Meanings of the Qur’anic Near-Synonyms: Al-Ṣirāṭ and Al-Sabīl (the Path) and Their English Translations (Maksud Sinonim Hampir dalam Al-Qur’ān: Al-ṣirāṭ dan Al-sabīl (Jalan) dan Terjemahan dalam Bahasa Inggeris)

Abdul-Qader Khaleel Mohammed Abdul-Ghafour, Norsimah Mat Awal, Intan Safinaz Zainudin, Ashinida Aladdin

Abstract


This study investigates the meanings of the Qur’ānic near-synonyms  اصراطal-ṣirāṭ and  السبيلal-sabīl (the path) and their English translations. It aims to identify the contextual meanings of these near-synonyms based on the exegeses of the Holy Qur’ān. Then, it explains the differences in meaning between these near-synonyms and how such semantic differences are reflected in the English translations of the Holy Qur’ān. The RC-S approach by Murphy (2003) is adopted in this study as a theoretical framework for the analysis of data. The qualitative approach is also employed for collecting and analyzing the data of the study. Moreover, the exegeses of the Holy Qur’ān are consulted to find out the semantic differences between the selected near-synonyms. The results of the study reveal that there are some differences in the denotative and connotative meaning between the Qur’ānic near-synonyms and that the differences in meaning between both near-synonyms are not reflected in the English translations. The study provides recommendations for readers and translators especially the translators of the Holy Qur’ān.

Keywords: contextual meaning; connotative meaning; denotative meaning; near-synonyms; synonym translation


Abstrak


Kajian ini menyiasat maksud kata-kata Al-Qur’ān yang sinonim hamper bagi pasangan kata  الصراطal-ṣirāṭ dan  السبيلal-sabīl (jalan) dan terjemahan ke dalam bahasa Inggeris. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengenal pasti maksud kontekstual bagi pasangan kata sinonim hamper ini berdasarkan tafsir Al-Qur’ān. Kemudian, kajian menjelaskan perbezaan maksud di antara sinonim hamper ini dan bagaimana perbezaan semantic ditunjukkan dalam Al-Qur’ān terjemahan bahasa Inggeris. Pendekatan RC-S oleh Murphy (2003) digunakan dalam kajian ini sebagai rangka kerja teori untuk analisis data. Pendekatan kualitatif juga digunakan untuk mengumpul dan menganalisis data kajian. Selain itu, tafsir Al-Qur’ān juga dirujuk untuk mengetahui perbezaan maksud antara kedua kata sinonim hampir yang mempunyai maksud yang hamper sama. Hasil kajian mendedahkan bahawa terdapat beberapa perbezaan maksud denotatif dan konotatif untuk pasangan kata sinonim hampir yang dikaji dalam Al-Qur’ān dan perbezaan maksud antara kedua sinonim hamper tidak disampaikan dalam terjemahan bahasa Inggeris. Kajian ini memberi cadangan untuk pembaca dan penterjemah terutamanya penterjemah Al-Qur’ān.

Kata kunci: Maksud kontekstual; maksud konotatif; maksud denotatif; sinonim hampir; sinonim; terjemahan


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