Islam Qur'an in English -- Which Translation is the Best?

[HereIStand]

Which English translation of the Qur'an is the best or the most faithful to the original?

 

[Anto9us]

I have one by Pickthall.

Holy Quran (Pickthall)

 

[Chesterton]

Which English translation of the Qur'an is the best or the most faithful to the original?

The original? They can't even translate much of the old Arabic gibberish without guessing, lol. I don't think it matters.

 

[R. Hartono]

Why not study the Bible ?

 

[HereIStand]

Why not study the Bible ?

I do. I know little about Islam though.

 

[TuxAme]

Why not study the Bible ?

Because it would be helpful to know what Islam believes when trying to make converts.

 

[Strathos]

According to most Muslims only the original Arabic version is correct and any possible translation is inferior.

 

[dzheremi]

The only real guideline is to be aware of the divisions in the Muslim world concerning this, as there are various versions that are made available by proselytizers that would not be accepted within 'orthodox' Islam, such as those connected to the Ahmadiyya community who are considered non-Muslims by most Muslims, due to their belief in a prophet subsequent to Muhammad. These translations would be the Muhammad 'Ali translation done in 1917, the Sher 'Ali translation done in 1955, and the Muhammad Zafarullah Khan translation done in 1971. (Perhaps there are more, as the Ahmadiyya are very active in translating the Qur'an, but those are the only English ones I could find online.)

Also, more generally, English translations often do a lot of softening of the original Arabic, so it's good to compare translations and the Arabic (many translations are published as parallel texts, due to Islamic belief about the sacredness of the text in Arabic in particular), after learning a few key words, e.g., قتل (qtl) and its derivatives can mean things like "kill", "fight", etc. (depending on context and the actual vowel pattern of the word).

Finally, it is important that if you are going to read the Qur'an that you understand the importance of hadith in explaining the background and goings on of Muhammad's life and his sayings and how they went into forming Islam (including its central text). Take, for instance, the reading from Al Halabi (I don't know which "Al Halabi" this is referring to; there are many, as that is a very common surname in Arabic, meaning "from/relating to Aleppo") given below by Coptic Orthodox priest Fr. Zakaria Butros to show what sort of leeway is given to Muhammad in his community to do things that are really quite horrific (reading starts at 4:17, just in case the time code doesn't work in the link):

With this kind of understanding of what their prophet is allowed, we can see then how women are viewed, how prophethood is viewed, how truly moral the system laid out in the Islamic texts and traditions are, etc. It's not a pretty picture, but it's a much more complete picture than you would get from reading the Qur'an alone (and unlike Christianity, there really aren't a whole lot of "Qur'an only" Muslims out there; they do exist, but it's an extreme minority position, as most Muslims of all sects have their trusted hadith traditions and other extra-Qur'anic writings that are relied upon to make sense of the text, as it is not really all that clear by itself, despite its own claims to the contrary; see for instance, the Muqatta'at or disconnected letters that begin 29 of the chapters of the Qur'an, for some unknown reason).

 

[chevyontheriver]

Which English translation of the Qur'an is the best or the most faithful to the original?

I have a translation I don't know too much about except it was once owned by Alex Haley. Translated by M. H. Shakir. The translator was apparently Pakistani. It was published in 1989 by Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an, Inc. of Elmhurst NY. It is side by side Arabic and English, and the book is arranged back to front, as would be typical of an Arabic book. I think I have also seen this same translation in used bookstores. I suspect that if Alex Haley had this it would be of better than average quality. It reads well.

Haley had a few other Islamic books, including a few of the Hadith collections. I have his 'Forty Hadith' and 'Forty Hadith Qudsi' both translated by Ezzeddin Ibrahim, published in 1976 out of Damascus Syria. Those do appear to be of good quality. they read well. I would recommend if you are serious about studying Islam you look at some of the Hadiths as well as the Quran.

You will hear that translations of the Quran are all inadequate and that the only way to really read it is to read it in Arabic. People say that about the Bible too, that it has to be read in Hebrew or Greek. I ignore those folks.

There has been a flurry of interesting articles about the authorship of the Quran lately, summarized here: https://www.crisismagazine.com/2018/muhammad-didnt-write-the-quran

Basic idea is that a partial manuscript of the Quran appears to be older than Mohammad, and if true it means he 'borrowed' about half of it from existing sources and then added the more belligerent parts later on. Interesting theory that actually coincides with my theory that the Quran
has it's roots from an offshoot Christian sect that did not accept the Trinity and was radicalized some time after the councils of Nicea and Constantinople. I'm not staking my life on that but as more comes out the theory will either whither or go somewhere.

I commend you for wanting to study the Quran. I think it is important in witnessing to Muslims to have done so. You are in a much better position for them to listen to you quoting Jesus then.

 

[Chesterton]

"The Koran is a catastrophe even in the original Arabic."

 

[football5680]

I would say the translation of Yusuf Ali or Muhsin Khan. I think Yusuf Ali's translation is the most faithful, but Khan's is easier to understand if you are unfamiliar with Islamic terminology because it usually explains what the words mean in the parenthesis after the word is used.

 

[The7thColporteur]

Which English translation of the Qur'an is the best or the most faithful to the original?

What 'original'? Uthman burned all the original materials, and kept the recension of Zaid ibn Thabit, but even his isn't the only one, there are over 31 different Arabic qur'ans with differing sentences, words, tenses, etc.

If you want the general Uthmanic recension:

I am going to recommend The Generous Qur'an, translated by Usama Dakdok [Egyptian] - Books/DVDs « The Straight Way

Otherwise, you can take the watered down Islamic versions here -
IslamAwakened

You may also begin your study of Islamic doctrine here - Islam - a counterfeit anti-christ, a weapon of fear/terror for the mind of the last days

 

[Tayla]

Which English translation of the Qur'an is the best or the most faithful to the original?

You should read it in Arabic like Muslims do.

 

[dzheremi]

It's not any better in Arabic. See the video posted by Chesterton in post #10.

You might as well read it in a language you can actually understand. There is nothing special -- theologically or in any other way -- about the Arabic language.

 

[HereIStand]

You should read it in Arabic like Muslims do.

That would be ideal. Reading it in English would be a start though.

 

[Tayla]

That would be ideal. Reading it in English would be a start though.

Yeah, but Muslims won't take you seriously unless you read it in Arabic.

 

[TuxAme]

Yeah, but Muslims won't take you seriously unless you read it in Arabic.

As far as I'm concerned, they can either appreciate the effort one took to read their scriptures, or not.

 

[dzheremi]

Yeah, but Muslims won't take you seriously unless you read it in Arabic.

Take it from someone who attends a natively Arabic-speaking church: When you read it in Arabic because that's your language too and still find problems with it, they just move on to some other invented problem to complain about. "Oh, sure, you read Arabic, but you haven't been through Al Azhar!" (the Sunni Islamic center and university in Egypt, which only accepted its first Christian student -- into its dental residency program, not any of its Islamic classes, for obvious reasons -- in June of last year, despite having been founded in the tenth century)

 

[2PhiloVoid]

I have a translation I don't know too much about except it was once owned by Alex Haley. Translated by M. H. Shakir. The translator was apparently Pakistani. It was published in 1989 by Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an, Inc. of Elmhurst NY. It is side by side Arabic and English, and the book is arranged back to front, as would be typical of an Arabic book. I think I have also seen this same translation in used bookstores. I suspect that if Alex Haley had this it would be of better than average quality. It reads well.

Haley had a few other Islamic books, including a few of the Hadith collections. I have his 'Forty Hadith' and 'Forty Hadith Qudsi' both translated by Ezzeddin Ibrahim, published in 1976 out of Damascus Syria. Those do appear to be of good quality. they read well. I would recommend if you are serious about studying Islam you look at some of the Hadiths as well as the Quran.

You will hear that translations of the Quran are all inadequate and that the only way to really read it is to read it in Arabic. People say that about the Bible too, that it has to be read in Hebrew or Greek. I ignore those folks.

There has been a flurry of interesting articles about the authorship of the Quran lately, summarized here: https://www.crisismagazine.com/2018/muhammad-didnt-write-the-quran

Basic idea is that a partial manuscript of the Quran appears to be older than Mohammad, and if true it means he 'borrowed' about half of it from existing sources and then added the more belligerent parts later on. Interesting theory that actually coincides with my theory that the Quran
has it's roots from an offshoot Christian sect that did not accept the Trinity and was radicalized some time after the councils of Nicea and Constantinople. I'm not staking my life on that but as more comes out the theory will either whither or go somewhere.

I commend you for wanting to study the Quran. I think it is important in witnessing to Muslims to have done so. You are in a much better position for them to listen to you quoting Jesus then.

I have the same M. H. Shakir translation of the Qur'an that you do, it appears.

 

[Truth light]