Customer Reviews

Dictionary of the Holy Quran (English and Arabic Edition)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This dictionary is indeed easy to use. It is well and clearly organised. However, I found the actual content rather disappointing as the semantic and etymological information it provides is very basic. After giving (without quoting any sources) the enormous (and somehow disconcerting) semantic field of a root, it proceeds to give a contextual tranlation (or paraphrase) of a word in each of its qur'anic contexts, with Muslim exegtical overtone. In other words, a mainstream Muslim translation of the Qur'an offers the same results with less hassle. For example, al-naffaathaat fii al-'uqad (verse 113:4) is explained as follows: "are those human beings (men and women) who try and whisper evil suggestions to deter people from doing their duty and regulating and ordering their affairs", which sounds more like a later theological understanding of this qur'anic expression, than a real linguistic, etymologcal, and anthropoligcal explanation. (At the "nafatha" entry, the author feels he has to add: "Zamakhshari categorically rejects a belief in the reality and effect of such practices, as well as the concept of magic as such").

Useful to readers who might be reassured by the strong theological overtones, not so useful to readers who would like to know more and understand possible qur'anic connotations which have been ignored or supressed by the classical orthodox exegesis.

This book is a very good reference for English-speaking students of the Qur'an. The two reviews by Rashid Jahangiri give a good description of the contents. I would add that the actual dictionary section contains entries that are quite thorough in the coverage of each listed word, including related words that share the same root and inflected forms such as all conjugated forms of verbs.

There are two controversies afoot on this review page. The first is the "review" by al-Qaradawi, which mentions the "True Furqan". The unsolicited comment is completely out of place here, as it has nothing to do with the Dictionary of the Holy Quran. I would add that this book is a plagerism of the Qur'an, written by Christian missionaries in the Middle East with the aim of converting Muslims to Christianity. Regardless of how you might feel about this statement, I would encourage all readers to click the "Report this" link, so that hopefully Amazon will remove this distraction "review".

The second controversy has to do with Zia Ulhaq's review. As best as I have been able to determine, the author, Abdul Omar Mannan, is associated with the Ahmadiyyah sect of Islam. From an orthodox Sunni or Shia perspective, most Ahmadis are considered unorthodox at best and typically heretical, hence Zia Ulhaq's comments. This issues aside, I would still highly recommend this book, as I am not aware of any equivalent reference available in English. I would just caution Muslim readers to be aware of the Ahmadiyyah link, espeically while reading the sections on the lives of the prophets (peace be upon them all).

One of the comments prompted me to investigate further after which I found out that the author Abdul Mannan Omar had passed away on the 28th of July 2006 (96 years old) as his obituary appeared on The Light, a London-based Lahore Ahmadiyya community monthly publication. Hence the interpretation that Jesus died of natural death as had been proclaimed by the founder of this movement in 1891, where he claimed to have received revelation from God about the death of Jesus.

While the other entries are remarkably accurate as the references that he used were very much authoritative of the Arabic language, his opinion, creed and interpretation of the Quranic verses will raise a flag within the mainstream Muslim community.

If I can give Edward Lane a 5 star for his voluminous Arabic Lexicon, I should be able to give Mr Omar similar rating for his work. I don't subscribe to his faith.

In Quaranic studies it is not always possible to know exactly what a word or a phrase in the Qur'an may mean. Some people have other translations of the Qur'an for the purpose. But other translations may not clear up the problem. The Dictionary of the Holy Qur'an makes the work much easier and allows for quick references. It is definitely a part of my desk reference works.

DICTIONARY OF THE HOLY QURAN
(Arabic Words-English meanings)

By: Abdul Mannan Omar (son of Maulana Noor Ud Din).
(Translator of The Holy Quran; Arabic-English. Editor, Encyclopedia of Islam; 22 volumes)
Total number of pages: 1010.

Highlights:
1- Easy to find and ascertain the real, classical, and root meaning of all the Quranic Words.

2- All root-words of the Holy Quran with their derivatives have been included in it.

3- Efforts have been made to highlight various shades of meaning.

4- Two indexes have been provided: Index #1- The Quranic Words. Each Quranic
word is ALPHABETICALLY arranged (according to the Arabic alphabets), with the cross reference to the basic `root-words'. (This Index # 1 is helpful for the beginners).
Index # 2 - Basic Quranic Root-words. All the Quranic basic
`root-words' arranged alphabetically (according to the Arabic alphabets).

5- Authentic and Comprehensive. The etymology, the function, and wherever applicable the abbreviations are also given from the most authentic sources, with explanatory notes, grammatical comments, and examples in phrase and poetry.

6- Classical Arabic Dictionaries combined in one. Some of the
classical dictionaries used: Al-Mufradat fi Gharib Al-Quran by Abdul Qasim al-Husain al-Raghib; Lisan al-Arab by Jamal al-Din Abu al-Fadzl Muhmmad bin Mukarram bin Manzur; Taj al-Arus min Jawahir al Qamus by Muhammad al Murtadza
Husaini; The Arabic English Lexicon by Edward W. Lane etc.

7- Appendices: Appendix # 1- An Overview of the Dictionary. This has number of articles. Appendix # 2- System of Punctuation. Appendix # 3- System of Transliteration of the Arabic Words.

8- Deluxe gift edition: Silver page edges. Leather-flex binding.

Book for the Layman: For the student and layman, whose mother tongue is not Arabic, the "Dictionary of the Holy Qur'an" (Arabic-English) by `Abdul Mannan `Omar is without doubt an intimate and indispensable companion book to the study of the Qur'anic Text. This dictionary is especially geared to the novice, student, and layman, and even to serious scholars studying classical Arabic.

Debt of gratitude: Without hesitation or reservation, i have to state that we are deeply indebted to the venerable Mannan family, who have published and facilitated publication of several scholarly works on Islam. I pay special tribute to the author of this dictionary for his dedication to Arabic scholarship by virtue of this book, which accents the beauty and magnificence of the Arabic Qur'an.

Best Single Volume: This book is the best single volume dictionary available on Qur'anic Arabic outside of the respected and popular E.W. Lane's "Arabic-English Lexicon," which comprises several volumes. Another book, different but to a extent complementary, is Hanna E. Kassis "A Concordance of the Qur'an." The latter of course, is an English-based volume, requiring no knowledge of Arabic, but it does provides arabic roots for all English-based words, traced to various Qur'anic translations. The prime difference between Mannan's dictionary and Kassis' concordance is that the former requires elementary knowledge of the Arabic aphabet, while the latter does not! Both are equally accessible to the layman.

Ease of Use: Mannan's dictionary follows the same method of use as any standard English dictionary. It is arranged in Arabic alphabetic order, following the sequence of fathah, kasrah, and dammah, in Index 1 (282 pages).

Authoritativeness: finally, this dictionary permits the student/researcher to access the "classical" root meanings of all Arabic words used in the Qur'anic Text due to the fact that its very contents come from the best extant classical Arabic works, including Al-Mufridat, Lisan al-`Arab, and Taj al-`Arus.

Without hesitation, I strongly recommend Mannan's dictionary for anyone interested in a casual or serious study of the Islam's sacred text.

sincerely,

Mohamad K. Yusuff

A very timely masterpiece. Unique scholarly contribution.
Most comprehensive work on the topic.
Classical Arabic dictionaries have been put together in one place. It is very ease to use.
This new dictionary will go a long way to study the indepth meanings of the Holy Quran.
I Strongly recommend it to all students of Islam and the Holy Quran.

Good points about the book:

1) It is not too big (e.g. versus Lane's Lexicon).

2) The dictionary where one can find the root, if you are not sure about it, is excellent.

Bad points:

1) The author is clearly a Sunni/Shia and introduces bias with certain words (e.g. salat = 'prayer', zakat = 'charity'). Sometimes the bias is relatively obvious because he will commence with the real meaning (which does not agree with the sectarian religious books [e.g. Bukhari et al]) and then proclaim the sectarian meaning for the rest of the entry.

2) This book has largely been outdone by a group of dedicated Muslims who have set up a website which is detailing all the Quranic roots, their occurences in the Quran and their meanings according to Lane's Lexicon (the foremost Arabic Lexicon). They have even developed a feature where one can click on an Arabic Quranic term, obtain it's root, the occurences of that word in the Quran, the occurences of the root in the Quran and the meaning from Lane's Lexicon. I will name the website if asked (my previous entry was not allowed as I mentioned the site). The only problem with this, of course, is one has to turn on the computer! However it is clear that this is the best way to obtain a clear, non-sectarian reading of the Quran. God willing the group will publish their work in book format.

DICTIONARY OF THE HOLY QURAN
(Arabic Words-English meanings)

By: Abdul Mannan Omar (son of Maulana Noor Ud Din).
(Translator of The Holy Quran; Arabic-English. Editor, Encyclopedia of Islam; 22 volumes)
Total number of pages: 1010.

Highlights:
1- Easy to find and ascertain the real, classical, and root meaning of all the Quranic Words.

2- All root-words of the Holy Quran with their derivatives have been included in it.

3- Efforts have been made to highlight various shades of meaning.

4- Two indexes have been provided: Index #1- The Quranic Words. Each Quranic
word is ALPHABETICALLY arranged (according to the Arabic alphabets), with the cross reference to the basic `root-words'. (This Index # 1 is helpful for the beginners).
Index # 2 - Basic Quranic Root-words. All the Quranic basic
`root-words' arranged alphabetically (according to the Arabic alphabets).

5- Authentic and Comprehensive. The etymology, the function, and wherever applicable the abbreviations are also given from the most authentic sources, with explanatory notes, grammatical comments, and examples in phrase and poetry.

6- Classical Arabic Dictionaries combined in one. Some of the
classical dictionaries used: Al-Mufradat fi Gharib Al-Quran by Abdul Qasim al-Husain al-Raghib; Lisan al-Arab by Jamal al-Din Abu al-Fadzl Muhmmad bin Mukarram bin Manzur; Taj al-Arus min Jawahir al Qamus by Muhammad al Murtadza
Husaini; The Arabic English Lexicon by Edward W. Lane etc.

7- Appendices: Appendix # 1- An Overview of the Dictionary. This has number of articles. Appendix # 2- System of Punctuation. Appendix # 3- System of Transliteration of the Arabic Words.

8- Deluxe gift edition: Silver page edges. Leather-flex binding.

I am very new to reading arabic and this dictionary explains things very clear. It was a very good bargain and I'm glad I got it.