constructing pathways to translation - Higher Education Commission

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stands for the great sin(Gunah-i-Kabeera) thus, it is not justified to associate the word
translation with the term ‘Rajum’. The exact meaning of the term translation yet remains
questionable and contradictory in Urdu language, because relating it to the term ‘Rajam’
raises number of questions. The term ‘Tarjuma’ needs to be differentiated from ‘Rajum’
in its specific religious sense, especially when the former is popularly accepted and
generally used in Urdu.
4.4.2 The Purpose of Translation
It is extremely difficult to delineate the exact purpose of translation. From the cultural
perspective, according to Mirza Hamid Baig (1988:16), no definite answer will be found
for it. In Urdu Translation tradition, if the example of the works of Syed Ahmed Bralvi
Shaheed and Shah Ismael Shaheed’s Dabistan is taken, it will generate controversial
confusion, because many Muslims consider the Urduized or nativized teachings of
Christian missionaries in India as cultural and religious invasion at the civilization level.
Similarly the purpose of translation of the Bible and Anajeel is again, difficult to be
defined, because Syed Ahmed Brelvi and Shah Ismael devoted their entire lives to
prevent this religious and cultural invasion to be penetrated in Muslim culture.
On the other hand if the purpose of literary translation is considered, the answer is not
very difficult to define. It can be safely said that literature and language pursued a
continuous process of internal and external struggle and scrutnization in the literary
world of translation. This kind of creative continuity can be discerned in the West from
Plato and Aristotle till the time of Coleridge, which has now adopted the form of a
literary fashion. But in Urdu right till today, one has to discover Plato or Aristotle in the
field of literary criticism and the ‘craft of translation’. No such systematic and
methodical attempt has ever been made to write the history of translation in Urdu, as in
English.
Urdu theorists concede consensually that language flourishes in variously by means of
translations. On the linguistic level, through translations, diverse and multiple devices
for the expression of thoughts and expressions (Asaleeb-i-biyan) are introduced. During
the process of translation, while new words are generated, previously existing words are
given new nuance and usage, air and energy. New literary genres are also brought into
existence through Translations. Urdu language owes its development to translations.