The Review Of The Words Adna Al-Ard And Al-'Ankabut In Malay Translation Of Holy Quran: Analysis Guided By Science-Oriented Exegesis Methodology

Attempts to translate the meaning of the Holy Quran in Malay Archipelago began since the middle of 17th century. However, the translation is not always accurate. This research utilised the use of science-oriented exegesis (tafsir 'ilmi) to help in producing better translation of meaning in Al-Quran. This article analyses two Malay translations of Holy Quran; Tafsir Pimpinan ar-Rahman and Tafsir Quran Karim guided by science-oriented exegesis (tafsir 'ilmi) to find out whether the translation of meaning matches modern scientific facts. The findings reveal that there is limitation in the translation of the meaning for the word adna Al-Ard to "nearest place", where the word actually has multiple meanings. For the interpretation of the mufassir and modern science fact, the suggested meaning for the word adna Al-Ard is supposed to be "the nearest place with the lowest altitude". Similarly, the word al-'ankabut was generally translated as a neutral-gender "spider" where it could specifically mean "female spider". It is hoped that this paper will be useful to translators and Muslim in general in understanding the meaning of the Holy Quran.