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The central aim is to investigate how translator interventions affect the semantic openness of the Qur’anic text.

Between text and commentary: translator intervention and semantic openness in English translations of the Qurʼān

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The central aim is to investigate how translator interventions affect the semantic openness of the Qur’anic text.
Developed an analytical typology of five modes of translator intervention.
Applied the typology to two Qur’anic verses with rich exegetical history.
Analyzed six English translations against classical commentaries by al-Tabari, al-Razi, and Ibn Kathir.
Identified a consistent pattern where interpretive choices from commentaries were embedded in translations, limiting semantic openness.
Concluded that no explicitation or paratextual explicitation is necessary to fulfill the obligation to preserve the verse's semantic openness.

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Examines translator choices impacting the interpretation of the Qur'an, suggesting a need for semantic preservation.

Erebih et al. (2026) studied this question.

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