Quranic Verses in English for Academic Purpose

BACKGROUND				may be visual (pertaining to the eye), olfactory (smell),
Muslim educationists feel it is reasonable for students				tactile (touch), auditory (hearing), or gustatory (taste).
to try to make the Quran as a much a part of their				As mentioned above, there are images which are
lives as possible. Thus, they would no doubt consider it				conveyed through the use of figurative language
a great achievement if the Quran could be fitted to a				usually using these literary devices- metaphors, similes
large extent into any curriculum, especially at Islamic				and symbols. As readers of the Quran, whether in
institutions, in any medium of study- including the English				Arabic or in any other language, one needs to identify
language and Literature curriculum.				and be able to interpret figurative language so as to
It is important for Muslim students to have many				achieve understanding and to be able to extract the
opportunities to read and study the Quran along with				deepest meaning of the message of the Quran.
their regular coursework. If this is not possible in the				It is important for ESL teachers to find as wide a
language of the Quran, which is Arabic, then these				range as possible of literary texts to use in the
opportunities should be made available through the				classroom because literary texts exemplify language in
translations of the meaning of the Quran in other				daily use. The rich variety of materials or literary texts
languages.				can offer a wide range of activities so that the
This paper seeks to establish the suitability of using the				students will find pleasure and enjoyment in language
English translations of the meaning of the Quran as				and literature studies.
literary texts in the teaching of figurative language,				An ESL teacher wants to help learners develop their
specifically imagery, to undergraduate ESL students,				proficiency in order to use the target language
especially at Islamic institutions.				competently. However, it should not just stop here. The
THE CONTRIBUTION OF FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE				teacher should strive to help the learner his/ her ability
TO THE FIELD OF ESL				to constructively argue, converse and discuss with
Broadly defined and as mentioned by Laurence				native speakers of the target language.
Perrine, a figure of speech is any way of saying				According to Earl W. Stevick, “learning a language
something other than the ordinary or most direct way.				(or anything else) is a matter of holding onto new
Perrine goes on to say that figurative language is				words, new patterns, new skills and meaning”
language using figures of speech and it is a form of				(Stevick, 1986:2). Memory is important in language
expression that often provides a more effective				learning and memory depends on mental imagery.
means of saying what we mean than does direct				In the article, “Imagine if….-Changing Assumptions
statement (Perrine, 1983:571). The use of figurative				and Learning Styles Through Imagery,” McGillick
language shows mastery in the language.				and Mac Culum say that the mind works with
There is no doubt that to learn, understand and use				images. They go on to say that “non- verbal
figures of speech, one has to have acquire a good				thinking precedes the development of language and
command of the language. Figures of speech enhance				continues to be the most important way of thinking
one’s ability to communicate expressively and				throughout life despite the apparent dominance of
creatively in English; they enable the language user to				verbal thought”. McGillick and Mac Culum also state
prove or display his/her mastery of the English				that ideas that come to the minds of many great
language.				thinkers come in the form of images or feelings rather
Figurative language is language that contains figures of				than verbal concepts (McGillick and Mac Culum,
speech, for example, metaphor, simile, etc. which are				1993:12).
expressions that make comparisons or associations				Quranic imagery from the English language translations
meant to be interpreted imaginatively rather than				of the meaning of the Quran can be used as a literary
literally. It is reasonable to deduce that figurative				text for the teaching of imagery. Specifically, these
language is essentially the language of poetry. Images				Quranic images:
that go beyond the fairly simple identifications of				1)help learners to visualize what is mentioned in the
metaphor and simile are called symbols.				Quran to encourage them to do good and avoid evil,
As discussed by Perrine, besides the fact that figures				2)provide a suitable teaching strategy since comparing
of speech help one to communicate more effectively,				and contrasting the images are possible,
they also help us to exercise our imagination, add				3)make teaching Quranic content while exploiting the
emotional intensity to otherwise merely informative				figurative language in the English language translations
statements, and bring imagery into verse which is a				of the meaning of the Quran possible,
way to make poetry more sensuous; Figures of				4) spark interest among students since the Quran is a
speech are also a means of concentrating thought				familiar book to Muslim students and for many, it is an
and/or feeling, in other words, a way of saying much				important part of their lives.
briefly (Perrine, 1983:578).				The techniques used to accommodate the Quranic
In the field of ESL, teachers are often on the look-out				images can be advantageous in these aspects:
for appropriate literary texts to help students develop				1)Accessibility. A teacher needs only to make copies
their ability in using the English language competently.				of specific verses from the English language
Literary texts selected from any of the four major				translations of the meaning of the Quran that are
genres (novels, short stories, drama and poetry) are				intended for use for that particular lesson.
beneficial to the learner. The English language				2)The techniques used to teach Quranic images are
translations of the meaning of the Quran can be				easy to organize.
exploited in some of the courses being taught in the				3)The techniques used generate a good amount of
ESL curriculum to teach both imagery and Islam. The				English language use and communication among
figurative language used in the Quran- its metaphors,				students.
similes, symbols, etc.- can certainly be looked at in				4)Quranic images would appeal to the interest of
more detail. Translators of the English language				Muslim students, in particular, since studying them is
translations of the meaning of the Quran, in striving to				new in ESL.
put across the closest meaning they can of the original				CONCLUSION
Quran, do not neglect to use figurative language				In the academic setting, especially at Islamic institutions,
effectively.				attempts have been made to incorporate Islam into all
There are many techniques for teaching a language or				courses. From the discussion in this paper, one is
aspects of the language in an ESL classroom .				brought to see that the English language translations of
According to D.A. Wilkins, there is no single best way				the meaning of the Quran could make good literary
of teaching a language . He says that language				texts for the teaching of figurative language,
teaching is a pragmatic business and what works is				specifically imagery, to ESL students at the
good, what does not work is bad. Nevertheless, he				undergraduate level. The use of the English language
makes the statement that “ the ultimate aim of				Translations of the Quran as literary texts in the ESL
learning a second language must generally be to				curriculum would be a sure way of incorporating Islam
achieve the same flexibility, the same linguistic				to a larger extent.
creativity that the native speaker possesses”				REFERENCES
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TRANSLATIONS OF THE MEANING OF THE				Analysis. (2nd ed.). New York: Cambridge University
QURAN TO TEACH IMAGERY TO ESL				Press, 2001.
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The Quran contains an abundance of imagery.				Classroom. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University
Imagery as a general term covers the use of				Press, 1986.
language to represent objects, actions, feelings,				Von Denffer, Ahmad. Ulum Al-Quran, An Introduction
thoughts, ideas, states of minds and any sensory or				to the Sciences of the Quran. Leicester: The Islamic
extra-sensory experience. Many Quranic images are				Foundation, 1985.
conveyed literally. These constitute descriptive imagery				Wilkins, D.A. [David Arthur] Second Language
whereby they clarify or give a vivid picture of				Learning and Teaching. London: Edward Arnold, 1974.
something. Then, there are images which are				Woodward, T. Models and Metaphors in Language
conveyed by figurative language, such as in				Teacher Training. Cambridge: Cambridge University
metaphors, similes, symbols, etc. Figurative and				Press, 1991.
descriptive imagery when projected, appeal to				Wright, Andrew. Pictures for Language Learning.
one’s senses. A Quranic image, like other images,				Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1989.

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Quranic Verses in English for Academic Purpose