The Translator is Leila Aboulela's first novel, published in 1999. The Translator is a story about a young Sudanese widow, Sammar, living in Scotland and her relationship with Islamic scholar Rae Isles. Sammar was working as a translator at University when she began to translate Rae's work. The two fall in love and Aboulela explores their relationship in terms of religious faith, self-identity, and love.