Exegetical translation

When we look at the historical trajectory of the translation of the Qur'an into other languages, we encounter a rather interesting odyssey. Throughout history, discussions starting about the legitimacy of the Qur'an translation have continued on different platforms, varying from country to country. One of these discussion tittles is with what method to do the Qur'an translation. According to its purpose and its method, the translation is divided into two as 'harfi[literal] translation' and 'tefsiri [exegetical] translation'. Harfi translation is named close/verbatim(lafzi), literal, or word-for-word translation. In this method, translation is seen as linguistic conveyance; giving meaning to it is left up to the reader. Without the disposition of advancing any explanation to, adding/subtracting, etc. to the text, the word —however it is expressed— is translated as so. As for tefsiri[exegetical] translation, absent the proviso of compliance with the original's order of word structure and composition, it is the direct translation of meaning from one language to another. For that reason, this translation is named 'spiritual [manevi] translation' or 'meaning-interpretation-oriented translation'. For the Qur'an translations, the concept of 'meal' is distinctively used. Vis-à-vis meal writing, both the methods have positive and negative aspects. Meal, no matter how perfect it is, can never take the place of the Qur'an's original. The purpose of reading a meal is to seek to understand the verses (Arabic: آية āyah, plural آيات āyāt). For this reason, tefsiri translation(meaning-interpretation-oriented) is more ideal for meal writing. As a matter of fact, there exists a major time and culture difference between the Qur'an and its interlocutors. This difference necessitates the translation being fed with explanations. Furthermore, it also requires to be able to translate the Quran which was revealed in the oral-culture milieu by changing it into a format that people of written culture could understand. The Qur'an has a unique world of meaning. Words and concepts could gain new meanings in it. Therefore, we could not confine ourselves only to giving the dictionary definitions of words. The interpretation of the words with their new meanings is needed. It is not that possible to achieve all this with the literal translation. However, the exegetical translation method provides the translator with all these opportunities. In this research, examples of the two methods were comparatively presented. Although exegetical translation appears to be more convenient for meal writing, that brings some risks with it. Drawing upon the work 'the Meaning-Interpretation-Oriented Meal of the Qur'an' prepared by Prof. Mustafa Öztürk, this research sought to analyse the pros and cons of the meaning-interpretation-oriented meal works and to present the findings. Keywords: Exegetical Translation, Literal Translation, Meal, Interpretation.