The Sublime Quran [Paperback]

Laleh Bakhtiar (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

Review

A great achievement, May 11, 2007 Laleh Bakhtiar has provided a remarkable rendition of the Qur'an. Her achievement balances accuracy with poetry. In particular, her rendition corrects many of the prejudicial readings of certain passages of the Qur'an that have long been used to denigrate Islam. The Arabic of the Qur'an is not in any way transparent--even to native Arabic speakers. There are archaisms that have really never been adequately resolved. Ms. Bakhtiar takes an approach from critical literary practice, and chooses interpretations that are consistent with Islamic theology rather than adhering to some kind of philological pedantry. This is the first Qur'anic rendition undertaken by a female scholar. It is masterful and something that everyone should have in their library next to their other sacred texts. --William O. Beeman "Director, Middle East Stud... (Providence, RI USA)<br /><br />It takes courage, A LOT of courage, these days to write a book about Islam... Even more to write about the Holy Quran and even more trying to translate Holy Quran from the original Arabic to plain English the way anyone can easily read and understand it. This English translation is performed in a very meticulous and precise way and is very loyal and faithful to the original Arabic text. There are many other English translations of the Holy Quran in the market right now, but Ms. Bakhtiar's translations stays way above all of them and is absolutely essential for anyone who is interested to learn about Islam... --Proteus "Proteus" (Pasadena, CA, USA)<br /><br />The rendition of the Qur'an by Laleh Bhakhtiar is a step forward in the translation of this Scripture in Semitic language which is without any sectarian bias, Sufi, philosophical, Sunni, Shia and Ismaili theological connotations, and recently scientific, feminist and Taliban renditions etc. The translation is in modern American English, and the style is poetic-prose, which reflects the style of the Qur'an that is neither poetry nor prose, but is inclusive of both. This translation could be of help to Muslims and non-Muslims who do not know the Arabic of the Qur'an and are interested in studying it, and it could be of immense help to the students of Islamic studies. --Prof. Latimah-Parvin Peerwani

It takes courage, A LOT of courage, these days to write a book about Islam... Even more to write about the Holy Quran and even more trying to translate Holy Quran from the original Arabic to plain English the way anyone can easily read and understand it. This English translation is performed in a very meticulous and precise way and is very loyal and faithful to the original Arabic text. There are many other English translations of the Holy Quran in the market right now, but Ms. Bakhtiar's translations stays way above all of them and is absolutely essential for anyone who is interested to learn about Islam... --Proteus "Proteus" (Pasadena, CA, USA)

The rendition of the Qur'an by Laleh Bhakhtiar is a step forward in the translation of this Scripture in Semitic language which is without any sectarian bias, Sufi, philosophical, Sunni, Shia and Ismaili theological connotations, and recently scientific, feminist and Taliban renditions etc. The translation is in modern American English, and the style is poetic-prose, which reflects the style of the Qur'an that is neither poetry nor prose, but is inclusive of both. This translation could be of help to Muslims and non-Muslims who do not know the Arabic of the Qur'an and are interested in studying it, and it could be of immense help to the students of Islamic studies. --Prof. Latimah-Parvin Peerwani

Product Description

This is the first edition of the Quran (Koran) translated by an American woman. This modern, inclusive translation refutes past translations that have been used to justify violence against women. The translation was undertaken by Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar, Lecturer on Islam at the Lutheran Theological Seminary connected to the University of Chicago. She has translated 25 books and written 20 on Islam and Sufism. The hallmark of this translation is its modern and inclusive language. Dr. Bakhtiar believes "in the universality of all faiths, that God is one and speaks to us in all languages." Dr. Bakhtiar cites the most accurate translation of the word traditionally translated to mean infidel as "ungrateful" instead. She also uses God instead of Allah. Just as Allah is the universal term for God used by Jews, Christians and Muslims in the Arab world, Dr. Bakhtiar uses God as the universal English term. Dr. Bakhtiar has also challenged the translation of the Arab word idrib traditionally translated as "beat" and often used as justification for abuse of Muslim women. She sees multiple possible translations of idrib and has developed a theological argument that refutes the use of "beat" as the accurate translation for the famed passage 4:34 in the Quran that has historically justified such violence. She uses go away instead following the Sunnah of the Prophet. The first American translation of the Quran appeared in 1985 and was translated by Thomas Irving. The first translation of the Quran into English by a woman came in 2001 by an Iranian woman, Taherah Saffarzadeh.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 768 pages
• Publisher: Kazi Publications, Inc. (March 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1567447503
• ISBN-13: 978-1567447507
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #233,241 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A new approach to translation, October 23, 2007

By	LJ (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Sublime Quran (Paperback)

This is my third Qur'an and by far my favorite. It is written formally, compared to other translations that strive for readability. I find this more appropriate for a religious text. The text is broken down into phrases and centered, which makes reading and understanding much easier. Also, the text is large and very readable. It makes the book bigger but the weight is well worth it.

Rather than the traditional start at the beginning and go to the end approach, Laleh Bakhtiar used the "formal equivalence" technique. That means translating each word on its own, and then putting it all together. Bakhtiar found over 3,600 Arabic verbs and nouns, which translated into over 5,800 unique English equivalents. This results in a much more accurate and consistent translation.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful work, February 17, 2008

By	Farhan Bhatti "Farhan" (East Lansing, MI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Sublime Quran (Paperback)

This is a beautiful translation of the Qur'an into modern-day English that can be easily understood. There is no written rule that says Abdullah Yusuf Ali's translation has to be the only translation used, or that his translation is even the "gold standard." As a Muslim male, I think it is amazing that we have a female Muslim scholar who translated the Qur'an. And let me be clear -- this is not some revisionist translator trying to alter the meaning of the Qur'an in any way. This is a scholar who spent years of her life trying to translate the Qur'an in a way that preserves its original meaning and can be understood easily by everyday English speakers. Unfortunately, much of the Muslim world today is still patriarchal/male-dominated. Slowly but surely, however, this is changing -- by God's Grace. People need to realize that some of the greatest Muslim thinkers and scholars in history have been women. And Bakhtiar is certainly making a case for herself to be mentioned among them.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The excellent tranlsation of the Qur'an by Laleh Bhakhtiar, June 17, 2007

By	Latimah S. Peerwani (Arlington Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Sublime Quran (Paperback)

The rendition of the Qur'an by Laleh Bhakhtiar is a step forward in the translation of this Scripture in Semitic language which is without any sectarian bias, Sufi, philosophical, Sunni, Shia and Ismaili theological connotations, and recently scientific, feminist and Taliban renditions etc. The translation is in modern American English, and the style is poetic-prose, which reflects the style of the Qur'an that is neither poetry nor prose, but is inclusive of both. This translation could be of help to Muslims and non-Muslims who do not know the Arabic of the Qur'an and are interested in studying it, and it could be of immense help to the students of Islamic studies.

Prof. Latimah-Parvin Peerwani