Abstract

In the contemporary Muslim and Western world, Islamic law fi nds a niche
in family law and the fi nancial domain. At least forty-seven countries worldwide implement
Islamic law as a primary or secondary source in their legal system (Hellman
2016). Most research on Islamic law derives from legal philosophy and historical studies;
however, there are relatively few commentaries within linguistics and translation
studies. Th is article aims to advance the understanding of Islamic law by tapping into
two fundamental approaches within translation studies: ‘interlingual’ and ‘intralingual
translation’ (Jakobson 2000). It contributes to this under-researched area by off ering
a new model for reconceptualising the discourse of Islamic law in English as an intralingual
form of mediation, which involves an act of ‘cultural translation’ that regards
cross-cultural discourse as a ‘translation without translation’ (Wolf 2007; Pym 2014).
Th e study identifi es further gaps in current approaches while suggesting a comprehensive
model for more systematic investigations drawing on the state-of-the-art research
agendas in empirical and legal translation studies.