American Journal Of Philological Sciences
169
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajps
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue05 2025
PAGE NO.
169-172
10.37547/ajps/Volume05Issue05-45
Unity of Form and Content in Translations of Arabic
Classical Texts (On the Example of Surah Al-Mulk)
Nurullaev Mukhiddin
Senior teacher, “Department of Oriental Languages”, “Oriental” University, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Received:
20 March 2025;
Accepted:
16 April 2025;
Published:
18 May 2025
Abstract:
The article provides a comprehensive review of the form and content of translations of classical Arabic
texts. Translators of Surah Mulk attempt to compare the translations made into Uzbek in the 20th century by
Mawlawi Hindustani, Altyn Khan Tura, Sheikh Muhammad Sadyk Muhammad Yusuf, Alauddin Mansur and Sheikh
Abdulaziz Mansur, and use authenticity as the main criterion in determining the most accurate and adequate
translation. The article examines the issue of unity and harmony of form and content in Uzbek translations of
Surah Mulk.
Keywords:
Holy Quran, dialectic, form, meaning-content, unity, harmony, translator, originality, translation
language, literal translation, classical Arabic, Uzbek, sentence, word, adequacy.
Introduction:
Every work of art is a dialectical unity of
form and content.
Therefore, the task of the translator is not only to
convey the original content in the target language, but
also to find the form. Of course, this process requires
great skill from the translator and, at the same time,
vigilance. But, despite everything, we believe that in a
work of art, content comes first, and form comes
second. To clarify our point, we are not saying that
content must be indicated and form is optional, but
rather that the translator must first try to understand
what the author wants to say, what he means, and then
strive to find and convey it in the appropriate form in
the target language.
Another thing we would like to highlight is that we can
see many differences between the translation of a
translator who strives to ensure that the translation is
carried out in this way from the beginning to the end of
the work, and the translation of a translator who pays
little attention to this. We would like to point out that
if we look at the translations of Surah Mulk into Uzbek,
we will see that in some translations this process has
not been implemented. The diversity of the translation
processes can to some extent make the reader think
about the verse, ask someone or consult other
translations to find out what it means, even if only a
little, and as a result, receive other unexpected
information.
3rd verse of Surah Mulk:
ِع ِج ْراَف ٍت ُواَفَتنِم ِنَمْح َّرلا ِقْلَخ يِف ى َرَت اَّم ًاقاَبِط ٍتا َواَمَس َعْبَس َقَلَخ يِذَّلا
ٍروُطُف نِم ى َرَت ْلَه َرَصَبْلا
Mawlawi Hindustani “He created the seven heav
ens
one after the other (one above the other) and the
people. You do not see any flaws in the fact that God
created the heavens and the people. So look at the sky,
do you see any cracks or holes in it?” translates as.
The form found its place in the translation, but the
word “people did” prevented it from achieving
adequacy. The reason is that the word “peopled” does
not convey the meaning of the Arabic word
َقَلَخ
in the
present tense. This word may have a specific meaning
for a specific audience, but for the general public it
should be translated as “created”, which is
understandable to everyone.
This translator has linked verses 13-14 of this Surah so
beautifully that, except for the translator inserting a
few extra words as clarification, the meanings of the
two verses are clearly understood to complement each
other. Since any translation is not without elements of
interpretation, translation is to some extent an
interpretation.
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American Journal Of Philological Sciences (ISSN
–
2771-2273)
ِروُدُّصلا ِتاَذِب ٌميِلَع ُهَّنِإ ِهِب او ُرَهْجا ِوَأ ْمُكَل ْوَق او ُّرِسَأ َو
{
13
ْنَم ُمَلْعَي َلََأ }
ُريِبَخْلا ُفيِطَّللا َوُه َو َقَلَخ
{14}
“Whether you speak openly or secretly, Allah knows.
Indeed, Allah is Wise (Knower) of the secrets of the
heart. Does He who made the heart a people not know
the unseen? Indeed, Allah, the Exalted, knows the
truth of all things and is Aware of them.”.
The connection between the end of verse 13 and the
beginning of verse 14 is well worked out, they
complement each other in meaning. If we were to
translate these exact words, it would be translated as:
“Indeed, He is the Knower of the secrets of the hearts.
Does not the Creator know? And He is the Knower, the
Aware”. And our sentence: “Does not the Creator
know?” would be like a sentence that was cut off
before it reached its end. This very deficiency, which
could have surfaced, is compensated for by the
translator’s repeated use of the word “heart”. It is
desirable that the flow of meaning and content in the
translation complement each other without being
disjointed, but such a translation cannot be considered
adequate either. If in this translation the phrase
“Whether you speak openly or secretly, Allah knows
best” were removed, and in the subsequent translation
the phrase “Allah knows best” were added to the
remaining sentence, then unity of form would have
been achieved.
Let us see how these verses are reflected in the
translation of Sheikh Muhammad Sadiq Muhammad
Yusuf.
“{13} Whether you conceal your words or speak them
openly, He is the Knower of what is in the hearts.
{14} Doesn't the creator know? However, He is
omniscient and all-
knowing”.
It can be said that this translation corresponds to the
original both in form and content. Because the
translation does not contain unnecessary words that
are given as explanations, and in turn, its semantic
structure is identical to the original. The translations of
Sheikh Abdulaziz Mansur and Alauddin Mansur are also
almost identical, that is, the form and content are
noticeably closer to the original.
Altynhan Tura (Sayyid Mahmud ibn Sayyid Nazir at-
Tarazi al-Madani) translated these verses in the original
arrangement of the words, without changing the
position of any of them, that is, preserving their
complete form. This is how he interpreted verses 13-14
of Surah Mulk:
َهْجا ِوَأ ْمُكَل ْوَق او ُّرِسَأ َو
{ ِروُدُّصلا ِتاَذِب ٌميِلَع ُهَّنِإ ِهِب او ُر
13
ْنَم ُمَلْعَي َلََأ }
ُريِبَخْلا ُفيِطَّللا َوُه َو َقَلَخ
{14}
“{13} (O people) conceal your words or reveal them,
for He knows all the secrets of the hearts!
{14} Oyo, do you not know, the creator and the master
of secrets, the knower of all?”
In the translation, each word is given separately, even
the interrogative forms, and the reflexive pronouns
called
ٌدِئاَع ٌريِمَض
, which the Arabic translator cannot
separate, are also separated, and at the same time,
each of them is translated in its original place. This way
of translation attracts the reader's attention to the
story to a certain extent, but when it comes to
understanding, it is natural that this way creates many
difficulties and, at the same time, misunderstandings.
For example, let us compare the translations of some
verses from Surah Mulk with the original:
ُروُمَت َيِه اَذِإَف َض ْرَلأا ُمُكِب َفِسْخَي نَأ ءاَمَّسلا يِف نَّم مُتنِمَأَأ
{16}
“Oyo, are you sure that God in heaven will follow
you? So, at that time he was moving”.
ءاَمَّسلا يِف نَّم مُتنِمَأ ْمَأ
ِريِذَن َفْيَك َنوُمَلْعَتَسَف ًاب ِصاَح ْمُكْيَلَع َلِس ْرُي نَأ
{17}
“Or do you believe that He who is in heaven will send
a storm of small stones upon you, and you will soon
know what My warning is”.
In these verses, where each word stands in its place,
the sentence is formed. The translation is completely
unclear, since the speech structure of the Arabic
language differs from the speech structure of the Uzbek
language.
The translations of Muhammadkhan Mullo Ishaq Qori
Ugli Mahjuri were done on a large scale, and the
translator aimed to convey the essence of the Quran.
In addition, paying attention to the content, they use a
comprehensive approach, focusing not only on the
content of the quoted word, but also on what it implies.
We can also look at how this translator translated
verses 16-17:
ُروُمَت َيِه اَذِإَف َض ْرَلأا ُمُكِب َفِسْخَي نَأ ءاَمَّسلا يِف نَّم مُتنِمَأَأ
{16}
ِريِذَن َفْيَك َنوُمَلْعَتَسَف ًاب ِصاَح ْمُكْيَلَع َلِس ْرُي نَأ ءاَمَّسلا يِف نَّم مُتنِمَأ ْمَأ
{17}
{16}“ O you who disbelieve in
Allah and His
Commands! Are you reassured that if you disobey the
command of Allah, Who rules also the heavens, He
will swallow the earth in His anger? The earth will
swallow the angry, and the earth will shake and
swallow them, and destroy them in torment. If he
wants, he will do it. (For example, in the time of
Prophet Musa, Karun became angry and was
swallowed by the earth.)
{17}“ Or are you safe and sound? Are you not afraid
that when the wrath of God, whose power and wrath
are in the sky, comes, he will rain down rocks on your
peaks? Do you not think so? For example, Lot rained
down on the people of the Prophet. For Allah Ta’ala,
this is easy. If he is angry, he will surely send the same
calamity to you, O unbelievers. If such a calamity
American Journal Of Philological Sciences
171
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American Journal Of Philological Sciences (ISSN
–
2771-2273)
befalls you, then you will understand how terrible my
pain is at this time. But he said, “What you know is of
no avail”. (It did not benefit Pharaoh)”.
In translating the verse, the translator tried to convey it
broadly and in detail, relying on his knowledge and
interpretation. Although there is a formal discrepancy
between the translation and the original, the translator
in his extensive and detailed translation did not deviate
from the content and essence expressed in the form of
the original.
By comparing how Sheikh Muhammad Sadiq
Muhammad Yusuf, Sheikh Alauddin Mansoor and
Sheikh Abdulaziz interpreted the above verses, namely
verses 16-17, and how they interpreted the words
مُتنِمَأَأواَذِإ
in verse 16 and the words
مُتنِمَأ ْمَأ
in verse 17, it
becomes clear that Sheikh Muhammad Sadiq
Muhammad Yusuf interpreted verse 16.
{16}“Did you survive when God in the heavens
swallowed you up on the earth in agony?" and verse
17
{17} “Or are you safe from Him who is in the heavens
sending down upon you a tormenting wind? Then you
know what is the warning," and he made the word
اَذِإ
a determinative of the earth, and he translated the
words
مُتنِمَأَأ
and
مُتنِمَأ ْمَأ
in both verses as "Are you
safe?”.
Sheikh Abdul Aziz Mansur, verse 16.
{16}“(O disbelievers of Makkah) are you
sure that He
Who is in the heavens will not swallow you up, and
the earth will not suddenly shake (and destroy you)?”
And verse 17
{17}“Or are you sure that He Who is in the heavens
will not rain down stones on you? Then you will know
what My warning is!
”
and translated the word
اَذِإ
in
verse 16 as
“
suddenly
”,
and the words
مُتنِمَأَأ
and
مُتنِمَأ ْمَأ
in both verses as “are you mindful?”.
And Sheikh Alauddin Mansur, verse 16
{16}“(O disbelievers of Makkah!) Are you sure that He
Who is in the heavens will not cause the earth to
swallow you up, then suddenly it will shake you and
crush you?” And verse 17
{17}Or are you sure that He Who is in the heavens will
not rain down stones on you? You will know what My
warning is! and translated the word
اَذِإ
in verse 16 as
“
suddenly,
”
and the words
مُتنِمَأَأ
and
مُتنِمَأ ْمَأ
in both
verses as “are you paying attention?”
The translation of Sheikh Muhammad Sadiq
Muhammad Yusuf is different, while the translations of
Sheikh Abdulaziz Mansur and Sheikh Alauddin Mansur
are very close to each other. The closeness of the
translations of the last two translators is evident in the
fact that both of them translate the word
اَذِإ
with the
words “suddenly” and “banagoh”, which are close in
meaning to each other, and the words
مُتنِمَأَأ
and
مُتنِمَأ ْمَأ
with the words “Are you calm?”, while Sheikh
Muhammad Sadiq Muhammad Yusuf’s translation of
the word
اَذِإ
as a determinative in relation to the word
earth differs not only from the translations of the last
two translators, but also from all the meanings of
اَذِإ
that we have seen so far. Furthermore, giving the
words
مُتنِمَأَأ
and
مُتنِمَأ ْمَأ
the meaning of
“
to be at peace
”
rather than “to be safe” clearly explains the meaning of
the sentence. However, the translation of the word
اب ِصاَح
in verse 17 by Sheikh Muhammad Sadiq
Muhammad Yusuf as “wind of torment” is completely
different from the two subsequent translations.
Sheikh Abdulaziz Mansur and Sheikh Alauddin Mansur
translated this word as “stone”. If we look at the
dictionary meaning of this word, it means
“
ٌب ِصاَح
—
strong storm, strong wind”, and at the same time the
verb of this word also means “to throw stones”. The
interpretation of this v
erse in “Tafsiri Jalalayn” is as
follows:
“
ِءاَبْسَحْلاِب مُكيِم ْرَت اًحي ِر
”
)ًاب ِصاَح ْمُكْيَلَع َلِس ْرُي نَأ ءاَمَّسلا يِف نَّم مُتنِمَأ ْمَأ(
The translation of this interpretation is as follows: "He
will send a wind that will throw small stones at you, that
is, he will rain stones on you." Based on this, we can say
that the translators approached this sentence by giving
it a general meaning. Because both hail and strong wind
are the same torment for people.
CONCLUSION
The translations of Sheikh Abdul Aziz Mansur and
Sheikh Muhammad Sadiq Muhammad Yusuf are almost
identical in form and content to the original. The reason
we say “almost” is that all Islamic scholars have
recognized that no translation in any language, no
matter how good, can replace the original text of the
Quran. Accordingly, although the translations are
skillful, they cannot be considered completely faithful
to the original, but rather close enough to it.
The translation of Sheikh Alauddin Mansur is almost
identical in form and content to that of Sheikh Abdul
Aziz Mansur, but differs from it in that additional
explanations are given in brackets for some words in
the translation.
In the translation of Mahjuri, the emphasis is on the
meaning and content. As a result, the form is far from
the original. The content is very extensive and detailed.
The translations of Mawlawi Hindustani are written in
simple words, which makes them accessible to the
general public and quickly reaches the minds of people.
In Altynhan Tura's translations, the verses are rendered
word for word, and the speech structure of the original
American Journal Of Philological Sciences
172
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American Journal Of Philological Sciences (ISSN
–
2771-2273)
language and the speech structure of the target
language are the same. That is why it is difficult for the
general public to understand the translation. However,
such "literal translations" can only be useful in those
translations that are presented in the context of the
verses of the Quran, that is, in combination with the
original, and can bring practical benefits in studying the
Quran. However, a literal translation without a
refe
rence to the original is impossible”.
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