Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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188 of 200 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Most Authentic, October 8, 2001
This translation is considered the most authentic by Muslim scholars. It is the one that is supported by the government of Saudi Arabia and is most widely read by English-speaking Muslims. A translation of the Qur'an can never fully transmit the meaning or reflect the beauty of the original text. But the reality is that many people who seek to understand the message of the Qur'an will not be able to learn Arabic. It should be kept in mind that though the Arabic word may have multiple meanings, only one of those meanings gets translated to English (imagine what would happen to one of Shakespeare's puns if it was traslated to Arabic). But for English-speakers, this is the best option (though Mohammad Asad's translation is also very respected). The caveat is that to truly understand the Qur'an, it is important to read not only the text itself, but to understand it in context of the time it was revealed. Though Muslims consider the Qur'an to be timeless, many passages relate specifically to events occuring in the prophet's life or in the young Muslim community.
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38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The most accessible translation out there, April 28, 2005
Abdullah Yusuf Ali's translation of the Qur'an is without question the most accessible translation of this book from Arabic to English.
That is to say, this is only a translation of the words of the Qur'an themselves. There is no analysis of the historical context of each sura (chapter) or anything like that. I am informed that this is probably a good thing, as Ali's interpretation is at odds with mainstream Muslim thought.
It is difficult to review a translation of a book deemed scripture by a large section of the world's population without reviewing the faith itself, and as a result these remarks will be neccessarily brief. However, speaking as a student of Islamic Studies - not as a convert to Islam, which I am not - I can say with a high degree of certainty that the claims that this text "endorses terrorism" or "explains why there are no Muslim theologians the equal of St Francis of Assisi" are untrue. In the first instance, anyone believing this to be the case would be well served to read works on Islam itself. In the second instance, much the same comment can be made, with the added fact that it is important to remember that Islamic theology evolved in a very different way to Christian or Jewish theology, and to apply one's own biases to another faith is an exercise in extreme futility.
A number of Qur'an translations here at Amazon have reviews pointing out that the only way to appreciate the text here is in its entirety, and this is quite true. Simply picking and choosing certain texts - often the ones known in the West as the "Sword Verses" - will result in a very biased view of this book. The world's Muslims believe this book to be true in its entirety, and it is in that respect that we who are not Muslim must view it.
To that, I would also like to add the recommendation that anyone trying to make a serious study of Islam not only read a Qur'an but also either take the time to ask Muslims about their religion or invest in books on the subject by respected authors (Esposito's "Islam: The Straight Path" and the recently-published "Jihad: From the Qur'an to bin Laden" by Bonney are highly recommended).
However, if the object is to buy an easily understandable English translation of the Qur'an, I can unreservedly recommend Abdullah Yusuf Ali's translation.
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88 of 98 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Print too small, looking for easier version to study, December 12, 2004
As a purely administrative note, with all due regard for what is surely a very fine translation, the print in this book is too small to support careful study. I bought this book, am glad to have it, but the publisher made a mistake in seeking to put too much small font print on each page. For a subject of this importance, what is needed is an 8.5 x 11 text with annotations and a syntopicon.
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