Customer Reviews

The Koran: With Parallel Arabic Text (Penguin Classics) (Arabic and English Edition)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This cut and dry translation is a good one, with a wondergul index and proper translations of the most important points. Of course the 'poetic' passages are lost, but hence the parallel Arabic text is sitting there for the reader to work through, and check the translation himself. A very readable and helpful translation of the many I own I have always gone back to this one for easy reference when doing research. If one is a religious scholar interested in the 'poetic nuance' then they should be reading the Arabic, as anyone reseraching the Bible should learn Hebrew. For the student, for the person interested in Koran, this ia a great beggining.

Seth J. Frantzman

When I decided to read the Koran, I studied the various translations available, trying to find the most readable, reliable version available. I downloaded all available public domain translations from gutenberg.org and carefully compared them against the translations currently available in print. I bought several, but not all, the translations, and settled upon this translation to read. I chose this translation because it was one of the most readable and because of my long experience of the reliability of Penguin translations. After I bought my (non-parallel edition) copy in a used book store, I discovered this parallel text edition. For the reader who doesn't read Arabic (which would cover most of us), the only advantage this edition has over the non-parallel text edition is that this edition is still in print and the non-parallel edition will have to be bought used.

As one who knows next to nothing about Islam, I was struck by three things: The moral teachings; the martial teachings; and the figure of Jesus.

First the moral teachings: They are quite similar to the moral teachings of the Christian Bible. Indeed, the Koran explicitly recognizes the scriptural nature of the "Torah" and the "Gospel." The moral teachings don't seem to be as plentiful in the Koran as in the New Testament, but I think there's a very good explanation. Mohammed was at war most of his prophetic career, therefore quite a lot of the Koran deals with warfare.

Second, the martial teachings: They are quite prevalent, and one could easily read the martial teachings to the exclusion of all else in the Koran. Something that struck me about the martial teachings was that they stressed non-aggression. The good believer is to fight only in self defense, and only enough to accomplish the defense. After defeating the enemy, then the good believer must be forgiving and merciful.

Martial teachings prevail in number over moral teachings in the Koran because Mohammed was persecuted in his lifetime, driven out of Mecca, attacked in Medina, and forced to defend himself in a bloody war. Quite naturally, if he's engaged in a war during most of the time he's revealing the Suras of the Koran, he's going to be talking about warfare. Thus, warfare can become a significant aspect of Islamic theology.

Third, the figure of Jesus: Jesus occupies a place in the Koran superior to all the prophets who preceded him. Muslim belief about Jesus is very similar to, but also quite different from, Christian belief. So near, yet so far apart.

Reading the Koran isn't going to make you an expert on Islam any more than reading the Bible is going to make you an expert on Christianity. But given the political, religious, and cultural climate of today's world, it is worth the effort to try to learn something about the beliefs of approximately 1,000,000,000 of our fellow-beings on this planet.

NJ Dawood has a very straightforward style of translating. This makes for an easier read, but unfortunately he makes a lot of mistakes when translating the parts of the Quran that are more subtle and require a deeper understanding of the Arabic language.This becomes evident in his tranlation of some of the parables and also many of the verses that make reference to historical events. For a more accurate translation I would recommend Muhammad Asad or Nooruddin.

This isn't the best translation of the Koran. I'd go for a different one. Also, if you've never read the Koran before or don't have a backround on Mohammed's life, better get a companion book too as it may seem like rhetoric from a western eye.

I have six translations of the Qur'an, and this is by far the worst. Yes, it's easy to read, but it's not the Qur'an. Dawood not only leaves out a lot, he distorts the meaning. Sometimes the verses are unrecognizable, so much so that I have to wonder if the distortion was deliberate (for example, in one verse, the exact same Arabic phrase is translated differently when it refers to men than when it refers to women). He doesn't come close to capturing the poetic quality of the Qur'an (whatever your beliefs, in terms of literature it is an astounding work of poetry), and he doesn't even convey the meaning.

The best translation of the Qur'an is Muhammad Asad's "The Message of the Qur'an." It has really clear, understandable footnotes, and he spent years with the Bedouin Arabs to learn their language because it's the closest to the Qur'anic Arabic of 1400 years ago. (Asad was a Jewish journalist who spent time in the Middle East and then converted to Islam.)

Another good book to start with is John Williams' "The Word of Islam" in which he uses verses of the Qur'an and intersperses them with his own explanatory commentary.

Whatever you do, don't get this one.

N.J. Dawood did a humble job in translating this version of "The Koran". It is a very good effort.
The fact that he included a parallel Arabic text (on every page) authenticated his accuracy and intention. Translations are hardly perfect, but this one really came close.
First published in 1956, subsequent editions (and reprints) of this Koran have maintained its tradition of using simple language. Any English speaker who want to know what Muslims believe in should read this book. It is very easy to understand.

This is the best translation I've found. It is easy to read, and I feel it conveys the spirit and language of the Koran better than other translations I've read.

I think translating Quran is no easy task. But this is a good translation in my view as it is easy to understand without the use of archaic English words such as thou or dost etc.

It conveys the sublime beauty of the verses even though a translation takes a lot away from the Arabic original. But that is not the point of reading the translation. Quran is meant to be guidance for all mankind, not just Arabic speaking people. And this translation does a very good job of disseminating the verses of the holy Quran in English, which can be easily understood by a Western reader. One has to read it to believe it.

Item was as expected. Clear printing. Easy to read and interpret.
Delivery very timely.

If you want to understand or have some knowledge of The Koran. This book is a great way to start for non arabic speaking readers.