Marmaduke Pickthall and the Translation of the Qur'an: A Study of the Literal Approach and Its Relevance in the Western Context
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23917/qist.v4i2.8069Keywords:
Al-Qur'an translation, Marmaduke Pickthall, Literal Approach, Islam in the WestAbstract
Islam is one of the religions with the largest number of adherents in the world. Muslims, although they come from diverse backgrounds, are united by the teachings of the Qur'an which was revealed in Arabic. To meet the needs of understanding for non-Arab Muslims, translating the Qur'an into various languages is important, but must still maintain the authenticity and sanctity of the original text. One of the English translations of the Qur'an that is considered authentic and neutral is the work of Marmaduke Pickthall, a convert from England. In his work The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'an (1930), Pickthall uses a literal approach with a classic English style ala the King James Bible. The goal is for Western readers to feel familiar and be able to understand the text with a similar spiritual nuance. This study is a literature review (library research) with a qualitative method that aims to examine Pickthall's translation approach, the challenges he faced, and the influence of his work on English-language Islamic studies. The results show that although his translation has been criticized for its archaic language style and extreme literal tendencies, Pickthall's work remains an important reference and has made a major contribution to building bridges of cross-cultural understanding.
References
[1] M. A. S. Abdel Haleem, The Qur'an: A New Translation. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
[2] N. Baidan, "Problematika Penerjemahan Al-Qur′an dalam Bahasa Indonesia," Indones. J. Islam. Lit. Muslim Soc., vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 1–20, 2017, doi: https://doi.org/10.22515/islimus.v2i1.787.
[3] J. Gilham, "Marmaduke Pickthall and the British Muslim Convert Community," in Muslim Minorities, vol. 21, N. G.P., Ed., Brill Academic Publishers, 2017, pp. 47–71. doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004327597_004.
[4] A. R. Kidwai, Translating the Untranslatable: A Critical Guide to 60 English Translations of the Qur'an. New Delhi: Viva Books, 2011.
[5] M. B. A. Abdelkarim, A. A. M. Alhaj, and A. H. Hakami, "Semantic Loss in Some Selected Verses of Sūrat Yā-Sīn: A Comparative Study of Three Trustworthy English Translations," Theory Pract. Lang. Stud., vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 216–223, 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1501.24.
[6] A. A. M. Alhaj, "Exploring Stylistic Problems Encountered in Translating Qur‟anic Aphoristic Expressions in Surahs Al-Baqarah and Al-Imran to English," World J. English Lang., vol. 14, no. 5, pp. 359–371, 2024, doi: https://doi.org/10.5430/wjel.v14n5p359.
[7] J. Shearmur, "The Woking Mosque Muslims: British Islam in the Early Twentieth Century," J. Muslim Minor. Aff., vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 165–173, 2014, doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/13602004.2014.911584.
[8] G. Nash, "Abdullah Quilliam, marmaduke pickthall and the politics of christendom and the Ottoman empire," in Victorian Muslim: Abdullah Quilliam and Islam in the West, Qatar University, Qatar: Oxford University Press, 2017, pp. 79–96. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190688349.003.0006.
[9] F. Kökoǧlu, "Becoming Woman and Gender Typologies in Marmaduke Pickthall's Oriental Fiction," in Muslim Minorities, vol. 21, N. G.P., Ed., Brill Academic Publishers, 2017, pp. 196–215. doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004327597_011.
[10] G. Nash, "W. H. Quilliam, Marmaduke Pickthall and the window of British modernist Islam," in Postcolonialism and Islam: Theory, Literature, Culture, Society and Film, English, University of Sunderland, United Kingdom: Taylor and Francis, 2013, pp. 157–168. doi: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315884813.
[11] A. C. Long, "Oriental Eyes, or Seeing and Being Seen: Popular Culture and the Near Eastern Fiction of Marmaduke Pickthall," in Muslim Minorities, vol. 21, N. G.P., Ed., Brill Academic Publishers, 2017, pp. 159–181. doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004327597_009.
[12] I. Savaskan, "Interpersonal metadiscourse in the English translations of the Holy Quran," Br. J. Middle East. Stud., vol. 48, no. 3, pp. 405–418, 2021, doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/13530194.2019.1623011.
[13] J. Canton, "'Throwing Off the European': Marmaduke Pickthall's Travels in Arabia 1894-96," in Muslim Minorities, vol. 21, N. G.P., Ed., Brill Academic Publishers, 2017, pp. 216–230. doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004327597_012.
[14] G. Nash, FROM EMPIRE TO ORIENT: Travellers to the Middle East 1830-1926. Department of Culture, University of Sunderland, United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc., 2005. [Online]. Available: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85203380732&partnerID=40&md5=329170d5755e0f2bf72ebe1b11dd96fb
[15] N. J. Delong-Bas, "Bridging the 'Orient' and the West: Arabia, the British Empire in India, and English Translations of the Qur'an in the Early Twentieth Century," J. Qur'anic Stud., vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 96–127, 2024, doi: https://doi.org/10.3366/jqs.2024.0585.
[16] A. Ashraf, "A Vehicle for the Sacred: Marmaduke Pickthall's Near Eastern Novels," in Muslim Minorities, vol. 21, N. G.P., Ed., Brill Academic Publishers, 2017, pp. 182–195. doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004327597_010.
[17] A. R. Kidwai, "Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall's English Translation of the Quran (1930): An Assessment," in Muslim Minorities, vol. 21, N. G.P., Ed., Brill Academic Publishers, 2017, pp. 231–248. doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004327597_013.
[18] R. Geaves, "Abdullah Quilliam (Henri De Léon) and Marmaduke Pickthall: Agreements and Disagreements between Two Prominent Muslims in the London and Woking Communities," in Muslim Minorities, vol. 21, N. G.P., Ed., Brill Academic Publishers, 2017, pp. 72–88. doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004327597_005.
[19] A. A. M. Alhaj, "A Comparative Study of Loss and Gain in Three English Translations of the Qurʾānic Arabic Words of l-faḍli)A Semantic and Cultural Perspective," J. Lang. Teach. Res., vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 1303–1312, 2024, doi: https://doi.org/10.17507/JLTR.1504.28.
[20] A. A. M. Alhaj, "EXPLORING SYNTACTIC AND CULTURAL PROBLEMS FACED BY TRANSLATORS IN TRANSLATING THE QURANIC ARABIC HOPE WORD L-AMALU لَمَألْا IN SURAHS AL-HIJR AND AL-KAHF INTO ENGLISH," QiST J. Quran Tafseer Stud., vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 116–133, Mar. 2023, doi: https://doi.org/10.23917/qist.v2i2.1679.
[21] Y. E. Gördük, "An Analysis on the Relation of Qur'ānic Interpretation (Tafsīr) - Qur'ān Translation: The Example of Transferring the 184th Verse of Surat al-Baqara To Turkish," Cumhur. Ilah. Derg., vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 1455–1474, 2020, doi: https://doi.org/10.18505/cuid.780369.
[22] M. Ayyıldız, "According to Elmalılı, The Possibility of Translation of the Qurān in Terms of the Unity of Order and Meaning," Islam Tetkikleri Derg., vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 541–563, 2023, doi: 10.26650/iuitd.2023.1295512.
[23] A. Brigaglia, "Two published Hausa translations of the Qur'ān and their doctrinal background," J. Relig. Africa, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 424–449, 2005, doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/157006605774832225.
[24] E. Nurtawab, "Qur'anic Readings and Malay Translations in 18th-Century Banten Qur'ans A.51 and W.277," Indones. Malay World, vol. 48, no. 141, pp. 169–189, 2020, doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/13639811.2020.1724469.
[25] L. J. Moleong, Metodologi Penelitian Kualitatif (Edisi Revisi). Bandung: Remaja Rosdakarya, 2019.
[26] A. N. AN, "Metode Riset Al-Qur'an dan Tafsir," in Metode Riset Al-Qur'an dan Tafsir, 1st ed., M. Muthoifin, Ed., Surakarta: Muhammadiyah University Press, 2025, pp. 1–485. [Online]. Available: https://mup.ums.ac.id/shop/agama/metode-riset-al-quran-dan-tafsir/
[27] N. Fairclough, Critical Discourse Analysis: The Critical Study of Language. London: Longman, 1995.
[28] A. Nirwana AN, F. Arfan, F. Dolles Marshal, C. Maulana, and N. Fadli, "Methods of Qur'an Research and Quran Tafseer Research its implications for contemporary Islamic thought," Bull. Islam. Res., vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 33–42, Jun. 2024, doi: https://doi.org/10.69526/bir.v2i1.34.
[29] C. Mundzir, "Islam di Inggris (Tinjauan Historis Dinamika Kehidupan Muslim)," Rihlah J. Sej. Dan Kebud., vol. 2, no. 1, 2015, doi: https://doi.org/10.24252/rihlah.v2i01.1369.
[30] A. R. Kidwai, Marmaduke Pickthall: A Centenary Tribute of His English Translation of the Holy Quran. New Delhi: Viva Books, 2017.
[31] M. Seddon, The Life of Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall. Leicester: Kube Publishing, 2014.
[32] K. Gaanoun and M. Alsuhaibani, "Sentiment preservation in Quran translation with artificial intelligence approach: study in reputable English translation of the Quran," Humanit. Soc. Sci. Commun., vol. 12, no. 1, 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-04181-0.
[33] G. P. Nash, "Introduction: Pickthall, Islam and the Modern," in Marmaduke Pickthall: Islam and the Modern World, Leiden: Brill, 2017.
[34] A. R. Kidwai, "Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall's English Translation Of The Quran (1930): An Assessment," in Marmaduke Pickthall: Islam and the Modern World, Leiden: Brill, 2017.
[35] M. Pickthall, "The Quran," Islam. Rev., vol. 7, no. 6, pp. 213–216, 1919.
[36] A. R. Kidwai, Bibliography of the Translations of the Meanings of the Glorious Qur'an into English: 1649–2002. Madinah: King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Qur'an, 2007.
[37] A. A. (ed. . Dahlan, Ensiklopedi Hukum Islam. Jakarta: Ichtiar Baru van Hoeve, 1997.
[38] S. H. et al. Nasr, The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary. New York: HarperOne, 2015.
[39] S. Mansuri, "Two Major Translators of the Qur'an: Ali, Abdullah Yusuf, & Pickthall, Muhammad Marmaduke," Int. Index. Ref. Res. J., vol. 04, no. 46, 2013.
[40] M. Pickthall, "Introduction," in The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'an, London: George Allen & Unwi, 1930.
[41] G. Mohammad, "The Influence of Marmaduke Pickthall's Translation of the Qur'an on Subsequent English Translations," Islam. Stud., vol. 44, no. 3, pp. 409–426, 2005.
[42] S. H. Nasr, The Heart of Islam: Enduring Values for Humanity. New York: HarperOne, 2002.
[43] S. Elhajahmed, "Impact of Semantic Loss in the Holy Quran with Reference to Yusuf Ali's and Pickthall's Translations of Al-Nur Surah," مجلة الجامعة الإسلامية للبحوث الإنسانية, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 315–331, 2022, doi: https://doi.org/10.33976/iugjhr.30.2/2022/14.
Downloads
Submitted
Accepted
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 K Kerwanto, Haidar Alie, Rifansyah Lukman
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
