Translating Divine Attributes: A Comparative Analysis of Al-Aziz Al-Hakim in Selected Qur'anic Translations

Abstract

Translating divine attributes from the Qur’an into English Qur’an translation involves decisions shaped by theological, linguistic, and contextual considerations. The pair العزيز الحكيم (Al-Aziz Al-Hakim) appears exactly 47 times in the Qur’an. This paper investigates M.A.S. Abdel Haleem’s context-sensitive translations regarding these specific attributes. Most often, "the power to decide," "the Exalted, the Decider," "the Mighty, the One to Decide," and "the Well-Informed Judge." Other modern translators, like Mustafa Khattab and Musharraf Hussain, consistently employ "the Almighty, All-Wise" and "the Almighty, the Wise," respectively. Using Vermeer and Reiß's (2013) Skopos theory as a guiding theoretical framework, this paper examines Abdel Haleem’s context-sensitive translation approach, exploring why and how the translation purpose and audience affect translation decisions. The findings indicate that 44 instances are rendered identically by Abdel Haleem, whereas three use context-driven variants. This suggests that variation is intentional and reflects a functionalist translation strategy rather than inconsistency. Khattab and Hussain’s translations are consistent in translating the two attributes. Both of them put more emphasis on uniformity and doctrinal clarity over context-based variation.