The Translation Movement in the Arab World: From the Pre-Islamic Era Until the end of Umayyad Dynasty (Before 610-750 A. D.)

Abstract

This research is a retrospective explanatory one. It traces back the contribution of Arab translators on the global translation movement and civilization starting from the pre-Islamic era until the end of the Umayyad caliphate in 750 A. D. The importance of translation in transferring knowledge from one nation to another and from one civilization to another is well-known to every scholar and researcher. This study has revealed that the contribution of Arab translators on the global translation movement and civilization has been performed by transferring knowledge and sciences from different resources, such as China, India in the East, and Greece, Roman empire in the west into the Islamic state in the Arab lands, and then they have participated in transferring that knowledge into Europe in the high medieval ages. Moreover, this research paper has provided evidence that the transfer was not limited to sciences such as chemistry, astronomy, botany among other branches of science. It has rather extended to include arts and literature; Arab translators have translated fiction and stories from India and East Asia to Europe and the West. This study has also affirmed that Arabs, before Islam, were mainly living, in the Arabian Peninsula, they have been divided and attracted into either one of the two biggest and strongest civilizations and powers at that time; the Romans in the west and Persians in the east. In other words, Arabs didn't have at that time an independent civilization, unified state or entity. When Islam came, the situation has dramatically been changed. This will be elaborated in details in this study. This research is composed of five sections. The first section is an introduction which discusses the significance of this study and definition of related terms. The second section reviews the related literature. The third section tackles the translation movement during different stages, this implies the pre-Islamic stage and Islamic stages including the translation movement during Prophet Muhammad’s life (610-632 A. D), the ruling period of the Rightly Guided Caliphs (Al klhulafa Ar rashidun) (632-661) and the Umayyad ruling stage from 662 to 750 A.D. The fourth section discusses the results and findings. The final section summarizes the study and submits suggested recommendations.