Translation Sample

Translation of a classical Arabic devotional and literary work

Arabic → EnglishOriginal translation

A translation of Arabic devotional prose that blends spiritual reflection with literary expression. The source moves between contemplative argument, emotional appeal, and vivid imagery, often within a single paragraph. This kind of writing is difficult to translate because the English must not only preserve meaning. It must also carry the emotional register and rhetorical force of the Arabic. The passages below show English prose that aims to read naturally while preserving the literary character of the original.

Passage 1: The Constrained Earth

The Arabic draws on the familiar Quranic image ضاقت عليهم الأرض بما رحبت: the earth feels narrow despite its vastness. It expresses a condition in which nowhere feels safe and no situation feels bearable.

“For all its spaciousness” allows the English to preserve the force of the image without turning it into a footnote. The sequence “besieged by fear, chased by anxiety, and shattered by despair” mirrors the Arabic’s parallel structure while reading as natural English rhetoric. “Treating illness with illness” keeps a compact Arabic expression concise and intelligible in English.

ثم هي رسالة خاطبت بها، بالتبع، جموع الحيارى والمغمومين، من الشباب والكهول، ممن ضاقت عليهم الأرض بما رحبت، فحاصرهم الخوف، وطاردهم القلق، وحطمهم اليأس والقنوط! إما بسبب خسارة في المال، أو فقدان لجاه أو منصب، أو غرق في أوحال الخطايا لا يستطيعون فكاكاً، أو فشل عموماً في الحياة! وبدل أن يلتجئوا إلى الله، يرتمون في أحضان الضلال ويضيعون في التيه، يعالجون الداء بالداء! ويطفئون لهيب العطش بالرمضاء! فلا يزيدهم ذلك إلا رهقاً! ولو رفعوا أبصارهم قليلاً إلى السماء لشاهدوا شلالات الروح تتدفق بالرحمة والسلام!

“This message is directed, by extension, to the multitudes of perplexed and troubled youth and adults, whom the earth, for all its spaciousness, seemed constrained to them, thus besieged by fear, chased by anxiety, and shattered by despair and hopelessness. Such conditions may result from financial loss, a decline in prestige or social stature, an overwhelming sense of being engulfed by sins from which they cannot break free, or simply a general failure in life.

“Instead of turning to Allah, they throw themselves into the arms of deviation and get lost in confusion, treating illness with illness. In doing so, they only add fuel to the fire, unknowingly worsening their situation. If only they would pause and instead turn to the heavens, they would discover a place where the soul finds its utmost solace, where a gentle blend of compassion and serenity provides the healing that they need.”

Passage 2: The Camel Poem

Translating Arabic verse into English that reads as verse rather than as a decoded message is especially difficult because the rhythmic and formal resources of the two languages differ so greatly.

The couplet preserves the central irony: a camel carries water on its back while dying of thirst. The prose that follows then moves from verse into devotional reflection without an abrupt change in register.

كالعيس في البيداء يقتلها الظما والماء فوق ظهورها محمول يعانون ويألمون، وهاهنا بوابة الصلاة الخضراء، مفتوحة على جمال الأنس بالله، ويقين الثقة به تعالى، واستمداد الأمان منه جل ثناؤه.

“In the desert’s vast embrace, the thirsty camel sighs, While life-giving water on its back it lies.” Followed by: “They suffer and endure, yet needlessly so; for here, at the gateways of tranquillity, where prayers and devotion lie, a beautiful path towards intimacy and unwavering trust in Allah is opened. It is a path to peace and serenity derived from Him, glorified is His praise.”

Passage 3: Prayer as Departure and Rebirth

This is the most expressive passage in the work. The Arabic builds intensity through a sequence of images that culminate in spiritual rebirth.

The opening creates a vertical movement: from sins to Allah, from the depths of routine to the heights of worship. “You experience a rebirth” then lands as a short declaration after the earlier build-up. The closing antithesis, “what was once irresistible becomes detestable,” compresses a longer explanatory idea into a form that reads as expressive English prose.

إن معنى أن تصلي هو أن ترحل عن خطاياك إلى الله، تخرج من دركات العادة إلى درجات العبادة. وهذا كلام يعبر عن حقائق إيمانية، لا يعلم مدى عمقها في نفس العبد المصلي إلا الله؛ إذ تتحول الأذواق وتتبدل، يتغير طعم المنكر في قلبك فلا تستحليه. ويتبدل ذوق شهوات الحرام من الرغبة إلى الغضبة! وتصبح خلقاً آخر! أبصر ثم أبصر! فإن الصلاة تصنعك! أن ما كان يأسرك من المحرمات بالأمس، ويملأ عليك قلبك نزوة ورغبة، فلا تستطيع التخلص منه؛ هو من أبغض الأشياء إليك اليوم!

“‘To pray’ is to depart from your sins towards Allah, transcending from the depths of routine to the heights of worship. These words express spiritual truths firmly established within the praying servant, the depths of which only Allah knows. As your likes and inclinations transform, the perception of sin in your heart also transforms, and desires for the forbidden shift from lust to righteous indignation.

“You experience a rebirth. Observe and reflect, for prayer is transformative; it moulds your being.

“Through prayer, you’ll discover that those prohibitions that were once captivating and seemingly impossible to shake off have suddenly become extremely repulsive to you; what was once irresistible becomes detestable.”