The Holy Quran, 2nd Edition (English and Arabic Edition)

So much talk of this book(!) and its impact on world affairs that I had to read it for myself. Now I need to take a history lesson, because there is more than a millennium of geopolitical strife captured here, and I am aware of how little I know. How ashamed am I to have occasionally opined on Islam, the Middle East, or sectarian violence without first having educated myself. This book, the Bible, and the Torah should be required reading in every high school in the country. (I do not mean to ignore other important religious texts with that list.)The real question for this review, I suppose, is whether this is a good version. I cannot speak for the translation. The faux leather finish and gilt-edged pages feel nice to the touch. The pages need some teasing to separate, but that makes for good reflection time as I move through the text. At the price I recommend it.

I have various translations of al Qur'an. When I first received this copy, I was overwhelmed with happiness. I conveniently placed it on my bookshelf alongside other books I have. The fit was a bit snug initially, but I managed to free up room. I reach for it last evening and the back cover got shredded. I was heartbroken. A beautiful translation having English & Arabic, and the back cover tears. I have other books and this has never happened to me before. The publisher, Noor Foundational International, Inc. obviously despises the job of making a quality Al Qur'an. If they really loved their labor, this cover would have been ruined by something so trivial. Avoid buying this translation at all costs.

My conclusions about this book are based on months of reading it and comparing it to the three standard translations of Shakir, Yusufali and Picthal and Sale ("SYPS"). I read the entire thing, word by word and compared it when I simply could not understand a verse.Good things about it:1) the absolute best thing is simply that a woman did it! This is an absolutely amazing feat when considering the status of women in most Islamic countries, and even the numerous comments made in the Koran itself about how women are to be subject to and spend all their time serving their husbands and children. How could a woman that did this ever get such a feat done then? Her family must have been amazingly understanding. Good for them!2) She, in general, mitigates or softens some of the harsh language found in the classic translations of SYPS For example, referring to the prophet as a "Admonisher" has been changed to "mere preacher" or "Warner". Calling the "Koran" a "Warning" or "Admonishment" is generally changed to "book leading to eminence", "most excellent instruction", etc. "Fear god" has been changed to "take god as a shield". Good idea.3) Because no translation of an ancient document, and especially one like the Koran, is ever going to convey an accurate meaning in every verse to everyone at every time, I highly recommending buying it, if only to see her perspective, which is given in parentheses. Anyone who reads the Koran, in order to really understand it, should read several versions, comparing them on the fly. The easiest way to do this is to search for "multilingual koran" and then look al-islam's website. She pooh-pooh's commentaries, but they really help.4) One great part is that while SYPS pretty much add in the same words and terms in italics to aide in the reading, she has quite a bit of new and different perspective on what should be added, and I liked her independent thinking very much. It would be nice to know, tho, if this was based upon her own experiences in her particular Muslim sect, or if it was taken from a particular commentary. She should have footnoted this. People wonder why she departs from SYPS.Detractions from it:1) Most other "translations" (used in the normal sense, not in the Islamic, picky about translation vs. interpretation thing), simply use italics when the author needs to insert a few more words to clarify the meaning of this ancient document which is often a difficult read. Instead, she uses parentheses, and all over the place, keeping any flow most difficult. Italics would provide for a better, smoother read.2) The grammar is quite poor in many places. In fact, in doing my reading and comparison, I had to often refer to other sources to see what she was attempting to say. I feel sorry for her, English obviously isn't her first language. The use of "infect" for "in fact" in some passages is quite comical, as if the prophet has "infected" Allah! She should be aware that many religious readers go nuts even over the smallest errors, and her lack of understanding of English is an error that so serious she should have, in all honesty, gone back and redone the book, withdrawn the prior copies and inserted corrected ones. If she doesn't understand English that well, she should have hired a good editor, preferably one with a degree in English. There's about one glaring English error for every 3 or 4 pages, so it's kind of fun to play the game "find the error" while you're reading a book that constantly repeats many precepts and stories, over and over. But I guess long ago, when people were overwhelmingly illiterate, perhaps this was necessary?3) She rips apart many of the old translations of SYPS and even George Sale, yet her English is so poor compared with theirs, which appears to be professional created and edited. It's a problem because she makes blanket statements about how these old guys were disparaging to Islam and the prophet, yet she cites no examples of what it is about their translations that was either improper or irks her. If she makes a statement to disparage, she should support it, otherwise drop it. I think her ire is directed to the fact that some of the older authors refer to the stories as "tales" "legends" or "stories", when she just wants them to portray them out as proven facts.4) Another glaring irksome statement she makes is that Jesus (Yeshua) was angling for the pro war thing when he said "I did not come to bring peace, but instead I have brought a sword." Is she really kidding? Has she ever talked to a Christian about the meaning of that statement and how it is pure allegory. Yeshua never went to war, never handled a sword, or even said anything about real war or violence. The sword is his preaching or words, and he was on the earth to use a "sword" to cut through negativity (hate, greed, violence, jealousy, injustice, etc.) This statement really has to go, because many Christians (including myself) find it most insulting, and not the view of 90%+ of us. Respectfully, I hope it is removed by the next edition (correction), because it is soooo far afield.Book rating: B+. Could be an A+ with a bit more editing and softening of the words towards peace and non-violence, which she is doing a good job on so far. please, CLEAN UP THE ENGLISH! Try some italics to make it an easier read.

Advertised as Big Font, I'm disappointed. It's not big at all.

This Quran is very clear and comprehensive. An excellent read for the American Muslim or someone that needs a change from the Old English of the alternative accepted translations. The translation definately made each Surah(chapter) so much easier to understand. For those struggling to grasp the religion because you do not understand fully what the Quran reads, this translations did a fantastic job of not only translating into clearer English but using appopriate vocabulary to clearly bring English concepts and ideas from the original text. I highly recommend it.

Any translation, by its very nature, is imperfect when compared to the original source. As Harold Bloom and Mortimer Adler have stated, when it comes to the words of God, it is an especially difficult task, since one is attempting to reflect the essence of a work that is [considered by believers to be] perfect and fully understood only by its author.However, we must make attempts to understand as best we can, and thus translations will be necessary. Perhaps in the future there will be means to create a dynamic translation (printed on looseleaf paper, maybe?) which can be updated in a rapid manner to reflect new research and findings, and which can accommodate differing points of view in a more accessible fashion.In the here and now, this edition is a wonderful resource for North American Muslims and others interested in Islam. I only hope for a hardcover option for the next edition.

Ill be brief but very true. Modern understandable translation plus excellent pretext before the main text plus fantastic index and appendix.The english translation lines up almost perfectly with each verse so it is easy to know which translation is of which verse (nice for someone who cannot speak arabic or does not understand Quran. i will recommend this to anyone who want to read a Quran (do not go for either only arabic or only english translation) to understand a religion within its context.

Good gift

You can read this translation online, and also download the 'Dictionary of Holy Quran' by Abdul Manan Omar, from the same islamusa organisation. The translation is average, but the book is nicely made, Arabic script too.

The book I received was in poor condition, the cover of the book is falling to pieces. The labels that were stuck to the cover I cannot take off, if i do it will peel even more of the cover off. I'm sure it will fall apart very soon.

It's listed as 'leather bound' which it's not. It's some kind of cheap plastic.The pages are really thin and all stuck together because of some random gold coating along the pages.I wouldn't have paid $1 for it had the description of the book been accurate.

Beautiful book

The text is great but thumbs down to the glued on stickers on the leather cover. Hard to remove and clean up.