Problems of Translating Prepositions in Surat Al-Baqarah

This study aims at discussing the semantics of Arabic prepositions in Surat Al-Baqarah as exhibited in three mostly used English translations namely Abdullah Yusuf Ali’s Mohsin Hasan Khan’s and Marmaduke Pickthall’s. In so doing the study has selected twenty ayaat from Surat Al-Baqarah whose preposition problems and failures seem to pose a problem. Throughout this comparative study the book attempts to examine and analyze the meanings of the prepositions within the ayaat so as to identify which translation is more accurate and useful to the readers. In order to investigate the exactly-projected meaning of prepositions as they appear in the ayaat and to discuss the differences and similarities among translations a semantic study of the ayaat has been based on the books of Tafseer by Al-Suyuti and Al-Mahalli (1997) Al-Tabari (1997) Al-Kurtubi (2006) and Ibn Katheer (2008). Finally the research has concluded that the translation of Arabic prepositions is not always faithful to the meaning projected in ayaat. The findings have maintained that Ali’s translation is the most frequently adequate translation followed by Khan and then Pickthall