ORIENTE

MODERNO
Oriente Moderno 95 (2015) 106-124
brill.com/ormo

In Other Words: The Ethics of the Translator in

17th-century al-Andalus. The Perspective of
Aḥmad Ibn Qāsim al-Ḥaǧarī al-Andalusī
Maria Grazia Sciortino
Università di Palermo
mariagrazia.sciortino@unipa.it

Noi non possiamo essere imparziali.

Possiamo essere soltanto intellettualmente onesti.
Gaetano Salvemini

Abstract

This study focuses on a particular aspect of the Translation Studies or Dirāsāt

al-tarǧamah, i.e. the ethics of the translator.
Starting from the analysis of concepts like “cultural otherness” or “linguistic hospi-
tality”, theorized by Antoine Berman, Lawrence Venuti and Paul Ricoeur, and concern-
ing the translator’s process of mediating between languages and between cultures, it
will be taken into account the specific case of a muslim traveller and interpreter,
Aḥmad ibn Qāsim al-Ḥaǧarī al-Andalusī (d. 1051/1641), author of the Kitāb Nāṣir al-dīn
ʿalà l-qawm al-kāfirīn, who was asked, by a Christian authority (the Archbishop of
Granada), to translate some Arabic manuscripts.
In such a context, the act of translating highlights not only the problem of herme-
neutics and inter-religious dialogue, as interpretation of a different text and a different
faith’s language, but also the problem of ethic relationships inherent in encountering
the Other.

Keywords

Translation Studies – Linguistic hospitality – Ethics of the Translator – Riḥlah –

17th-century al-Andalus

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���5 | doi 10.1163/22138617-12340071

In Other Words 107

One of the most interesting aspects related to Translation Studies—as a

complex and systematic study of the theory, description and application of
translation—concerns the ethics of the translator. Among the most relevant
works on this subject, it is worth mentioning Antoine Berman and Lawrence
Venuti’s essays, which focus on the concept of “cultural otherness”:

Every step in the translation process—from the selection of foreign texts

to the implementation of translation strategies to the editing, reviewing,
and reading of translations—is mediated by the diverse cultural values
that circulate in the target language, always in some hierarchical order.
The translator, who works with varying degrees of calculation, under
continuous self-monitoring and often with active consultation of cul-
tural rules and resources (from dictionaries and grammars to other texts,
translation strategies, and translations, both canonical and marginal),
may submit to or resist dominant values in the target language, with
either course of action susceptible to on-going redirection. Submission
assumes an ideology of assimilation at work in the translation process,
locating the same in a cultural other, pursuing a cultural narcissism
that is imperialistic abroad and conservative, even reactionary, in main-
taining canons at home. Resistance assumes an ideology of autonomy,
locating the alien in a cultural other, pursuing cultural diversity, fore-
grounding the linguistic and cultural differences of the source-language
text and transforming the hierarchy of cultural values in the target lan-
guage. Resistance too can be imperialistic abroad, appropriating foreign
texts to serve its own cultural political interests at home; but insofar as it
resists values that exclude certain texts, it performs an act of cultural res-
toration which aims to question and possibly re-form, or simply smash
the idea of, domestic canons.1

This theory, with the evident ideological implications connected to the idea of
cultural imperialism, is based on the premise that translating and interpret-
ing cannot be considered solely as processes of language transfer but also as
socially and politically directed activities.2

1  Venuti, L. The Translator’s invisibility. A history of translation. London, New York, Routledge,
1995, p. 308-309. See also Berman, A. “Translation and the Trials of the Foreign”. In: Venuti, L.
(ed.). The Translation Studies Reader. New York, London, Routledge, 2000, p. 284-297.
2  Inghilleri, M., Maier C., “Ethics”. In: Baker, M., Malmkjaer, K. (eds). Routledge Encyclopedia
of Translation Studies. New York, London, Routledge, 2001, p. 100-103; see also Inghilleri,
M. “The ethical task of the translator in the geo-political arena from Iraq to Guantánamo

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108 Sciortino

At this stage, the French philosopher Paul Ricoeur (1913-2005) pointed

out the importance of the translator’s process of mediating both between
languages—the well-known concept of “linguistic hospitality”—and between
cultures.3
As stated by James Taylor, Ricoeur “finds in the translator’s activity of trans-
ferring meaning from one language into another an example of how it is pos-
sible for one distinct self to relate to another without reducing the other to
the self’s own pre-determined horizons of meaning [. . .] and suggests that lin-
guistic hospitality should serve as a paradigm for other forms of hospitality:
religious, political and, most importantly for our purposes, interpersonal”.4
The act of translating—asserts Ricoeur—highlights not only the problem
of hermeneutics and inter-religious dialogue, as interpretation of a different
text and a different faith’s language, but also the problem of ethic relationships
inherent in encountering the Other.5 When dealing with other languages, other
cultures and other religions or faiths, in fact, the translator is implicitly called
upon to make a moral choice and perform fidelity or betrayal.6

Bay”. Translation Studies, 1, 2 (2008), p. 212-223. As far as Arabic sources on this topic are
concerned, see among others: Āl ʿAbd al-Laṭīf, ʿAbd Allāh M. “Dirāsāt al-tarǧamah bayna
al-iǧtihād wa-l-iḫtiṣāṣ”. Http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/Al-Abdullatif (2007); Ḥannā, S. F. “Dirāsāt
al-tarǧamah: al-bidāyāt wa-l-masārāt wa-asʾilat al-mustaqbal”. Fusul. A Journal of Literary
Criticism, 74 (2008), p. 36-48; Camera D’Afflitto, I. “Al-tarǧamah ʿan al-naṣṣ ġayr al-aṣl: su-fahm
wa iškaliyyāt”. Atti del Convegno Internazionale “al-Tarjamah wa tafa‘ul al-Thaqafat”, Il Cairo,
2004, al-Qāhirah, al-Maǧlīs al-Aʿlà li-l-Ṯaqāfah, p. 31-37.
3  Ricoeur, P. Sur la traduction. Paris, Bayard, 2004 (English Translation by Brennan, E. On
Translation. New York, London, Routledge, 2006, p. 23).
4  Taylor, J. “Translating Hospitality: Paul Ricoeur’s Ethics of Translation”. The New Arcadian review,
4 (2011), http://www.bc.edu/publications/newarcadia/archives/4/translating_hospitality/.
5  The bibliography on this subject is huge. Among the most representative works, it can be
useful to refer to Ricoeur, P. Soi-même comme un autre. Paris, Editions du Seuil, 1990 [English
Translation by Blamey, K. Oneself as Another. Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, 1992].
As far as the encounter between Islam and the West is concerned, see: Daniel, N. Islam and
the West, Making of an Image. Edinburg, Oneworld, 1960; Sénac, P. L’image de l’Autre. Histoire
de l’Occident médiéval face à l’Islam. Paris, Flammarion, 1983; Richard, B. “L’Islam et les musul-
mans chez les chroniqueurs castillans du milieu du Moyen Age”. Hespéris Tamuda, XII (1971),
p. 107-132; El Moudden, A. “The ambivalence of the rihla: community integration and self-def-
inition in Moroccan Travel Accounts”. In: Eickelman D. F., Piscatori J. (eds). Muslim Travellers.
Pilgrimage, Migration and the Religious Imagination. New York, University of California Press,
1990, p. 69-84; Matar, N. In the Lands of the Christians. Arabic Travel Writing in the Seventeenth
Century. New York, London, Routledge, 2003; Matar, N. Europe through Arab Eyes 1587-1727.
New York, Columbia University Press, 2009.
6  See Butler, J. “Betrayal’s Felicity”. Diacritics, 34, 1 (Spring 2004), p. 82-87.

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In Other Words 109

Everybody remembers what Roman Jakobson says about the Italian adage
Traduttore, traditore:

If we were to translate into English the traditional formula Traduttore, tra-

ditore as ‘the translator is a betrayer’, we would deprive the Italian rhym-
ing epigram of all its paronomastic value. Hence, a cognitive ­attitude
would compel us to change this aphorism into a more explicit statement
and to answer the questions: translator of what messages? Betrayer of
what values?7

Jakobson’s words have obvious ethical implications since they are related to
moral qualities, i.e. fidelity versus betrayal. But what really makes a transla-
tor faithful and reliable or a betrayer? In order to answer to this question, it is
essential to refer to Walter Benjamin, who explained that “good translation is
not a matter of reproducing meaning but rather of locating echoes”:8

The task of the translator consists in finding that intended effect [inten-
tion] upon the language into which he is translating which produces in it
the echo of the original [. . .].9

A model of translation that implies approximation rather than correspon-

dence means that “interpretative ‘facts’ must be represented as acts, partial
recognition, which are never either fully translatable or fully comprehensible”.10
The translator’s delicate position and the complexity of his role have deter-
mined the development of a new recent subfield called Translator Studies,
dealing with the figure of translator and his human side: personal, social, polit-
ical and cultural background, since in the translation process the translator is
involved with cultures and ideologies.
History and Literature offer a wild range of ideologically-oriented transla-
tions aimed at affirming and imposing a cultural system of values and a politi-
cal dominant power. It is sufficient to think of translations of political speeches,

7  Jakobson, R. “On Linguistic Aspects of Translation”. In: Venuti, L. (ed.). The Translation
Studies Reader. 118.
8  Euben, R. L. Journey to the Other Shores. Muslim and Western Travelers in Search of
Knowledge. Princeton, Oxford, Princeton University Press, 2006, p. 43.
9   Benjamin, W. “The Task of the Translator. An Introduction to the Translation of
Baudelaire’s Tableaux Parisiens”. In: Venuti, L. (ed.) The Translation Studies Reader. 19-20.
10  Euben, R. L. Journey to the Other Shores. 43.

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110 Sciortino

writings, interviews and literary works in political contexts where the instru-
mental use of translation becomes a tool of ideological manipulation.11
In this framework, an interesting literary example is represented by the
Spanish novel Las dos orillas (The Two Shores, 1993) by Carlos Fuentes, dealing
with the tragic events relative to the Spanish conquest of Mexico and the fall
of the Aztec Empire. The story narrates the deeds of the interpreter Geronimo
Aguilar, who intentionally mistranslates Hernán Cortés’s words and provokes
the massacres and destructions that brought about the Spanish conquest of
Mexico.
After confessing to have translated, betrayed and invented, Geronimo Aguilar
affirms with a sort of regret:

I reveal myself before posterity as a falsifier, a traitor to my commander

Cortés [. . .].12

11  Munday, J. “Translation and Ideology. A Textual Approach”. The Translator, 13, 2 (2007—
Special Issue. Translation and Ideology: Encounters and Clashes), p. 195-217; Hermans, T.
The manipulation of Literature: Studies on Literary Translation, London, Croom Helm,
1985; Buresi, P. “Traduttore Traditore: À propos d’une correspondance entre l’Empire
Almohade et la cité de Pise (début XIIIe siècle)”. Oriente Moderno, LXXXVIII, 2, (2008),
p. 297-309; Ḥannā, S. F. “Ḥiwār maʿ Sāmiḥ Fikrī Ḥannā: Fikrat al-ḫiyānah wa-l-amānah
fī l-tarǧamah aṣbaḥat fī ḏimmat al-tārīḫ”. Al-kalimah, 27 (2009), p. 263-269; Aksoy, N. B.
“The Relation Between Translation and Ideology as an instrument for the Establishment
of a National Literature”. Meta: Journal des Traducteurs/ Meta: Translators’Journal, 55, 3
(September 2010), p. 438-455; Ghonsooly, B.; Ashrafi, N. “The interface of Tradition and
Modernity: Ideological Manipulation of Translators”. Journal of Educational and Social
Research, 2, (3), (September 2012), p. 377-390; Al-Quinai, J. “Manipulation and censorship
in translated texts”. In: Romana Garcìa, M. L. (ed.). Actas del II Congreso Internacional
de la Asociación Ibérica de Estudios de Traducción e Interpretación. Madrid, 9-11 de febrero
de 2005. Madrid, Aieti, 2005, p. 488-525; Polizzi, A. “Traducciones y traiciones. El caso de
“Fortunata y Jacinta” en Italia”. In: López, P. C. (ed.). Actas del VI Congreso de Lingüística
General (Santiago de Compostela, 3-7 de mayo de 2004). Madrid, 2007, vol. I, p. 721-729.
12  “[. . .] y me descubro ante la posteridad y la muerte como un falsario, un traidor a mi capi-
tán Cortés que en vez de hacer un ofrecimiento de paz al príncipe caído, lo hizo de cru-
eldad, de opresión continuada y sin piedad, y de vergüenza eterna para el vencido. Mas
como así sucedió en efecto, convirtiéndose mis falsas palabras en realidad, ¿no tuve razón
en traducir al revés al capitán, y decirle, con mis mentiras, la verdad azteca? ¿O fueron
mis palabras, acaso, un mero trueque y no fui yo sino el intermediario (el traductor) y
el resorte de una fatalidad que transformó el engaño en verdad? (Fuentes, 1993: 18-19)”.
Scelfo, M. G. “Lingue e culture in conflitto: tradurre, manipolare, negoziare l’alterità”. In:
Cancellier, A.; Ruta, C.; Silvestri, L. (eds). Scrittura e Conflitto. Atti del XXII Convegno del
AISPI (Catania-Ragusa 16-18 maggio 2004), 2 vols., Madrid, Instituto Cervantes Aispi, 2006,
vol. II, p. 303-318; Jay, P. “Translation, Invention, Resistance: rewriting the conquest in

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In Other Words 111

Another literary genre, which offers interesting points of reflection on the sub-
ject here analysed, with particular regard to the Arab-Islamic context, is the
genre of Travel Account or, in Arabic, riḥlah.
In a remarkable essay entitled Journeys to the Other Shore and regarding
Muslim and Western travellers in search of knowledge, Roxanne Euben dedi-
cates the third chapter of the book to the problem connected to the reliability
of travellers who are authors of Travel Accounts. The aforementioned chapter,
which analyses two peculiar travellers, namely Herodotus and Ibn Baṭṭūṭah,
is significantly entitled Liars, Travellers and Theorists.13 The author makes an
explicit reference to Joseph Spence, who in 1739 pointed out that “all travellers
are a little noted for lying”.14 She also quotes Percy Adams, who in Travelers and
Travel Liars (1962) “argues and demonstrates the tradition of traveler as liar
has a long and illustrious history; indeed, a character from George Farquhar’s
the Beaux’ Strategem insults a priest by saying he tells lies as if he had been a
traveler from his cradle”.15
The explicit link between travel and translation is theorized by James
Clifford, who considers travel to be “an invaluable term of translation”.16
As clarified by Roxanne Euben, “not only is travel a term of translation,
reports of such travels are also acts of translation, practices, as François Hartog
shows, of both ‘seeing and making seen’ and—Euben adds - ‘hearing and mak-
ing heard’ ”.17
Our choice to analyse here the Travel Account Kitāb Nāṣir al-dīn ʿalà
l-qawm al-kāfirīn,18 written by the interpreter and traveller Aḥmad Ibn Qāsim
al-Ḥaǧarī al-Andalusī (d. 1051/1641), is motivated both by a personal interest19
and by a strategic reason: compared to Geronimo Aguilar, who chooses to

Carlos Fuentes’s novella ‘The Two Shores’”. Modern Fiction Studies, 43, 2 (1997), p. 405-431;
Schmitz, J. R. “When lies become the truth: rewriting the conquest of Mexico in Carlos
Fuentes’s novella The Two Shores”. Maringá (Acta Sci. Human Soc. Sci.), 28, 1 (2006), p. 1-6.
13  Euben, R. L. Journey to the Other Shores. 46-89.
14  The letter from Joseph Spence is quoted in Adams Percy G. Travel Literature and the
Evolution of the Novel. Lexington, University Press of Kentucky, 1983, p. 82. See Euben, R. L.
Journey to the Other Shores. 47.
15  Ibid. 220, nt. 14.
16  Clifford, J. “Traveling Cultures”. In: Grossberg, L., Nelson, C., Treichler, P. A. (eds). Cultural
Studies. New York, London, Routledge, 1992, p. 110.
17  Euben, R. L. Journey to the Other Shores. 41.
18  Sciortino, M. G. Kitāb Nāṣir al-dīn ʿalà l-qawm al-kāfirīn. Il difensore della religione contro il
popolo degli Infedeli, Roma, Aracne (Studi sull’Islam), 2011.
19  We edited the first Italian integral translation of the Kitāb. See Sciortino, M. G. Kitāb Nāṣir
al-dīn.

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112 Sciortino

mistranslate Hernán Cortés’s words in an attempt to thwart the conquest of

the Aztecs and realize his personal revenge, al-Ḥaǧarī, narrator and protago-
nist of the Kitāb Nāṣir al-dīn ʿalà l-qawm al-kāfirīn, represents a different trans-
lator’s ­deontological model, since he affirms to feel the moral duty to perform
fidelity and make reliable translations for truth’s sake.
The story narrated in the Kitāb Nāṣir al-dīn ʿalà l-qawm al-kāfirīn takes place
in 17th Century al-Andalus, at the time of the expulsion of the Moriscos from
Spain. Before delving into the heart of the subject it is useful to give a general
description of the author and his historical context.
Aḥmad Ibn Qāsim al-Ḥaǧarī al-Andalusī was born in al-Ḥaǧar al-Aḥmar 20 in
1570. After receiving his basic Islamic education (Arabic and aḥkām al-šarīʿah)
from the members of his family,21 he studied Spanish and other languages—
the sources report, in fact, that he was able to read and speak Portuguese,
French and Italian. He travelled to Granada and Seville and attended transla-
tion laboratories (ḥaḍara maǧālis al-tarǧamah) under the supervision of the
Bishop of Granada, J.M. De Salpatierra and his Substitute Don Pedro Castro.
Because of the climate of fear and oppression in which the Moriscos were
obliged to live, in 1599 al-Ḥaǧarī left al-Andalus and fled to Marrakesh, where
he stayed for several years, operating at the court of the Saʿdian Sultan Aḥmad
al-Manṣūr al-Ḏahabī (1578-1603) and after his death, he became Secretary and
Spanish interpreter to his son, the Sultan Mawlāy Zaydān (1603-1627) who, in
1609, entrusted him with a diplomatic mission to France in order to recover the
goods that the Moriscos were deprived of after their expulsion from Spain by
order of the king Philip III (1609).
As pointed out by al-Ḥaǧarī himself, the Kitāb Nāṣir al-dīn ‘alà l-qawm
al-kāfirīn is a “brief and pleasant selection (nabḏah laṭīfah)” of that riḥlah,
entitled “Riḥlat al-Šihāb ilà liqāʾ al-aḥbāb” and up to now unfortunately lost,

20  Cerqua initially identified this place with the modern Làchar, near to Granada, but the
in-depth study conducted by Van Koningsveld, Al-Samarrai and Wiegers showed that it is
more plausible that the place was Hornachos. See Van Koningsveld, P. S.; Al-Samarrai Q.;
Wiegers, G. Kitāb Nāṣir al-dīn ʿalà l-qawm al-kāfirīn (The Supporter of Religion against the
Infidel). Historical study, critical edition and annotated translation. Madrid, Consejo Supe-
rior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1997, p. 18-21. On this subject see also Pons Ber­nabé,
F. “Una nota sobre Ahmad Ibn Qasim al-Hayri Bejerano”. Sharq al-Andalus, 13 (1996),
p. 123-128; Wiegers, G. “A life between Europe and the Maghrib: The writings and Travels
of Ahmad b. Qâsim ibn Ahmad ibn al-faqîh Qâsim ibn al-shaykh al-Hajarî al-Andalusî
(born c. 977/1569-70)”. In: Van Gelder, G. J., De Moor, E. (eds). The Middle East and Europe.
Encounters and Exchanges. Amsterdam, Atlanta, Rodopi, 1992, p. 87-115.
21  See Saʿīdūnī N. Min al-turāṯ al-tārīḫī wa-l-ǧuġrāfī li-l-Maġrib al-islāmī. Beirut, Dār al-Ġarb,
1999, p. 344.

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In Other Words 113

including a very interesting and attentive description of the West, France and
the Netherlands in particular, with a special attention to the intellectual and
cultural disputes and dissertations with Jewish and Christians scholars (priests,
monks and judges).
The Kitāb is ideally divided into two parts: the first concerns al-Ḥaǧarī’s life
and experiences when he was still in al-Andalus and the second begins with
his departure from al-Andalus and includes the diplomatic mission to Europe
and some interesting reflections connected to the problem of self and other
representation.22
The first part of the book is the most interesting for our purposes since it
regards al-Ḥaǧarī’s translation activity, started among 1595 and 1597. While he
was still in Granada, al-Ḥaǧarī was asked to read some Arabic manuscripts,
among which the Torre Turpiana parchment and the libri plumbei.23
About these documents he refers:

You should know—may God have mercy upon you! - that in the year 996
of the Hijra (according to the calculation of the Christians in the year
1588) the archbishop in the City of Granada ordered an old tower which
was located within the Great Mosque to be demolished. Before Islam it

22  On this subject see Sciortino, M. G. “Identity and Self-representation in al-Ḥaǧarī’s Travel
Account”. In: Cilardo, A. (ed.). Islam and Globalisation. Historical and Contemporary
Perspectives. (Proceedings of the 25th Congress of the Union Européenne des Arabisants et
Islamisants, Naples September 8-12, 2010), Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta, 226, Peeters,
2013, p. 411-417.
23  When, in 1588, in order to build a Cathedral, the old minaret of the former Friday Mosque
of Granada, called Torre Turpiana, was demolished, they found a box containing a little
table with an image of the Virgin Mary, a cloth, a bone and a parchment with a text in Latin,
Arabic and Spanish. Then, in the Valparaiso Hills, they found also the “Libri Plumbei” (the
Lead Books), metal foils written in strange characters, in addition to other relics. After a
long trial, the relics (ashes and bones of Saint Cecilius and his disciples) were declared
authentic, and the Bishop of Granada, Don Pedro Castro, founded, where the Roman
city of Ilipula once stood, the Sacromonte’s Abbey in order to guard and take care of the
relics of the evangelists martyred at the time of the Emperor Domiziano. Since they were
discovered, the place became a centre of pilgrimage. On this subject see among others
Rodríguez, Cabanelas, D. El morisco granadino Alonso Del Castillo. Granada, Patronato de
la Alhambra y Generalife, 1965; Cabanelas, D. “Intento de supervivencia en el caso de una
cultura: los libros plúmbeos de Granada”. Nueva Rivista de Filología Hispánica, 30 (1981),
p. 334-358; Wiegers, G. “The ‘Old’ or ‘Turpiana’ Tower in Granada and its Relics according
to Ahmad b. Qâsim al-Hajarî ”. In: Gyselen R. (ed.). Sites et monuments disparus d’après
les témoignages de voyageurs. Res Orientales, VIII, Leuven, Peeters Publishing, 1996,
p. 193-207.

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114 Sciortino

was called “Turpana”.24 This [happened] after they had built a very high
tower near it. After they had demolished the old one, they found in its
walls a box of stone, and within it a box of lead in which they found a large
parchment written in Arabic and in the Spanish [language] (ʿaǧamiyyah)
used in the country of al-Andalus, together with a small veil of Saint
Mary—peace be upon her!—, the mother of our lord Jesus—peace be
upon him! - and bones of the body of Stephen, who is considered to be a
saint among them. The Spanish text of the parchment was deciphered. In
order to read the Arabic parts [of the text], they summoned al-Ukayḥal
al-Andalusī, who was a licensed interpreter, for the pious šayḫ al-Ǧabbis,
as well as for other aged Andalusians who knew how to read Arabic. The
priest ordered them to translate the contents of the parchment from
the Arabic. Each of them [had to do so] individually, though sometimes
he would bring them together. However, they did not succeed in grasping
it completely. The archbishop had learned to read Arabic [as well].25

Due to the widespread growing interest in deciphering the Arabic part of the
parchment, a priest, who had realized, by chance, that al-Ḥaǧarī was able to
read Arabic, asked him to “enter into the presence of the archbishop” in order
to read the parchment:

One of the priests who belonged to the close circle of the archbishop was
studying to read Arabic. For this reason he used to accompany the ḥakīm
Muḥammad Ibn Abī l-ʿĀṣī (the grandson of the said pious šayḫ al-Ǧabbis,
of whom it was already said that he used to translate letters) - because of
his grandfather he used to read Arabic in the presence of the Christians.
[. . .] While he was reading the book, they hesitated at the correct reading
some words. So I said to them: “Maybe it means this!” They found that
this was true. Thereupon the priest looked at me and said: “You know
how to read Arabic? Do not be afraid, because the archbishop is looking
for someone who knows something of reading Arabic, so that he may
explain something written in that language which has come to light”.26

24  Tarbbi’ana in the original Arabic version. Sarnelli Cerqua makes some interesting linguis-
tic remarks on the use of double b in order to reproduce the sound p. See Sciortino, M. G.
Kitāb Nāṣir al-dīn. 30, nt. 14.
25  Van Koningsveld, P. S.; Al-Samarrai, Q.; Wiegers, G. Kitāb Nāṣir al-dīn. 68-70.
26  Ibid. 72.

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In Other Words 115

At this stage, al-Ḥaǧarī underlines that he was at first worried and hesitant
because he knew “the sentence of punishment they usually passed upon those
who appeared to read Arabic” but he finally agreed to visit the archbishop:

He [the priest] took me to his house. He had books of every art and lan-
guage. He brought me books in Arabic. I read and translated for him
some words which he was unable to read. Then he met me another day
and told me: “The archbishop has ordered me to bring you with me to his
presence”. I said to myself: “How shall I save myself, as the Christians kill
and burn everyone on whom they find an Arabic book or about whom
they know he reads Arabic?” As for the two afore-mentioned Andalusian
interpreters, they were old men and had the excuse that they had learnt
Arabic in their youth, close to the Islamic period. The physician Abū
l-ʿĀṣī, on the other hand, was able to read Arabic because his grandfather
was an interpreter, as I said earlier. “But what shall I say, when he asks me
about my teacher?”.27

The religious factor is, without any doubt, one of the most important elements
characterizing al-Ḥaǧarī’s identity.28 From the very first pages of the riḥlah,
he defines himself as a “muslim in the land of the Infidels” (muslim fī bilād
al-kuffār), emphasizing the sense of diversity he feels towards the reality sur-
rounding him:

[. . .] After this, I dealt with the situation of Muslims among the Christians
after they had forced them to embrace their religion. They were serv-
ing two religions: the religion of the Christians openly and that of the
Muslim secretly. The Infidels imposed a harsh penalty on whoever mani-
fested any Islamic practice; they even burned some of them. This was
their situation, as I witnessed it during more than twenty years before my
departure from it [. . .].29

Despite being born and bred in Spain, al-Ḥaǧarī was feeling like an outsider
to such an extent that he wanted to risk his life in order to escape to a Muslim
community (dār al-islām):

27  Van Koningsveld et alii. 72.

28  See Sciortino, M. G. Identity and Self-representation.
29  Van Koningsveld, P. S.; Al-Samarrai, Q.; Wiegers, G. Kitāb Nāṣir al-dīn. 64.

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116 Sciortino

God had created in my heart a longing to leave al-Andalus and emigrate to

the Exalted God and His messenger (muhāǧir ilà Allāh taʿālā wa-rasūlihi)
and to enter the land of the Muslims.30

The diffidence towards the other and the fear and worry about punishment
forced al-Ḥaǧarī to lie to the archbishop about his origins:

You should know, my lord, that I am an Andalusian from al-Ḥaǧar

al-Aḥmar. Our spoken language there is in fact Arabic. Then I [also]
learnt to read Spanish. Later on I went to Madrid—the residence of the
Sultan—where I found an Andalusian man, a medical doctor from the
country of Valencia [. . .]. He taught me to read Arabic which was easy for
me because of my being an Arab by origin. Then he asked me: “Where is
your teacher, the physician [now]?” I answered: “He died—may God have
mercy upon him—some two or three years ago”. But everything I told
him as an answer to his question, about the physician from the country of
Valencia, was a lie. [. . .] Thus I protected myself from their evil by lying.31

Al-Ḥaǧarī is so sorry about his lying that he claims his ethic seriousness by
appealing to al-Ġazālī’s words on lying:

[. . .] This is an acceptable thing to do, as can be established by the words

of al-Ghazālī—may God allow us to profit from his scholarship!—who
has said in his book Al-Iḥyāʾ: “If an upright man crosses your way, who is
followed by an evil person looking for him, who asks about him to hurt
him, you should tell him: ‘He went into that direction’, i.e. the direction
opposite to the one he actually took. [You should say this], so that the
person looked for will save himself from the evil of the man who is look-
ing for him. Lying in such a case is permitted, nay even recommendable,
even though the giving of right guidance is obligatory [in principle]”.
Thus, it appeared to me that he who is wont to speak truthfully, his words
will be accepted even though he is sometimes forced to lie in a situation
in which lying is permitted.32

Despite having lied to the archbishop, al-Ḥaǧarī demonstrates, on more than

one occasion, to be reliable and serious. Nevertheless, he seems to justify white

30  Van Koningsveld et alii. 61-62.

31  Ibid. 73.
32  Ibid. 74-75.

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In Other Words 117

lies or, rather, omitted truths, when these latters are necessary to prevent
greater evil.
Let’s turn to the parchment’s translation:

The archbishop then ordered the parchment to be brought forward. In

the margin was written in Arabic in letters without diacritical points:
“O student of the riddle, you must combine! If you do not combine, you
shall not fully grasp the mystery!”. He asked me about its meaning in
Spanish (ʿaǧamiyyah) and I said it to him. Then he told me: “Come to me
tomorrow! ” I answered: “God willing!”
When I came he gave me the parchment and told a learned priest who
was very famous among them, called Rāyah: “Sit with him and write down
what he tells you!” At the top was written: “The mysterious book of the
evangelist John concerning the destruction of the universe”. Then, at the
beginning of the writing, it said: “In the name of the venerable and
multabībah essence!” At this point I needed a dictionary in order to
understand the meaning of al-multabībah. The priest gave me the book
of al-Ğawharī in two volumes. I understood that the word al-multabībah
was taken from lubb al-šayʾ. Therefore, [the expression just-quoted
would] mean: “the plain and pure essence which was neither composite
nor mixed” [. . .]. When I [had] translated the Arabic [part], which men-
tioned that it was the commentary, I started with the Spanish [part]
which was the “text” [which is called in Morocco the “original” (al-umm)],
untilIfoundthesigntostop.ThenItookfromtheArabic—thecommentary—
the [passage] corresponding to the [Spanish part I had just finished read-
ing]. In this way the wording fitted and was understandable. This
[method] was in accordance with the marginal remark: “O student of the
riddle, combine!”, because combining is the bringing together of two
separate things.33

Al-Ḥaǧarī gives an attentive description of the complex translation and inter-

preting process, describing the instruments and the methodology used to solve
the enigma, and specifies that he was the only one to understand the text and
unveil its mystery, whereas other learned expert translators had completely
misunderstood it:

The translations of all those who had preceded me—among whom there
were people more learned than myself—contained the ­commentary

33  Van Koningsveld et alii. 75-77.

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118 Sciortino

only, while its meaning had not been understood. It was related to me
that some of them had read the word al-multabībah as if [the line in
which it figured actually read:] “In the name of the venerable threefold
(al-muṯallaṯah) essence”. This, however, was misleading, because the let-
ters of al-muṯallaṯah are five, whereas those of al-multabībah are seven.

Nevertheless, he shows a sort of fear-play, a solidarity, towards other transla-

tors, whose image he does not want to damage to:

[. . .] On the way the priest said to me: “Tell the great master that the inter-
preters do not know anything!” I said to myself: “I shall tell him exactly
the opposite, because those who put forward false claims shall certainly
be put to shame!”.34

After succeeding in deciphering the parchment, al-Ḥaǧarī obtained three hun-

dred riyāl and a translation license “Arabic-Spanish-Arabic”. He also gained a
new respected social position even among the Christians:

The archbishop was extremely pleased with my translation, as he knew

that it was truthful. He gave me 300 riyāl, as well as a letter granting me
a licence to translate from Arabic into Spanish and vice-versa. The news
spread among the Christians, until they pointed at me saying: “He is the
man who understood the parchment which was found in the tower, while
already some ten years have already passed since it was found!” Thus,
the archbishop ordered me to write down a copy of the parchment and
sent it to the Pope in the city of Rome.35

As for the content of the parchment, al-Ḥaǧarī refers:

In the Spanish text written in the parchment [the author] mentioned

something which would take place after the completion of six centuries,
[reckoning] from the birth of Jesus—peace be upon him! He says in the
Arabic commentary: “A century is a hundred years”. [This passage runs as
follows:]

“From the adversities of the very East comes a king gleaning the spread of
his power”.

34  Van Koningsveld et alii. 73.

35  Ibid. 77.

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In Other Words 119

“With the completeness of his power he stands against the world

victoriously”.
“O eternal master, where to escape from this event?”
“A king who will dominate the whole world until Doomsday”.
“And a religion which will proceed against those who have filled it with
vices”.
“And a secret which will be understood by [the power] given to it by the
Divine decree to nullify sins”.

I translated the meaning of these verses. The meaning they had understood
was that the king was in fact the Prophet—may God bless him and grant him
peace!—, because they said that he was born in the year 621 after the birth of
Jesus—peace upon him! I am convinced, however, that he was born before
that—may God bless him and grant him peace!—in the fifth century, whereas
his religion became known during the sixth [century]. I saw the horoscope of
his birth fixed in the book of ʿAlī ibn Abī Riǧāl by the date of his birth—may
God bless him and grant him peace!—in a verified manner.36
At this point al-Ḥaǧarī enters into the merits of the translation process, by
explaining the reasons of some personal translation and interpreting choices.
In this regard, it should be observed that although most of these choices seem
to be largely influenced by his personal convictions and religious beliefs—
mostly the Quran—it is also undeniable that this latter represents a referential
text concerning not only Islamic religion but also Arabic language. The refer-
ence to the Quran as a linguistic tool appears then admissible:

The interpreters disagreed about the meaning of the word al-ǧānī [in
the first verse] because it has two meanings. The pious šayḫ al-Ǧabbis
and my own translation said: this is an active adjective of the verb ǧanā,
which appears in the Noble Quran in the words of the Exalted Lord: “Wa
ǧanā al-ǧannatayn dān”.37

As far as the linguistic analysis of the text is concerned, al-Ḥaǧarī underlines

the complexity of some terms, particularly the word al-ǧānī, and clarifies that
it is an active adjective of the verb ǧanā, which appears in the Noble Quran.
Actually, the verb ǧanā has two different meanings, but he neglects to mention
the second meaning, since it has a negative sense, completely opposite to the
first one. This is an interesting cause for reflection because it seems to confirm

36  Van Koningsveld et alii. 78-79.

37  Ibid.

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120 Sciortino

what it has previously been affirmed, that in the translation process the trans-
lator is involved with cultures and ideologies:

When I translated that “his religion will proceed against those who
fill it with vices”, the priest said: “How do you reach this translation?”
I answered: “You know how to read. I translate each single word for you,
so that it correctly represents what [the text] says”. He disliked this very
much because according to my translation, in fact the unbelievers, are
the ones who would fill it with vices. The religion of the Prophet—may
God bless him and grant him peace!—proceeded against them. This cor-
responds to the words of the Exalted Lord in the Noble Quran: “He sent
him with the Guidance and the Religion of Truth to proclaim it over the
whole of religion, even though the polytheists dislike this”. This [leads us
to the following] meaning (though God knows best!): the religion of the
Prophet—may God bless him and grant him peace!—proceeds against
the polytheists who have filled it [sc. religion] with vices.38

The description is accurate and detailed and the interpretative key related
to the imagological discourse assumes an ethical connotation. The author in
fact traces a sort of demarcation line, a binomial between good and bad, truth
and lie and emphasizes his honesty and trustworthiness in opposition to the
Other’s unfaithfulness and iniquity:

At the bottom of the parchment was written in Arabic: [This is] the first
thing which John wrote at the beginning of the Gospel [. . .] But when
I had translated the beginning of the Gospel and the contents of what
was written, the priest said to me: “Have a look at this word! Does it have
another meaning?” I answered: “It has only this meaning!” He said: “[In
that case], leave the space of this word blank, because it contradicts the
Gospel we possess!” I said to myself: “This, which has been written in the
time of our lord Jesus or shortly afterwards, is in my opinion more correct
than what they possess nowadays”.
There was also a passage in the divination which said: “From the
remotest West people shall soon come over the water of the sea to the
country of the Christians and the rabble will reach Rome!” It also related
a lot of evil and depravity which befell the Christians. About this and the
sign [of its appearance] it said (I mean: about the misfortune and con-
quering which will fall upon them): “When the time of Judgement comes,
the Easterner (al-šarqī) will take hold of the City of the Sea absolutely!”

38  Van Koningsveld et alii. 78-79.

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In Other Words 121

No one who heard this [passage] doubted that the Easterner was the
Sultan of the East and that he was [in fact] the Sultan of the Turks—may
God make him victorious! The priest asked me: “Which city is called in
Arabic the City of the Sea?” I Answered: “I do not know, but it seems to
me it is Venice, because it was built in the sea”. He than gave me the geog-
raphy book in Arabic entitled Nuzḥat al-muštāq fī iḫtirāqʿ al-āfāq, which
was one of the books produced in printing by the Christians, and said:
“Look whether you can find this name in it!”. I read it all but did not find it.39

On the basis of the elements thus far analysed, it is possible to make some final
considerations concerning the ethics of the translator. From al-Ḥaǧarī’s point
of view, the translator’s deontological seriousness seems to be essential. In fact,
he affirms to be honest, morally irreproachable and ethically unimpeachable
and to perform faithful translations. Nevertheless, he shows to admit lying in
some particular circumstances, in order, for example, to save oneself or some-
one else’s life or to prevent hurting someone. As far as the translator’s objec-
tivity is concerned, al-Ḥaǧarī affirms to be truthful, but it clearly appears that
his ideological, and more specifically religious, convictions often influence his
translation choices, as in the case of the term al-ǧānī that he translate by refer-
ring to the Quran or in the case of the word multabībah that he derives from
lubb al-šayʾ. Nonetheless, he shows to have a solid ethic sense, a perception of
good and evil, wright and wrong, which impels him, for example, to avoid lying
in order to pursue a personal advantage. In fact, when he is directly invited to
give unfaithful false translations, in view of a probable personal gain, he cat-
egorically refuses to do it:

As for the remark in the parchment that the sign of the disaster that
would befall the Christians would be the capture of the City of the Sea by
the Easterner (al-šarqī), I did in fact show a copy of the said parchment
to Mawlāy Aḥmad, the sultan of Marrakesh—may God have mercy upon
him! [On that occasion] one of his commanders said to me: “Why do you
not change the qāf to fāʾ, so that it reads al-šarīf will take hold of the City
of the Sea? The Sultan would be happy by this!” I said: “God willing, I shall
not change anything!”.40

39  Van Koningsveld et alii. 79-80.

40  Ibid. 82. For al-šarīf we mean the Saʿdian Sultan Aḥmad al-Manṣūr al-Ḏahabī, whereas al-šarqī
is to be identified with the Ottoman Sultan. The question is ascribable to the debate on
legitimacy of caliphate. The Saʿdians claimed a supremacy over the Ottomans, postulated
on the basis of a direct descent from the Prophet (they called themselves šurafāʾ), as well as
on the exaltation of their own arabicity, both features lacked in not-nobles and not-Arabic

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122 Sciortino

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