Islamic Religious expressions in the Translation of Naguib Mahfouz Novel “The Beginning and the End”

Abstract

Religion is a source from which people gain their behaviors. It usually provides guidelines and advice about good and evil. It also teaches us about acceptable and unacceptable forms of behavior. Religious language is never meaningless, so long as the interlocutors understand the information and concepts behind what they are communicating on. The value of any religious concept is based on its pragmatic value of the proponent.

This paper intends to investigate the challenges involved in translating Islamic religious expressions expressions in the translation of Naguib Mahfouz novel “The Beginning and the End” (??????? ????????). Furthermore, this paper aims at investigating the strategies (paraphrasing, transliteration, annotation, etc) the translator opted for in translating and handling problems involved in conveying religious associations from Arabic into English. Finally, gains and losses made in the translation will be pointed out.

Key Words: Translation, Religious, Expressions, Arabic, English