Translating Hand Expressions in the Holy Qur ' an ( An Analytical-Semantic Study ) Assist

Translators have long been regarding the translating of the Holy Qur'an as a polemic job. The vast majority of Muslim scholars and conservatives were objecting to any translation due to its holiness. Now, when the word translation replaced by interpretation as a norm to people, they start accepting the idea that there is a need for those who are non-Muslims or Arabs. Yet, this does not tolerate the fact that it is hard to endure for many reasons; of which its sacredness, cultural impact, linguistics inimitability, and its vivid metaphorical language. The problem of translating such a rhetorical language, which is rich of metaphorical styles, is perhaps the ultimate task for any translator. Hand expressions which are metaphorically embodying Allah (God) is a whole different problem. How to translate it? When to translate it? Is it acceptable? Do we keep it or change it into more sensible words? All these questions must be kept in mind while translating. This paper tries to answer these questions by studying "hand expressions" and its metaphorical images, analyzing the kinds of metaphor and the strategies used in the process of translation. For this purpose, three translated versions and from different periods belonging to translators having different backgrounds are examined. After analyzing the collected data, the results show how each version has translated the metaphorical images of hand expressions, the adopted kinds of metaphor, the strategies used, and how each one managed to do so and why.


1.2. Translating Religious Texts
The problem of translating any religious text from its source language towards any other language is the sacredness of this text. The source linguists and believers insist on its holiness, whereas critics from the other language that translated it claim the contrary (Lynne,2005). This conflict affects the attempts that have been made to translate religious texts. Ali (2006: 18) argues that these claims made by the critics lack credibility. Those critics ignore the following facts:  It is impossible to judge the source language according to the rules of the target one.  It is not necessary to have the same outcome of style, form and function in the two languages.  The two languages may express the same idea, expression, idiom, phrase and belief differently.  No synonymy or equivalence that matches precisely between the two languages.  'Translation loss' is inevitable for such factors as linguistic, cultural and ideological. Hence, the translated text cannot be as the original even if the translated text to some extent is better than the original. Now, the problem is much bigger when the translated text is religious and stands for a whole belief. In this case, 'translation accuracy' becomes a religious and ethical responsibility for the translator.

Translating the Holy Qur'an
Muslims believe in their religion as being the final revelation from Allah (God) to all mankind. Though it is the responsibility of every Muslim to read, understand and work by its rules; it concerns also non-Muslims all around the world. Thus, the only way to introduce the Holy Qur'an to them is by translating it into their native languages. Cook (2000) states that the problem of translating the Qur'an is not that Arabic is being the original language of the Qur'an rather it is Arabic as the language of the Qur'an. Consequently, translating the language itself would be problematic.
Any translation is merely a process of rewriting the meaning/message in the target language. Regardless of the success of the translation, there will be always errors on all levels. These errors are the natural outcome of the process. Therefore, the Qur'an as a text is translatable, despite any shortcomings resulted in the process the translated text will serve as an introduction to the non-Muslims and non-Arabic. However, its holiness on the other hand is untranslatable ).

5
Muslims differ in the perception of the holiness of the Qur'an. Some agree that a translation is a must for the spread of Islam, and some disagree on the concept of translation saying that for those who are not Muslims or Arabs a mere interpretation is enough. A translation of the Holy Qur'an should not sound like a translation rather an interpretation. The translator's effort should focus on the meaning rather than the wording (Ibraheem, 2018).
However, the main reason that most of the translated versions of the Holy Qur'an do sound like translations is the impact of the Arabic language and its holiness as the language of the Qur'an. The other reasons are: the systematic wording of the Arabic language, the Arabic style, the untranslatable terms and expressions, footnoting and the contradictory beliefs. These reasons might result in unacceptable but unavoidable translations .
The meaning of the word Qur'an in Arabic is 'reading' or 'should be read'. The true essence of it can truly be communicated through Arabic. Reading it in Arabic, loud or meekness will turn men and women to tears and move their spirits. The structure of the Qur'an links every word and verse with another word and verse through meaning and by rhyme and rhythm. This is the true problem of translating the Qur'an. How could a translator render such a spiritual thing which is held within the language itself? Hence, Muslim scholars agree that translated versions of the Qur'an cannot be read in prayers (Ibraheem, 2018). Sardar (2004) shows that translators have done much more damage to the holiness of the Qur'an in their translation than any other human being or misfortune. For example: George Sale (1734) stated that Qur'an is not the work of God, rather it is the work of several authors. Rodwell (1861) cleared that the arrangement of the Qur'an is out of order, so he rearranged it again in chronological order. Richard Bell (1937) adopted the same arrangement as Rodwell and for the same reason. This is on the structural level. Others took another level, using omission, twistedness, mistranslation and changing the message and the meaning. For example, Dawood's (1956) mistranslated words gave the language of the Qur'an a violent trait to the degree that those who read it will have the impression that the Qur'an supports violence and sexual oppression. Then Abdel Haleem (2008) came with his more accurate translation that is intended for all English readers; even this one has its limitations. He (ibid) emphasizes that the context rather than the structure, uses footnotes belong to the 12th-century and have no poetic impressiveness.

6
1. The part of the body at the end of the arm 2. The influence of someone or something in an event or situation 3. Looking after, own, or responsible for someone or something 4. Asking for help in what someone is doing 5. Someone who does hard physical work 6. Asking an audience to clap 7. Asking someone for marriage 8. A set of cards in someone's hand 9. A measurement of four inches 10. The thin pieces of that indicate time in a clock or watch 11. Style of writing.

Hand Expressions and Body Movements
Facial expressions are relatively the same everywhere, i.e., those of joy, grief, surprise, horror, pleasure and anger. On the other hand, body movements are not the same, some of them could be understandable but the majority is not.
For Muslims, hand gestures and body movements are to some extent restricted, i.e., men cannot shake hands with women nor kissing them as a way of greeting. Each gender could do it within the same gender but not with the opposite one. Yet, certain Muslim cultures do not even accept kissing the cheeks between men while greeting each other. Kissing the hand might be of great respect to someone, or it could be a sign of inferiority that many people do not accept it.
Nonetheless, Arabic as the language of the Holy Qur'an gathers a number of hand gestures and body movements that are understandable and acceptable to all Muslims no matter what culture they come from.

Translating the Hand Expressions
Verbal language is as important as the non-verbal language; both of them are essential forms of communication. So, in any particular conversation, the translator must take into account gestures, body language and body expressions. These movements and expressions will deliver as much information as the actual speech.

Non-Verbal Communication
Emotional expressions, body gestures, personal movements, eye contact, distance from the speaker, pauses during the conversation, voice volume and voice tone are all non-verbal communication. However, when those who are engaged in a conversation are from the same culture or speak the same language there is no problem at all. But when they belong to a different culture or speak another language there will be a problem and it is the job of the translator to overcome it. Personal characteristics have a great impact on the non-verbal communications; they differ significantly from one person to another 7 depending on the geographic area, linguistic and culture distinction (ibid).

Translators and Interpreters Job
Both of them should pay attention to personal characteristics while translating and should take into account the variation of these characteristics between cultures and languages. Interpreters are, however, more concerned with it in matters of the displayed gestures and movements which they could observe while interpreting. If they misunderstand any particular gesture or movement, it will result in misinterpreting to the intended message. The problem gets much bigger with translators; they do not see the writer or any gesture within his writings. They have to interpret the body expressions that stand for gestures and movements. So, their job will be much more difficult than interpreters. Nonetheless, it will be a real problem especially when the expression means something entirely different in the target culture or language.

Metaphor 3.1. Function
Newmark (1988: 105) defines the function of metaphor as a means of forming the structure of the language in a way that allows you to describe any concept, action, or object in a way that is both comprehensive and accurate. He (ibid) mentions two functions for metaphor: 1. Rhetorical Function (content): to compare two different things in matters of shared features to expose a sense. However, sometimes it is used only for decorative purposes or aesthetic effects. 2. Cognitive Function (form): to describe certain actions or objects in a more comprehensive and precise way. When addressing the listener or reader it highlights the metaphorical denotation rather than the connotation one.

Types
Ricoeur (1975:4) explains that language is the means to protect the history and culture of a society. However, metaphor embodies this means by notions such as customs, religion, believes, history, culture, etc. He (ibid) introduces two theories to identify metaphor, tension theory and substitution theory. The first theory deals with metaphor within the sentence as a whole, the second deals with it as an isolated word.
On the other hand, Larson (1984:87) states that metaphor has only two types that it could be identified with: dead metaphor and living metaphor. The dead is the one that can be difficult to notice in a sentence or a text such as: the face of the moon, or the hand of the fate. The living is the one intended to stimulate the imagination of the reader/ listener such as: it rained pearls and watered flowers.

8
Regardless of the type or usage, we do use metaphors in our daily life intentionally or unintentionally. The problem is with our ability to identify and understand it when used.

Strategies and Models
Many scholars and translators engaged in setting up some strategies and models to translate metaphor, among them Newmark (1981) and Den Broeck (1981). Newmark (1981:88) suggests the following strategies to translate metaphor: 1. Translating metaphor by duplicating its image literally in the target language. 2. Translating metaphor by substituting the image in the source language with an acceptable image from the target one. 3. Translating metaphor by using sense or simile, or otherwise changing it. 4. Translating metaphor by using metaphor and sense combined together. 5. Ignoring the entire metaphor, and translating the sentence without it.
On the other hand, Den Broeck (1981:74) submitted three strategies to translate metaphor: 1. Literal Translation: whenever the image and its sense are both translatable into the target language. 2. Paraphrasing: whenever the image and its sense are untranslatable, the metaphor should be translated by paraphrased non-metaphorical expressions. 3. Substitution: whenever the image of the source can be replaced with an image in the target language that has less or more the same sense.
However, Den Broeck (p:78) stated that no theory of translation can govern the rules of how to translate each specific metaphor, instead the theory can set up models of translating metaphor and the translator can follow the model that suits the case of each metaphor. So, he set up the following model (p: 79) taking into account the differences between the two languages and the two cultures: 1. Predicting which and when a metaphor can be translated into the target language. 2. Describing how a metaphor can be translated to set up an ideal coincidence between the source text and the target one.

Translating Metaphor from English into Arabic
Translating metaphor from English into Arabic is considered as one of the most difficult procedures that encounter any translator. One of the regular problems that translators face happens when confusing metaphor with a simile or the simile with metaphor. Though it is not that difficult to distinguish between them, simile uses markers like (as, 9 similar to and like), yet many translators get muddled when translating it into the target language (Al-Zoubi, & Al-Husanawi, 2006).
However, East and West are not that different in matters of cultures, many Arabic customs and traditions are relatively similar to the English ones. Yet, the way of generating metaphorical images is quite the opposite (Al-Shehab, 2015). Hence, the job of the translators is much difficult.
Nonetheless, regarding the Holy Qur'an, the matter is totally different. The Holy book is Allah's words to all mankind descendent in the Arabic tongue. Its rhetorical style and images cannot be compared to any other existing book. This exquisite style and unique structure are convenient only to the Arabic tongue and the success of rendering it to any other language is doubtful (ibid).

PART TWO PRACTICAL FRAMEWORK 1. Data Analysis
Hand expressions were mentioned in the Holy Qur'an 120 times in 110 verses within 47 Surah. The word "Hand" has been mentioned 59 times. For the purpose of limitation, this paper will only deal with hand expressions related or correlated to Allah (God). They have been mentioned 16 times in 13 surahs, they are: ‫اٌذالت.‬ ‫سُرة‬ In order to assess how these expressions have been translated, three translated versions will be dealt with here. The first version is translated by Pickthall (a British novelist and scholar who converted to Islam), the second by Khan (Afghani Muslim doctor) and Hilali (Moroccan Muslim scholar) and the third and most famous of all is translated by (three American women).

10
The purpose of this study is first to identify the types of metaphor used in the translation of the Holy Qur'an, and second to examine Newmark's (1981:88) and Den Broeck's strategies (1981:74) to find out which one is better than the other in terms of translating metaphor in religious text and finally the creditability of these strategies in translating The Holy Qur'an.
Then, the study will find out the types of metaphor used by each version, and to examine the degree of acceptability of the translated texts following the Arabic meaning of the verses to determine which of the three versions hase successfully rendered the message intended by Allah (God).

Strategies Based Study
At the beginning, Pickthall's version will be tested in accordance with Newmark's and Den Broeck's strategies. 16 Chart (5) Den Broeck's Strategies As shown above, the variation of Newmark's strategies covers all the possible forms of metaphor, therefore it is more applicable and acceptable to the professional reader who seeks for the aesthetic language of the Holy Qur'an. More amazing is that it didn't lose neither of its explicit nor implicit messages. So, concerning the question of: Which are the better strategies to follow to evaluate the translation of metaphor in the Holy Qur'an? The answer will undoubtedly be Newmark's strategies (1981).
Nevertheless, it is this particular answer which makes the Saheeh version more approvable from the other two. It maintains the Arabic vivid images of the Qur'an reflected in the metaphorical renderings used by Emily Assami, Mary Kennedy & Amatullah Bantley. They preserve the message with as much possible as the image it embroidered within it. This will account for the translators who do not pursue merely to translate the message but also to conserve the miraculous language that embraces it.

Semantics Based Study
Words in the Holy Qur'an do not stand by their own meanings in terms of metaphor as translated into English. Thus, this paper examines the creditability of the translated metaphor on the sentences level and how they have been used to convey the intended meaning by Allah (God). First, let us see the kinds of metaphor used in the translated versions so that having a clear picture of what we talked about.
According to Larson (1984: 87) there are two kinds of metaphor: dead metaphor and living metaphor, which we will reword them here as normal and stimulating. Let us find out which kinds of metaphor used in the three versions taking into account the identifying metaphorical theories by Ricoeur's (1975:4), i.e., tension theory (on sentence level) and substitution theory (on word level). For this study, the metaphor is perceived on the sentence level only.  Khan & Hilali rely on the normal metaphor more than the stimulating one with a percentage reaches up to (50%). It seems that Khan & Hilali try to keep the text as simple as possible to the target readers without confusing them with unneeded metaphorical images, and by doing that they focus on the message rather than the form. Yet, in the end, Pickthall's and Saheeh's versions have gained more readability and authenticity for their work because they give the form of the message as much attention as the message itself.

Findings
While analyzing the three translated versions of the Holy Qur'an and the metaphorical strategies used to translate the chosen metaphorical hand expressions, we come to find out that: A. Each language is unique in its literary metaphors, and it is not necessary to guaranty the availability of correct equivalents within its range as in verses (1, 2, 13). B. Arabic language is highly authentic in its vivid styles, and it is not easy to deal with such language where metaphor plays an essential role in its everyday usage as in verses (4,8,14,15,16

Conclusion
The three versions are profoundly different in matters of the translator's background, nativity of language, religious point of view and the degree of acceptability. In order to judge a specific translation whether it is good or not, one should measure its flaws and how much it accomplishes in its attempt to render, interpret or even convey the original message. To this extent, The Saheeh (Sahih) International is the one which did this well than the other two versions.
Though Pickthall's version was very popular for the non-Muslim world and for a long period of time, yet for those who speak Arabic, they see a lot of flaws especially in his handling with words or sentences that have metaphorical images. Its highly standardized language makes it hard for those that English is not their first language.
Khan and Hilali tend to use explainable sentences within their Quran verses to ensure the understanding of the readers. Concerning the chosen verses of hand expressions, they use it in 9 verses out of the total 16 verse. To do this, they use less metaphor. This causes their translation to be shifted from the level of aesthetics value to normality.
Concerning translating metaphorical images from a holy text, i.e. The Holy Qur'an, one should adopt Newmark's strategies and applying them to Den Broeck's model of Predicting and Describing which take into consideration the cultural differences of the two languages. Then, he should try to employ the stimulating metaphor in his translation rather than the normal metaphor to go in line with the original aesthetic language. References: