Customer Reviews

The Koran (Penguin Classics)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(32)

 

 

I had no real interest in Islam until 9/11, after which I picked up and read Islam: The Straigh Path by John Esposito. I then did an independent study of Sufism, which is what sparked my interest in Islam enough to read The Koran, its central text.

Although I cannot comment on the other reviewers' differing views on the accuracy of this translation, I can write that this translation does convey something of the thunderous power that Muhammad's earliest listeners must have heard and experienced when these suras (speeches - the Koran is a collection of 114 speeches given by Muhammad, which Muslims believe were revelations given to him by God) were first delivered.

There are a number of things that one could mention content-wise, as each sura deals with something slightly different. God, women, human relationships, one's relationship to the non-believing world, Judaism, Christianity, and Arabic paganism are all touched upon in the Koran (along with other topics). It reads much like the Bible at points, and many of the more familiar Biblical stories are here, along with extra-Biblical legends. The Koran really isn't a bizarre religious text, but very much belongs to the genealogy of monotheistic, prophetic writings.

One of the things that I really liked about this particular translation was the way that Dawood cross-referenced relevant Biblical texts from both the Tanak/Old Testament and the New Testament. The footnotes detailing Arabic pagan practice were also helpful, as were the footnotes giving basic historical information. One certainly gets a feel for where the Koran was coming from and who it was going to when it was first delivered.

In reading this, it is worth reflecting on how a passage can lend itself to multiple interpretations. There are very few passages in the Koran that make any mention of war, and far more passages that assert that one should leave judgment to God. Yet, in our own time, these passages on war seem to be used - in some circles, at least - far more often than the passages that counsel one to merely give warning and leave the rest to God.

I think that the Koran is worth reading, especially given the current socio-political climate and I found this particular translation to be helpful due to Dawood's many footnotes. Regardless of the translation you end up buying, at least check this one out as it will give you an important insight into the world of the early Muslims, which continues to shape our world today.

N.J. Dawood's translation has been held in high regard throughout the English speaking world (though not by English speaking MUSLIMS). It certainly achieves the translator's stated goal: to render the Koran in contemporary English. In comparison to Abdullah Y. Ali and especially Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall, Dawood's translation flows easily and naturally, while retaining in some part the forcefulness of the original Arabic.

However, a key point missed by some who run across this book in the store is this: Dawood has heavily edited and OMITTED portions of the Koran that he felt were repetitious or unnecessarily lengthy. While that's fine for a general audience, completists and orthodox Muslims will be irked by the omission of parts of the text. In short, this is NOT a complete Koran.

That being said, the language and diction of this translation is certainly to be admired. Dawood's offering is clear and eminently readable. Although this book is inappropriate for any serious study of the Koran, it is more than adequate as a first Koran for the non-Muslim taking an interest in Islam.

Reviewers complaining of inaccuracies here are off base. For example, Dawood never translated 7:31 ("children of Adam") as "children of Allah." This is impossible, as one of Dawood's nice touches is that he has always translated Allah (correctly) as "God." (By the way, Yusuf Ali made this same wise choice in his translation, but the holier-than-thou revisers of his work who continue to publish it under his name have mucked up this & a whole lot else.)

Dawood's knowledge of Qur'anic Arabic is deep and subtle. As another reviewer has noted, a remarkable feature of his translation is how much it has improved over time (over the successive reeditions put out by Penguin). For this reason, definitely buy this book new. Usually, when translators go back and fiddle with their work, they make it worse. But Dawood's labor of love is evident in the gradual progress he has made towards the clearest and most accurate phrases and rhythms to capture the original.

Dawood does not put on a show by dressing his text with long, technical, or argumentative footnotes (as do many editions of the Qur'an). But his knowledge of traditional comment on the sacred text (and of philology) is the equal of any other translator's. Add to this, the fact that Dawood's English is graceful and limpid (moreso than the work of Arberry, Pickthall, et al.).

Why only four stars? I await the day that a philologically astute translation appears with proper annotations. Look at the study edition of the New Jerusalem Bible, or at the New Oxford Annotated Bible, and you will see what readers of the Qur'an (in English) are sorely lacking.

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.

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.

This is a very readable translation of the Quran. For the Western reader, it is much more accessible than translations such as that of Shakir. This translation attempts to capture some of the literary style and beauty of the original. The footnotes are especially helpful in pointing out the meanings of difficult words or phrases. Often, the footnotes clarify who is speaking and about whom or what. I find that difficult passages are best understood by comparing several translations and this translation is often the most helpful. An example is Quran 4:3 where Shakir says "what your right hands possess" whereas Dawood translates it as "slave girls". I fault Shakir for obscuring the true meaning by his overly literal translation. My only frustration is that Dawood changed the traditional order of the chapters, and this makes cross referencing rather slow. I highly recommend this book, especially for who are reading the Quran for the first time.

Dawood's translation was, I believe, the first one that I ever read. As I am not a Muslim, I can't judge very well on matters of interpretation, but on a scale of 1 to 10 I'd say:

Accuracy - 5. Given a choice, Dawood prefers clarity to accuracy. Please understand that translating everything the Quran says, or even a small part of what it says, is impossible.

Poetic Sense - 8. Dawood is really pretty good in letting some of lilt get through.

Depth - 3. It's just not there.

I'd probably recommend him over Pickthall, even though Pickthall was a Muslim. Pickthall was very aware of the sense behind what he was translating, and he tried to bring more of it through than could be done; he also has a bit too much baggage from the bible with him. My favorite translation is Yusuf Ali, who is interested in being as clear and accurate as possible even at the expense of elegance. If you want elegance too, learn Arabic and read the original.

While I suppose that there may be some inaccuracies, I find this to be the most easily read version of the Holy Quran currently available.

The Koran is a very compelling and mysterious book, for better or worse (depending on your personal beliefs of course), but I think for anyone exploring Islam, this book is a good start, particularly for those who are new to Islam.

Mr. Daewood's translation is very beautiful and poetic, when compared to other translations I have seen. I also like the unconventional format of this book, in that the shorter chapters go first. This is intended for the new readers, so they do not get stuck on long, difficult chapters like The Cow, or Women.

However, for more scholarly interests, this book might not be the most accurate. Difficult words and phrases tend to be translated in a way that is more dramatic or literary sounding, but may detract from the original meaning. This could be problematic for those trying to discern the authorial context of the passage.

In any case, I did very much enjoy reading this version for what it is: a literary translation for the uninitiated. For those new to Islam, this is a good place to start. For others, I recommend looking elsewhere. :)

... I believe that this translation has merit in that it relays the Koranic message in a way that is easy to understand. Those wishing to explore more precise, and thereby more complex versions, should ideally look to the original text, or a dual-language version, where there are adjacent columns of Arabic and English. Since the Koran is originally presented in verse, one may wish to read a tranlation which also presents the text in verse. But, for those who wish to study the text in a relaxed fashion, I would recommend this prose translation. Incidentally, another reviewer's comment clarifying the meaning of the word Qawamoon as truly meaning "have been charged with" is correct, based on my own research. BUT do not let this demerit the entire translation, for this is not the only translation that makes such a mistake. In general, I find this to be an excellent translation for the beginner.

The Koran (Penguin Classics)

I am a non-arab Muslim and I was searching for a good and linguistically modern translation of the Koran.

This translation by N.J. Dawood, published by Penguin Classics is hands-down the absolute BEST translation that I have come across. It is very readable, coherent and limits the use of archaic and intimidating language.