Tijārah in Colonial and Contemporary Qur’anic Translations: Meaning Transformation and Implications for Islamic Economic Law Understanding
Keywords:
tijārah, translation, Qur’an, meaning transformation, Islamic economic lawAbstract
Differences and changes in meaning in the translation of Qur’anic terms have the potential to influence the understanding of religious concepts, particularly in the field of Islamic economic law. Using a qualitative approach, this study explores the transformation of the meaning of tijārah in Qur’anic translations across two versions, namely the colonial and contemporary translations, and analyzes the factors causing this transformation as well as its implications for the understanding and construction of Islamic economic law. The data of this study consist of the word tijārah in the Qur’an along with its two translation versions, namely the colonial translation by Mahmud Yunus and the contemporary translation by the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia. The data collection technique employs observation and note-taking methods, while data analysis is conducted through data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. The findings reveal three patterns of transformation, namely stability, de-explicitation, and lexical shift. These transformations are influenced by translation ideology, language development, socio-historical context, and the epistemology of Islamic law. This study concludes that translation is ideological in nature and has implications for the understanding of contracts (ʿaqd), the concept of profit, legal flexibility, and the space for contemporary ijtihād in Islamic economic law.
References
Al-Ashfahani, A. R. (2004). Mu’jam Mufradat Alfazh al-Qur’an. Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyah.
Ali, A. J., Al-Aali, A., & Al-Owaihan, A. (2013). Islamic perspectives on profit maximization. Journal of Business Ethics, 117(3), 467–475. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1530-0
Arain, A. W., Madni, A. H., & Aftab, M. A. (2024). The Adverse Impact of Ribā on Society. International Research Journal of Management and Social Sciences, 5(1), 355–373. https://irjmss.com/index.php/irjmss/article/view/249
Aravik, H., Hamzani, A. I., & Khasanah, N. (2021). The role of the state in the Islamic economic system: A review of Abbas Mirakhor’s thought. Islamic Banking: Jurnal Pemikiran Dan Pengembangan Perbankan Syariah, 7(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.36908/isbank.v7i1.271
Azka, M. I., & Sutrisno, A. (2025). Lexical transformation in the translation of cultural terms: A case study of Ayu Utami’s Saman. Leksika: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra Dan Pengajarannya, 19(3), 283–294. https://doi.org/10.30595/lks.v19i3.28105
Bilous, N., Diachuk, L., & Dovzhenko, I. (2023). Lexical transformations used while translating English media texts into Ukrainian. International Humanitarian University Herald. Philology, 1(59), 172–175. https://doi.org/10.32841/2409-1154.2023.59.1.39
Budiman, B. (2020). Profit Management and Islamic Business Ethics. International Journal of Islamic Khazanah, 10(2), 95–104. https://doi.org/10.15575/ijik.v10i2.12032
Challoumis, C., & Eriotis, N. (2025). Evolution of banking systems: A comprehensive historical analysis. Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, Economics and Finance, 7(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.55214/jcrbef.v7i1.4245
Eshkuvatovna, K. L., & Furkatovna, S. D. (2022). The Analysis of the Usage of Lexical Transformations in the Translation of the Words Expressing the Concept “Hospitality.” European Journal of Life Safety and Stability (2660-9630), 16, 101–104.
Gabdkarimova, G. S., Mukhamadi, K. T., Koksal, D., & Osmanova, Z. (2025). Lexical and semantic transformations in translation (on the Materials of Abai Kunanbayev’s Poem). Eurasian Journal of Philology: Science & Education, 197(1), 232–243. https://doi.org/10.26577/EJPh2025197122
Hanic, A., & Smolo, E. (2023). Islamic approach to corporate social responsibility: an international model for Islamic banks. International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management, 16(1), 175–191. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMEFM-07-2021-0284
Haque, A., & Sajarwa, S. (2025). Transformasi penerjemahan bentuk seksisme dalam novel Pasung Jiwa ke dalam novel Bound. Diglosia: Jurnal Kajian Bahasa, Sastra, Dan Pengajarannya, 8(2), 409–422. https://doi.org/10.30872/diglosia.v8i2.1154
Jazil, T., & Firdaus, A. (2024). The concept and practice of integrity, honesty, and fairness in business: Al-Itqan, islamic business value. Abdelhak Boudjelida Papers & Citations, 24, 75–102. https://doi.org/10.52305/OJLG4208
Karimova, U. (2025). Can A Translation Ever Be Truly Neutral, or is Every Translation An Act of Interpretation? Educator Insights: A Journal of Teaching Theory and Practice, 1(9), 234–241. https://brightmindpublishing.com/index.php/EI/article/view/1434
Kusmila, Febriyarni, B., & Saputra, H. (2022). Telaah Makna Tijarah dalam Al-Qur’an. Al-Huda: Journal of Qur’anic Studies, 1(2), 135–160. https://studentjournal.iaincurup.ac.id/index.php/alhuda/article/view/788
Ma’shumah, N. K., Syamsi, A. N., Sianipar, I. F., & Nur, M. R. O. (2022). “Why you gotta be so rude?”: The transformation of Indonesian’s taboo words into English. Journal of English Language Teaching and Linguistics, 7(1), 139–156. https://dx.doi.org/10.21462/jeltl.v7i1.741
Madani, H., Kebbi, A., & Khalid Nainar, S. M. (2025). Lost in Translation-Why an independent institutional identity of Islamic banks failed to emerge? Business & Society, 64(2), 379–420. https://doi.org/10.1177/00076503241255887
Maisuri, D. E., Jannah, F., & Kamaroellah, R. A. (2025). Implementation of the Concept of Islamic Economic Equilibrium in Tagangser Laok Village: Between Spiritual Aspects and Community Welfare. Kawanua International Journal of Multicultural Studies, 6(2), 151–163. https://doi.org/10.30984/kijms.v6i2.1843
Mukminin, M. S. (2025). Transformasi Gramatikal pada Penerjemahan Lirik Lagu Satu Bulan ke dalam Bahasa Arab. Dualy: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Arab, 2(1), 29–37. https://doi.org/10.35905/dualy.v2i1.13023
Mukminin, M. S., Alfath, M. H., & Ahmed, A. (2026). Transformation of Terms Ḥārth in Quranic Translation: Comparing Colonial-Era and Contemporary Translations. Jurnal Studi Al-Qur’an, 22(1), 35–57. https://doi.org/10.21009/JSQ.22.1.03
Mukminin, M. S., & Muhhit, A. A. (2025). Lexical Transformation of Blender Part Terms Translation in The User Manual. ReALL-Research on Applied Linguistics and Literature, 4(1), 19–28. https://ejournal.unsap.ac.id/index.php/reall/article/view/1898
Mukminin, M. S., & Sajarwa, S. (2025). Social Relation Transformation in The Javanese Addresses Expressions Translation into Arabic in Gadis Kretek Novel. Center of Middle Eastern Studies (CMES), 18(1), 131–148. https://doi.org/10.20961/cmes.18.1.101679
Munawwir, A. W. (1997). Al-Munawwir: Kamus Arab-Indonesia. Pustaka Progressif.
Perfors, A., & Navarro, D. J. (2014). Language evolution can be shaped by the structure of the world. Cognitive Science, 38(4), 775–793. https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.12102
Pujianti, K., & Sajarwa, S. (2025). Transformasi Leksikal Penerjemahan Kata-Kata Budaya Jawa ke dalam bahasa Inggris pada Novel Bahasa Indonesia Anak Bajang Menggiring Angin. Humanis, 29(3), 368–378. https://doi.org/10.24843/JH.2025.v29.i03.p09
Ramadani, S. R., Kamila, S., Rusliyane, R., Akbar, L. S., & Malik, M. I. (2025). The Concept of Buying and Selling in Muamalah Fiqh: Study of Harmony, Transaction Terms and Prohibitions. Kawakib: Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 2(1), 30–40. https://doi.org/10.63738/kawakib.v2i1.30
Sajarwa, S., Arrasyid, N. D., & Thanh, T. N. (2025). Lexical transformations in the translation of definite and indefinite articles in French sentences into Indonesian. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 15(1), 251–260. https://doi.org/10.17509/00fr2514
Satria, B., Bahry, S., & Fauzi, F. (2021). Term Tijarah dalam Perspektif al-Qur’an (Studi Tafsir al-Munir). Thullab: Jurnal Riset Dan Publikasi Mahasiswa, 1(2), 131–146. https://ejournal.iainkerinci.ac.id/index.php/thullab/article/view/1453
Yufriadi, F., Syahriani, F., & Afifi, A. A. (2024). Trade transformation in the digital era: Agency role, opportunities and challenges. Al-Imam Journal on Islamic Studies, Civilization and Learning Societies, 5(1), 13–23. https://doi.org/10.58764/j.im.2024.5.55
Yunus, M. (1969). Tafsir Qur’an Karim. Kementerian Agama Republik Indonesia.
Zailani, M. N., Satar, N. H. M., & Zakaria, R. H. (2022). Maqasid Al-Shariah based index of socio-economic development: A literature review. The Journal of Muamalat and Islamic Finance Research, 19(1), 47–62. https://doi.org/10.33102/jmifr.v19i1.409
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Muhamad Saiful Mukminin, Muhammad Habibie Alfath
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a?áCreative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License?áthat allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See?áThe Effect of Open Access).
?á
?á
