On the translatability of Qur’anic pun

This paper explores the translatability of Qur’anic pun. With reference to a phalanx of authoritative Qur’anic exegetes and three leading Qur’anic translations, and by drawing on ʿAtīq’s (1985) taxonomy of Arabic pun, and Delabastita’s (2004) model of pun translation, the study examines a four-fold classification of pun: (1) abstract pun, (2) immediate-meaning-oriented pun, (3) far-meaning-oriented pun, and (4) aided pun. Given the semantic indirectness and sophistication immanent in punning, it is argued that Qur’anic pun, as a rhetorical device, is quite thorny from a translational standpoint. The study reveals that three out of nine translation strategies have been used: the literal strategy, the manipulative strategy, and the situational strategy. The literal strategy capitalizes on the immediate meaning, and ‘auctions off’ or ‘pulverizes’ the punning meaning, which, subsequently, may result in incommensurate translation damage. The situational strategy involves adding, for the entire translation, a descriptive word or phrase between brackets, and the manipulative strategy advocates text-in-context perspective. The study wraps up with a proposal for the interpretive strategy, which hinges upon exegesis-driven paraphrasing. This particular translation strategy has a greater emancipatory potential.