Metrical verse as a rule of Quranic translation : Some reflections on R.A.A Wiranatakoesoema's soerat Al-Baqarah (1888-1965)

Rohmana, Jajang A (2015) Metrical verse as a rule of Quranic translation : Some reflections on R.A.A Wiranatakoesoema's soerat Al-Baqarah (1888-1965). Al-Jami'ah Journal of Islamic Studies, 53 (2). pp. 439-467. ISSN 0126-012X (p); 2356-0912 (e)

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Abstract

The paper aims to analyze how literary translations of the Quran can grasp the meaning of the Quran and ‘subordinate’ it to local poetry rules, using R.A.A. Wiranatakoesoema’s Soerat Al-Baqarah as the object of study. It is a Sundanese poetic translation of the Quran in the form of guguritan or dangding and as such this study is focused on the implications of canto rules to the Quranic meaning field in the translation, analyzed using intertextual studies and semantic analysis. This research shows that the use of guguritan in the translation of the Quran might cause a problem of inaccessibility of the translated meaning. There are some implications of subordination of the translation of the Quran following the rules of guguritan. This tradition affected the expansion or constriction of the meaning, which in turn caused modification within the verses (ayat) in translation, and forced the use of loan words, particularly Malay. This study is significant not merely for demonstrating a diglossic ideology on language of the Quran that has affected Sundanese literature, but also for strengthening the thesis that ‘Sundanization’ of the Quran was performed as a form of resistance against Islam and Arabness through cultural impulses—especially Sundanese literature. Wiranatakoesoema’s Soerat Al-Baqarah is a creative effort that should be appreciated, but it must be noted that literary language can never be completely satisfactorily compared and translated.

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