Translating The Sacred: Islamic Law, Ottoman Readership, and Two Examples of a Transitional Genre

Abstract

The historical tenses around the translation of the Qurʾān have brought about transitional genres in Qurʾānic exegetical literature. In the absence of contemporary Qurʾān translations, the first genre to appear was “interlinear translations”, which were study books that provided disjointed translations of the words and phrases of the Qurʾān’s passages but not textual translations of the passages. The characteristics of a contemporary Qurʾānic translation were absent from these study books, which began as fragmented works and developed into comprehensive works. The jurisprudential question of whether the Qurʾān could be translated into other languages was joined by a new argument in the 8th/15th century: the Qurʾān’s reproduction on printing presses. Thus, conservatism about the sacred nature of the Qurʾānic text expanded from translation to publication. This standpoint shifted, particularly in the 11th/17th century in Ottoman Turkey, as a result of the transformative impacts of modernity. Thus, another transitional genre of what I call “quasitranslations” emerged. They were books that included translations of certain short Qurʾānic commentaries written in Arabic or Persian alongside translated excerpts from other Islamic works. Two of the most popular early examples of this genre in Turkish were the Tibyān of ʿAyntābī Meḥmed Efendī (d. 1110/1699) and Mawākib of Ismāʿīl Farrūkh Efendī (d. 1256/1840). Much like the broader process of Ottoman modernization, these works had a hybrid character: they were neither literal translations of the Qurʾān nor merely translations of the short tafsīr volumes whose titles they bore; instead, they were a mixture of both, offering a scope of interpretation customized according to local demands and sensibilities. Second, the barriers before the publication of the Qurʾān and other Islamic books were lifted, marking a great transformation in Islamic intellectual history. Those who adhered to the same theological tradition now allowed and even encouraged the Qurʾān translation, which had been met with resistance a century ago. This study addresses the transformation of the Qurʾānic scripture from the perspectives of Islamic law and theology, Ottoman theopolitics, and modernity.

Keywords

• Islamic law
• the Qurʾān
• Tibyān
• Mawākib
• ʿAyntābī Meḥmed
• Ismāʿīl Farrūkh
• Turkish Qurʾān translation
• Ottoman theo-politics

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