The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (Mentor) [Paperback]

Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthall (Author)

Book Description

Series: Mentor | Publication Date: September 1, 1953

An Explanatory Translation.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English
Original Language: Arabic --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Signet (September 1, 1953)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451627458
• ISBN-13: 978-0451627452
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,839,248 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the classical translation, November 2, 2004

By 

rafe (Corona, ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the classical translation. It has no commentary and has aged rather well with the language has good flow and clear albeit older english.

IF you only have one translation of Holy quran this is the one. Other common one is Abdullah Yusuf Ali's translation. I would stay away from Rev Arberry's (a racist orientalist missionary) translation.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Misleading Reviews and Misleading Subtitle, September 13, 2009

By 

Devereaux Bell (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (Mass Market Paperback)

Some of the reviews for this edition/translation have perhaps been a bit unfair. While it's helpful to point out that the language is not modern (though it is not quite Shakespearean either), Pickthall's language can be rather beautiful and there are a number of well turned phrases. It is well written indeed. More importantly, Mary 19:7 does indeed say Zacharias will be given a son name John, a name never before born by any man. Whether the reader believes this or not - and many Jews will dispute the claim outright - the Koran does, I assure you, make the claim that he is the first John. If you'd like to understand a bit more about the claim itself, and other Koranic claims many Christians/Jews are sure to find odd or absurd, there are a number of translations that include commentaries, the best of which discuss meaning of individual Arabic words (and the connection between similar words that are used together or nearby one another to make subtle points), much as many New Testament commentaries discus the meanings of individual greek words (e.g., as do many in the wonderful Yale Anchor Bible series). Most importantly, though, in reviewing Pickthall's translation, it should be noted that the title 'meaning of the glorious koran' implies erroneously that this edtion offers some extra insight into the meaning of each surah, etc. It does no such thing. If you want insight and explanations into meanings, I would refer the reader again to the many translations that include commentaries - though these are often significantly more expensive.

14 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars One Step Short of Wretched, September 24, 2001

By 

Matthew Farrell (Tempe, Arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (Mentor) (Paperback)

This is a very poor translation. It emulates King James/Shakespearian English, which is bad enough, but quite simply, some of the translations are flat-out absurd. A good example is Mary 19:7, which says that before John the Baptist, no one had the name John. That is just plain silly, and I had to check several other translations to find the real meaning ("there was no one like John before him.")

I am not Islamic, but am curious and open-minded, so I read this. It was difficult to follow and, as demonstrated above, frequently (and extremely) misleading. The best translations I have found have been on-line. I do not recommend this book at all.