Kawashima Midori

This article discusses the development, characteristics, and significance of interlinear translations in Mindanao, in the southern Philippines. This is a topic that has received little attention thus far. Focusing on the Lanao region, the article analyzes interlinear translations from Arabic to Malay and Maranao, the region’s vernacular language, that are found in four books of hadiths. The analysis revealed that interlinear translation did not simply replace Arabic words with their equivalents in the target language. Rather, it was an intellectual endeavor in which scholars exercised their ingenuity. The study also sheds light on the region’s linguistic practices and demonstrates the influence of the Maranao language on the development of a local variation of Malay. The most significant contribution of the Maranao Muslims to interlinear translation was creating interlinear translations in their own language. This marked a departure from their previous reliance on Malay as an auxiliary language for studying Arabic and Islam. Reformist Maranao Muslim scholars emphasized correctly understanding the meaning of Qur’anic verses and hadiths, so they created interlinear translations in their own language to replace Malay. Interlinear translation in the vernacular played a significant role in developing Islamic literature in the region. By creating these translations, Muslim scholars developed the ability to carefully read and interpret Arabic texts and convey their meanings accurately and clearly in Maranao. These translations nurtured authorship and readership, paving the way for the later flourishing of vernacular Islamic literary culture. Keywords: Maranao, interlinear translation, Arabic, Malay, The Philippines, Mindanao, hadith literature