Customer Reviews

The Holy Quran

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

To capture the essence and depth of the Holy Quran in another language is an insurmountable task, yet this translation comes very close to doing just that.

I am not a religious scholar, just the average muslim who wants to read the Quran and understand the true meaning of God's message and this translation has helped me immensely with that. Simply because it is not merely a literal translation, but a genuine effort to communicate the meaning of God's word and help the reader with comprehending it. The beauty is that this has been achieved without interfering with facts and expressing personal opinions. It presents the Quran in its true spirit and untampered sanctity, in a tone and manner that makes it so easy to understand for the common man.

THE Holy Quran is the perfect code for all walks of life and this translation has explained them clearly and comprehensively in a way I have never known before.

All the standards for the correct interpretation of the Holy Quran has been met by Mrs. Amatul Rahman Omer. This translation is in accordance with - a. testimony of the Quran itself, Sunnah or the act/doing of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Hadith or record of saying of the Prophet of Islam and Arabic lexicons.

This translation has helped me brings about spiritual awakening. Use of Paranthesis plays a very important role in this translation. Words within parentheses are either explanations or alternative meaning. Many of the words within parentheses may be used without any parentheses at all, for they are really part and parcel of the text.. May Allah accept this effort of Nooruddin, Mr. & Mrs. Omar who helped us (non-Arabic speaking audience) understand the true meaning of the Holy Quran in a clearer English. I look forward to reading the detailed commentary (Tafsir) by these authors.

In short, I will recommend to all who are Muslims or Not, to get this translation and find out the true peaceful religion of Islam, which is so very well explained by the introduction included in this Quran.

Any translation, by its very nature, is imperfect when compared to the original source. As Harold Bloom and Mortimer Adler have stated, when it comes to the words of God, it is an especially difficult task, since one is attempting to reflect the essence of a work that is [considered by believers to be] perfect and fully understood only by its author.

However, we must make attempts to understand as best we can, and thus translations will be necessary. Perhaps in the future there will be means to create a dynamic translation (printed on looseleaf paper, maybe?) which can be updated in a rapid manner to reflect new research and findings, and which can accommodate differing points of view in a more accessible fashion.

In the here and now, this edition is a wonderful resource for North American Muslims and others interested in Islam. I only hope for a hardcover option for the next edition.

This is the best transalation that I have ever read for the Holy Quran. The transalation is simple and clear, it does not mimic the 'old world' translation of the Holy Bible. What is also very nice, is that this version has both English and Arabic text, so for those who can read both languages, it makes it very convenient.

The Holy Quran is a must read, as we are residing in a time where Islam has come under extreme criticism as a religion of hatred and terrorism. That is not true, but unfortunately there are extremists who do nothing but tarnish the image of the relgion that means 'to surrender'. Reading this book and understanding it are key, as there are those who misinterpret and take things out of context.

This is not a religion based on hate and or crime, yet to the contrary it talks much about patience. Patience which is key to many things, yet those who tarnish the good name of Islam seem to have none of it.

I would suggest reading this book, if not to change your ideas, then at least to enlighten them. As a born muslim, my only communication with hatred and terrorism, I have only seen on 'television'. Never have I encountered it, nor have I ever read about it in the Holy Quran.

Grace and Peace upon whom who follow Guidance, As one who speaks Arabic, I umpire that this translation is faithful to the Original Tongue of the Quran, i.e. Classical Arabic Parlance of the Qureysh in which this Scripture was Divinely Revealed unto The Holy Prophet Muhammad. This translation is not bound by mere literal translation which would obscure the intend and implied meanings of the Holy Book but it is translated in accordance to the patois of Arabic. Translator has succeed to comprehend what the text conveys and succesfully translated several Quranic phrase and idioms which other translators have failed to perceive. It is an accurate and excellent translation which is faithful to the original meaning...without sectarian bias. I suggest this translation to all readers. Congratulation!

I'm a non-Muslim interesting in learning about Islam from the source. I'm very impressed with this Q'uaran from several points: The translation is easy to follow while also presenting the original Arabic text on the same page. The use of parenthesis to help in the translation is an innovative way to avoid footnotes and preserve continuity.
There's a very thorough introduction which has the purpose of explaining not only the Holy Q'uaran's history and language, but several well chosen points that dispel many of our popular (western) misconceptions about Islam. (ie - womens rights, respect of Christianity and other religions, mis-use of the term "Jihad" etc. )
The book itself is leatherbound and very attractive with gilded edges and cloth ribbon bookmark. The paper is very high quality. I would normally expect a book of this quality to sell for twice what it is sold for here. I should also mention that the producers of this book are a non-profit established by the translator and carried on today by his family. I've had the opportunity to compare this translation with several others, and I believe it to be true and unbiased. I've also corresponded with the publishers who clearly take very great pride in the production of this book and describe their work in the project as a labor of love.

My conclusions about this book are based on months of reading it and comparing it to the three standard translations of Shakir, Yusufali and Picthal and Sale ("SYPS"). I read the entire thing, word by word and compared it when I simply could not understand a verse.

Good things about it:

1) the absolute best thing is simply that a woman did it! This is an absolutely amazing feat when considering the status of women in most Islamic countries, and even the numerous comments made in the Koran itself about how women are to be subject to and spend all their time serving their husbands and children. How could a woman that did this ever get such a feat done then? Her family must have been amazingly understanding. Good for them!

2) She, in general, mitigates or softens some of the harsh language found in the classic translations of SYPS For example, referring to the prophet as a "Admonisher" has been changed to "mere preacher" or "Warner". Calling the "Koran" a "Warning" or "Admonishment" is generally changed to "book leading to eminence", "most excellent instruction", etc. "Fear god" has been changed to "take god as a shield". Good idea.

3) Because no translation of an ancient document, and especially one like the Koran, is ever going to convey an accurate meaning in every verse to everyone at every time, I highly recommending buying it, if only to see her perspective, which is given in parentheses. Anyone who reads the Koran, in order to really understand it, should read several versions, comparing them on the fly. The easiest way to do this is to search for "multilingual koran" and then look al-islam's website. She pooh-pooh's commentaries, but they really help.

4) One great part is that while SYPS pretty much add in the same words and terms in italics to aide in the reading, she has quite a bit of new and different perspective on what should be added, and I liked her independent thinking very much. It would be nice to know, tho, if this was based upon her own experiences in her particular Muslim sect, or if it was taken from a particular commentary. She should have footnoted this. People wonder why she departs from SYPS.


Detractions from it:

1) Most other "translations" (used in the normal sense, not in the Islamic, picky about translation vs. interpretation thing), simply use italics when the author needs to insert a few more words to clarify the meaning of this ancient document which is often a difficult read. Instead, she uses parentheses, and all over the place, keeping any flow most difficult. Italics would provide for a better, smoother read.

2) The grammar is quite poor in many places. In fact, in doing my reading and comparison, I had to often refer to other sources to see what she was attempting to say. I feel sorry for her, English obviously isn't her first language. The use of "infect" for "in fact" in some passages is quite comical, as if the prophet has "infected" Allah! She should be aware that many religious readers go nuts even over the smallest errors, and her lack of understanding of English is an error that so serious she should have, in all honesty, gone back and redone the book, withdrawn the prior copies and inserted corrected ones. If she doesn't understand English that well, she should have hired a good editor, preferably one with a degree in English. There's about one glaring English error for every 3 or 4 pages, so it's kind of fun to play the game "find the error" while you're reading a book that constantly repeats many precepts and stories, over and over. But I guess long ago, when people were overwhelmingly illiterate, perhaps this was necessary?

3) She rips apart many of the old translations of SYPS and even George Sale, yet her English is so poor compared with theirs, which appears to be professional created and edited. It's a problem because she makes blanket statements about how these old guys were disparaging to Islam and the prophet, yet she cites no examples of what it is about their translations that was either improper or irks her. If she makes a statement to disparage, she should support it, otherwise drop it. I think her ire is directed to the fact that some of the older authors refer to the stories as "tales" "legends" or "stories", when she just wants them to portray them out as proven facts.

4) Another glaring irksome statement she makes is that Jesus (Yeshua) was angling for the pro war thing when he said "I did not come to bring peace, but instead I have brought a sword." Is she really kidding? Has she ever talked to a Christian about the meaning of that statement and how it is pure allegory. Yeshua never went to war, never handled a sword, or even said anything about real war or violence. The sword is his preaching or words, and he was on the earth to use a "sword" to cut through negativity (hate, greed, violence, jealousy, injustice, etc.) This statement really has to go, because many Christians (including myself) find it most insulting, and not the view of 90%+ of us. Respectfully, I hope it is removed by the next edition (correction), because it is soooo far afield.

Book rating: B+. Could be an A+ with a bit more editing and softening of the words towards peace and non-violence, which she is doing a good job on so far. please, CLEAN UP THE ENGLISH! Try some italics to make it an easier read.

THE Holy Quran is the perfect code for all walks of life and this translation has explained them clearly and comprehensively in a way I have never known before.

All the standards for the correct interpretation of the Holy Quran has been met by Mrs. Amatul Rahman Omer. This translation is in accordance with - a. testimony of the Quran itself, Sunnah or the act/doing of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Hadith or record of saying of the Prophet of Islam and Arabic lexicons.

This translation has helped me brings about spiritual awakening. Use of Paranthesis plays a very important role in this translation. Words within parentheses are either explanations or alternative meaning. Many of the words within parentheses may be used without any parentheses at all, for they are really part and parcel of the text.. May Allah accept this effort of Nooruddin, Mr. & Mrs. Omar who helped us (non-Arabic speaking audience) understand the true meaning of the Holy Quran in a clearer English. I look forward to reading the detailed commentary (Tafsir) by these authors.

In short, I will recommend to all who are Muslims or Not, to get this translation and find out the true peaceful religion of Islam, which is so very well explained by the introduction included in this Quran.

This translation of Qur'an is written in straight forward current english.Unlike Shakesperian style so commonly used in Quranic translations.It is intellectualy palatable and digestable for average reader like myself.Above all it is printed on good quality paper and bound in flexible binding.It is easy to carry in one's coat pocket.As a manuel of every day life.

The Arabic language in which the Quran was revealed has vocabulary which is difficult to translate more often than not. The translator has dedicated majority of his 96 years of life studying and researching the religion of Islam and the God's message, the Quran. The outcome is this fantastic translation which uses simple terminology, where appropriate and detailed description where needed to explain the true essance of this book. An excellent complement to this translation is the "Dictionary of Quran" and the "Encyclopedia of Islam" which can be also be acquired from the Noor Foundation.