| Peer-Reviewed

The Translation Movement in the Arab World: From the Pre-Islamic Era Until the end of Umayyad Dynasty (Before 610-750 A. D.)

Received: 20 April 2015    Accepted: 24 April 2015    Published: 6 May 2015
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

This research is a retrospective explanatory one. It traces back the contribution of Arab translators on the global translation movement and civilization starting from the pre-Islamic era until the end of the Umayyad caliphate in 750 A. D. The importance of translation in transferring knowledge from one nation to another and from one civilization to another is well-known to every scholar and researcher. This study has revealed that the contribution of Arab translators on the global translation movement and civilization has been performed by transferring knowledge and sciences from different resources, such as China, India in the East, and Greece, Roman empire in the west into the Islamic state in the Arab lands, and then they have participated in transferring that knowledge into Europe in the high medieval ages. Moreover, this research paper has provided evidence that the transfer was not limited to sciences such as chemistry, astronomy, botany among other branches of science. It has rather extended to include arts and literature; Arab translators have translated fiction and stories from India and East Asia to Europe and the West. This study has also affirmed that Arabs, before Islam, were mainly living, in the Arabian Peninsula, they have been divided and attracted into either one of the two biggest and strongest civilizations and powers at that time; the Romans in the west and Persians in the east. In other words, Arabs didn't have at that time an independent civilization, unified state or entity. When Islam came, the situation has dramatically been changed. This will be elaborated in details in this study. This research is composed of five sections. The first section is an introduction which discusses the significance of this study and definition of related terms. The second section reviews the related literature. The third section tackles the translation movement during different stages, this implies the pre-Islamic stage and Islamic stages including the translation movement during Prophet Muhammad’s life (610-632 A. D), the ruling period of the Rightly Guided Caliphs (Al klhulafa Ar rashidun) (632-661) and the Umayyad ruling stage from 662 to 750 A.D. The fourth section discusses the results and findings. The final section summarizes the study and submits suggested recommendations.

Published in International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 3, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijll.20150303.13
Page(s) 122-131
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Translator, Arab Translators’ Contribution, Translation Movement, Global Civilization, in the Umayyad Dynasty

References
[1] Al-Jawziah, Ibn Qaiem (2003) Za'd Al-Ma'ad, translated as “Provisions of the Hereafter”, Dar-us-Salam Publications.
[2] Al-kasimi, A. (2006) The effect of translation on the recognition of the other and the perception of the self (Torjomiāt [Tradictology], "Atar Attarjama Fi Ma’arifat addāt wa idrāk al akhar). Rabat : Edition of Racines.
[3] Bahri, H. (2011) The Role of Translation Movements in the Cultural Maintenance of Iran, Translation Journal, Vol. 15, No.4.
[4] Baker, M (2001) in Baker, M. and Gabriela Saldanha ( 2001 eds.) Arabic Tradition, from Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies, Routledge.
[5] Campo, J. (2009) Encyclopedia of Islam, InfoBase Publishing.
[6] Davis, B. (series ed.) (2010) The Great Medieval Thinkers (Avicenna Chapter), Oxford University Press
[7] Farahzad, F. (1998) A Gestalt Approach to Manipulation in Translation. Perspectives: Studies in Translatology, 6 (2): 153-233
[8] Hourani, A. (1991) A History of the Arab Peoples, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
[9] Ibn Al Nadeem (n. d.) Alfahraset. http://al-hakawati.net/arabic/civilizations/72.pdf, accessed on the 25th Jan. 201
[10] Khan, M (2009) the Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Islam house Website.
[11] Kharma, N. (1979) Lights on the contemporary Linguistic Studies (Adwa’a ala Aldirasat al-lighawieh Almuasirah), A Series of the World of Knowledge (Alam AlMarifah) issued by the National Council of Culture, Arts and Literature-Kuwait.
[12] Lotfipour, S.K. 1985. Lexical Cohesion and Translation Equivalence, Meta, XLII, 1, 185-92.
[13] Matthews, J. (n. d.) The Arab Influence on the Italian Renaissance http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~jmatthew/naples/blog27.htm#arabinf
[14] Retrieved on 20th of Jan. 2015 http://www.islamawareness.net/Europe/Italy/rennaissance.html
[15] Menocal, M, (2005) The Culture of Translation, Available at URL:http://www.wordswithoutborders.org/article.php?lab=Culture, (Accessed Jan. 10, 2015)
[16] Natheer, A. (2001) Islam in Global History: From the Death of Prophet Muhammad to the First World War, American Institute of Islamic History and Cul, 2001, p. 34. ISBN 0-7388-5963-X.
[17] Newmark, P. (2001) Approaches to Translation, Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.
[18] Ramzjou, L. (2004) to Be a Good Translator, Translation Journal, Volume 8, No. 2
[19] Shaban, A. (1971) (The Abbasid Revolution 600-750), chapter in Islamic History, Cambridge University Press.
[20] Siddiek, A. (2010) the Impact of Translation on Language Acquisition and Knowledge Transfer in the Arab World. European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 16, Number 4 (2010
[21] Sokolovsky, Y. (2010) On the Linguistic Definition of Translation, Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences, Vol. 2 (2010 3) 285-29
[22] Stoddart, W. (eds. De Azevedo, M. and Queiroz, A.) (2008) Traditional and Modern Civilizations World Wisdom, from the World Wisdom online library: www.worldwisdom.com/public/library/default.aspx
[23] Usmani, M. (2007) Translation of Quran, Quranic Studies Publishers
[24] Yusuf, Ali (2006) the Meaning of the Noble Qur’an, retrieved in Dec 2014 from http://www.pdf-koran.com/Koran.pdf.
[25] http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/02/19/947158/-Islamic-History-The-Four-Rightly-Guided-Caliphs
[26] Islamic History: The Four Rightly Guided Caliphs by Ojibaw 2011, accessed 4th Jan 2015, http://www.muslimheritage.com/article/abbasids%E2%80%99-house-wisdom-baghdad
[27] Meriam-Webster Dictionary website: http://www.merriam-webster.com/
[28] Online Dictionary, http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/civilization
[29] Oxford Learners Dictionaries: http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com
[30] Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    D. Hussein Abdo Rababah. (2015). The Translation Movement in the Arab World: From the Pre-Islamic Era Until the end of Umayyad Dynasty (Before 610-750 A. D.). International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 3(3), 122-131. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20150303.13

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    D. Hussein Abdo Rababah. The Translation Movement in the Arab World: From the Pre-Islamic Era Until the end of Umayyad Dynasty (Before 610-750 A. D.). Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2015, 3(3), 122-131. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20150303.13

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    D. Hussein Abdo Rababah. The Translation Movement in the Arab World: From the Pre-Islamic Era Until the end of Umayyad Dynasty (Before 610-750 A. D.). Int J Lang Linguist. 2015;3(3):122-131. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20150303.13

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.ijll.20150303.13,
      author = {D. Hussein Abdo Rababah},
      title = {The Translation Movement in the Arab World: From the Pre-Islamic Era Until the end of Umayyad Dynasty (Before 610-750 A. D.)},
      journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
      volume = {3},
      number = {3},
      pages = {122-131},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20150303.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20150303.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20150303.13},
      abstract = {This research is a retrospective explanatory one. It traces back the contribution of Arab translators on the global translation movement and civilization starting from the pre-Islamic era until the end of the Umayyad caliphate in 750 A. D. The importance of translation in transferring knowledge from one nation to another and from one civilization to another is well-known to every scholar and researcher. This study has revealed that the contribution of Arab translators on the global translation movement and civilization has been performed by transferring knowledge and sciences from different resources, such as China, India in the East, and Greece, Roman empire in the west into the Islamic state in the Arab lands, and then they have participated in transferring that knowledge into Europe in the high medieval ages. Moreover, this research paper has provided evidence that the transfer was not limited to sciences such as chemistry, astronomy, botany among other branches of science. It has rather extended to include arts and literature; Arab translators have translated fiction and stories from India and East Asia to Europe and the West. This study has also affirmed that Arabs, before Islam, were mainly living, in the Arabian Peninsula, they have been divided and attracted into either one of the two biggest and strongest civilizations and powers at that time; the Romans in the west and Persians in the east. In other words, Arabs didn't have at that time an independent civilization, unified state or entity. When Islam came, the situation has dramatically been changed. This will be elaborated in details in this study. This research is composed of five sections. The first section is an introduction which discusses the significance of this study and definition of related terms. The second section reviews the related literature. The third section tackles the translation movement during different stages, this implies the pre-Islamic stage and Islamic stages including the translation movement during Prophet Muhammad’s life (610-632 A. D), the ruling period of the Rightly Guided Caliphs (Al klhulafa Ar rashidun) (632-661) and the Umayyad ruling stage from 662 to 750 A.D. The fourth section discusses the results and findings. The final section summarizes the study and submits suggested recommendations.},
     year = {2015}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - The Translation Movement in the Arab World: From the Pre-Islamic Era Until the end of Umayyad Dynasty (Before 610-750 A. D.)
    AU  - D. Hussein Abdo Rababah
    Y1  - 2015/05/06
    PY  - 2015
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20150303.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20150303.13
    T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
    JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
    JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
    SP  - 122
    EP  - 131
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-0221
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20150303.13
    AB  - This research is a retrospective explanatory one. It traces back the contribution of Arab translators on the global translation movement and civilization starting from the pre-Islamic era until the end of the Umayyad caliphate in 750 A. D. The importance of translation in transferring knowledge from one nation to another and from one civilization to another is well-known to every scholar and researcher. This study has revealed that the contribution of Arab translators on the global translation movement and civilization has been performed by transferring knowledge and sciences from different resources, such as China, India in the East, and Greece, Roman empire in the west into the Islamic state in the Arab lands, and then they have participated in transferring that knowledge into Europe in the high medieval ages. Moreover, this research paper has provided evidence that the transfer was not limited to sciences such as chemistry, astronomy, botany among other branches of science. It has rather extended to include arts and literature; Arab translators have translated fiction and stories from India and East Asia to Europe and the West. This study has also affirmed that Arabs, before Islam, were mainly living, in the Arabian Peninsula, they have been divided and attracted into either one of the two biggest and strongest civilizations and powers at that time; the Romans in the west and Persians in the east. In other words, Arabs didn't have at that time an independent civilization, unified state or entity. When Islam came, the situation has dramatically been changed. This will be elaborated in details in this study. This research is composed of five sections. The first section is an introduction which discusses the significance of this study and definition of related terms. The second section reviews the related literature. The third section tackles the translation movement during different stages, this implies the pre-Islamic stage and Islamic stages including the translation movement during Prophet Muhammad’s life (610-632 A. D), the ruling period of the Rightly Guided Caliphs (Al klhulafa Ar rashidun) (632-661) and the Umayyad ruling stage from 662 to 750 A.D. The fourth section discusses the results and findings. The final section summarizes the study and submits suggested recommendations.
    VL  - 3
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, College of languages and Translation, Riyadh, KSA

  • Sections