A Linguistic Assessment of the Translation of ' Surat al-Fatiha ' into English

Abstract

The present study is a linguistic assessment of the translation of Surat al-Fatiha.The researcher has chosen the translation of Surat al-Fatiha because of its importance to all Muslims around the world. This significance comes from its existence in every prayer Muslims do five times a day. Besides, Muslims opt to recite this holy sura whenever they start doing something whether it is simple or complicated seeking Allah's approval. Non-Arab Muslims as well as non-Muslims have to know the meaning of this significant sura through its translation into English. In fact, many translators managed to translate not only this sura but the whole Glorious Quran centuries ago. However, the present study tackles the translation of four prominent translations, i.e., those of Abdullah Yusuf Ali(1968) [first appeared in 1939], Arthur Arberry (1955), Shakir (2002), and al-Hilali and Khan (2007)[first appeared in 1974].  The study tries to show how different translators have applied translation strategies to arrive at a satisfactory target text in the hope of communicating the message to the largest possible number of receptors. It aims at describing the ways different translators follow in handling their translation as well as analyzing the lexical, structural, stylistic problems involved in translating Surat al-Fatiha.