Alexander Ross’s Translation of the Holy Quran and Analysis of the References, Terms, and Errors in his Rendition

Abstract

As we know, in the process of translation the terms play a very vital role in rendition and many times it becomes challenging to find the appropriate equivalent in the target language. In this article, we will analyze the translation of the terms by Alexander Ross in his rendition. I will evaluate how much a process of translation is affected by the knowledge and context of the translator. It becomes even more important when any rendering of the Holy Qur’an takes place from a language other than Arabic as Ross had translated the Holy Qur’an from the French language, thus he had made many mistakes in his translation, almost on every page of his rendition. Therefore, the objective is to examine his rendition for errors and mistranslations. I will further investigate the references given by Ross to validate the authenticity of his translation of the Qur’an and highlight the omissions, and additions with examples.