Linguistic and literary affinities

Indian goods like ginger, pepper, musk and camphor have been extensively used among the Arabs3 . Abu Rehan al Biruni was the first Islamic scientist who made a detailed study of Hindu sciences. He was also the first scholar to study India and the Hindu scientific literature. He wrote his famous ‘Description of India’, Kitāb fī Tahqīq mā li’l-Hind. He has been described as the founder of Indology. He studied Sanskrit diligently and was so proficient in it that he could translate into, as well as from, Sanskrit. He translated important works of astronomy, mathematics and Patanjali’s Yogasutra, as Tarjamat ketāb Bātanjalī fi’l-ḵalaṣ men al-ertebak.

While Sanskrit texts on mathematics and astronomy were extensively used by Muslim scientists to develop new fields, it was numerology that left a more lasting impression on the Arab sciences. This is most significant in the use of the Indian numeral system which was adapted by Arab mathematicians like Al-Khwārizmī and disseminated by traders and merchants across the Mediterranean in the medieval period. In fact, the Arabic word for numbers is Hindsah, which means ‘from India’4. In the period of Abbasid Caliph Al Mamoon (813-33 CE), Al-Khwārizmī adapted Sanskrit numerals into Arabic mathematics5. As Europeans received this numeral system from the Arabs, this universal system is now referred to as Arabic numerals.

Linguistic and literary affinities

The regular interactions between Arabs and Indians throughout history culminated in influencing each other’s language as well. The Persian and later, Arab origins of India, Hind and Hindustan, can be traced back to the conquests of North-west India, along the Sindhū (Indus) river. By the time of the Arab conquests, al-Hind and al-Hindī were commonly used while the Persian rulers, including the Mughals used Hindu or Hindustani (plural Hunūd)6. Some Indian goods that entered into the Arab world were named after the place of origin, Al-Hind. There are some place names which refer to ‘Hind’, India. In Al Batinah coast of Oman, there is a Khour Al Hind (Bay of India) and another district is called Hilat Al Hind (District of India). There is also evidence to show the trade connections between Oman and Kerala, leading to linguistic influences. According to Ahmad, “The ancient Arab poet ‘Imr-ul-Khais’ in one of his famous poems compares the excretions of deer with the pepper that was available only in Kerala. The Arabic words like ‘narajeel’ (coconut) and ‘arus’

3 Bhatt, A. M. (2019). ‘The medicinal use of Zanjabeel’. 4 Ahmad, A. (1964). Studies in Islamic Culture in the Indian Environment. 5 Ahmad, T. (2018) ‘The role of cultural interactions and resident Indian communities in the GCC countries in shaping Gulf-India ties’. 6 Qatar National Library. (2019). Qatar, India & the Gulf.

(rice) are derived from Malayalam which is found in very ancient Arabic literature. It is the Arabs and Persians who named Kerala as ‘Malabar’, which was formed as a combination of the Malayalam word ‘Mala’ (hills) and Arabic word ‘Baar’ (the region)”7 . Historically, Indian swords were very famous in the Arab world and they are called Hindi, Hindawani and Muhannad. They gained the reputation of being very supple and sharp. Pre-Islamic Arabic poetry has many references to this and many other Indian goods being popular among Bedouins too. Many Indian words like sandal (chandan), tanbul (pan), karanfal (clove), narjeel (coconut) were popularly used by the Arabs8. Although the Quranic scholars may differ about the non-Arabic words used in the Holy Quran, the Indian Islamic scholar Maulana Syed Suleiman Nadwi, refers to Hafiz Ibn Hajar and Hafiz Seuti’s works, asserting that a few Indian words like misk (musk), zanjabeel (ginger) and kafur (karpur) have been used in the Holy Quran9. Over the centuries, Indio-Arab cultural ties in southern India deepened with the frequent visits of merchants, travellers and scholars. In the Tamil-speaking areas, Tamil assimilated some Arabic words, such as “sukkan” and “malumi” which are derived from the Arabic sukkan meaning rudder, and mua’llim, the captain of the ship10. Many Arab families carry the surname Al-Hindi and Hind is still a popular given name used extensively by Arab women. While Arabic is the national language of Oman, the language and its regional dialect are influenced by loanwords from Urdu and Gujarati (two Indo-Aryan languages), and even Portuguese occasionally. Indians have also contributed to the development of particular dialects of Arabic that is being used in Oman. Commonly used words with an Indian origin include baalty (bucket), tawa (pan), pankha (fan), tijouri (box), chash-ma (spectacles), chutney (pickle), masala (spices). Phrases such as ‘chup’ (be silent), ‘shaa-baash’ (well done) and ‘bakhshish’ (tips) are also commonly used in various Omani dialects. Linguist Rizwan Ahmad notes that “the Gulf dialect was also influenced by Indian languages, especially on the level of vocabulary. One of the most widely used words in Gulf Arabic is seedaa (straight), which is borrowed from Urdu/ Hindi. When asking for directions, you will hear people say “Ruh seedaa (go straight)”. This word is also used in a metaphorical sense. Arabs from the Gulf might say, “Aanaa insaan seedaa (I am a straight-forward person)”. Other words of Indian origin in Gulf Arabic are jooti (shoes), chaawal (steamed

7 Ahmad, A. (2011). ‘Continuity and change in Indo-Arab Cultural relations: A survey with special reference to Oman’. 8 Ahmad, A. (2011). 9 Nazmi, H. A. (2019). ‘Intellectual and educational interaction between India and Saudi

Arabia’. 10 Ahmad, T. (2018, May 5). ‘The role of cultural interactions and resident Indian communities in the GCC countries in shaping Gulf-India ties’.

rice), tijoree (safe-box), banka (fan), gaari (car). Arabs who are not from the Gulf or have not lived in the Gulf do not largely use these words”.11

Some words of Hindi origin not only find expression in spoken language but also constitute a considerable part of Arabic literature. The following stanza from an Omani poem illustrates it clearly:

راد يبلق ةرود هكنبلا مشخ مير رغازي هب

…my love whirls like a ‘pankha’… 12

The Arabic influence on Indian languages, particularly Urdu is well known and documented while Sindhi is also influenced by Arabic. Colloquially, Arabic words such as qalam (pen), jeb (pocket), kitaab (book), safhaa (page), saaf (clean), kharaab (bad), ghalat (wrong) became common words not only in Urdu, but in other Indian languages. Ahmad also shows how terms of endearment and relationship markers in Urdu (and now popular Hindi) originate in Arabic. Abbaa, abbu, abbi are variations of father (abun) in Arabic. Mohabbat, mahboob and mahbooba (lover) are also borrowed from Arabic.

Translation

Given the variety and range of Indian languages, translation of Indian literature into Arabic has been challenging and sporadic. Historically, the ethical writings of Chanakya and works on logic were translated and catalogued by Ibn Nadim in his 10th century compendium known as Kitab alFihrist. According to literary historians, some works which were translated into Arabic in the early medieval period include Sindbad Kabir, Sindbad Sagheer, Kitabul Badd, Kitab Baunasef wa Balohar, Kitab Bonasef, Kitab Adabul Hind was Seen, Kissa Hubute Adam, Kitab Turuk, Kitab Dabak Hindi), Kitab Suwerum, Kitab Shanaq fid Tadbeer, Kitab Baidba (on wisdom and knowledge) and Kitab Utur Mashrubat. Ibn al-Muqaffa translated Panchatantra into Arabic as Kalilā wa Dimna around 750 CE13. His work is considered as a model of great Arabic prose and the first masterpiece of Arabic literary prose. It has also been interpreted by different cultures in a variety of forms, including a ballet performed at the Royal Opera House14 . In the 20th century, Rabindranath Tagore’s Nobel prize winning ‘Geetanjali’

11 Ahmad, R (2018, Dec. 2), ‘Waqt, chaawal and Bollywood’, The Print. 12 Ahmad, A (2011). 13 Sergey Plekhanov, author of A Reformer on the Throne, states that the book Kalilā wa

Dimna was one of the favourite readings of the late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos in his childhood. 14 The ballet was entitled Al Hamama Al Mutawwaqa - the ring dove story from Kalilā wa

Dimna performed in the 2018 season at the Opera House, Oman.

was translated by Wadi Al Bustani, who met and stayed with the poet in Calcutta soon after the Nobel prize was announced. Subsequently, Tagore’s works have been translated into Arabic by various other writers like Al Bustan (‘The Gardner’), Tanius Abdadah (‘Ghare Baire’) and Mahmud Al Manjudy (‘Citra’)15. Sayyed Sulaiman Nadvi’s famous book on Indo-Arab relations (Arab Oʾ Hind Ke Taʾllugat) and Shibli Nomani’s historical narrative Al Farooq have been translated into Arabic by Suhaib Alam and Jalal Saeed Hafnavi respectively. Various translators had also rendered Premchand’s ‘Gaodan’ into Arabic. The Egyptian scholar Tharwat Okasha compiled an Encyclopedia on art in Islamic Mughal India in 195516 . Of late, there have been many emerging platforms to encourage the translation of Indian works written in regional languages, and English, into Arabic and vice versa. While the Arabic publishing industry was very active in the 1940s in India before publication became popular in the Arab world, the sheer range of Indian languages and access to them for an Arabic writer presents challenges. This is in addition to the historical custom of Arabic writers translating scientific and religious texts over literary ones. Currently, various Arabic departments in India are encouraging translation of Indian literary texts and this is most successful in Kerala, where Malayalam novels are being translated into Arabic. The famous novel Aadujeevitham (Goat Days) by Benyamin was translated into Arabic by Suhail Wafi under the title Ayyamul Maaiz. He also translated Vaikom Mohammed Basheer’s Malayalam novel Balyakala Sakhi into Arabic as Raffeeqath Assiba. Another translator, Ibrahim Badshah rendered two iconic and prizewinning Arabic novels, Saud Sannousi’s The Bamboo Stalk and Booker prize winner Jokha Al Harthi’s Celestial Bodies into Malayalam. The Indian Council for Cultural Relations undertakes various translation projects but is often short on funding for publication. The India Arab Cultural Centre at Jamia Millia Islamia, in collaboration with ‘Kalima’ of Abu Dhabi has been engaging with projects on translating Indian literary works into Arabic. One of their most popular translations has been the work of the poet and critic K Satchidanandan. The IACC also hosts various seminars and conferences to facilitate new interpretations of Indo-Arab literary and cultural ties, which go beyond colonialist interpretations. In Oman, the Culture Club of Oman has been hosting various events to promote and share translations of Indian works, as well as research on Oman. Jokha al Harthi was also invited to participate in the Jaipur Literary Festival

15 B Rahman (Dec. 15, 2011). ‘Tagore in the land of Arabian Nights’, The Telegraph. 16 Ahmad, A (2011) ‘Continuity and change in Indo-Arab Cultural relations: A survey with special reference to Oman’.