#oneabstractaday

This chapter argues that tarjamat al-awliyāʼ —“the translation of the saints”—the medieval term for hagiography or sacred biography in Islam, is not a metaphor but an actual process of translation. Instead of translation from one language to another, the “translation of the saints” in hagiography is best understood as translation by means of interpretation, which is one of the meanings of the Arabic term tarjama . Theoretical concepts from the field of translation studies significantly enhance our understanding of the ways in which hagiography “translates” sainthood and promotes a sense of spirituality. Three “bridge concepts”— translation as representation , intercultural translation , and intersemiotic translation — are especially important in hagiographical narratives.

#hagiography #manāqib #translation #sacredbiography @islamicstudies

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118533789.ch5

https://www.academia.edu/93498667/Translating_Sainthood_in_Islamic_Hagiography