Translation, Rewriting and the Manipulation of The Holy Qur’an

The Sublime Quran as a Case Study

Abstract

This paper examines Translation, Rewriting and the Manipulation of the Holy Qur'an, with specific reference to the translated Quran from Arabic into English by Bakhtiar, namely The Sublime Quran. The study focuses on the translation of Surat Al Kafirun, the term Kafirun in some ayat in Surat Al Baqara, Al Imran, Al Nissa, Fusilat, and Qaf using the same translations of the Holy Quran by the translators stated below. The researcher looks at the process of translation used by Bakhtiar and examines whether we may consider the translation of the concerned Surat as a translation, a rewriting, or a manipulation for specific purposes. The study is a comparative one. The researcher compares the translation of the Surat in question with three women translators. The concerned translators are known under the name of Saheeh International, the translation of King Fahd Complex, M. Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali & M. Muhsin Khan, J.A.Arberry, Abdullah Yusuf Ali as well as M.A.S. Abdel Halim. Based on the findings of the study, the researcher concludes that Bakhtiar has rewritten and did not translate the term kafirun, but has manipulated its translation through rewriting it probably for Ideological Reasons.