The ideology behind the translation of an Islamic moral ethic book: A case study of Al-Ḥikam’s aphorisms

Abstract This research investigated the ideology behind the translation of an Islamic moral ethic book, i.e. Al-Hikam, from Arabic into English. Such ideology can be examined through a textual equivalence analysis, which focuses on the cultural form and information structure. In this regard, one of the subjects of focus is themes (old information) and rhemes (new information). However, previous studies on the information structure in Islamic religious texts are limited and they do not investigate the ideological aspects of the translation. Thus, this study focuses on three research questions: 1) What are the forms of the themes and rhemes in Al-Hikam’s Arabic-English aphorisms; 2) How are the translation techniques applied in such aphorisms; and 3) What is the relationship between the method and ideology behind the translation of such aphorisms? The data was collected using observations and focus group discussions with a professional translator. The findings, based on Spradley’s change theory and componential analysis, showed that there is a close relationship between the translation ideology, the translation method and the translation technique in this book. The results can be useful for developing an investigative model of ideology and cultural aspects based on the study of Islamic Sufism texts.


PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT
This research investigates the ideology of an Islamic moral ethic book which was translated from Arabic into English. The ideology of translation can be discovered from the textual equivalence analysis. The textual analysis attempted to pursue the cultural form based on the information structure. One of the elements to investigate the information structure is the Theme and Rheme (Given -New) information in the Islamic moral ethic book. The data in this research are the aphorism texts in Arabic and English. The data were collected using observation and focus group discussions with professionals in the translation field. The data had been used in the Spradley models. The componential analysis highlighted a connection between translation ideology, translation method, and translation technique in Islamic Moral Ethic books. This study is useful in developing an investigative model of ideology and cultural aspects based on the study of religious texts written by Sufism ethnic.

Introduction
The purpose of this study is to examine the distinctive ideology behind the translation of an Islamic moral ethnic book, i.e. Al-Hikam. In this case, ideology refers to the belief in right and wrong, and it is related to the aspects of translation, culture and ethnicity. Thus, this study starts by examining the information structure of the texts, which consists of themes (old information) and rhemes (new information), following the systemic functional linguistics research by Halliday and Christian (2014). As for the themes, three important groups affect the structure of the texts, especially in terms of language function: 1) Topical Themes; 2) Textual Themes; and 3) Interpersonal Themes (Santosa, 2003;Potter, 2016;Saragih, 2007;Halliday & Christian, 2014;Anis, 2018). These three themes become the fundamental basis for examining the structure of the texts, as a reflection of culture, ideology and ethnicity.
In this study, the reflection of culture focuses on the Sufism people (the mystical system of the Sufis, i.e. Islamic spirituality). In this case, the Sufism group is taken from the followers of a great Sufi, Ibn Athaillah As-Sakandariy, who has been a reference for many studies on tariqah (the generic name for a Sufi order; Renard, 2009). For example, tariqah groups in Indonesia have a high level of militancy, especially in preaching and performing religious rituals (Taufik, 2019). One of the reasons for such militancy comes from one of the aphorism books by Ibn Athaillah As-Sakandariy, i.e. Al-Hikam. This book, which teaches noble moral values, is also one of the foundations of the study of multiculturalism. Such study is an important foundation for Sufis in Indonesia, especially regarding their attitude toward tasamuh (tolerance). Moreover, Al-Hikam's aphorisms, which form the fundamental basis for the study of Islamic Sufism, contain moral education and highlight the efforts of taking the spiritual path. Consequently, many people use this book as a starting point for their "spiritual revolution" (Anis et al., 2021;Pustaka, 2016). Therefore, a comprehensive study of this book must be conducted.
First, this research focuses on the information structure of Al-Hikam's aphorisms. Second, it investigates the translation techniques in Al-Hikam, which was translated from Arabic into English. This study of translation techniques is the fundamental basis for the analysis of translation products. Third, we examine the translation method, as one of the macro studies in Al-Hikam's aphorisms. Finally, this study investigates the ideology behind the translation. The research questions are as follows: 1) What are the forms of the themes and rhemes in Al-Hikam's Arabic-English aphorisms; 2) How are the translation techniques applied in such aphorisms; and 3) What is the relationship between the method and ideology behind the translation of such aphorisms? The flow of discussion is shown in the following figure 1.

Literature review
Extant research on the book Al-Hikam itself (as far as this author has observed) still emphasises the study of Sufism, Islamic moral values and the explanation process (syarah) of Al-Hikam's Among the studies of Al-Hikam that have been widely examined, Damayanti (2014) investigated the speech acts in the syarah of the book. Similar to the study by Sakhok et al. (2019), it focused on how to deliver Al-Hikam's aphorisms through social media such as Facebook. Interestingly, the study that examined Al-Hikam's aphorisms was carried out by Abdullah (2018). Specifically, this study mapped Al-Hikam's syarah, which has been widely studied and used by people in Indonesia. This study also examined historical studies in the philological paradigm, especially those related to the da'wah of KH Soleh Darat, and discussed the Islamisation carried out by him through Al-Hikam's aphorisms.
Conversely, through Al-Hikam's aphorisms, Rahem (2017) investigated Ibn Athaillah's metaphysical therapy for reducing the danger of corruption in Indonesia. This further emphasises the urgency of Al-Hikam's aphorisms, one of which is the "Islamic moral fortress". Meanwhile, in line with the belief that this book has a fairly important influence on Islamic morals, Aryati (2017) wrote about the contribution of Ibn Athaillah's Sufism to reconstruction and Islamic education as a whole. Studies on translation techniques in Al-Hikam al-Buthi's syarah have also been elaborated by previous researchers (Anis et al., 2022).
Based on this literature review, this researcher can conclude that a study of Al-Hikam's aphorisms in terms of translation approaches, ideology, cultural studies and functional systemic linguistic theory has never been performed by previous researchers. Thus, this study fills a comprehensive and holistic research gap, especially on the ideological mapping of Al-Hikam's aphorisms. Meanwhile, researchers still leave many problems that can be further investigated, in particular, a comprehensive study of the translation techniques and ideologies in the thematic structure of themes and rhemes, especially in Al-Hikam's aphorisms.
Diachronically, research on the thematic structure of themes and rhemes is currently still emphasising the study of form, type, and function which is still limited to linguistic studies. (Potter 2016;Bardi 2008). In this case, Potter (2016) is focused on studying the relationship between Theme and Rheme with discourse analysis studies, this study has not touched on the translation aspect. Likewise, in the study of Theme and Rheme, Bardi (2008) did not explain that the study of Theme and Rheme is an important aspect in identifying the ideology of translation. In addition, in this study, there is no indepth exploration of the ideology of information structure translation. However, the relationship between Theme and Rheme has been studied by Qin (2022) using genre-based theme analysis. In a previous study by Gunawan et al. (2022) and Sutopo (2010), the study of ideology is only limited to the elaboration of translation techniques and methods. This study did not discuss in detail the aspects of information structure and its relation to the ideology of translation. This provides an opportunity for the author to examine this matter further, especially to review the sociology of translation from the Sufism group represented in the Al-Hikam text (Heilbron & Sapiro, 2007).
Finally, the present study elaborates on the textual equivalence of translating the information structures of Al-Hikam's aphorisms from Arabic into English, as well as the ideology behind such translations. It is hoped that the results of this study will be useful for determining whether there is a shift in the information structure from the source language to the target language, both at the micro and macro levels. In this case, the macro level is related to the cultural identity of Islamic Sufism.

Case and methodology
This research examines Al-Hikam's aphorisms, consisting of approximately 100 aphorisms in Arabic, which have been translated into various languages such as English, Javanese, Malay and Indonesian (Musthafā, n.d.;Al-Būthiy, 2010;As-Sakandariy, 2008;Bahreisy, 1980;Fairuzzabadi, 2020;Jufri et al., 2020;Pustaka, 2016;Soemarsono, 2004;Waly, 2002). However, the present study only discusses the translation of the aphorisms from Arabic into English. In this regard, the translator of this book was Imam Firdaus, while the editors included Yodi Indrayadi, Luqman Hakim Arifin and Agus Khudlori (Pustaka, 2016). The aphorism genre depicts the human values embodied in the doctrine of monotheism and the morals of Sufism. The theoretical approach in this study is limited to the functional systemic linguistic approach, which focuses on the thematic structure (i.e. themes and rhemes).
The thematic structure in Al-Hikam's Arabic-English aphorisms includes a distinctive form and character. In aphorisms there is an information structure that can be divided into theme (known information) and rheme (new information). In these aphorisms, there are 217 clauses. Similar to Al-Hikam's Arabic-Indonesian aphorisms, in each clause, there are: 1) Unmarked Topical Themes; 2) Marked Topical Themes; 3) Interpersonal Themes; and 4) Textual Themes. Topical themes that occupy the position of the subject are called unmarked topical themes. Meanwhile, topical marked themes can be determined if there is another information before the subject, thus called as "nonsubject" theme or circumcision (Emilia, 2014). Second is textual themes which are useful for connecting one clause to the previous one, which is marked by the presence of conjunctions in front of the clause. Textual functions can be (1) continuative, (2) conjunction (structural theme), and (3) conjunctive adjunct. The last is interpersonal themes which are characterized by vocatives, interpersonal adjuncts, and other interpersonal expressions (Santosa, 2003). Interpersonal theme has two functions namely to determine the closeness of interpersonal relationships between participants especially the vocative form and to determine interpersonal transactions of giving/ requesting information, goods, or services in which interpersonal adjuncts or word forms in English are used.
Based on Table 1, it can be concluded that the Unmarked Topical Themes in English occupies the most dominant position, with a frequency of 189 or 59.62%. In this case, the distribution of information in English is arranged coherently and systematically. This is followed by Textual Themes, with a frequency of 88 or 27.76%, Marked Topical Themes, with a frequency of 28 or 8.83%, and Interpersonal Themes, with a frequency of 12 or 3.78%. This indicates that the translated English aphorisms have a close relationship and low interpersonal interaction, compared to the source text in Arabic. In addition, the process of reducing Textual Themes in the source language into the target language was reduced by 29, whereas there was a significant increase in the number of Marked Topical Themes. Based on these types of themes, the study of ideology in Al-Hikam's aphorisms can be traced.
This study also employs a qualitative approach because it uses linguistic phenomena as the main data, especially the theme markers in the Arabic clauses. Moreover, we use product orientation for data processing. As for translation research, Saldanha and O'Brien (2013) divided it as follows: 1) product-oriented research; 2) process-oriented research; 3) participant-oriented research; and 4) context-oriented research.

The ideology behind the translation of Al-Hikam's Arabic-English aphorisms
In general, ideological studies are associated with studies of power relations, especially after the development of deconstruction and cultural studies. The study of ideology also contributes to the study of translation (Fawcett, 2001). The following quote by translation theorist Lefevere (1992, pp. 31-32) is evidence of the study of translation ideology: On every level of the translation process, it can be shown that, if linguistic considerations enter into conflict with considerations of an ideological and/or poetological nature, the latter tend to win out.
Here, Levefere emphasises that the translation process includes certain levels, and at each level, some contradictions/conflicts arise between linguistic, ideological and/or poetological aspects (individual style). This can occur in the study of the translation of aphorisms, due to the aesthetics and the ideology (or individual style) of the translator. In interpreting Al-Hikam's aphorisms, these aspects are dominant and they defeat the linguistic aspects that exist in the source text. Thus, the main guardian of these linguistic aspects is a translator who can better understand and study such aspects, especially from the perspective of functional systemic linguistics and micro-translation (i.e. comparing the smallest linguistic unit in the source text (Arabic) to the target text (English)). In addition, it is important to understand the ideology of translation. According to Niranjana (1992), it is as follows: Translation . . . produces strategies of containment. By employing certain modes of representing the other-which it thereby also brings into being-translation reinforces hegemonic versions of colonised.
Based on Niranjana's (1992) study, translation has extraordinary power, since it is positioned as a producer of strategies of containment. In this case, it can be understood as a representation of the hegemonic version of the colonised. Returning to the previous statement that the study of ideology is closely related to "power relations", it is not surprising that Niranjana positioned the translation between the strategies of containment and the hegemonic version because translation becomes a medium that represents certain strengths. Moreover, Niranjana asserted: Translation and translation studies have been caught in an idiom of fidelity and betrayal that assumes an unproblematic notion of representation.
Whereas translation is a medium for representing ideas, translation studies have entered the realm of "loyalty" or "treason". Hence, concerning Al-Hikam's s aphorisms, since the text is part of the study of religious texts or Islamic Sufism, the role of ideology is quite important. Norton (1984, in Fawcett, 2001 concluded that translation has been used in the battle lines of theology. Eventually, some translation experts concluded that "translation is deeply implicated in religious ideology". This has had dire consequences for some translators, such as the assassination of the Japanese translator of Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses and the subsequent refusal by other publishers to produce the translation (Fawcett, 2001, p. 109). However, it is hoped that the study of translation ideology will return to the study of culture, norms and values. Furthermore, the translator's efforts should be considered as a "gesture of closure, which consists in reducing the unknown to the known".
In this regard, there are many Sufism terms in Al-Hikam's aphorisms that are only understood by certain experts. In this case, the technique of pure borrowing takes a position in the ideology of the text. Pure borrowing (or borrowing) is a translation technique that attempts to take a word/ expression straight from another language (Molina & Albir, 2002). One Example of pure borrowing in the translation of Al-Hikam's aphorisms can be seen in the following Table 2 One of the unique aspects of Al-Hikam's aphorisms is the use of Sufism terms, which are purely maintained by translators. This can be seen in the translation of the word /sālikun/ in Arabic, which is maintained as sālik in the target text. In the dictionary of Sufi terminology, the word sālik is equated with a wayfarer (Renard, 2009). It is also thought to have come from Arabic, derived from the verb /sa-la-ka/, which means "to behave" or "to follow". Meanwhile, /salaka ath-tharīqa/ can be interpreted as "through the road" (Munawwir, 2002, p. 653). The term "wayfarer" (traveller) itself is part of the Sufi terminology, which has been distinguished from other Sufi terms such as majdhūb. Sālik is a term for people who are slowly going to Allah SWT at a basic level. This stage seeks to understand the Divine signs through the heart and soul. They, i.e. the sālik, undergo contemplation and adhere to the discipline of asceticism (Renard, 2009, p. 253). It should be noted that the pure borrowing of the word sālik comes from the singular. Conversely, pure borrowing also occurs in plural words, such as al-aḥwāl (  ‫ا‬  ‫ﻷ‬  ‫ﺣ‬  ‫ﻮ‬  ‫ا‬  ‫ل‬ ), shown in the following Table 3 According to this table, the word aḥwāl ( ‫أ‬ ‫ﺣ‬ ‫ﻮ‬ ‫ا‬ ‫ل‬ ) is the plural form of the word ḥāl ( ‫ﺣ‬ ‫ﺎ‬ ‫ل‬ ), which means "things or circumstances" (Munawwir, 2002, p. 311). The term ahwal is understood as a state/condition of the soul that is felt by a Sufi who accompanies certain stations without power and effort. The word ahwal itself in Arabic is plural, although it is understood as a condition/state. This word is often paired with the word maqam in Sufi terminology, as the word sālik is juxtaposed with the word majdhūb.
To explain the terms borrowed from a foreign language, the description technique is used in the translated text. This technique replaces a term/expression with a description of its form/function (Molina & Albir, 2002). Specific terms related to Sufi terminology are often found in Al-Hikam's aphorisms. Not all of these terms are only absorbed or purely borrowed in the target language, but several terms also use descriptive techniques to further clarify the intent and information to the reader. The following are two examples in the source language that undergo description techniques: the first word is singular in Arabic, i.e. the word /at-tadbīr/ ( ‫ا‬ ‫ﻟ‬ ‫ﺘ‬ ‫ﺪ‬ ‫ﺑ‬ ‫ﯿ‬ ‫ﺮ‬ ), while the second word is plural, i.e. the word /al-asbāb/ ( ‫ا‬ ‫ﻷ‬ ‫ﺳ‬ ‫ﺒ‬ ‫ﺎ‬ ‫ب‬ ).   Lexically, the word /at-tadbīr/ can be interpreted as "ordering, regulating, administering, planning and preparing" (Munawwir, 2002, p. 385). The word /tadbīr/ in the Sufism dictionary is equivalent to "self-direction", as opposed to seeking out an authentic shaykh (Renard, 2009, p. 275

Manusia merencanakan tetapi Allah-lah yang menentukan Human's plan but Allah is the one who decides
In this example, the word is explained as being "busy taking care of your world". Based on the meaning component, the word manage has a close meaning to the lexical meaning of the word tadbīr in Arabic (in the table 4). However, in this case, the translator attempts to create the context in the aphorism, i.e. being "busy taking care of your world", as one of the human priorities. For this reason, the translator is not satisfied translating the word tadbīr into the existing lexical meaning, i.e. "setting". Thus, the description technique becomes the main choice of the translator in explaining the word in the aphorisms. In addition to the singular words in Arabic that have experienced the application of description techniques, there are plural words (al-asbāba) that cannot be separated from such application, as shown in the following Table 5 The word /al-asbāb/ ( ‫ا‬ ‫ﻷ‬ ‫ﺳ‬ ‫ﺒ‬ ‫ﺎ‬ ‫ب‬ ) is the plural form of the word /as-sababu/ ( ‫ا‬ ‫ﻟ‬ ‫ﺴ‬ ‫ﺒ‬ ‫ﺐ‬ ), which can be lexically interpreted by "cause, reason or ilat" (Munawwir, 2002, p. 602). In this table, the word asbab is used to describe the subject of entering into world problems, while the word asbāb in the aforementioned aphorism is juxtaposed with the word /at-tajrīd/. Additionally, the term at-tajrīd in the Sufism dictionary is understood as isolation and seclusion for devotional purposes (Renard, 2009, p. 275). In this case, at-tajrid is understood as the process of isolation or "silence", and turning away from all world affairs. Such actions bind the heart and soul, especially for the Sufis who solely focus on worshipping Allah without thinking about the effort and endeavour.   In this case, the word at-tajrīd becomes an option for the word al-asbāb, when Allah places humans in the position of tajrd, even though they prefer the position of asbāb. Since some readers who are unfamiliar with Sufi terms will have difficulty understanding this text, translators attempt to improve readability by using descriptive techniques. For example, the word al-asbāb is translated as "to enter into the busyness of worldly affairs", while the word at-tajrīd is understood as "release you", i.e. letting go of worldly affairs. Moreover, these two terms in Al-Hikam's aphorisms are often paired as maqom tajrid and maqom asbab. The former is understood as a position of detachment from worldly affairs, while the latter is understood as being bound by worldly matters. Some references state that performing tajrid refers to specialising in worship and leaving the business of seeking sustenance, while al-asbab is understood as the cause and effect of finding sustenance.

Transliteration wa +'irādatuka al-asbāba ma'a 'iqāmati-llāhi iyyāka fīt-tajrīd 'inḥithāthun "anil-himmati al-"āliyati
In general, a translator attempts to understand foreign terms based on the culture, norms and values, as well as his/her ideology. Thus, it can result in two different poles. The first pole emphasises a function orientation in the target text (prospective translation), while the other pole emphasises a function orientation in the source text (retrospective translation). This study of the ideology of translation follows Friedrich Schleiermacher's article titled "On the Different Methods of Translating" (Schleiermacher, 2012). In this case, Schleiermacher's romanticisation supports the strategy of "foreignisation". Specifically, he believes that readers are so accustomed to the cultural diversity that they will accustom their ears to receiving translations from different languages and welcome them into their own.
When a translator performs a translation, there are two aspects that he/she will believe so that it becomes an ideology at the macro level. First, the translator can bring the writer in the source language closer to the reader in the target language. Second, the translator can distance the writer in the source language from the reader in the target language (Dewi & Wijaya, 2021, p. 114). These two basic principles were eventually developed by translation theorist Venuti (2019) into "domestication" and "foreignisation". Domestication is a translation ideology that brings the texts closer to the target language and culture so that the readers of the target text do not feel that they are reading a translation, but feel that they are reading the text in the target language. This translation method, which emphasises the target language, includes communicative methods, idiomatic methods, free translation methods and adaptation methods. This option is also related to the translated "text type". For example, the translation of journalistic texts that often applies communicative and free methods brings the text closer to the target text reader. Meanwhile, foreignisation (Dewi & Wijaya, 2021, pp. 114-116) is the opposite of domestication, in which the translation maintains the message of the source language so that the result feels "foreign" and the readers understand that the text includes the culture and terms from the source language. For instance, the translation of legal texts that apply the faithful method contains the ideology of foreignisation because the translation emphasises the message of the source text. Although the results seem somewhat "foreign" and rigid, this ideology is indeed necessary for the translation of legal texts so that no elements and meanings are lost (Dewi & Wijaya, 2021, p. 116).

The relationship between the Arabic-English aphorisms translation method and ideology
Al-Hikam's Arabic-English aphorisms translation method is a procedural step in the translation process. The renowned translator Newmark (1988) generally divided translation methods into two types: the semantic approach and the communicative approach. The former is a translation approach that is oriented toward the source language, while the latter is a translation approach that is oriented toward the target language. In addition, the semantic translation approach attempts to make the semantic and syntactic structures of the second language as exact as the contextual meaning of the original language. Meanwhile, the communicative translation approach attempts to produce an effect on the reader that is as close as possible to that obtained by the original reader. In this case, the translation results of the Arabic-English aphorisms used both approaches, i.e. the semantic approach oriented toward the source language (Arabic), and the communicative approach oriented toward the target language (English).
These findings indicate that the tendency of using communicative methods in Al-Hikam's Arabic-English aphorisms is 99.72%. However, other data shows that the tendency to use a method oriented toward the source language in Al-Hikam's aphorisms is 0.20%. This indicates that there is a tendency to use communicative translation methods, on the one hand, and literal translation methods, on the other. The results of this study indicate that the translation method used in Al-Hikam's aphorisms is the communicative translation method oriented toward the target language (English). The use of this translation method also shows that the ideology of the translation of Al-Hikam's Arabic-English aphorisms predominantly adheres to domestication translation, rather than foreignization.

Conclusion
The results of this study confirm that there is a significant relationship between the study of systemic functional linguistics and translation science, as evidenced by the relationship between thematic structure, thematic development patterns and aphorism genres (as part of systemic functional linguistics), and translation techniques, translation methods, translation shifts and the quality of translation (as part of translation science). However, a hybrid approach must be developed in Arabic studies (a combination of studies between translation and linguistics).
When analysing the translation of the thematic structure from the source language (Arabic) into the target language (English) in Al-Hikam's aphorisms, we found a significant shift in numbers between the two languages. Specifically, the data shows that the number of themes in Arabic decreased when translated into English, from a total of 375 themes in Arabic to a total of 317 themes in English. The types of themes that decreased in number when translated from Arabic into English included: 1) Unmarked Topical Themes; 2) Interpersonal Themes; and 3) Textual Themes. Meanwhile, the number of Marked Topical Themes increased. This indicates that placing information before the subject often occurs in translation products.
In elaborating the thematic structure of Al-Hikam's Arabic-English aphorisms, it required an analysis of the translation techniques. In this case, the number of translation techniques was 962. Moreover, the translation of Al-Hikam's aphorisms was less likely to use foreignisation or Arabisation ideology, i.e. at 0.20%. Meanwhile, the Arabic-English translation occupied a higher domestication position of 99.72%.
Finally, this research provides several values of novelty, innovation and contribution to the development of science, as well as policies and regulations. Empirically, this research contributes to the development of comparative studies of translation products in Indonesia, especially religious texts that have been in great demand by readers in the country. Contextually, this research contributes to the study of cross-language and cross-cultural translation. Language, as a reflection of a certain culture, can be seen in terms of the product and the translation process. Furthermore, this research complements the existing Arabic translation competency standards in Indonesia, particularly "textual competence". In this regard, a reliable translator must have such competence which includes a clear understanding of the conventions of different text genres in both the source language and the target language.