This section introduces the first translation of Munqidh into English by Claud Field. Firstly, it illustrates how and why the translator chose to translate Munqidh, the socio-cultural and historical conditions in which the text was produced and received, the general features of the text, and how the translator presented al-Ghazālī and Munqidh.
6.2.1 The Translator
Claud Field, the first translator of Munqidh into English, is not a well-known British orientalist, and little information is available about him, despite the fact that his work, whether originally written or translated, on oriental and Arabic culture and literature is extensive and rich. He was born in 1863 and died in 1941. His works, listed in the British Catalogue, give a general account of his life, work, and affinities with Islam and al-Ghazālī’s thought and work. In addition to his translation of Munqidh in 1909 and his retranslation of al-Ghazālī’s The Alchemy of Happiness(1910), he wrote With the Afghans (1908), Tales of the Caliphs (1909), Persian Literature (1912), A Dictionary of Oriental Quotations (Persian and Arabic) (1911), and numerous other books. His book Mystics and Saints in Islam (1910) contains translations on major Muslim Sufis written by German and French Orientalists.
As can be seen from the cover page of Field’s book With the Afghans, the author worked for the "Church Mission Society", an evangelical mission that was established in Peshawar (present day Pakistan) in 1853. Although Field worked for this mission in Peshawar for nine years (Field, 1911: v) he does not give details of the exact dates. From the cover page of his book Missionary
120
Enterprise, it is shown that Field studied arts (perhaps Arabic and Persian) at the University of
Cambridge. As was well documented, Cambridge, Oxford and London were the only British universities to teach Arabic and Arabic studies at that time. Therefore it can be assumed that he studied Arabic and other oriental languages at Cambridge in the 1880s, and that he was inspired by oriental literature during this time. However, like many of his contemporaries, Field preferred to work on these subjects outside of academic circles. In this regard, he is similar to the renowned orientalist and translator Richard Burton (1812-1890) who is associated with the English translation of The Arabian Nights.
The “oriental” languages Field knew, as can be seen from the books he wrote or translated, are Arabic, Persian and Hindustan. It is possible that he developed his knowledge of the latter two languages while he was in India (Pakistan), and that his interest in Islam and al-Ghazālī was deepened by his work and service in India, given the strong presence of Islam in this country. His translation of al-Ghazālī’s two books, Munqidh and The Alchemy of Happiness, in addition to an article he wrote on al-Ghazālī in 1910, point toward an early interest in al-Ghazālī’s life and his work, especially his religious and mystical works. In fact, Field himself referred in his introduction to his retranslation of al-Ghazālī’s Alchemy of Happiness that the latter’s religious and mystical thought or teachings became more important (for the West) in modern times because his image as a philosopher “has been greatly overshadowed by Avicenna, his predecessor, and Averroes, his successor and opponent” (1910: 3).
6.2.2 Motivations for Field’s Translation of Munqidh
Field’s translation of Munqidh seems to be mainly motivated by a personal appreciation of the text and its author. This is indirectly evident in the introduction he wrote for his translation of
Munqidh. After explaining the prestigious status of al-Ghazālī within the main stream of Islamic
ideology, Field points out that Munqidh is significant because it gives a personal account of this remarkable man. The text is also important because, from a literary point of view, it can be ranked alongside important English autobiographical works:
The following short treatise gives the history of the mind of this remarkable man in his pursuit of truth. It might not inaptly bear the title "Confessions of an Inquiring
121
Spirit." In its intellectual subtlety it bears a certain resemblance to Newman's Grammar of Assent, and in its almost Puritanical sense of the terrors of the world to come, it is akin to Bunyan's Grace Abounding. It is also interesting as being one of the very few specimens of genuine Eastern autobiography. (Munqidh, Field: 7-8).
This quotation not only shows the translator’s personal appreciation of Munqidh and its author, but also a sympathetic reading of the text which Field compares to Western canonical autobiographical texts.
It is also possible that literary and cultural influences might have impacted Field’s decision to translate Munqidh. Firstly, this includes an academic interest in Arabic and Islamic literature in the West in general and in Britain in particular in the 19th and 20th centuries, and, secondly, the strong Victorian interest in personal accounts or narratives, especially those that portray an individual’s struggle to ‘maturity’ including religious and intellectual ‘maturity,’ usually presented in terms of conversion (Moran, 2006: 111). Personal accounts or autobiographies as a genre were not only well-established during this period in Britain, but also proved very popular (see Hackett, 1988: 57), and the translation of Munqidh can be placed within this cultural and literary trend.
6.2.3 General Features of Field’s Translation
Field translates Munqidh into English under the title The Confessions of Al-Gazzali. The text appeared for the first time in a successful series called "Wisdom of The East" that was launched by the British publisher John Murray. The books that appeared in this series include numerous translations of Arabic classic works that were edited under the supervision of leading scholars and contemporary specialists. The series editors highlight the reason behind publishing these works and translations in English, mainly to promote understanding between East and West, between "the old world of thought" and "the new world of action". From this perspective, translation could promote ‘understanding’ between these two worlds. The editors of the series in which Field’s translation was published further highlight this concept of translation as a means to promote understanding between different cultures by stating that these translations “shall be the ambassadors of good-will and understanding between East and West” (ibid). An interest in
122
‘Eastern’ thought (perhaps religious and moral thought) is evidenced in the editor’s remarks that: "a deeper knowledge of the great ideals and lofty philosophy of Oriental thought may help to a revival of that true spirit of Charity which neither despises nor fears the nations of another creed and colour" (ibid).
Field does not mention the original language from which he translated Munqidh, but he does mention that the book is translated into English for the first time on the cover of his translation. The reference to the language into which a single text is translated is redundant because “the language of translation” is “a given” as readers understand implicitly that “the language of translation will be the language of their own literature” (Brisset 2000: 346). The phrase ‘for the first time’ on the cover of Field’s translation could be regarded as a means used by the translator or publisher to promote the translation as an important and long awaited event in the target language.
The translator, writing a short introduction to his translation of Munqidh, draws on the work of Macdonald as outlined in section (6.1) of this chapter. The text is presented with very few notes, no index, no glossary, and no bibliography. The translator does not discuss or theorize the problems he faced in translating the book.
Field’s translation of Munqidh appeared in 1909 under the title The Confessions of Al-Gazzali. This translation was the second work of al-Ghazālī in English after the translation of his major theological work the Alchemy of Happiness by Charles Homes in 1873. The translation of these two works points toward an early interest in al-Ghazālī and his thought, particularly his religious and Sufi beliefs, as each of these two works deal with particular aspects of Islam and Sufism. In fact, al-Ghazālī was the first Muslim scholar to be translated into English, and Munqidh was the first Arabic autobiography to be translated into the same language. Both texts belong to Arabic medieval literature, the main concern of Western translators in this period, as posited by Holes in section (6.1) of this chapter.
Given the fact that Field does not refer to the original language and text from which he translated Munqidh, it is difficult to determine which edition he used in translating the text. It is also
123
difficult to determine whether he translated it from a third language such as French as two French translations of the text appeared in 1842 and 1877.
In fact, Field's translation is incomplete as he omitted two chapters of the book: chapter five wherein al-Ghazālī introduces and discusses the views of the Ismāʽīlī sect, and the final chapter, wherein he mentions the reasons that led him to abandon his life of seclusion and resume a teaching position at Nīsābūr. Other references to these two chapters in the translation are also omitted. For example, in chapter two of Munqidh, al-Ghazālī informs the reader that he reviews the doctrines and teachings of the four truth seekers (theologians, the philosophers, the Ismā’līs, and the Sufis), but in Field’s translation the reference to the third group is omitted from the text (ibid: 22). In his introduction to his translation of Munqidh, Field does not mention the Ismāʽīlī sect as one of the four groups discussed by al-Ghazālī. Did the translator translate Munqidh from a corrupted edition in Arabic or other languages (Persian or Hindustan) or, instead, did he deliberately omit these two chapters from his translation? These questions are difficult to answer in the absence of any information about this matter. In all events, the omission of the chapter on the Ismāʽīlī sect robs the text of a vivid chapter on the religiously polemical debates between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in the 11th century. It could also be suggested that the omission of the last chapter from Field’s translation, in which al-Ghazālī explains why he resumed teaching after years in solitude would have consolidated the dominant image of al-Ghazālī as a person who spent later life as a wandering Sufi, after conversion to Sufism.
The original Arabic text of Munqidh is divided into chapters or sections and sub-sections. Field, in his translation of Munqidh, inserted additional sub-headings for each section which were not in the source text. In the Arabic text, the introduction was likely titled later by the copyists or the editors of the text, ةئطوت (introduction) with no sub-headings. Field titles the "introduction" with the heading "Ghazzali's Search for truth", and adds the following sub-headings within the introduction; Ghazzali's Search for Truth, The Sea of Doubt, His Thirst for Knowledge, Real Nature of Certitude. Field adds sub-headings within each chapter. These subheadings reflect the main notions of each chapter as interpreted by the translator, reframing the text, modernizing it, guiding the reader, easing the flow of the language and helping to build the autobiographical
124
narrative . It seems that adding sub-headings within literary texts was common during this period.
Field’s translation of the title of Munqidh is probably one of the most blatant features of his translation. By translating the title of Munqidh as The Confessions of Al-Ghazzali, Field in fact renames the original text. The words and the structure of the original title are replaced in this translation by a new vocabulary and structure in the translating language. The English title alludes to a long tradition of autobiographies and spiritual texts that bear the same title such as
The Confessions of Augustine, the Confessions of Jean Jacques Rousseau, and the Confessions of
an Inquiring Spirit by Samuel Coleridge. It is also significant that the English reference to
Munqidh as being the confessions of al-Ghazālī was mentioned earlier by Homes in his
introduction to The Alchemy of Happiness in1878. Homes seems to borrow this description from French Orientalists (see Homes, 1873: 6). This means that the title used by Field was common in the West at that time. It could be said that Field’s translation of the title of Munqidh follows this interpretation of the text in the West, which is not without consequences. For example, although the word "confessions" could be used, generally speaking, to refer to ‘the internal life’ of a person, it also suggests that al-Ghazālī, like Augustine and others, wrote the book to "confess" his sinful life in public before his "conversion" to Sufism, which hardly fits with al-Ghazālī’s purpose in writing Munqidh. The title “The Confessions of Al-Ghazzali’ also places Munqidh clearly in the tradition of autobiographical writings because the word ‘confessions’ is often associated with autobiography as a distinct genre in Western languages.
Despite the fact that Field omits two chapters from Munqidh, and adds or omits words or phrases throughout the text, generally speaking, his translation is not considered as paraphrasing the source text. To some extent, his translation is literal, although not as literal as subsequent English translations of the same text, as will be shown later in this chapter.
6.2.4 How al-Ghazālī and Munqidh are Presented by Field
Field wrote a short introduction to his translation of Munqidh. The information he gathers in the introduction builds upon the work of prominent orientalists such as Duncan Black McDonald, discussed in section (6.1) of this chapter, and Edward Granville Browne (1962-1926). The image
125
of al-Ghazālī and his Munqidh which the translator constructs shows sympathy with that created by McDonald. In the introduction, al-Ghazālī is portrayed as being a person who dedicated his life to the pursuit of truth, which he finally found in Sufism. Related to this is the image of al- Ghazālī as a Muslim thinker who synthesized formal Islam with Sufism, bestowing the former with new life. These interpretations ‘ring true’ with the Protestant background of the translator, especially the emphasis on upholding ‘spirituality’ and disdain for ‘formal’ and ‘scholastic’ religion.
In turn, Munqidh is presented as an important text because it “gives the history of the mind of this remarkable man in his pursuit of truth” (ibid: 8). According to Field, Munqidh should not only be seen as “one of the very few specimens of genuine Eastern autobiography” but also as important as some of the most significant autobiographies in the West (ibid: 8). Thus, Munqidh is important because it not only describes the inner struggle of a remarkable Muslim, but also because it is a genuine autobiography that should be ranked with Western autobiographical texts. Interestingly, as Munqidh is unreservedly categorized as an autobiography, this demonstrates a relative openness toward non-western autobiographies in a period where Western culture was seen as superior to all other cultures.
Field concludes his introduction to his translation of Munqidh with a quotation from McDonald stating that: "Islam has never outgrown him, has never fully understood him. In the renaissance of Islam which is now rising to view, his time will come, and the new life will proceed from a renewed study of his works." (ibid: 10). Despite the included exaggeration about al-Ghazālī’s status, it is interesting that the translator regards the ‘renaissance’ in the Islamic World to be of a religious nature, a commonly held belief among Orientalists who often view Muslim societies as ‘religious’ in nature and essence.
6.2.5 The Reception of Field’s Translation
To the best of my knowledge, there are no published reviews of Field’s translation of Munqidh in English. After its first publication in 1909, the text appeared in The Sacred Books and Early
Literature of the East, a book edited by Charles F. Horne and published in New York in 1917. In
126
of Al-Ghazzali but instead under the title The Rescuer from Error, a seemingly literal translation of the original Arabic title. It is difficult to tell whether the change of the title was made by Field himself or by the editor and/or the publisher of this book. Here, Horne describes Munqidh as being the most interesting and useful book for modern readers and as a spiritual autobiography which gives an account of the development of al-Ghazālī’s faith (Horne, 1917: 5). The text is further described as “a simple and earnest account” which “profoundly touched modern readers” (ibid: 100). It is also interesting that Horne observes that this text appears in this volume ‘in full’, which means that the text was taken to be a complete English translation of the source text and thus was wellreceived.
Field’s translation of Munqidh also appeared in volume two of the University Library of Autobiography which was edited by Tyler Daniels in 1918. The autobiographies contained in this book retell the lives of renowned thinkers of the Middle Ages, such as Abelard, Avicenna, and Dante, among others. The book cover invites the reader to explore "the great autobiographies and the autobiographical data left by the world's famous men and women". This also shows the distinctive status Munqidh accomplished in the West in general, and in the English-speaking world in particular, in the first half of the 20th century. It also shows that the representations which Field made about the text and its author were accepted within the target language and culture. The publication of The Confessions of Al-Ghazali in these two widely read books suggests that the text was well received in the language despite the fact that the translator omitted two chapters from the translation.
In the absence of the copyright of this English translation, several commercial publishers have invested in the text and republished it several times. The absence of any critical assessment of this English translation and the fact that subsequent translators of the same text did not even mention that the text was incomplete, may well have encouraged several commercial publications of this translation in English.
127