From polemic to reform : comparative analysis on the trajectory of Q. 3:7 English translation from Early European to Indian Muslim period (17th-20th century)

Abstract

Quran translations have been a complex enterprise that is still being produced worldwide. One of the intriguing issues is the translation of certain significant Quranic verses, such as Q.3:7, which reveals deep hermeneutical and grammatical divides within Islamic scholarship. This research aims to answer two main questions: 1) How has Q. 3:7 been translated in the early English European and Indian subcontinent Muslim translator context? To what extent do these translations illustrate variation, and what do such variations reveal about theological, linguistic, and interpretive priorities in different historical and cultural contexts? And 2) To what extent does the English translation of Q.3:7 reflect the existing Quran exegetical scholarship on the verse? This thesis is a library research using discourse analysis. It adopts a panoramic framework for analysing trends, continuity, and changes within specific topics by comparing a wide range of translations. This research compares six Quran translations from two main groups of translators, namely, early European and Indian subcontinent Muslims. As the post-colonial approach in translation studies proposes, the Indian Muslim translator shows a reformist-rationalist approach to Quranic translation by reclaiming the authority and shifting from a Western perspective toward Islamic exegetical tradition. As a result, European translators often viewed the Qur’an through legalistic or polemical lenses, whereas Indian Muslim translators emphasised rationalism, reformist spirit, and interpretive agency. Drawing on Tejaswini Niranjana’s postcolonial translation theory, this thesis argues that Qur’an translation is a site of discursive contestation between Western Orientalism and postcolonial reformism.