and materials 

and to translate it through exegetical analysis. In this way translation can be 

saved from distortion and misrepresentation which lead to 

misunderstanding of the message of Qur‟an. He adds that the only way to 

compensate the loss of meaning in this sacred text is to explain its complex 

manifold meanings either “within-the-text” through exegetical material or 

“through marginal notes and commentaries” and “explanatory translation”. 

According to Abdul Raof (2001) a footnote or even an extended 

commentary can make specific words of each language like cultural and 

religious concepts clear and easy to understand. They can also provide the 

foreign reader of the Holy Qur‟an with a history perspective for words and 

events that are mentioned in the verses of the Holy Qur‟an but not fully 

explained as a result of the inimitability of the Qur‟an or what is known as 

“i:jaz”; which symbolizes the miraculous nature of the Qur‟an as it is the 

only book that cannot be imitated or translated such as Aad, Thamuud and 

Muhajireen. 



17 
 

Munday (2008) also talks about the role extra interpretations play in 

translating the Qur'an. He believes that paratexts (the material outside the 

text such as, introduction; explanatory footnotes) are the stage on which the 

translator's voice becomes loud. It is the space where the translator‟s 

ideology and thought become visible. In the same vein, Nassimi (2008) 

suggests that there is a need to supply the readers of the translated text with 

some essential historical and exegetical perspective through footnotes. He 

adds that in footnotes, every Qur'anic word or concept that has any 

intended significance within the source text can be explained and 

highlighted (Nassimi, 2008). 

Depending on the earlier discussion on the importance of footnotes 

and commentaries to the translation of the Holy Qur‟an, footnotes and 

commentaries of the selected translators will be part of the methodology of 

this study. 

1.7 Study layout 

The present chapter includes, in addition to the current introduction, 

a statement of the problem, the study questions, an explanation of its 

methodology. The second chapter contains the literature review of 

translation and ideology and translation and CDA. It also includes three 

sections dedicated to define important issues such as, the ideology of 

translation strategies (domestication and foreignization), ideological 

translation as a conscious or unconscious product and the debate on the 

translatability of the Qur‟an and a brief review of the translators‟ 



18 
 

ideological backgrounds. The third chapter contains a critical linguistic 

analysis of every distinctive choice of both translators that reflects 

ideological motivations. Finally, chapter four includes a discussion of the 

findings, conclusions and some recommendations.  

  



19 
 

Chapter Two 

Review of Literature 

2.1 Overview 

This chapter contains a review of some important themes that are 

related to this study such as, a review to the history of translation as an 

ideological motivated process and a review of CDA as a framework to 

criticize and judge language in light of the translators‟ ideologies. This 

cannot be completed without a discussion about the ideology of translation 

strategies (foreignization and domestication). In addition, it contains a 

review of the translatability of the Qur‟an from the early days of Islam till 

now besides a section on the debate about the awareness of the translators. 

It also contains a discussion of some previous studies that tackled the 

notion of the role of ideology in translating the Holy Qur‟an. And for the 

analysis of this study, a historical background of the selected translators is 

given.   

2.2 Translation and Ideology 

The term ideology appeared during the French Revolution and was 

initially concerned with the study of ideas (Wright 2016). But Marxism use 

of the term gave it negative connotation as the passive use of power in 

society. Marxism sees ideology as an illusory force that works to conceal 

the material reality of capitalism, where the higher class is the sole 

beneficiary of all the economic and social benefits. Wright (2016) asserts 



20 
 

that if we are to understand ideology as a kind of power or force that is 

visible and is imposed upon “others”, “the others” may have the right to 

accept it or refuse it. “Understood in this sense, ideology can be made 

visible, and then either deliberately embraced or consciously resisted” 

(Wright 2016, p 31). 

Through time ideology‟s definition and use went out of its original 

aim, it is no longer restricted to politics and economy. Ideology extended to 

be part of our life, part of every human act even writing and re- writing. 

Althusser (2014) suggests that we recognize ourselves within an 

ideological framework and that our tastes, values, views and desires are 

acquired through our partaking in the ideological practices that organize 

ordinary life such as going to school, attending church, going to work, 

watching television and reading the newspaper. 

Van Dijk (2001, p. 16) defines ideologies “as a special form of social 

cognition shared by social group”. His definition of ideology is related to 

social cognition, where individuals‟ understanding of social actions is 

linked to the beliefs and ideologies of the group they are related to. He 

argues that ideologies are about general principles of the group such as 

their basic convictions and about abstract beliefs and thoughts. As such, 

ideologies form the basis that members of the group refer to in their 

discourses about social representations. In this context, members of the 

group act as part of ideological production and reproduction which 

sometimes is meant to change or challenge an existent social cognition. 



21 
 

Hatim and Mason (1997) take a similar stance and define ideology as 

a body of assumptions which reflects the beliefs and interests of an 

individual, a group of individuals, and social institutions, and which 

ultimately is reflected in language or discourse. Discourse, therefore, is 

“institutionalized modes of speaking and writing which give expression to 

particular attitudes towards areas of socio-cultural activity” (Hatim and 

Mason, 1997, p. 120). This means that the way people view and understand 

things and issues turns by time to systematic patterns and ideologies within 

which they tend to understand and analyze social activities.  By time these 

ideologies (personal or group ideologies) will extend to appear in their 

mode of speaking and writing. In other words, discourses in translation 

reflect personal viewpoints and cultural identities of a society.  

Hatim and Mason (1997), on the other hand, argue that it cannot be 

assumed that all discourses are ideological or predetermined by their 

institutional ideologies, “It should not be taken to imply that language use 

is wholly predetermined or that users exercise no control at all over their 

own discourse” (Hatim& Mason 1997, p 120).  They prefer that speakers 

and users of language play two roles where they can be at one time active 

users (agents) of the discourse and passively affected by its authority, “at 

one and the same time an active subject (agent) in the Discourse and 

passively subjected to its authority” (Hatim& Mason1997, p120). That is to 

say, Hatim and Mason did not make a clear cut on the connection between 

ideology as a world-view of a text producer (writer or translator or even a 

speaker) and the actual linguistic structure of the resulting text. 



22 
 

Nevertheless, they suggest that one may observe the behavior of text users 

(writers, readers, translators) and understand the assumptions which caused 

expression leads to observation of patterns and trends; these may then be 

related to the assumptions concerning the mutual influences of individual 

text users, discourses, ideologies and society (Hatim& Mason1997). 

Finally, Hatim and Mason introduce their concept of mediation as 

“the extent to which translators intervene in the transfer process, feeding 

their own knowledge and beliefs into their processing of a text” (Hatim & 

Mason 1997, p. 121). They continue that “the formal relaying of recurrence 

would thus be part of a global text strategy, characterized by greater or 

lesser degrees of mediation” (Hatim & Mason 1997, p 121). “Recurrences” 

in the translated product will be a global text strategy, which means that 

language users and producers of texts will frequently tend to form patterns 

of words or concepts that reflect their ideologies in their translated texts. 

Their analysis depended upon linguistic features such as, lexicalization/ 

over lexicalization, syntax (agent deletion and nominalization) and 

cohesion (recurrence, collocation, thematic structure, transitivity and 

lexical cohesion) (Hatim& Mason, 2005). 

Munday (2008) agrees with Hatim and Mason and asserts that 

ideology as a system of beliefs that shapes individuals‟ worldview can be 

realized linguistically by a writer or a translator. Van Dijk (1999) also 

asserts that ideologies' influence on discourse is often indirect. When 

ideology influences social attitudes, these attitudes (which form 



23 
 

individuals‟ opinions of group members represented in their mental models 

about specific people and events) in turn control meaning production of 

text and talk by forming a biased representations of social events. “This 

may happen indirectly through the prior formation of a biased 

representation of the social situation, for instance about other participants 

or the relations between participants” (van Dijk, 1999, p. 1). 

The awareness of ideology and its impact on discourse has been 

linked to the shift of the focus of the research from the emphasis on the 

single linguistic lexis to the emphasis on the importance of socio- cultural 

contexts, “The growing relevance and awareness of ideological aspects had 

been linked to the shift of the focus of research from the micro-level of 

isolated linguistic unit to the macro level of the socio-cultural context in 

which translation takes place” (Lopez& Caro, 2013, p 251). The shift in 

focus from the text itself and what words and concepts mean in isolation 

from any other factor to the focus of the social context, and how social 

cognition form meanings in a text, made ideology of the translator visible. 

In addition, the attempt to define translation not as a mere process of 

transferring words from one language to another, but also as transmitting of 

one culture to another, increases the importance of the ideology of the 

translator (Fawcett & Munday, 2011). Lefevere & Bassnett (1990), in their 

cultural approach to translation, assume that ideology functions as a 

motivation for translating and plays a role in lexical choices.  



24 
 

Later on, Lefevere (1992) assumes that translators' biased choices 

may exert a “repressive or subversive” impact on the target culture and will 

result in partial representation of the original text. In this way translation 

cannot be considered an original text or equal to the source text; it must 

lack something either in message or form and style. No matter how 

accurate it is, translation continues to be partial representation of the 

original. Furthermore, this lack in the translated text affects in some way 

the target text reader‟s view and understanding of the source text and its 

culture. 

In the same vein, Fawcett (1998) argues that translation is a process 

carried out on language use. This means that translation cannot be devoid 

of ideological instances or agendas, which may sometimes clash or 

challenge each other. The process of translation is commonly influenced by 

the translator‟s ideology, and ideology affects the selection of terms and 

words in the target text.  Through history, individuals and groups have 

applied their own beliefs and attitudes to the creation of a certain effects in 

translation (Fawcett, 1998). Yet, Fawcett (2001) points out that “searching 

for ideology in translation is not an easy task, because people tend to 

consider all human activities as ideologically motivated” (p 106). This is 

because there are several factors that may affect the translation process. It 

is not the translator alone who may interfere; the agency of translation may 

also interfere to their specific agendas. 



25 
 

I adopted Hatim and Mason‟s (1997, 2005) view that discourses 

reflect personal attitudes and viewpoints of certain community and are 

influenced by historical, social and political events that try to support or 

challenge social realities. This is further explained by Van Dijk (1998) who 

introduces his cognitive definition of ideology as a system of ideas and 

beliefs that form part of the mental image of an individual or members of a 

group. People in Van Dijk‟s view acquire ideologies or change their 

existing ideologies through discourse. Thus ideologies for Van Dijk are 

repeated through discourses, and in our case ideologies of translators may 

reconstruct reader‟s ideologies through translation of discourse/ sacred text. 

2.3 Translation and CDA 

Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is interested in the relations 

between language and power (Wodak 2001). As a general school of 

thought, it does not provide one single or specific theory, neither one 

specific methodology of research. On the contrary, studies in CDA derive 

from different theoretical backgrounds concerned with different data and 

methodologies (Wodak 2001). Wodak (2001, p. 7) asserts that “CDA sees 

language as a social practice” in which the context of social practice is 

crucial. “Discourse as social practice suggests a dialectical relationship 

between a particular discursive event and the situation(s), institution(s) and 

social structure(s) which frame it; the discursive event is shaped by them, 

but it also shapes them” (Wodak, 2001, p. 7). Language meaning and 

function is better situated in its context to be understood. Any analysis of 



26 
 

language use, therefore, should take the different contextual factors into 

consideration. 

Reisigl and Wodak (2016) argue that CDA is mainly interested in 

(latent) daily beliefs that shape people‟s understanding of social 

phenomena and build into clear basic assumptions that guide interpretations 

of events and actions. So when these assumptions are shared by the 

majority, people start to forget other alternatives to the status quo and the 

dominant ideology becomes hegemonic (Reisigl & Wodak, 2016). So CDA 

is interested in the ideology of individuals, their beliefs that shape their 

understanding of social acts.  These daily beliefs become institutionalized 

by time and by the frequent use of them to the extent that these beliefs, 

agendas, ideologies become hegemonic. In the translation of the Holy 

Qur‟an, for example, the dominant ideology of the translator would shape 

readers conception and cognition in a way that other explanations or 

meanings of the Qur‟an will be ignored.  

Although in CDA each scholar has their approach and methodology 

of analysis, Hart (2012) asserts that CDA specialists share general 

similarities in defining ideology as a world view. Ideologies for example, 

are logically clear and consistent forms of beliefs and values (in shape of 

patterns) that guide individuals‟ actions and inspire their progresses. In 

addition, the different approaches of CDA focus on the discursive nature of 

ideologies as being "partly-constructed, proliferated, sustained or 

challenged via discourse" (Qawariq 2016, p. 60). Therefore, the analysis of 



27 
 

texts is an important aspect of ideological analysis and critique (Fairclough 

2003, p. 218).  

The purpose for using CDA is to highlight ideological content in the 

target text and to pinpoint how it is different from the source text. In other 

words, it helps see whether or not the translator reflected the source text 

ideology in the target text.  

CDA is often used as a research tool in media studies but it can also 

be applied on the identification of ideology in sacred text since it equips the 

analysts with the tools necessary to identify and demystify a text or 

discourse that represents a particular aspect of social life and society, and is 

concerned with the way in which social practices are represented by 

linguistic units and how they reflect the attitude and ideology of texts 

producers.  

2.4 The Ideology of Translation: Translation Strategies: Domestication 

and Foreignization 

Hatim and Mason (2005) introduce their concept of “ideology of 

translation” which is defined as the translator‟s attitude toward the source 

text. In this sense, translation is not a neutral activity and translators are 

forced to choose between two divergences, free vs. literal, dynamic 

equivalent vs. formal equivalent, communicative vs. semantics (Hatim& 

Mason, 2005). Venuti (1995) highlights the ideological consequences of 

the choice between the translation strategies foreignization and 



28 
 

domestication. He states that domestication is “an ethnocentric reduction of 

the foreign text to target-language cultural values, bringing the author back 

home”, while foreignization is “an ethnodeviant pressure on those values to 

register the linguistic and cultural difference of the foreign text, sending the 

reader abroad” (Venuti, p. 20). 

The two main characteristics of domestication as a strategy are 

fluency and transparency. Nida (1964) the translation consultant to the 

American Bible Society, prefers domestication over foreignization because 

in his opinion domestication leads to natural target texts. The phrase 

“naturalness of expression” indicates the importance of fluency as a 

strategy of translation. A fluent translation is one that can be read smoothly 

by the target reader and not interrupted by the vagueness of words and 

terms of the foreign language and culture. 

The aim of foreignization on the other hand, is to retain as many 

foreign (original) elements as possible. The translator in this case aims to 

preserve as much as he/she can of the source text‟s message and form and 

cultural values to create on the target readers the same effect that the source 

text created on its readers. 

Venuti (1995) indicates that using a certain strategy in a socio-

cultural situation may reflect “ideological implication”. In other words, 

domestication is used by translators to serve their target audience and their 

own believes and ideologies. They may make certain changes to cope with 

what they believe and want readers to believe in either. But in foreignizing 



29 
 

a text, the translator tends to maintain the source text without changing. In 

this way he/she transmit the source text‟s ideology to the target readers 

without any changes, and then the perceptions of the text readers will 

match those of the readers of the source texts. 

 As I explained in previous sections of this study the mission of 

translating the Qur‟an requires an objective translator to maintain the 

original Qur‟an‟s message and soul; it needs a strategy to retain cultural 

and linguistic elements of the Arabic Qur‟an in order to create the same 

effect of the source text on its original readership. 

2.5 Conscious vs. Unconscious Translation 

Since scholars agree that the translated text is produced under the 

effect of the translator‟s ideology, it is important to tackle the notion of 

whether the translator is always aware of this effect or not. According to 

Nida (1964) “When a translator intrudes in the transmission process, his 

behavior may be accounted for in various ways, at times a translator has 

purposely and consciously attempted to change a message in order to make 

it conform to his own political, social or religious predilections” (Nida 

1964, pp. 154-155). Nida emphasizes the awareness of the translator of the 

different meanings the text acquires. The translator tends to produce a 

biased translation that serves his/her own intentions and proves his/her 

beliefs. He adds, “No translator can avoid a certain degree of personal 

involvement in his work”. Similarly, Lefevere (1992, p. 14) states that 

"translations are not made in a vacuum”, which means that it must hold a 



30 
 

purpose or motivation by translators or the editors or commissioners, and 

that translation is a reflection of a certain culture, ethics and beliefs. 

The issue of awareness of the ideological effect is not new. Fawcett 

(1998) emphasizes that individuals (hence translators) had applied their 

ideologies in their daily life, work and relationships and that people may be 

unaware of this effect.  Lopez & Caro (2014) on the other hand comments 

that the issue of awareness of the ideological impact on translation reflects 

the translators‟ morals, their attitude toward the source or the target culture 

and their attitude toward the source text. 

Venuti (1994) in his book on the invisibility of the translator 

comments that ideology is both a conscious and unconscious force. He 

explains that a translator who lives in a continuous self-monitoring or under 

the authority of cultural rules and other resources may surrender to or resist 

dominant power and ideology in the target culture. 

According to Lionardi (2007), some translation strategies cause some 

changes in the source text either unconsciously, because of a lack of 

proficiency or misunderstanding of the source text‟s message, or 

consciously, if the translator tries to transmit the ST's ideology to the target 

readership, or to oppose and challenge the ST language and culture, 

particularly in sensitive texts like political and religious texts. This may 

said to meet Shunnaq (1994) definition of managing. Venuti (1995), 

however, recommends that the translator should adopt the resistance 

strategy and stay faithful to the source text message and text, in a way that 



31 
 

the target reader feels that he is reading an original text not even recognize 

that it is a translation. When it comes to the translation of the Qur'an, 

translators must resist their ideological motivations because of the 

sacredness of the ST. They need to be faithful to the text's message.  

2.6 Translatability of the Qur’an 

The Qur‟an is the words of Allah Almighty revealed to his 

messenger Mohammed (PBUH) in Arabic by his Angle Gabriel. But one 

may wonder why it was revealed in Arabic. 

We all know that Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) was an Arab; he 

spoke the language but was illiterate. So the Qur‟an came as a miracle that 

cannot be denied by Arabs who master the competence of Arabic .The 

Holy Qur‟an states this clearly in verse two of Surah Yusuf:   

ٌْ صَْعِقيُُ٘"إِ  َّْضْىَْجُٓ قُْشآًّج َعَشدِيًّج ىَعَيَُّن   " َّّج أَ

“Behold, We have bestowed it from on high as a discourse in the 

Arabic tongue, so that you might encompass it with your reason” (Asad, 

1980).      

Siddeiki (2012) says that the Holy Qur‟an came to challenge the 

Arabs in their own trade and skill of producing highly rhetorical and poetic 

composition in their literature. Across ages and since its revelation, the 

Qur‟an proved itself as the inimitable miracle. No one could produce a 

single verse like it since its revelation. What matters the most, for this 



32 
 

study, is Siddeiki's conclusion that the Qur'an, unlike any other text, cannot 

be translated. 

The debate of the translatability of the Qur‟an arises from the early 

days of Islam when non-Arabic speakers embraced Islam. According to 

Nassimi (2008), Muslims are hesitant to go through the process of 

translating the Qur'an because of their concerns about the acceptability of 

transforming the word of Allah into a human production that could claim to 

be equivalence to the Qur‟an and their fear of the possibility of any changes 

or distortions in the message of the translated version of the Qur‟an. 

In fact, the major obstacle in any attempt to translate the Holy 

Qur‟an is that any translation will be put into comparison with the original 

Arabic language and style which are originally the words of Allah.  

    It is worth noting that translators of the Holy Qur‟an to English 

admit the truth of the Qur‟an untranslatability. Asad (1980), remarks that 

despite the effort he made to translate the Qur‟an and despite his good 

knowledge in Arabic, he was not able to translate the Qur‟an perfectly or to 

convey its meanings completely. He comments that the Holy Qur‟an is not 

like any other book. Qur'an's rhetoric, rhythm and meaning are all one 

unbreakable unit. 

Scholars of Islam, nevertheless, realized the need for translated 

versions of the Qur'an, mainly because the message of the Qur‟an is a 

universal message and should be conveyed to all human beings. So 



33 
 

translation was allowed, but in a form of interpretation for the meanings of 

the Qur‟an rather than as an adequate translation. Nassimi (2008) confirms 

that the debate continues until the notion of interpreting the Qur‟an (Tafsir) 

was approved and recommended among the scholars. 

 Since the early part of the twentieth century, the Qur'an has been 

translated into a number of languages.  But these versions were made under 

the influence of Christians or orientalists. In this respect, Hassan (2017) 

asserts that translations that were conducted by orientalists had resulted in 

great confusion, since they were based on a pre- injunction on the Qur‟anic 

text as being ambiguous and out of context. In addition, these translations 

were put into the service of the political powers. In this regard Said (1978), 

in his Orientalism, asserts that every writer on the Orient (and this is true 

even of Homer) keeps some Oriental standards, patterns and previous 

knowledge of the Orient, to which he refers and on which he relies in 

writing and translation. Al-Da'mi (1998) adds that Orientalists' writings 

have often demonstrated a “residual fear of Islam” and an “archetypal 

pattern” of aggressiveness towards it as an important historical 

phenomenon that controlled the West mind for centuries.  Said (1987) 

reiterates that most of the great philosophers of history from Hegel to 

Spengler have regarded Islam without much enthusiasm. The fear of Islam 

and of its irresistible Arab host during the Middle Ages, according to Al 

Da‟mi (1998), continued to the colonial and post-colonial periods when 

Europe became stronger than Asia and Africa. He adds that the Western 

hostility toward Islam is a form of a collective and psychological revenge. 



34 
 

This means that their desire to revenge affected their translations of some 

books including sacred books and also proves that translation can be an 

ideological process. No matter what translators aimed from their translation 

of the Holy Qur‟an they couldn‟t imitate the rhetorical distinctive feature of 

the holy Qur‟an. This debate over the translatability of the Qur‟an can be 

summarized by the fact that the Holy Qur‟an cannot be translated rather it 

can be interpreted. 

2.7 Related Studies  

Saleem (2013) discusses the need for translating the Holy Qur‟an 

into other languages, mainly English, because of its importance in the 

world today. The writer discusses the origin of translating Qur‟an verses 

sense and the issue of translatability of the Qur‟an. As he confirms the need 

for translation, he continues to highlight the problems and pitfalls that 

challenge translators of the Qur‟an such as the translators‟ incompetence in 

Arabic, incompetence in literary English, The translators‟ sectarian biases, 

distortions and lack of scientific knowledge. He explains the sectarian 

biases and the tendency of some Muslim scholars to project modern view 

of Islam, as opposed to its “orthodox version”, which had tempted them to 

distort the interpretations and meanings of certain verses of the Qur‟an that 

relate to its basic beliefs of an “orthodox Muslim”. This by all means is part 

of what we call ideology effect on the translation of the Qur‟an.  

Saleem gives a survey of translations of the Holy Qur‟an. It focuses 

on limited translations which the writer critically analyzed in terms of the 



35 
 

untranslatability of some verses. For example, he argues that Ahmad Ali 

deemed the three miracles as metaphors and parables in verse 

ٗسع٘ال ثىٚ دْي ثعشثةيو أّي قذ جتضنٌ دآيز ٍِ سدنٌ أّي أخيق ىنٌ ٍِ ثىطيِ مٖيتز ثىطيشفجّفخ "

  "طيشث دئرُ هللا  فئ فينُ٘

He says that Ahmad Ali distorted the first miracle of Jesus, i.e. 

creating a bird out of clay, when he translated it to: “I will fashion the state 

of destiny out of mire for you, and breathe (a new spirit) into it, and (you) 

will rise by the will of God”.   

In the same vein,  Hassan (2107) asserts that translations of the Holy 

Qur‟an  from Arabic to French that were conducted by orientalists had 

resulted in great confusion, since they were based on a pre- injunction on 

the Qur‟anic text as being ambiguous and out of context. He suggests that 

the translators' thoughts and ideological backgrounds affected their 

strategies and procedures in translating the Holy Qur‟an in order to have a 

specific understanding of the original text. More importantly, translators 

over interpreted the Qur‟anic text and added explanations and meanings 

that are not part of the original text. Hassan asserts that the notion of 

“Dynamic Equivalent” opened the way for Orientalist translators to edit 

and change the original text in the way they desire to achieve influence on 

the target readers which had resulted in deviations and biased translations 

in the Bible as well as the Qur‟an. He claims that such translations were 

meant to distance Christians from Islam by establishing psychological and 

emotional barriers. 



36 
 

Ideology of the translators appears in translating different concepts 

and themes in the Qur‟an like the way they reflect the status of women in 

Islam. In this regard Khosravi & Pourmohammadi (2016) aim to find out 

how different translators of different religious ideological backgrounds 

conveyed different messages about women in Qur‟an. Through 

investigating translations of different translators, the researchers find out 

that Muslim translators exerted their own interpretations, their patron's 

ideology, their religious ideologies or dominant ideologies in their 

countries on their translation.  But, they add that it is difficult to conclude 

that Arberry and Dawood, as Christian and Jewish translators, implied their 

religious ideologies on their translations, because there is no direct sign of 

this exertion on their translations and their translations can be influenced by 

their own ideologies toward translation methods of the Nobel Quran 

because they translated literally. Finally, the researchers conclude that it is 

not easy to determine whether there is a relationship between the 

translators‟ religious ideology and his/her translation of the Nobel Qur‟an 

because  “there are many effective factors that influence the translator 

during his /her translation such as cultural and social ideology, patron‟s 

ideology, the dominant ideology in his/her country etc.” (Khosravi& 

Pourmohammadi, 2016, p. 12). In addition, some translators followed 

literal translation as a strategy to translate the Holy Qur‟an. This attempt by 

some translators to translate the Noble Qur‟an literally was an obstacle in 

the view of the researchers because they couldn‟t decide whether literal 

translation reflects the translators‟ ideology toward the translation methods 



37 
 

of the Holy Qur‟an or it was the influence of their own ideologies to serve 

an intended purposes. 

Ideology appears clearly in political issues, in the last fifteen years 

there were attempts to make Islam a call to violence through translating 

some of the Qur‟anic verses in a biased way.   Mohaghegh & Pirnajmuddin 

(2013) study the effect of translator's ideology on translations of two 

Qur‟anic verses from surah Al-Taubah (Repentance) and surah Al-Anfal 

(The Spoils of War). They try to explore the influence of the translators‟ 

ideology on the translations of the Holy Qur‟an through analyzing two 

verses that talked about war, which was conducted in the context of 

September 11
th
 crisis when the Qur‟an was negatively represented as a call 

to violence. The researchers conclude that some translators conceive Islam 

as a religion of violence and intolerance, which was a direct result of the 

role of their ideologies on their translations. It is argued that among the 

four translators Pickthal, Arberry, Sale and Saffarzadeh, Sale has the most 

biased translation as a result of his view of Islam as a religion of violence. 

This, according to Edward Denison Ross and after him G. J. Toomer, was  

a result of Sale‟s indebtedness to a Latin translation published in Pudua by 

Ludovico Marracci titled Refutatio alcorani („Refutation of the Koran‟) 

(Vrolijk 2004). It was also a result of Sale‟s beliefs that although the 

original design of bringing the pagan Arabs to the knowledge of true God 

was noble, he remained eager to secure the conversion of the Muslims to 

protestant Christianity.  According to this research, the trace of Sale's 

ideology becomes visible when he uses the word „pretext‟ to refer to 



38 
 

Prophet Mohammed. According to Oxford Advanced Dictionary, a pretext 

is “a false reason that you give for doing something, usually something 

bad, in order to hide the real reason”.  This was clearly noted when reading 

Sale‟s since he tries to imply that Prophet Mohammed “the Prophet of 

Islam” wants to break his promise without any right reason. On the other 

hand, Saffarzadeh as a Muslim and the most recent translator among the 

ones discussed seems to have been more aware of the debates on these 

verses in comparison with others and as a result more careful in rendering 

them.  But, on the other hand, she is also ideologically affected as a Muslim 

translator who tries to defend Islam from being a call to violence, so she 

tries to explain the verse carefully to give the intended meaning of it by 

explaining the intended meaning of the verb (ِيثخ) which means “to stop 

the war by defeating the unbelievers” not necessarily by killing them as 

other translators rendered it. 

Although the main concern of this study is how the different 

backgrounds of translators affect their translations of the Qur'an, it is worth 

mentioning that some scholars found that Muslim translators are also 

influenced by their Islamic backgrounds when translating Islamic texts 

written by non-Muslims. For instance, Harhsheh (2013) states that Muslim 

students tend to use titles or honorific pronouns, such as “peace be upon 

him” and the word جَّعيز  “our lord” when uttering the name of the Prophet 

Muhammad as a result of the effects of religious, social and cultural 

ideology. Students‟ use of these titles reflects the translators‟ love, respect 

and politeness to the Prophet Muhammad. Similarly, translators add the 



39 
 

word ثىَنشٍز "scared" after Mecca while it is not part of the source text, 

because Muslims consider Mecca as a holy city, since it is the city where 

Prophet Muhammad was born in, and it has Al-Ka'bah, which is the oldest 

Masjid on the earth where Muslims every year go to perform pilgrimage.   

A unique and useful comparative study was conducted by Nassimi 

(2008) who provides a thematic comparative review of some of the English 

translations of the Qur'an based on four Qur‟anic themes: injunctions, 

stories, parables, and short chapters. These are studied from different points 

of view, such as their relative emphasis over the letter versus the spirit of 

the law, consideration of jurisprudence knowledge, overall objectives of 

Islamic law, issues of this age, and impact of the translator's environment. 

Nassimi evaluates each translation by highlighting its benefits as well as its 

weaknesses. For example he criticizes Asad‟s translation of the Holy 

Qur‟an for being too rationalistic and over paraphrasing. But he refers to its 

remarkable academic style and approach and its use of idiomatic and 

formal English. 

The above studies are indicatives of the relation between ideology of 

the translator and the translation of the Holy Qur‟an.  However, sometimes 

it becomes extremely difficult for translation scholars to justify whether the 

ideological differences observed between the source text and the target text 

are a result of translators‟ subconscious ideological interpretation or of 

their intentional ideological intervention. This study will try to fill in the 

gab in this area and investigates the translators‟ awareness. In addition, it 



40 
 

will encounter effects of these ideological translations on constructing 

Qur‟an meanings on the target text readers.  Finally I will try to give some 

recommendation to avoid such ideological interference.  

2.8 Translators’ Historical Backgrounds and Ideologies 

2.8.1 Mohammed Asad 

Mohammed Asad, the Jewish Muslim covert (his name before Islam 

is Leopold Weiss) is a journalist and writer who by the year 1980 translated 

the Holy Qur‟an and Sahih Al-Bukhari. His writings and translations 

played an important role in the formulation of the Islamic culture of that 

time to the extent that some European scholars called him “the most 

influential European Muslim of 20
th

 century” (Nawwab 2000). 

The primary sources of Asad's inspiration are the Qur'an and 

traditions of the Prophet(S). He refers widely to Tafsir Zamkhshari (one of 

the Qur‟an exegeses book) and he is clearly impressed by Abduh and Iqbal 

and other thinkers who had diagnosed problems of Muslim communities 

(Nawwab 2000). But his extensive reference in his translation of the Holy 

Qur‟an was to Mohammed Abduh; an outstanding scholar of modern Egypt 

(Asad 1980). His excessive reference to Abdu (the then Mufti of Egypt) is 

clear in his notes in “the Message of the Qur‟an”. Asad is biased to 

Abduh‟s explanations of the Qur‟an affirms that both are followers of the 

Mu‟tazila and the rationalist school of Al Zamakhshari.  



41 
 

The Mu„tazila adapts Greek philosophical reasoning and attempts to 

understand it in an Islamic context. They believe that, the Qur‟an and 

Sunnah (Sayings of Prophet Muhammad) are not necessarily the only 

sources of truth; rather, they believe in the role of reason in understanding 

the world (both material and spiritual) to be equal to, and in some cases, 

higher than revelation. This had lead them to  conclusions regarding God, 

the Qur‟an and free-will that the majority of other scholars considered to be 

outside of mainstream Islamic belief, such as, denying any reference to 

miracles in the Qur‟an and the attempt to explain some verses in the Qur‟an 

literally or to explain it in light of scientific knowledge and reason (Itani 

2018). 

In the preface of “The Message of the Qur‟an”, Asad asserts that his 

goal from translating the Holy Qur‟an is to render Qur‟an and its 

interpretation to non -Muslim and non -Arab readers around the world.  He 

acknowledges, though, that the Qur'an resists a translation that can be 

applied to classical texts such those of Plato or Shakespeare. This is 

basically due to the distinctive stylistic features which have a deep impact 

on its meaning (Asad, 1980).  

Asad is known for his distinctive ideas and beliefs about certain 

issues and themes of the Holy Qur‟an which he shares with Al Mu‟tazila. 

For Example, he tends to rationalize miracles of prophets. He asserts that 

verses of the Holy Qur‟an cannot be taken literally, otherwise they will be 

misunderstood. He adds that some verses should be understood in terms of 



42 
 

allegories, a metaphor or a parable (Asad, 1980). In this way he 

understands and explains paradise and hell as symbols for the eternal 

happiness or torture in after life. In addition, he defines Al jinn, Angles and 

Satan as spiritual beings and forces that are of non-corporeal psychology. 

He claims that because they (Angles, Satan and Al jinn) have no physical 

existence, they are beyond the human perception. He adds that whenever 

the Qur‟an describes Jinn as organisms with reason, it is a kind of symbolic 

"personification" of man's relationship with "satanic forces" (Asad, 1980). 

It must be noted that Asad does not disagree with the moral ritual of the 

Jewish scriptures or with the sublime God-consciousness of the Hebrew 

prophets, but he feels that the God of the Old Testament and Talmud is 

concerned with the ritual; by means of which his worshipers were supposed 

to worship him. He thinks that this God is preoccupied with the destinies of 

one nation: “the Hebrew” (Asad, 1954). This is clear in his translation 

where he occasionally refers to narrations from the Old Testament and the 

Israelites. So we need to examine if he is systematic in reflecting his 

understanding of the above mentioned themes on his translation and to 

examine how these ideologies affect constructing meanings of the Qur‟an 

on non-Arabic readers. 

2.8.2 Maulana Mohammed Ali 

Maulana Mohammed Ali is a Lahore Qadian Muslim. He excelled in 

his academic studies and obtained degrees in English and Law. In 1906 Ali 

was appointed as the secretary of the executive council of the Ahmadiyya 



43 
 

Movement where he devoted his life to the service of Islam (the Lahore 

Ahmadiyya movement, 2003). 

Ali translates the Holy Quran, with full commentary, into English 

and Urdu. The selected edition for this study is the revised edition 

conducted in 1973. It is finished five days before his death (Ali, 1973). 

In his translation of the Holy Qur‟an, Ali tries to be more faithful to 

the source text than all other translations. Additional words that explain the 

sense of the original text are generally avoided, and in the few cases where 

explanation is required, Ali renders them in brackets. Footnotes and 

explanatory introductions are also introduced when necessary to give a 

summary for each chapter or to link chapters to each other (Ali, 1973). 

The principle of the greatest importance, according to Ali, is to 

interpret words of the Holy Qur‟an in a way that does not contradict its 

original teachings, espicially verses that contain metaphors, parables and 

allegories (Ali, 1973). 

As a Qadian, Ali has his distinctive beliefs about certain issues in the 

Holy Qur‟an. For example, he asserts that according to the Holy Qur‟an, 

death does not end man‟s life; it only opens the door to a higher and 

advanced form of life, thus he called this stage “a stage in evolution”. The 

stage of life after death, in Ali‟s words, is a higher stage of life and status 

that brings man from the insignificance of life to a higher degree of 

perception (Ali, 1973). He explains that different words that refer to the 



44 
 

resurrection are applicable to this life too in a symbolic or metaphorical 

sense rather than the real sense of resurrection. In addition, Heaven and 

Hell are not places of torture and enjoyment in life after death. Instead, they 

are realities even here in this life (Ali, 1973). Ali‟s translation includes 

explanations that do not appear in the mainstream books of Islamic 

scholars, and they also challenge common understanding of the Qur‟an. His 

disbelief in miracles made him rationalizes this concept and explains it in 

the light of modern knowledge. Jinn and Satans are defined by Ali in some 

verses as humans with occult powers. 

 

  



45 
 

Chapter Three 

Data Analysis 

3.1 Overview 

Verses which are analyzed in this section are translations which are 

assumed to reflect the ideological motivations of the translators. The 

selected translations are reviewed based on the Qur'anic themes of 

Miracles, Angles, Al jinn, Satans and Al Ka‟bah. The following sections 

show how the ideology of each translator played a decisive role in his 

choices which ultimately framed the verses within particular meanings 

different from the meanings of the original text. 

3.2 Ideology in Translating the Theme of Miracles  

One of the major themes in which the translators' ideology plays a 

major role in the process of translation is the conceptualization of miracles. 

Mohammed Asad‟s translation clearly reflects the Mu‟tazila's doctrine 

which doubts and degrades the mainstream Muslim interpretation of 

miracles. In his footnotes, Asad refers to Tafsir Al-Manar (1359) by Rashid 

Ridha, who established with Mohammed Abduh the “neo-Mu‟tazilite”. 

Ridha and Abduh see Islam as a rationalistic religion. This view extended 

to their understanding of the prophets' miracles as they appear in the 

Qur'an, which led to a rational understanding of these miracles. For 

example, Asad translates the verse (2:67) 



46 
 

" ٌْ ُشُم ٍُ َ يَؤْ َُّ َّللاَّ ِٔ إِ ٍِ ْ٘ َ٘عٚ ِىقَ ٍُ إِْر قَجَه  ْْ حَْربَُحٛا  َٗ  "دَقََشرً أَ

to “AND LO! Moses said unto his people: "Behold, God bids you to 

sacrifice a cow” 

Asad translates the verb tadhbaḥū to sacrifice. The Arabic verb 

tadhbaḥū (you slaughter) means according to the Longman Dictionary 

(1987) “to kill an animal especially for its meat”. According to Tafsir Al 

Waseet (1997), the verse talks about an exceptional case of killing in which 

God ordered children of Israel to slaughter a cow and to beat the dead man 

with part of cow where miraculously the dead body returned to life and told 

the name of its killer. But sacrifice (يضحي) is a transitive verb which means 

according to the Longman Dictionary “to kill an animal or person and offer 

them to a god in a religious ceremony”. The verb sacrifice carries religious 

connotations; the religious rituals of sacrificing an animal like a cow. So, 

the verb sacrifice shifts the meaning of the order from a unique order of its 

kind (to kill a cow to beat the dead man with part of it) into a religious 

ritual; an act that people used to do. This shift in meaning conceals the 

exceptional order that results in a miraculous event of bringing life back to 

the dead man, which means that the translator explains the miracle as an 

ordinary event. 

To complete the meaning that Asad conveys by using the verb 

sacrifice, he translates verse (2:72( 

بفَقُْيَْج " َٙ حَٝ ٠ُْحِٟ هللاَمزَِىَل  اْضِسبُُٖٛ بِبَْعِض ْٛ َّ ٌْ  "ا



47 
 

To “We said: "Apply this [principle] to some of those [cases of 

unresolved murder]": In this way God saves lives from death” 

The phrase idribuhu bi-ba'diha (strike him with part of it) is 

translated by Asad to (Apply this [principle] to some of those [cases of 

unresolved murder). This marks a significant shift in meaning. According 

to tafsir AL waseet (1997), the Pronoun (hu) in idribuhu refers to al nafs 

(the dead man), and ba’diha (part of it) means the method by means of 

which they will discover the killer. The pronoun (ha) in bi-ba’diha refers to 

the cow. Asad's ambiguous translation cannot be understood without 

reading his footnote on this verse where he explains that “This principle” 

means “the communal responsibility” for similar cases of murder. And by 

“some of those cases of unresolved murder” he means that this order of 

slaughtering the cow can be used to solve similar cases of unresolved 

murder not just this case (which was earlier conveyed by the use of 

sacrifice). But this was not suggested by the Qur‟anic verse. On the 

contrary, the verse emphasizes the unique way in resolving this case of 

killing. 

In consistence with Asad‟s translation of the two previous verses, the 

best way to end the verse was to translate the clause yuḥ'yī al- mawta 

(brings the dead back to life) to (save lives from death). While the verb 

yuḥ'yī  indicates that a person or a thing is dead; the verb save cancels the 

idea of being dead in the first place, that is why al-mawta is translated as 

lives because one cannot save the dead but can save lives from death. 



48 
 

While giving the dead their lives back is a miracle, there is no miracle in 

saving the lives of people. Asad explains in his footnote the expression "He 

gives life to the dead" as a figurative expression that denotes the saving of 

lives from the random killing as a result of revenge. In fact Asad tends to 

explain some verses metaphorically to conceal their real meanings and to 

convey his unique understanding of miracles. This will be further 

illustrated in the next examples. 

In the same vein, Asad‟s denial of miracles affects his 

conceptualization of death in verse (2:56) 

" َُ ٌْ صَْشُنُشٗ ُْ  ىَعَيَُّن حُِى ْٛ َِ ِْ دَْعِذ  ٍِ  ٌْ ٌَّ دَعَثَْْجمُ   "ثُ

to “But We raised you again after you had been as dead….” 

He translates the noun mawt (death  ( to as dead. The use of as shifted 

the meaning of the noun from real death to a state like death. Mawt, 

according to the Longman Dictionary, means “the end of the life of a 

(living organism) human or animal”. Asad conceals the miracle of bringing 

the death back to life when he translates mawt to as dead. This enhances 

the notion that Asad‟s lexical choices are consistent with his denial of 

miracles. Death in verses (2: 243) and (2:259) were translated 

metaphorically to give the meaning of the death of morals or senses to 

convey Asad‟s conceptualization of miracles, that are different from that of 

the ST.  



49 
 

His ideology towards miracles also appears in his conceptualization 

of concepts like al tabut in verse (2: 248): 

" ٌْ ِْ َسدُِّن ٍِ ِٔ َعِنيَْزٌ  ٌُ اٌخَّببُٛثُ  فِي ُْ يَؤْصِيَُن ِٔ أَ ْيِن ٍُ َُّ آَيَزَ  ٌْ إِ ُٖ ٌْ َّذِيُّ ُٖ قَجَه ىَ َٗ " 

The verse is translated as “And their prophet said unto them: 

“Behold, it shall be a sign of his [rightful] dominion that you will be 

granted a heart endowed by your Sustainer with inner peace…” 

Asad translates al tabut to a heart. Al tabut (the chest), according to 

Al waseet Dictionary, is “a chest from wood or stone where things and 

properties are kept”. The noun al tabut in this verse consists of the definite 

article al (the) and the noun tabut which means that this tabut is known for 

the addressee. Al Tantawi (1997) in his book Al Waseet explains al tabut as 

the chest that children of Israel had. The majority of narrations say that it 

contained the rod of Moses and the mitre of Aaron, a pot of manna, and the 

broken pieces of the two tables of the law. Heart according to Al Ma’ani 

Dictionary is the organ of the body that is responsible for blood pumping. 

It may be used to signify the mind. For example they say abyad al qalb 

(person with a white heart) to mean that one does not like evil doing. While 

al tabout is considered by all Qur‟an exegeses to be a real and visible 

object that can be seen by the beholders; a heart is connected more with 

emotions and feelings that cannot be seen but can be felt.  So by translating 

al tabut to a heart Asad denies the scene that the verse suggests and shifts 

the miracle from an extra ordinary scene of angles bearing al tabout to a 

normal change in feelings and emotions. This is further supported by 



50 
 

explanatory footnotes where he explains that the heart is an allusion to the 

Israelites‟ coming change of heart. 

The Qur‟an mentioned in different occasions the miracle of Mary, 

where she was gifted food from Heavens. Asad denial of this miracle 

appears through his translation of the verb wajada in verse (3:37) 

َ٘ب ِزْشلًب  ..." َجَد ِعَٕد َٚ ْحَشثَح  َِ ب َصَمِشيَّج ثْى َٙ ًَ َع١ٍَْ ج َدَخ ََ  "ُميَّ

which is translated by Asad as: “Whenever Zachariah visited her in the 

sanctuary, he found her provided with food.” 

Asad translates the Arabic past tense verb wajada (he found) to He 

found her provided. Wajada (found) according to the Longman Dictionary 

gives the meaning of “finding something by chance, to discover something 

by chance, especially something useful or interesting”, but Asad‟s addition 

of provided means that someone had provided her with food. This was 

clearly stated by Asad in his footnote when he explains that members of the 

community were responsible for providing Mary with food, which 

contradicts the miraculous supplement of food. 

Asad‟s denial of miracles appears in rejecting the literal meaning of 

some verses and the tendency to explain them as metaphors as in verse 

(3:49) where he denies Jesus miracles. 

https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/useful


51 
 

 ۖ ٌْ دُِّن ِ سَّ ٍِّ ٰٚ دَِْي إِْعَشثةِيَو أَِّّي قَْذ ِجتْضُُنٌ دِآيٍَز  َسُع٘اًل إِىَ َٗ ِِ  أَْخٍُمٍَُُىُأَِّٟٔ " ي َِ ثىّطِ ١ْئَ ٍِّ َٙ فَؤَّفُُخ  اٌط١َّْس تَو

ٰٚ دِئِ  صَ ْ٘ ََ أُْحيِي ثْى َٗ ثْْلَْدَشَص  َٗ  َٔ ََ أُْدِشُا ثْْلَْم َٗ  ۖ ِ ُِ َّللاَّ ُُ َطْيًشث دِئِْر ِٔ فَيَُن٘ ج فِي ٍَ َٗ  َُ ج صَؤُْميُ٘ ََ أَُّذِّتُُنٌ دِ َٗ  ۖ ِ ُِ َّللاَّ ْر

ِىَل  َُّ فِي رَٰ ٌْ ۚ إِ َُ فِي دُيُ٘صُِن ِْيِ ٠٢ََتً صَذَِّخُشٗ ٍِ ْؤ ٍُّ ٌْ إُِ ُمْضٌُ   "ىَُّن

This verse is translated by Asad into “I shall create for you out of clay, as it 

were, the shape of [your] destiny, and then breathe into it, so that it might 

become [your] destiny by God's leave;…..Behold, in all this there is 

indeed a message for you, if you are [truly] believers”.  

Asad translates the Arabic noun al tair (the bird) to the abstract noun 

destiny ثىقَذَس) ). Ta’ir (pl. tair) according to Al waseet Dictionary is “every 

creature with two wings and fly in the air”. Al Tantawi (1997) explains the 

(Ka) in ka hai’ati al tair ( مٖيتز)  to give the meaning of like the shape ثىطيش  

or picture of the bird. But Asad translates it as destiny, where destiny is an 

abstract noun that does not have a shape or concrete body which cannot be 

determined; no one can make his own or others‟ destiny. Asad 

disambiguates his translation in a footnote and explains that in pre- Islamic 

times birds were used to foretell one's destiny. And because he renders the 

whole speech of Jesus as a metaphorical speech, he assumes that a bird 

denotes destiny.  He adds that Jesus would fashion out of clay the vision of 

a soaring destiny that would be real if they follow God‟s inspiration. In this 

translation and explanation, Asad denies the ability of Jesus to create a bird 

as the verse clearly stated. He simply means that no one can create or 

determine their destiny. Instead, they can make a vision of what they wish 



52 
 

their destiny to be like, and they can make this vision real by believing in 

God‟s inspiration. 

At the end of the verse, the word ayah (miracle or sign) is translated 

by Asad to message. Sign, as defined by the Longman Dictionary is “an 

indication or evidence, facts or signs that show clearly that something 

exists or is true, especially something that you are trying to prove. It is also 

used to show that something is true, i.e. an event, fact etc.” Message does 

not convey the meaning of ayah because not every message is a miracle or 

carries a miraculous event. So translating ayah to message takes away the 

miraculous meaning from it and replaces it with a normal event or message. 

Asad also renders ayah to symbol which means “someone or something 

that represents a particular quality or idea”. While Jesus is considered to be 

the miracle of Allah since he was created without a sperm, Asad considers 

him a symbol of God‟s grace because he was made a prophet. Asad‟s 

choice of symbol instead of ayah seems to be an ideologically-motivated 

choice since it is repeated in verses (2:259), (19:21), (21:91) and (18:17). 

Evidence on the effect of Asad's ideology on translation appears in his 

denial of the prophets‟ raising miracles. For instance, he translates the verse 

(3: 54) 

فِّيلَ  "إِْر قَجَه َّللاَّ  َ٘ ضَ ٍُ ٰٚ إِِّّي  َّٟ  يَج ِعيَغ َزافِعَُه إٌَِ َِ َمفَُشٗثَٚ َِ ثىَِّزي ٍِ ُشَك  ِّٖ َط ٍُ َٗ" 

to “Lo! God said: "O Jesus! Verily, I shall cause thee to die, and shall exalt 

thee unto Me”.  

https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/quality


53 
 

Asad translates the phrase warāfiʿuka (raise you) to exalt thee unto 

me. Exalt according to the Longman Dictionary means “to put someone or 

something into a high rank or position and to praise someone, especially 

God”. Thus exalt serves a different function than raise because it gives one 

semantic component of raise, which is raising someone‟s rank in glory 

rather than an actual meaning of rising. This means that he denies the 

actual raising of the prophet to heaven and so denies the miracle. The 

choice of exalt instead of raise is consistent with Asad‟s Mu‟tazila 

ideology that denies any reference to miraculous events as mentioned 

earlier. 

The same lexical choice of exalt thee is also adopted by Asad in 

verse (4:158) to give the meaning of raising the rank of prophets not the 

actual and physical raising of any prophet to Heaven. 

Asad‟s denial of miracles appears also in translating the nature of fire 

onto which Abraham was thrown. He conceptualizes fire metaphorically to 

reach his ends. This is clear in his translation of verse (21:69) 

" ٌَ ي ِٕ ٰٚ إِْدَشث بَعيَ ًِ َسََل َٚ  "قُْيَْج يَج َّجُس ُمِّ٘ي دَْشدً ا 

This verse is translated as “[But] We said: "O fire! Be thou cool, and[a 

source of] inner peace for Abraham!” 

Asad translates the Arabic adverb salaman (peace) into the phrase a 

source of inner peace which gives peace the sense of inner feelings while 

salaman in the original verse means according to Al tantawi (1997) “safe 

https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/rank
https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/praise
https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/god


54 
 

and harmless”. Al tantawi adds that unless Allah ordered the fire to be cold 

and peace upon Abraham, Abraham would be hurt out of its coldness. So 

how inner peace will save Abraham from fire? Asad explains his 

translation in a footnote. He explains that the fire in Abraham‟s story is not 

a real fire, but a metaphor for a spiritual fire of persecution. He adds that 

what Abraham suffered out of persecution, which was practiced on him by 

his village citizens, functioned as a source of inner peace which gave him a 

spiritual strength in later stages of his life. When Asad explains the verse 

metaphorically he rationalizes the miracle to explicitly deny that it is a 

statement of fact, since saving someone from fire after staying in for three 

days contradicts reason. 

Asad‟s unique conceptualizing of some terms seems to be 

ideologically motivated. Fire is not the only concept. See how Asad 

conceptualizes sleep in a different way to conceal the miracle of the guys of 

the cave in verse (18:11) 

 "فضسبٕبعٍٝ آذأُٙ في ثىنٖف"

is translated as “And thereupon We veiled their ears in the cave for many 

a years”. 

He translates fa ḍarabna āala ādhānihim to we veiled their ears, 

which means that they were deprived from hearing. But this meaning is not 

suggested by the verse since Al-Tabari (1422) explains fa ḍarabna āala 

ādhānihim as “we cast a sleep over them, so they slept in the cave several 



55 
 

years” (p, 614). In other words, Al Tabari says that they were prevented 

from hearing so they can sleep without any noise that may awake them. But 

the translator‟s choice for preventing from hearing instead of cast the sleep 

over them changes the whole meaning of the verse as it appears in the ST. 

Asad believes that God caused the guys to remain cut off - physically or 

metaphorically- from the sounds and the bustle of the outside world but 

they were not sleeping. Actually, there is no strange event or miracle in 

being deprived from hearing for several years since there are deaf people 

who live their entire life without being able to hear anything. But it is not 

normal to sleep for years. Asad‟s choice of veil their ears for daraba (cast) 

does not convey the meaning of sleeping, which makes the event 

miraculous, since preventing someone from hearing does not necessarily 

means that they are sleep. Asad rationalizes this miracle or in other words, 

he explains it depending on his reason to make it more reasonable to be 

understood. He does not believe in miracles since they are out of humans‟ 

ability, and tries to explain them in a more rationalistic way. So he assumes 

that to be deprived of hearing is more reasonable than being sleep for 

hundreds of years. 

  Asad‟s denial of miracles and his attempt to introduce his world view 

and conceptualizing of miracles appear also in his translation of the 

darkness in Prophet Jonah Miracle in verse (21:87) 

َٔ إِالَّ أََّش ُعْذَحجََّل إِِّّي 
بِث أَُ الَّ إِىَٰ َّ ٰٙ  فِٟ اٌظٍُُّ ِٔ فََْجدَ َِّ أَُ ىَِّ َّّْقِذَس َعيَْي غَجِضذًج فََظ ٍُ ََٕخ  ُِ إِر رَّ رَث ثىُّْ٘ َٗ "

 َِ ي َِ َِ ثىظَّجِى ٍِ "ُمُْش   



56 
 

“But then he cried out in the deep darkness [of his distress] here is no 

deity save Thee! Limitless art Thou in Thy glory! Verily, I have done 

wrong!” 

According to Al Maududi (2006), al-ẓulumāti (darkness) refers to the 

darkness in the belly of the fish and the darkness of the sea over and above 

the fish. Asad translates fi al- ẓulumāti into the deep darkness of his 

distress, which means that this darkness is a spiritual darkness which was, 

as Asad explains in footnote, a result of the distress in which Younus the 

prophet lived. So Asad does not refer to the darkness in the belly of the fish 

which means that he denies that the prophet was swallowed by a fish. 

Rationalizing miracles as a way to deny them takes another form in 

Asad‟s translation. Literal translation does not always mean that Asad is 

trying to convey literal meanings of the ST because his translation is 

further supported with his ideologically motivated explanatory notes and 

commentaries. Footnotes of verse (3:59) shift the ST meanings and conceal 

the miracle of creating Jesus and Adam.  

" َُّ ًَ  إِ ثَ ٰٚ ِعْذَ َّللاَّ  َِ ثًَ ِعيَغ َّ ُُ  َو ٌَّ قَجَه ىَُٔ ُمِ فَيَُن٘ ُ ِ صَُشثٍح ث ٍِ ًَ ۖ َخيَقَُٔ   "آدَ

The verse is translated to “Verily, in the sight of God, the nature of Jesus 

is as the nature of Adam, whom He created out of dust and then said unto 

him, "Be" - and he is” 

Asad translates mathla (the likeness) to the nature to denote the state 

or condition of a person or thing. According to the Longman Dictionary, to 



57 
 

be in the nature of something is “to be similar to a type of a thing”. Asad 

clarifies his translation in a note and explains that Jesus is like Adam: both 

were created out of dust. But the verse according to all exegeses illustrates 

that Adam is like Jesus because both of them share a miraculous way of 

creation; both of them were created without a sperm. In this way Asad 

denies the miraculous nature of Adam and Jesus. 

  It is obvious that Asad‟s translation of miracles is ideologically 

motivated. His lexical choices are functioned to deny and conceal miracles 

of the Prophets through rationalizing them. The previous examples are also 

indicatives on the importance of Asad‟s footnotes and commentaries in 

making Asad‟s ideology more visible. So the Mu‟tazila thoughts appear 

clearly in Asad‟s translation of miracles but what about the Qadiani 

translator, Mohammed Ali?  

Mohammed Ali‟s translation, on the other hand is consistent with his 

Qadian doctrine which downplays any miracle in the Holly Qur‟an. The 

analysis shows that his translation attempts to rationalize miracles. For 

example, Ali translates the verb tadhbaḥū to sacrifice in 

ْْ حَْربَُحٛا دَقََشرً " ٌْ  أَ ُشُم ٍُ َ يَؤْ َُّ  َّللاَّ ِٔ إِ ٍِ ْ٘ َ٘عٚ ِىقَ ٍُ إِْر قَجَه  َٗ " 

“Surely Allah commands you to sacrifice a cow” 

As I explained earlier, sacrifice reflects a religious connotation of 

rituals. This shifts the order of slaughtering the cow from an exceptional 

and unique order to a normal ritual that people are familiar with. If this 



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order is not extra-ordinary then there is no miracle in striking the dead body 

with part of the cow, since people in that time were accustomed to such 

solutions in cases of unresolved murder. Denying the miracle is so much 

consistent with Ali‟s Qadiani doctrine which downplays any miracle of the 

prophets. 

In his attempt to deny miracles, Ali introduces unacceptable 

translations and explanations of some verses. Verse (2:72) is a striking 

example. He translates the verse  

ب" َٙ َُ )27( فَقُْيَْج اْضِسبُُٖٛ بِبَْعِض ٘ َُ ٌْ صَْنضُ ْْضُ ج ُم ٍَ ْخِشٌج  ٍُ  ُ َّللاَّ َٗ ب  َٙ ُْ  ف١ِ ُ اَزأْح ُْ َْٔفًسب فَبدَّ خُ ٍْ إِْذ لَخَ َٚ " 

to “And when you (almost) killed a man, then you disagreed about it. 

And Allah was to bring forth that which you were going to hide. So We 

said: Smite him with it partially.” 

The past tense verb Qataltum (you killed) is translated into almost 

killed. According to Al Waseet Dictionary, qataltum stems from Qatal 

which means “cause somebody to be dead, killed or slain”. Ali adds the 

adverb almost to the main verb killed which means that no one has been 

killed, since according to Webster‘s Dictionary “almost” means “very 

nearly but not exactly or entirely”. This rejects the act of killing that the 

verse suggests and indicates that Ali denies the whole story and the miracle 

of giving the dead their lives back. He explains in a footnote that the man 

who was almost killed is Jesus when children of Israel crucified him and 

thought that he was killed.  



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  He made his point clear when he translates the verb idar’tum to 

disagreed.  Idar’tum stems from dara’ (Dafa‟), which means to refute. Al 

Tabari (310H) explains (يذسأ عٌْٖ ثىعزثح) to (ٌْٖيذفع ع), so idar’tum means 

that they refute the crime and cast the blame of it on each other.  Ali‟s 

choice of idar'tum in his translation cannot be understood without 

examining his explanatory footnote. He explains in footnote that children 

of Israel disagreed upon whether Christ is dead or not, but the verse did not 

mention any thing about Jesus Christ, not even in the whole Surah of Al 

Baqarah. It seems that Ali‟s lexical choices are not random, since disagreed 

is consistent with the meaning of almost killed. Both choices do not serve 

the meaning of the miracle of giving the dead their lives back. 

Ali continues his translation by translating bi-ba‘diha (part of it) 

from the stem ba‘d (part of something) to partially which means according 

to the Longman Dictionary “to some extent, partly or incompletely”. The 

noun phrase bi-ba’diha which refers to part of the cow was replaced by the 

adverb partially to describe the act of striking, while the original verse did 

not mention any thing about the way of striking the dead body.  Ali 

changes the whole story of the verse in a way that rejects miracles. 

In his attempt to rationalize and deny miracles, Ali domesticates the 

meaning of the original text and modifies it to accommodate his own 

ideologies. See how he conceptualizes death in the following verses (2: 56). 

" َُ ٌْ صَْشُنُشٗ ُْ  ىَعَيَُّن حُِى ْٛ َِ ِْ دَ ْعِذ  ٍِ  ٌْ ٌَّ دَعَثَْْجُم  "ثُ



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….”your stupor raised you up afterThen We “ 

Like Asad, Ali conceptualizes mawt and mawtikum as your stupor. 

Contrary to death, stupor in the Longman Dictionary means “anesthesia, 

i.e.: a state of being unable to feel pain”. Mawt (death) according to the 

Longman Dictionary means “the end of the life of a (living organism) 

human or animal”. By denying the act of death, the whole event is thus 

devoid of any miracle.  In consistency with his ideology, Ali repeats his 

definition of death as the death of senses or, metaphorically, the death of 

morals, especially verses that talk about miracles of bringing the dead back 

to life, such as verses  (2: 243), (2:259). 

Rationalizing miracles appears in translating concrete nouns into 

nouns with more emotional connotations. See how Ali translates al tabut to 

the heart in verse (2:248) in order to rationalize the miracle,  

" ٌْ ِْ َسدُِّن ٍِ ِٔ َعِنيَْزٌ  ٌُ اٌخَّببُٛثُ  فِي ُْ يَؤْصِيَُن ِٔ أَ ْيِن ٍُ َُّ آَيَزَ  ٌْ إِ ُٖ ٌْ َّذِيُّ ُٖ قَجَه ىَ َٗ " 

“And their prophet said to them: Surely the sign of his kingdom is that 

there shall come to you the heart in which there is tranquility from your 

Lord…” 

The concrete noun al tabut is translated into the heart. Al tabut (the 

chest) according to Al waseet Dictionary is “a chest from wood or stone 

where things and properties are kept. However, al tabout is defined by all 

Qur‟an exegeses to be a real and visible object that can be seen by the 

beholders, while the heart is associated with emotions and feelings that 



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cannot be seen or felt.  So by translating al tabut to heart Ali denies the 

miracle that was suggested by the verse and shifts it from an extra ordinary 

event of the angles bearing al tabout to a normal change in feelings and 

emotions that cannot be seen. According to Qur‟an exegeses, al tabut must 

be visible otherwise children of Israel will not believe the prophet. So how 

come they will believe in the prophet if they couldn‟t see his miracle “the 

heart”. This was further explained in explanatory footnotes by Ali who 

explains that a chest is not a place where inner peace can be kept, so he 

considers the meaning of heart more suitable for feelings and inner peace.  

To rationalize miracles, Ali rejects the literal meaning of some verses 

and prefers to give them more abstract and moral indications. See how he 

changes the nature of exalt in verse (3:5