Investigative Notes on Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall’s Translation of the Qur’anic Surahs’ Names

The Meaning of The Glorious Qur’an of Muhammad Marmaduke is one of the earliest English translations of the Qur’an conducted by Muslims’ translators and the first translation conducted by an English-speaking Muslim scholar. This translation of the Qur’an has been the focus of a number of studies that scrutinise it from different angles. Yet, there has been no thoughtful study dedicated to investigate the issue of Pickthall’s translation of the Qur’anic surahs’ names. Utilising the Contrastive Analysis approach as a theoretical framework, this study aims to fill this gap by assessing the accuracy of the equivalents provided by Pickthall to the 114 Qur’anic surahs’ names. The study consists of an introduction and five sections. It gives a succinct description of the Qur’anic surahs’ names, pinpoints the major features of Pickthall’s translation of the Qur’an, details his own approach in handling the Qur’anic surahs’ names, and analytically discusses the difficulties he encountered when rendering such vital terms of the Qur’an into English. The chief purpose of this study is fourfold: 1) to gauge the accuracy of Pickthall’s translation of the Qur’anic surah’s names, 2) to identify the difficulties encountered by him, 3) to pinpoint his own procedure (s), and 4) to advocate recommended translations and practical procedures. The study finds that Pickthall has been inconsistent and experiences a number of syntactic and semantic difficulties when rendering the Qur’anic surahs names into English. The study also finds that due to unjustifiable syntactic and semantic deviations, Pickthall conducts three types of translational pitfalls, namely: over-translation, under-translation, and erroneous translation. It is hoped that the arrived at findings are of fruitful benefit to the translators of the Qur’an and, by extension, to scholars of Qur’anic and Islamic studies.


Introduction
The Muslim scripture is a corpus of 114 surahs (roughly: 'chapters', 'sections', 'portions', 'units of revelation', etc.). Every surah is assigned a particular name, which differentiates it from other surahs. There are, however, a number of surahs with more than one name designated to each of them. Traditional literature shows that there exist a number of Qur'anic surahs (e.g., Sūrat al-Fātiḥah and Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ) with more than twenty names assigned to each surah. The traditional literature also shows that the Qur'anic surahs' names are of two types when it comes to their origin. The first type is the Tawqifī names, which are the Qur'anic surahs' names designated by God and revealed to the Prophet. The second type of the Qur'anic surahs' names is the Ijtihādī names, which are the names derived through reasoning by the Companions of the Prophet or "introduced by later scholars and editors for convenience of reference" [11]. Stakeholders -traditional and/or modern -believe that each Qur'anic surah has at least one Tawqifī name assigned to it. They also believe that a great deal of the Qur'anic surahs have more than one Tawqifī name and a number of Ijtihādī names [13,33,34,37,38].
Given the fact that there is no clear-cut pattern accentuating the way of naming the Qur'anic surahs [11], scholars are of different opinions as to perceiving the nature of the surahs' names. Some of them believe that they are "catchwords" [22], or "key-words" [7], which take up "a particular lexeme from the text" [22]. Other scholars (e.g., Abdel Haleem and Robinson) believe that the surahs' names are words that depict the core topics of the Qur'anic surahs. It is more telling to know that some of the Qur'anic surahs derive their names from the al-ḥurūf al-muqaṭṭaʿah, i.e., the detached, and mysterious letters occur at the beginning of these surahs [3,14].
Being the key words of the Muslims' Scripture, the Qur'anic surahs' names are so important that understanding their intended meanings would by all means help in capturing the overall meaning of the surahs to which they are designated. Hence, the importance of translating them correctly into other languages, and the catastrophic consequences otherwise. Knowing that translating the Qur'an into other languages is not without a great deal of difficulties, translating the Qur'anic surahs' names involves no less difficulty. This is for the reason that they are culture-specific terms that encompass divine names, ritual concepts, abstract lexes and Prophets' names. Therefore, investigating the difficulties encountered and the procedures utilised by a given translator when tackling the Qur'anic surahs' names would definitely help recognise the approach of that translator in dealing with such key terms in their translation of the Qur'an. Notwithstanding, albeit the importance of these names and their centrality in understanding the Qur'an, no scholarly research has been conducted to account for the difficulties they pose, and the procedures employed by translators when dealing with them. This study is part of a large-scale project aims at closing this gap. It, specifically, explores the idiosyncrasies of Pickthall's approach in treating the Qur'anic surahs' names, the difficulties he encountered and the procedures he employed when translating them into English.

Pickthall's Translation of the Qur'an: A General Overview
Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall is the first Englishspeaking Muslim to translate the Qur'an. He was born in 1900. His father was a vicar and Rector of Chillesford, Suffolk, UK. [2,19]. After receiving his early education at Harrow, Pickthall studied Arabic and developed a close relationship with the Druzes of Mount Lebanon, which encouraged him to love Islam and embrace it in 1914 [19]. Serving as the Imam of Woking mosque, Surrey and the editor of Islamic Review journal along with his dissatisfaction with the earlier translations of the Qur'an especially the Qadyani Muhammad Ali's translation (published in 1917) were the main factors that led him to realize the necessity of conducting an accurate English translation of the Qur'an [19]. Consequently, Pickthall embarked upon the challenging task of translating the Qur'an. Sponsored by The Nizam of Hyderabad, India, and in consultation with the former Rector of al-Azhar University Shaykh Muhammad Mustafa al-Maraghi, he finalized and published his translation in 1930 under the title of The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'an [19].
Pickthall initiates his work with a Foreword and an Introduction. In his Foreword he states the aim of embarking upon translating the Muslim Scripture, which is, to use his words, "to present to English readers what Muslims the world over hold to be the meaning of the words of the Qur'an, and the nature of the Book, in not unworthy language and concisely, with a view to the requirements of English Muslims" [26]. Confirming as a fact the untranslatability of the Qur'an, which is the stance of "oldfashioned Sheykhs", Pickthall asserts that "no holy Scripture can be fairly presented by one who disbelieves its inspiration and its message; and this is the first English translation of the Qur'an by an Englishman who is a Muslim" [26]. In his Foreword, he also states his works of reference, which include the exegetical works of al-Beyḍāwī and al-Zamakhsharī, the Sirah works of Ibn Hishām and Ibn Khaldūn, the Prophetic traditions work of al-Bukhārī and Asbāb al-Nuzūl work of al-Wāḥidī [26].
Pickthall also writes a rather lengthy Introduction to his The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'an whereby he elaborates on the Prophet's biography and the Qur'an itself. He divides his Introduction into two distinct parts. Pickthall titles the first part as At Mecca to cover such details as the Prophet's birth, his marriage, the first revelation received by him, the beginning of persecution conducted against him, the flight of a number of his companions to Abyssinia, the plot to murder him, his immigration to al-Madinah and the classification of Meccan surahs among other things. Pickthall names the second part of the Introduction At Al-Madinah. He devotes it to account for such topics as the Jews, the hypocrites, the battle of Badr, the battle of Mt. Uḥud, the war of the Trench, the al-Ḥudaybiyah truce, the campaign of Khaybar, the conquest of Mecca, the Prophet's farewell pilgrimage, the illness and death of the Prophet, and the collection of the Qur'an [26].
As the number of English-speaking Muslims is rapidly increasing, Pickthall's translation has gained wide acceptance almost all over the world [19,29]. It has been re-issued for more than 80 times [19]. Some of the major factors that led Pickthall's work to become so popular include his adherence to "the conventional mainstream Muslim stance", which made him "not guilty of twisting or distorting the Qur'anic text with a view to giving it any particular slant, which is regrettably the case with the apologists and translators with a sectarian bias" [19]. Thus, being non-dogmatic, Pickthall's work enables "readers to gain first-hand acquaintance with the message of the Qur'an" [19].
Nevertheless, Pickthall's translation has come under criticism by a number of scholars for "a number of inaccuracies" it contains [29], the archaic language he uses and the shortage of explanatory notes included in his text. In this respect, Kidwai writes: Although he enjoys the distinction of being the first major Muslim translator, his work has grown dated over the years. Particularly, his use of archaic biblical language has been a stumbling block for readers […] Another equally serious weakness in Pickthall's work is the absence of a sufficient number of explanatory notes. As a result, uninitiated readers might not derive as much guidance from the Qur'an as is hoped for [19]. Notwithstanding, Pickthall's translation has been wellregarded by scholars in the fields of Qur'anic and Islamic studies. Abdel Haleem, for example, indicates that "Although his language may now seem almost artificially archaic, his translation keeps close to the original Arabic, and is still very popular among Arabs and Muslims." [2]. Along these lines, Kidwai [19]. What's more, the faithfulness of Pickthall's translation to the original has been the reason for taking it as the basis of comparison by stakeholders. Neal Robinson affirms that Pickthall's translation "generally gives a fairly literal rendering of the Arabic. I shall therefore use it as the basis for comparison" [29].
It is worth mentioning that Pickthall's translation has been thoroughly revised in 1996 by Arafat K. El-Ashi, who published a modified version of it in modern standard English [19]. This revised edition has been described as "better than the original and more suitable for today's readership" [19]. Pickthall died in 1992 to be remembered as a novelist [2], an editor of a number of Islamic journals, an extensive writer on different aspects of Islam [19], and most importantly as a great Qur'an translator.

Methodology
As a theoretical framework, this study adopts the Contrastive Analysis approach [18]. The main three paradigms of the Contrastive Analysis approach (i.e. Description, Tertium Comparationis and Comparison) are utilized to scrutinise the accuracy of the English equivalents given by Pickthall to the 114 Qur'anic surahs' names, and to analyse the difficulties experienced, and the procedure (s) employed by him when undertaking these names. Thus, Pickthall's English equivalents of the Qur'anic surahs' names are the very corpus data of this study. This corpus data is carefully scrutinised, categorised, compared and assessed. Main exegetical works, and authoritative Arabic lexicons are consulted and taken as the Tertium Comparationis, which constitutes "the biggest bone of contention in the comparison of [a source text] and a [target text] [… and] an invariant against which two text segments can be measured to gauge variation" [21]. These works are consulted to determine the intended significances of the Qur'anic surahs' names in order to be used as a basis for comparison upon which the accuracy of the provided equivalents and workability of the procedure (s) employed by Pickthall are assessed.
As a method of analysis, this study employs the following six steps in analysing the corpus data at hand: 1) determining the intended significance (s) of the names as understood by the Qur'an commentators and Arabic lexicographers; 2) mentioning the other name (s) cited in traditional literature; 3) stating the English equivalents provided; 4) investigating the provided equivalents; 5) assessing the procedure (s) employed by Pickthall; and 6) recommending the acceptable equivalent (s) and the feasible procedure (s).

Pickthall's Approach in Translating the Qur'anic Surah's Names
Like Yusuf Ali, Asad and Abdel Haleem, Pickthall offers an introduction note to every Qur'anic surah whereby he provides such vital information as its chronological order (i.e., whether it is a Meccan surah, Medinan surah, or otherwise), its main topic (s), and the reason for naming it per se. Moreover, Pickthall, similar to a number of translators (cf. Yusuf Ali, Ahmad Ali, Shakir, Fakhry, al-Hilali and Khan, Bakhtiar, Abdel Haleem, and Qarāʾī), gives the transliteration of each surah's name. Yet, he provides the transliteration in the introduction notes not with the English equivalent into brackets as the other translators do. There are five cases in which Pickthall gives the transliteration only as titles of the Qur'anic surahs. The surahs being: al-Ḥijr (Qur'an, 15), al-Isrā' (Qur'an, 17), Sabaʾ (Qur'an, 34), Fuṣṣilat (Qur'an, 41) and al-Jinn (Qur'an, 72). He, however, provides the English equivalents of these names in the introduction note of each surah. In tackling Sūrat Sabaʾ (Qur'an, 34), for instance, Pickthall gives 'Saba' as a title of that surah and provides the English equivalent in his introduction note, which reads: 'Sheba' takes its name from its name from [Verse] 15 ff., where Sheba (Saba), a region in the Yaman, is mentioned as having been devastated by a flood. It warns of the effect of luxury. An early Meccan surah [26]. The transliteration Pickthall provides is a diacritical one in which the letter "h" is utilized for the feminine marker 'i.e., tā' marbūṭah' (e.g., Al-Fātiḥah, Al-Baqarah, etc.), and the letter lām is assimilated with the sun letters 'al-ḥurūf alshamsiyyah' (e.g., An-Nisā', Ar-Rūm, etc.).
Additionally, unlike other translators who provide extensive and lengthy footnotes to elaborate on the other titles assigned to each surah, Pickthall keeps the usage of footnotes to a minimum. They are mainly used to provide the traditional rendering when the otherwise is provided in the translation. In his Foreword, Pickthall indicates that "On the one or two occasions where there is departure from the traditional interpretation, the traditional rendering will be found in a footnote" [26]. Pickthall's approach in undertaking the surah's names, the procedures he adopts, and the difficulties he experiences are accounted for in the following subsections:
Unlike Asad and Yusuf Ali who do a great job and provide appendices at the end of their translations devoted to explaining the nature of al-Ḥurūf al-muqaṭṭaʿah as one of the Qur'an-specific properties, Pickthall opts for providing the transliteration of these surahs' names along with brief comments about them in the introduction notes. Thus, in his comment on Sūrat Ṭāhā (Qur'an, 20), Pickthall indicates that this surah "takes its name from the Arabic letters which form the first verse" [26]. Similarly, in his comment on Sūrat Ṣād (Qur'an, 38), he states that "This surah takes its name from the letter of the Arabic alphabet which stands alone at the beginning of the first verse" [26]. Likewise, in his comment on Sūrat Qāf (Qur'an, 50), Pickthall asserts that it "Takes its name from the letter of the Arabic alphabet which stands alone at the beginning of the first verse" [26]. Pickthall, however, elaborates a bit in his introduction note to Sūrat Yāsīn (Qur'an, 36). He alludes to the other interpretation of the name of this surah as understood by a number of commentators. Pickthall's note reads: Ya Sin takes its name from the two letters of the Arabic alphabet which stands as the first verse and are generally held to signify Ya Insan ("O Man"). This surah is regarded with special reverence, and is recited in times of adversity, illness, fasting and on the approach of death [26]. It is vital to mention here that unlike other translators who deal with these names as words with specific meanings and provide their English equivalents (cf. [7]), Pickthall, considers them as part of al-ḥurūf al-muqaṭṭaʿah and deals with them as Arabic letters with Qur'anic mysterious meanings. The translational procedures utilised by Pickthall (i.e., treating these surahs' names as Arabic letters belong to the category of al-ḥurūf al-muqaṭṭaʿah, providing their transliteration, and giving information about them in the introduction notes) are commendable procedures which do not only allow the target text readers to test the flavour of the Qur'anic style but also provide them with the required background information. Other translators (such as: Arberry and Bakhtiar) who provide the transliteration of these letters only are recommended to follow suit.

Pickthall's Translation of the Qur'anic Surahs with Multiple Names
Pickthall adopts five different procedures in tackling the Qur'anic surahs with multiple names, viz. providing two names as a title, providing only the Ijtihādī name as a title, providing only the Tawqifī name as a title and mentioning the Ijtihādī one in the introduction note, providing only the Tawqifī name as a title and mentioning some of the Ijtihādī names in the introduction note, or providing one name and disregarding the other names.
Likewise, for Sūrat Ghāfir, Pickthall considers al-Muʾmin as a title of this surah and renders it 'The Believer'. In the introduction note of this surah, Pickthall indicates that: Al-Muʾmin, 'The Believer', takes its name from [verses] 28-45, which describe the attempt of a believer, in the house of Pharaoh, to dissuade his people from opposing Moses and Aaron. It is the first of seven surahs beginning with the Arabic letters Hā, Mīm, all of which are sometimes referred to as Hā. Mīm [26]. In a footnote, however, he mentions that it is "Also regarded in Egypt as Ghafir" (Pickthall, 1971, p. 616). It is fruitful to say here that this surah has three Tawqifī names, namely: Sūrat Ghāfir, al-Muʾmin, and Ḥāʾ Mīm al-Muʾmin and one Ijtihādī name, i.e., al-Ṭawl 'The Power' (cf. [37,38,33,13,34]).
Relatedly, for Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ, Pickthall considers al-Tauḥīd as a title of this surah and translates it as 'The Unity'. In the introduction note of this surah, he indicates that "At-Tauḥīd, 'The Unity', takes its name from its subject. It has been called the essence of the Qur'an, of which it is really the last surah" [26]. What is more, he provides a footnote in which he states that this surah is "Also regarded in Egypt as Al-Ikhlāṣ" [26]. There are two points that need to be addressed in this respect. Firstly, providing 'The Unity' as an equivalent to al-Tauḥīd involves a semantic deviation. This is because the Arabic equivalent for 'The Unity' is al-Wiḥdah not al-Tauḥīd, which means 'The Monotheism' in this particular context. Secondly, There are more than twenty titles given to Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ in the traditional literature, they  [37,38,33,13,34]).
Pickthall's third procedure of rendering the Qur'anic surahs with multiple names is to provide the Tawqifī name only as a title and mentioning the Ijtihādī one in the introduction note. This is manifested in his treatment of Sūrat al-Isrā' 'The Night Journey' (Qur'an, 17) to which he gives that transliteration of its Tawqifī name while mentioning its Ijtihādī name in his introduction note which reads: Banī Isrā'īl, 'The Children of Israel', begins and ends with references to the Israelites. Verse 1 relates to the Prophet's vision, in which he was carried by night upon a heavenly steed to the Temple at Jerusalem, whence he was caught up through the seven heavens to the very presence of God" [26]. It is worth mentioning that Sūrat al-Isrā' has another Ijtihādī name, i.e., Subḥān 'Glorified' [13,34].
Pickthall's fourth procedure of rendering the Qur'anic surahs with multiple names is to provide only the Tawqifī name as a title and mentioning some of the Ijtihādī names in the introduction note. This is shown in his dealing with Sūrat al-Fātiḥah (Qur'an, 1) 'The Opening' to which Pickthall provides its Tawqifī name (i.e., al-Fātiḥah) and mentions only three of its Ijtihādī names in his introduction note to this surah, which reads: Al  [37,38,33,13,34]).
Pickthall's fifth procedure of rendering the Qur'anic surahs with multiple names is to provide one name and disregard the other names. This is his main procedure. It is demonstrated in the following three illustrative examples: For Sūrat al-Taubah, Pickthall considers one of its Tawqifī names (i.e., al-Taubah) and translates it as 'Repentance'. He mentions its other Tawqifī name in the introduction note, in which he indicates that "Al-Taubah, 'Repentance', takes its name from [verse] 104. It is often called Al-Barāʾat (The Immunity), from the first word" [26]. He totally disregards the surah's Ijtihādī names. This surah is known by twelve  [37,38,33,13,34]).
The final point needs to be considered in this regard is that it would have been helpful for the target text reader if Pickthall elaborated on the other names assigned to the Qur'anic surahs with multiple names in his introduction notes, and/or footnotes. It would have been more helpful if he assigned an appendix at the end of his translation attending to this enquiry.
In Pickthall's approach of combining two procedures (i.e., providing the Biblical equivalents and the transliteration) is the recommended approach in translating the prophets' names mentioned in the Qur'an. Yet, adding the word 'Prophet' before these names (as conducted by al-Hilali and Khan) would be more helpful for the target text readers who presumably have no idea that Hūd, for instance, is a prophet's name.

Pickthall's Syntactic Deviations
The data collected from Pickthall's translation of the Qur'an shows that he experiences two types of syntactic difficulties in rendering the Qur'anic surahs' names, viz. Out of the aforesaid five cases, Pickthall tries to justify the number shift of one case only, that is providing the singular form equivalent 'The Story' for the plural form name al-Qaṣaṣ. He makes the point that this surah "takes its name from a word in [verse] 25. The name is moreover justified by the nature of the surah, which consists mostly of the story of Moses, his early struggles and ultimate triumph" [26]. It is true that about one half of this surah is dedicated to the story of Moses (Asad, 2011, p. 703), hence its Ijtihādī name in the traditional literature is Sūrat Musa 'The Surah of Moses' ((cf. [37,38,33,13,34]). Nevertheless, providing the singular form equivalent is still erroneous. This is because the plural noun 'al-Qaṣaṣ' is mistakenly taken by Pickthall (also by Asad, and Arberry) as a word derived from the noun Qiṣṣah 'a story, a tale, or an account'. It is in fact a plural form of the noun Qaṣṣ 'the storytelling, or the process of narrating'. This being said, the Yusuf Ali's translation, viz. 'The Narrations' constitutes the accurate and recommended translation for this surah's name.

Definiteness
The Providing indefinite equivalents to the definite Qur'anic surahs' names is an erroneous practice. Given the fact that these names are definite proper nouns, Pickthall should adhered to retaining the definite article when rendering them into English. Retaining the definite article of proper nouns well accommodates the English language grammatical rules and in turn shows accuracy and authenticity to the original text.
One may argue that some of the aforesaid surahs' names are generic or abstract nouns. Hence, they do not need the definite article when rendered into English. Three points need to be made here. First, the English language -in special cases -allows the usage of the definite article with generic or abstract nouns. Such a usage, however, is deemed to be archaic and old-fashioned. Second, due to the sensitive nature of the Qur'an as a sacred text, translators ought to be committed to exercise the paramount level of accuracy and authenticity to the original. Retaining the definite article of generic and abstract nouns when translating them into English is one aspect of such a commitment. Third, in his

Pickthall's Semantic Deviations
The other type of difficulty encountered by Pickthall is the semantic deviations he makes in translating the Qur'anic surahs' names into English. Such deviations cause translation loss and demonstrate unfaithfulness to the original. Picktahll's semantic deviations are carefully taken up in what follows:

al-Baqarah (Qur'an, 2)
Pickthall accurately renders al-Baqarah as 'The Cow' [26] In his introduction note to this surah, however, Pickthall refers to al-Baqarah as the 'Heifer'. He indicates that the surah is "so named from the story of the yellow heifer ([verses] 67-71). As the case with many other surahs, the title is taken from some word or incident which surprised the listeners […]" [26] [My italics]. Referring to al-Baqarah as the 'Heifer' is erroneous and suggests translational distortion. According to the English lexicographers, the noun 'Heifer' signifies "a cow that has not produced a calf and is under three years of age" [20]. This is, by all means, different from the intended meaning of al-Baqarah in this context, which is "a cow neither with calf nor immature" as it is described in verse 68 cited above. Regrettably, such a mistaken view has been adopted by Pickthall's contemporary Yusuf Ali, who renders al-Baqarah as 'The Heifer' in his The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an [35].
It is vital to note here that the traditional literature shows that Sūrat al-Baqara is also known by another Tawqifī name, i.e., al-Zahrāʾ 'The Shining', and two Ijtihādī names, i.e., fusṭāṭ al-Qurʾān 'The Canopy of the Qur'an', and sinām al-Qurʾān 'The Hump of the Qur'an' (cf. [37,38,33,13,34]). These names need to be alluded to by Pickthall in his introduction note to this surah.

al-Māʾidah (Qur'an, 5)
In the introduction note of this Medinan surah, Pickthall makes the point that it "derives its name from [verses] 112 ff., where it is told how the disciples of Jesus asked that a table spread with food might be sent down from heaven, and their prayer was granted, a passage in which some have seen an allusion to the Eucharist" [26]. He translates the name of this surah as 'The Table Spread' [26]. This translation is not quite accurate. It stops short of capturing the intended meaning confirmed in the traditional literature. Exegetes are of the interpretation that the term al-Māʾidah denotes Khuwān 'a dining table with the food on it' [28,37]. Thus, ' Table' -which merely signifies "a piece of furniture with a flat top on one or more legs" [24] -is not a 'Māʾidah' as long as there is no food on it. Accordingly, Pickthall's translation is inaccurate and involves a partial semantic loss. The accurate equivalent of al-Māʾidah is 'The Table Spread with Food' produced by al-Hilali and Khan and Bakhtiar. Interestingly, Pickthall in his translation of verse 112 of the surah at hand, provides the accurate translation. He translates Ma'idatan as "a table spread with food" [26].
It is worth noting that al-Māʾidah is the only Tawqifī name of this surah, which is also known by seven other Ijtihādī names in the traditional literature, namely: al-ʿUqūd 'The Contracts', al-Munqidhah 'The Rescuer, al-ʾAḥbār 'The Rabbis', and Malakūt Allāh 'The Kingdom of God' (cf. [37,38,33,13,34]). It would be better if Pickthall gave the target text reader a clue with regard to the other names given to this surah.

al-Zumar (Qur'an, 39)
In his introduction note to this Meccan surah, Pickthall declares that it 'takes its name from a peculiar word, meaning troops or companies, which occurs in [verse] 71, and again [verse] 73" [26]. While al-Zumar is the Tawqifī name of this surah, it is also known by an ijtihādī name in the traditional literature, i.e., al-Ghuraf 'The Rooms' [13,34]. The Qur'an commentators assert that the surah refers to "sorting out people into [Zumar] 'Groups' on the Day of Judgement" [8] where the term al-Zumar signifies separated groups of people, each group follows the other [28,37]. Pickthall gives 'The Troops' as equivalent to al-Zumar [26]. This equivalent dose not capture the intended meaning of the original. It suggests a military connotation which is neither explicitly nor implicitly intended in the original. The term 'Troops' is taken by the English lexicographers to mean "a body of soldiers being a subdivision of a cavalry regiment.
[…] a unit of group of Scouts" [20]. Consequently, Pickthall's translation is erroneous and involves in a semantic loss. The recommended translation would be the one proposed by al-Hilali and Khan, i.e., 'The Groups'.

Fuṣṣilat (Qur'an, 41)
In his introduction note to this Meccan surah, Pickthall alludes to one of its Ijtihādī names. He asserts that it "derives its title from a word in [verse] 2. It is also often called Hāʾ. Mīm. As-Sajdah, from a word in [verse] 37, Hāʾ. Mīm. being added to distinguish it from surah XXXII, which is called As-Sajdah" [26]. While Fuṣṣilat is the only Tawqifī name of this surah, the traditional literature shows that it is also known by other five Ijtihādī names, viz. al-Sajdah 'The Prostration', al-Maṣābīḥ 'The Lamps', Ḥāʾ Mīm Sajdah, 'Ḥāʾ Mīm Prostration', Sajdat al-Mu'min 'The Believer's Prostration', and al-Aqwāt 'The Sustenance' (cf. [37,38,33,13,34]). Thus, to give the target text reader a fuller picture, Pickthall needs to refer to the other Ijtihādī names assigned to this surah.
What is more, in dealing with this surah's name, Pickthall utilises two procedure. He firstly provides the name's transliteration 'Fuṣṣilat' and secondly gives its translation between brackets ("They are Expounded") [26]. Although combining the two procedures is a recommendable approach in dealing with the Qur'anic surahs' names, Pickthall's translation is not quite accurate. This is for the reason that it involves an unjustifiable tense shift, which results in a semantic deviation from the original. The term Fuṣṣilat is a past, passive voice verb. Whereas Pickthall's equivalent is a present, passive voice phrase. The Qur'an commentators take the term Fuṣṣilat to mean that the Qur'anic verses were differentiated, and their meanings were made distinct. Moreover, the commentators mention another recitation for the term Fuṣṣilat, i.e., Faṣṣalat (a past, active voice verb) meaning the verses of the Qur'an have distinguished falsehood from truth, or the verses were separated from each other consistent with their different meanings [37,8]. Consequently, the better and recommended translation of the term Fuṣṣilat is '[The Verses] Made Distinct', 'They Were Explained Distinctly', as it has been translated by Abdel Haleem, and Bakhtiar respectively.

al-Jumʿah (Qur'an, 62)
al-Jumʿah is the only Tawqifī name assigned to this Medinan surah [13,34]. Pickthall renders al-Jumʿah as 'The Congregation' [26] and notes that it "takes its name from a word in [verse] 9, where obedience to the call to congregational prayer is enjoined" [26]. Pickthall's equivalent of al-Jumʿah (i.e., 'The Congregation') is inaccurate and based on the literal meaning of the word. 'Congregation' denotes "An assembly of persons met for common religious worship.
[Or] An organization formed for the purpose of providing for worship of God, religious education, and other church activities; a local church society" [20]. The intended meaning of al-Jumʿah -as confirmed by the exegetes -is Friday, the day on which Muslims gather for prayer [28,37]. Thus, the translation produced by Dawood, i.e., 'Friday, or The Day of Congregation' can be taken as the recommended translation, which accurately captures the intended meaning.

al-Ḥāqqah (Qur'an, 69)
Pickthall indicates that this surah "takes its name from a word recurring in the first three verses. It belongs to the middle group of Meccan surahs" [26]. Similar to a number of translators (cf. Yusuf Ali, Irving, Ahmad Ali, and Bakhtiar), he provides 'The Reality' as an equivalent to this surah's name, which seems to be an inaccurate translation. English lexicographers take the term 'Reality' to denote: 1. the state or fact of being real. 2. resemblance to what is real. 3. a real thing or fact. 4. Philosophy a that which exist independently of ideas concerning it. B. that which exists independently of all other things; an ultimate thing which produce derivatives. 5. that which is real. 6. that which constitutes the real or actual thing, as distinguished from that which is merely apparent" [20]. No one significance of the aforesaid significances is close enough to the meaning of al-Ḥāqqah as understood by the Qur'an commentators, who unanimously confirm that al-Ḥāqqah means al-Qiyāmah, 'the Day of Judgement'. They are of the opinion that it signifies the indubitable and inevitable Hour, or the Hour in which the truth from falsehood is distinguished [37,28,8]. Consequently, Pickthall's translation is erroneous and results in a semantic loss. The accurate and the recommended equivalents of al-Ḥāqqah are those proposed by Abdel Haleem 'The Inevitable Hour' and Asad 'The Laying-Bare of the Truth'.
Moreover, while al-Ḥāqqah is the only Tawqifī name of this surah, it is also known by other two Ijtihādī names in the traditional literature, i.e., al-Silsilah 'The Chain', and al-Wāʿiyah 'The Consciousness' [13,34]. These Ijtihādī names need to be referred to by Pickthall in his introduction note to this surah.

al-Takwīr (Qur'an, 81)
Pickthall renders al-Takwīr as 'The Overthrowing' [26]. Such an equivalent captures only one aspect of the intended meaning confirmed by the Qur'an commentators. al-Takwīr has been given two significances, namely: 1) to be folded up in darkness, or 2) to be shrouded and taken away from the orbit [28,37]. Thus, Pickthall's translation results in a partial semantic loss. There are two ways to compensate for this translational loss. Either to add the other significance between two brackets, or to refer to it in the introduction note. It is worth mentioning that Pickthall employs the second compensational procedure in translating al-Dhāriyāt (Qur'an, 51), al-Jinn (Qur'an, 72), al-Burūj (Qur'an, 85), and al-Ṭāriq (Qur'an, 86).
Hence, the recommended equivalent for al-Takwīr would be: 'The Overthrowing (or 'The Shrouding in Darkness'). What is more, the traditional literature shows that this Meccan surah is also known by another Tawqifī name, i.e., Idhā al-Shamsu Kuwwirat 'When The Sun is Shrouded in Darkness' and an Ijtihādī name, i.e., Kuwwirat 'Shrouded in Darkness' [13,34]. These names need to be alluded to by Pickthall in his introduction note.

al-Ghāshiyah (Qur'an, 88)
Pickthall renders al-Ghāshiyah as 'The Overwhelming' and points out that it "takes its name from a word in verse 1" [26]. Three other Qur'an translators (Sale, Ahmad Ali, al-Hilali and Khan) proposed the same rendering. Pickthall's equivalent of al-Ghāshiyah lacks the impeded connotation of the 'Calamity'. Exegetes are of the opinion that al-Ghāshiyah signifies the calamity which overwhelms people with its difficulties and horrors. They take it to have two meanings, viz. 'the Day of Resurrection' or 'the Hellfire' (cf. [28,37]). Therefore, Pickthall's translation results in a partial semantic loss. The better and the recommended translation, which capture the intended meaning is that proposed by Shakir, i.e., 'The Overwhelming Calamity'.
al-Ghāshiyah is the Tawqifī name of this Meccan surah. It is also known by an Ijtihādī name in traditional literature, i.e., Hal Atāka Ḥadīthu al-Ghāshiyh 'Has There Come To You The Tiding of The Overwhelming Calamity?' [13,34]. A reference to the Ijtihādī name by Pickthall is needed. This would be quite useful for the target text reader who might see it titled as such.

al-Qadr (Qur'an, 97)
In his introduction to this surah Pickthall writes: [It] takes its name from a word in verse 1. It refers to the night (one of the last nights of Ramadan) on which the prophet received his Call and the first verses of the Qur'an were revealed in the vision of Mt. Hira. It is said to be the night on which God's decrees for the year are brought down to the earthly plane" [26].
Pickthall's note is in line with the opinion of Qur'an commentators, who indicate that al-Qadr is the night in which the first revelation was received by the Prophet, probably the 27 th of the month of Ramadan 13 years before the Prophet's emigration from Mecca to Madinah. It is so called due to its honour and glory as people's fate and destiny is determined in it [37,28,8]. Pickthall provides 'Power' as an equivalent to this surah's name [26]. 'Power' is not the intended meaning confirmed by the commentators and alluded to in the above-mentioned introduction note.

Discussion
The main two difficulties experienced by Pickthall in rendering the Qur'anic surahs' names (i.e., syntactic and semantic difficulties) cause a translation loss and vagueness on the part of the target text reader. Pickthall's inconsistency in tackling the Arabic definite article and the plural/singular forms not only shows his poor command of these aspects of Arabic syntax but also effects his faithfulness to the original. What is more, a close look at his semantic deviations from the intended meaning of the Qur'anic surahs names reveals that he makes three distinct types of translational pitfalls, viz. under-translation, over-translation, and erroneous translation. Newmark indicates that under-translation is the translation that "gives less detail and [it] is more general than the original" [23]. He further elaborates that "Most translations are under-translations, but their degree of under-translation is too high." [23]. Good instances of the under-translation pitfall made by Pickthall include his translation of al-Māʾidah (Qur'an, 5) as 'The Table Spread', al-Jumʿah (Qur'an, 62) as 'The Congregation', al-Takwīr (Qur'an, 81) as 'The Overthrowing', and al-Ghāshiyh (Qur'an, 88) as 'The Overwhelming'. In dealing with text types other than the Qur'an (and similar sacred texts), opting for the undertranslation procedure forms one of the correct choices. It is suggested by theorists for dealing with semantically complex terms which cause a "non-equivalence" problem at word level "particularly in the area of propositional meaning". It is referred to as "translation by a more general word (superordinate)" [9]. Nevertheless, in translating sacred scriptures in general and the Qur'an in particular, such a procedure must be avoided. This is because the Qur'an translators are expected to perform the utmost level of accuracy and faithfulness to the original within their human ability due to its socio-cultural sensitivity and multi-layered meanings. The second type of translation pitfalls made by Pickthall is over-translation, which Newmark takes it to denote the translation that "gives more detail than its corresponding [source language] unit. Often a more specific word" [23]. A good example of the over-translation pitfalls made by Pickthall is his translation of al-Zumar (Qur'an, 39) as 'The Troops'. The third type of translation pitfalls made by Pickthall is the erroneous translation by which we mean the type of translational pitfalls, which is other than the aforesaid under-translation and over-translation pitfalls. It is a total deviation from the intended meanings of the Qur'anic surahs Moreover, Pickthall's successful procedures of translating the Qur'anic surahs' names merit to be underscored and valued. One of his successful procedures is his employment of 'Couplets' technique. Newmark defines the 'Couplets' technique as mixing more than one procedure in "dealing with a single problem. They are particularly common for cultural words, if transference is combined with a functional or a cultural equivalent. You can describe them as two or more bites at one cherry" [23]. Pickthall's usage of this technique is manifested in combining three procedures: 1) providing the English equivalents of the Qur'anic surahs' names; 2) providing introduction notes to offer such crucial information as the chronological order of a given surah, its main theme (s), and the reason for naming it as such; and 3) providing a transliteration for each surah's name. Given the cultural specificity of the Qur'anic surahs' names and their semantic intricacy, adopting the 'Couplets' technique is the best way to deal with them. It does not only offer the target text readers the needed background information about the origin of each surah's name, but also allow them to appreciate its other shades of significances.
Another successful procedure is Pickthall's delineation of the different significances of the Qur'anic surahs' names of polysemic nature. When a given surah's name has more than one meaning confirmed by commentators, Pickthall provides its English equivalent based on one meaning and alludes to the other meanings in an introduction note. Two examples suffice to illustrate Pickthall's employment of this procedure. The first example is his treatment of al-Dhāriyāt (Qur'an, 51) to which he provides 'The Winnowing Winds' as an equivalent [26]. This is combined with an introduction note whereby he writes: al-Dhāriyāt "takes its name from a word in [verse] 1. I have followed the usual interpretation of the first four verses, but they may also be taken all referring to winds or to angels" [26]. The second example is Pickthall's translation of al-Ṭāriq (Qur'an, 86). He gives 'The Morning Star' as an equivalent [26] and offers a rather lengthy introduction note to attend to the name's other interpretations. His note reads: [al-Ṭāriq] takes its name from a word in verse 1. There are other meanings to the word Ṭāriq, but I have chosen that which must have occurred to every hearer of this surah, especially as in verse 3 it is stated that a star is meant. The Morning Star has here a mystic sense, and is taken to refer to the prophet himself. Some have thought that it refers to a comet which alarmed the Eastabout the time of the Prophet's call. Others believe that this and other introductory verses, hard to elucidate, hide scientific facts unimagined at the period of revelation, and are related to the verses following them. Ghamrāwi Bey, my collaborator in the revision of this work, informed me that the late Dr. Sidqi among others considered that the reference here is to the fertilising germ penetrating the ovary, the subject being the same as [verses] 5-7. An early Meccan surah [26].
Opting for one significance of such multi-sided surahs' names and alluding to other significances is the recommended procedure in dealing with complex polysemic Qur'anic terms. It indicates that the provided equivalent is the translator's preference to the best of his/her ability with which the target readers may agree or disagree.
Another successful procedure that needs to be highlighted here is Pickthall's handling of the Qur'an-specific terms such as places names and al-ḥurūf al-muqaṭṭaʿah. He opts for the 'Couplets' technique by employing more than one procedure. In his treatment of 'al-Ḥijr' (Qur'an, 15), for instance, Pickthall (like Asad and Arberry) does not provide its English equivalent. Rather, he gives its transliteration only [26] combined with an introduction note justifying his option. The introduction note reads: "[al-Ḥijr] (which I take to be a place-name) is so called from [verses] 80-84, where the fate of the dwellers at that place is described" [26]. Pickthall's treatment of this surah's name is in line with the commentators' view, who believe that al-Ḥijr is a valley situated between Mecca and Medina wherein Thamūd 'the people of the Prophet Ṣāliḥ' resided [28,37]. It is also in line with that of Asad's, who writes: The title, derived from the mention in verse 80 of the Arabian region known as al-Ḥijr, obviously suggested itself to the Prophet's Companions because of the many legends attached to that place-name since time immemorial. That it is a place-name and not a description ("rocky tract" or, according to some, "forbidden tract") is evident from the fact that an ancient township of that name, long since non-existent, is mentioned by Ptolemy as "Hegra" and by Pliny as "Egra". Consequently, I have left this title untranslated [7]. The advantage of Picthall's (and Asad's) procedure in dealing with this surah's name (and other similar places names) is it helps eliminate the ambiguity and translation loss the transliteration only procedure (as utilised by Ahmad Ali, Dawood, Zafrullah Khn, and Arberry) may cause to the target text readers, who lack the sufficient background information.

Conclusion
This study has adopted the Contrastive Analysis approach to assess the accuracy of the equivalents given by Pickthall to the 114 Qur'anic surahs' names. It provided a brief account of the Qur'anic surahs' names, highlighted the main features of Pickthall's translation of the Qur'an, elaborated on his very approach in dealing with the Qur'anic surahs' names, systematically discussed the difficulties encountered by him and outlined the procedures he utilized when translating these names into English. The study found that Pickthall -in spite of his success in translating a great deal of the Qur'anic surahs' names -was occasionally inconsistent and encountered two types of difficulties, namely: syntactic and semantic difficulties. The study also showed that Pickthall lapsed into three types of translational pitfalls when translating a number of the Qur'anic surahs' names, namely: over-translation, undertranslation, and erroneous translation. Such pitfalls caused meaning loss and ambiguity, which effected Pickthall's faithfulness to the original. This study, on the other hand, has demonstrated that Pickthall employed two successful procedures, namely: 1) adopting the 'Couplets' technique, which is the most practicable technique in dealing with such intricate and culture-specific items; and 2) presenting the different meanings of the polysemic Qur'anic surahs' names, which is in turn an affective procedure to unfold the multi-layered significances of these semantically complex names. Lastly, Pickthall's The Meaning of The Glorious Qur'an is one of the best English translations of the Muslim Scripture. It is out of objectivity and fairness to declare that the above-mentioned shortcomings ought not to be taken as underestimation of this great work. Rather, they are an attempt to perfect its already established success. The enormity of the task of translating such a sensitive and complex text as the Qur'an with this level of success deserves a great deal of appreciation and acknowledgement.