Abstract:

It is known that apologetic works were written in languages such as Greek, Syriac and Latin by Eastern Christian scholars of religion since the 8th century in order to respond to the religious challenges of Islam. While definitions were being made in these works about the Islamic belief, the expressions defining Allah in the Qur'an were tried to be rendered through translation from Arabic to Greek. In this context, the concept of 'samad' in the Qur'an (112/2) was first translated into Greek by a Byzantine writer, Theodore Abu Qurra (d. 820), with a meaning that was not used in Islamic literature, and then this meaning was expanded by Nicetas of Byzantium (d. late 9th century), creating a false perception which is completely far from the original meaning of the word. Later, the meaning given by Nicetas was repeated by the later Byzantine Christian theologians, who followed his footsteps, and the perception and belief that the God, which Muslims believed in, was "a metal object hammered in the shape of a sphere" was transmitted from generation to generation. This study aims to show the importance of accuracy in translation, of understanding and translating the text correctly and away from prejudice and bigotry in the context of translation-perception-belief relationship, through the example of the translation of the concept of 'samad' into Greek by Byzantine authors. Our study is limited to examination of the wrong translation and interpretation of the concept of 'samad' and the authors who played a role in the continuation of a false perception and belief that lasted for centuries in the Christian Byzantine society, and of their evaluations within the framework of this concept about the God that Muslims believe in. We made examination and evaluation in the light of previous academic studies on the related authors and their works. It has been determined that as a result of the wrong translation of the concept of 'samad' by the Byzantine writers by giving a meaning that has no equivalent in the Islamic literature, they caused a wrong perception about Allah, the supreme deity that Muslims believed in in the event that factors such as linguistic inadequacy, prejudice, religious bigotry and hostility have an effect on the translation, members of one religion may cause false perceptions and unfair accusations that will continue for centuries about the beliefs of the members of another religion, especially in periods when communication between religions and cultures is limited.

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