A Study of Gain and Loss in the Translation of the Quranic Arabic Words of Glad Tidings Known as Al-Bush'ra Into English: An Islamic Professional Ethical Perspective

The substantial lexical and cultural challenges facing the translators of the Holy Qur'an in rendering the Qur anic Arabic words for glad tidings known as al-bush'ra ([phrase omitted]) into English result in the gain or loss of meaning in translation - an issue that cannot be avoided. This study, conducted from an Islamic professional ethical perspective, examined that gain and loss through three well-known translations of the Holy Qur'an which were sourced from The Qur'anic Arabic Corpus, namely Abdelhaleem (2004), Al-Hilali and Khan (1996) and Pickthall (1930). A qualitative descriptive design was adopted together with Hervey and Higgins's (1992) concept of loss of meaning in translation which is a critical aspect of any translation. The study found that, in terms of the loss and gain in the translation of the Qur anic Arabic al-bush'ra ([phrase omitted]) into English, the aforementioned translators utilized different translation strategies such as reduction and omission. The study concludes that any loss has a significantly negative impact on the reader's understanding and interpretation of the Holy Qur'an in general and the words found in the Qur anic Arabic al-bush'ra ([phrase omitted]) in particular. Index Terms--glad tidings, Holy Qur'an, perspective, translation, professional ethics