ISLAMIC TEXTS SOCIETY – AL-GHAZALI SERIES
Conventions and Notes for Translators
While each translator has his/her own tastes and gifts when
translating from a foreign language, it is clearly necessary
that the volumes in this series be linked by a common style
of translation and that some basic conventions of translation
be consistently observed throughout. This style and these
conventions can be readily discerned by referring to the
translations from the I^y¥’ which have already appeared in
the series, but for convenience's sake some of the key
points which translators should know are summarised here:
1. All texts submitted to the ITS must be on disc as well as
in hard copy form. The programme used should be
Microsoft Word. Fonts for transliteration are provided by the
ITS and consist either of a Bembo font for Mac users or a
Times font for PC users.
2. IJMES transliteration should be used. In early translations
in
the
series
the
transliteration
system
used
was
the
modified EI method which included the underlining of gh, th,
dh, sh. This is no longer necessary and the transliteration
system has now been harmonised with that used by most
academics and that used in our other publications.
3. All Arabic text used should be fully transliterated.
4. Two or preferably three textual versions should be used
as a basis for the translation, with significant variations (not
obvious typos) cited in Arabic, with English translation if
necessary, in the endnotes. The various editions are listed
in ¢Abd al-Ra^m¥n BadawÏ’s Mu’allaf¥t al-Ghaz¥lÏ, and most
are readily accessible as Beirut reprints. One of the texts
used must be that reproduced in the margin of ZabÏdÏ’s
It^¥f.
5. The sequence of contents in each volume should follow
the precedent set in The Remembrance of Death and
Disciplining the Soul.
6. Translator’s annotations should be clearly distinguished
into (1) footnotes, containing material illuminative of the text,
to be printed on the text page; and (2) endnotes (at the
end of the book), containing variant readings, Qur’¥n and
€adÏth references, etc, to be printed at the end of the text
section. In formatting this, the usual Word footnote/endnote
function should be used with the footnotes marked as A, B,
C, and the endnotes as 1, 2, 3.
7. Wherever possible, reference should be made in the
footnotes to other relevant passages in the I^y¥’, and
especially in the works so far translated. Given the lack of
a standard edition, reference to the Arabic original of the
I^y¥ should use the system of specifying the kit¥b and other
rubrics used by the author. See Remembrance of Death or
Disciplining
the
Soul
for
examples.
In
addition,
it
is
necessary to give the volume and page number of the
€alabÏ edition.
8. Biographical information about persons occurring in the
text must be confined to the appropriate appendix, giving
appropriate references.
9. Works referred to in the text should ideally be the same
editions as those cited in the bibliographies of the volumes
which have already appeared.
10. €adÏth identification is very important, especially for
Muslim
readers,
given
the
ongoing
controversy
over
Ghaz¥lÏ’s use of this material. It is essential that every
^adÏth identified as such by ¢Ir¥qÏ and ZabÏdÏ be tracked
down if this is humanly possible. Most appear in the
standard collections covered by Wensinck’s Concordance
(beware of the errors in this). There is a useful fihrist to the
^adÏth appearing in the T¥rÏkh Baghd¥d and the €ilya of
Ab‰ Nu¢aym, by the late Shaykh al-Ghim¥rÏ. Other indices
have been published to the hadith material in the Musnad
of >ay¥lisÏ, the Adab Mufrad of Bukh¥rÏ, the Musnad of
DaylamÏ,
and
some
others.
The
new
edition
of
the
Mustadrak
of
al-€akÏm,
which
is
far
better
than
the
Hyderabad edition, also includes an index.
11.
Identification
of
non-^adÏth
material,
only
partially
achieved in Disciplining the Soul, is not essential but
worthwhile if it can be done thoroughly.
12. Here are some standard translations which are to be
used throughout.
All¥h
God
Ras‰l
NabÏ
Emissary
Prophet
|alla’Ll¥hu ¢alayhi wa-sallam
(may
God
bless
him
and
grant him peace)
ra\iya’Ll¥hu ¢anhu
(may God be pleased with
him)
ra^imahu’Llah
Bay¥n
B¥b
(may God show him mercy)
Exposition
Chapter
13. The entries for the general index have to be submitted
with the manuscript. Everything that might remotely be
useful to researchers should be included. Entries for the
Qur’¥nic index will also have to be submitted with the
manuscript. Page numbers will have to be entered by the
translator on receipt of page proofs.
14. The list of abbreviations to references appearing at the
beginning of previous translations in the series should be
used in the footnotes/endnotes and Biographical Appendix.
15. Remember that many people use these translations for
devotional purposes. It is obviously not possible to include
in
the
introduction
or
notes
any
views
which
in
the
judgement of the ITS might offend believing Muslims.
16. In translations from the I^y¥’, the introduction need not
include a life of Ghaz¥lÏ, as this will be attempted in the
introductory volume to the entire series. But a thorough
academic
treatment
of
the
importance
of
the
issues
discussed in the book is necessary, with endnotes to the
introduction referring the reader to the standard primary and
secondary literature in the field. These endnotes should be
placed at the end of the introduction and not at the end of
the manuscript.