Qu'ran translation

I want to read the Qu'ran but know only English what translation do you recommend and why?

None. Learn Arabic.

If you don't intend to learn Arabic, Turkish or a Persian translation would do better albeit any of those would be missing since Arabic is a very flexible language and a word may have a hundreds of meanings depending on what kind of side you're reading or thinking about it.

p.s. Read Fazlur Rahman instead.

I'm curious as well I was looking at two at Barnes and Noble yesterday, both titled "The Koran," but they didn't even have similar structure. One had a bunch of books called "sutras" or something, the other one had like 15 stories all called "the cow" and "the hat" and shit.

The Qur'an is composed of chapters which aren't in an ordinal format.

The cow is a name of a chapter.

>learn arabic
>two books
>two

Sutras are something else, and are mostly associated with Hindu and some Buddhist texts. The Quran is divided into Surahs, which basically are chapters. They do have names. "The Cow" is the second and the largest chapter. The structure of every Quran is the same, no publisher would dare to make changes to it.

the one with the surah chapters seemed significantly longer, though maybe there were just a lot of notes or something.. it's also odd they didn't mention the titles (just surah 1, 2, 3, etc.).

anyways, is it worth a read? i love old testament stories so if they're similar I'd be v interested.

No, no surahs don't have any similarities with Old Testament chapters. They're more like "Allah sayeth this and Allah sayeth that". For example, Surah Al-Baqarah is all about the basis of sharia law. you won't understand a single thing from Quran unless you read an annotated edition which we call as "tafsir". There are lots of tafsir editions depending on mufassir's sect or religional opinion (like if he belongs to ahle sunnat or in the shia sect). or, as a much better option you can read modern scholars like this user says and then start to read Quran by making your own opinions about stuff.

The Study Quran has the best translation of the text in English

That's a bad sign because when you transliterate Arabic there's a Q and a K. It's not Koran. Stay away from shitty translations

The best translation of the Koran is NJ Dawood.

I'm afraid ISIS will expect you to recite it in Arabic so this venture is a complete waste of time.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali is what Crowder read so i'm taking that route

Last time I'm posting this.

AJ Droge (pic related) is the best and most scholarly one in English, and it comes with the best academic annotations. It's the English version my professor of Islamic Studies recommends. All the other translations are either meme translations or meme commentaries (or both) that have become more popular on the basis of their marketing rather than their merits.

The much fawned over 'The Study Quran' is a particularly meme quran in my opinion. Relentlessly marketed by HarperCollins as the 'definitive' version you should own it is in fact a product carefully designed for maximum sales.

The first aspect of this design is its size (2048 pages) and formats (available in leatherbinding) to appeal to western notions of what a 'holy text' should look like. In fact the quran is a small work that can be read in a single sitting (that it is memorized in whole by thousands of people the world over speaks to this fact), which doesn't fit the western mind's notion of a holy text as exemplified by the bible - a leather doorstop - so HarperCollins fit their quran into this buyer expectation.

The second design is the commentary which, far from being academic, is religious, and associated with western-friendly PC liberal interpretations of the religion in which Islam is the religion of peace and muslims are just like you and me aside from using a different word for 'god' :^). That's because the commentary isn't about the text itself (as it is in Droge), it's about the history of how muslims have interpreted the text, and The Study Quran's version of history islam was mostly always civilized and peaceful and today has evolved into a progressive liberal universal faith thanks to Allah, blessed be his name. I wouldn't be surprised if it was sponsored by the CIA.

>(cont.)

Compare the editorial reviews:

Droge, all praising it's academic qualities
>"I cannot recommend a better English translation of the Qur'an for an academic setting. Both Droge and his publisher are to be warmly congratulated." --Shawkat M. Toorawa, Cornell University, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies
>"Droge's work provides the field of Qur'anic Studies with a rich and meticulously researched translation that is particularly appropriate at a time when interest in the Qur'an is growing." --Ayman Ibrahim, Fuller Graduate Schools, International Qur'anic Studies Association
>"Several new translations of the Qur'an have appeared over the past 20 years or so. None, however, have attempted the depth and breadth of annotation of the entire text that Droge's work provides. Readers coming to the Qur'an with a desire to compare the scripture to the Biblical text will especially find the extensive citation of parallel passages to be of interest. Droge has provided lucid explanations of unclear passages and significant variant readings, making the ambiguities and challenges of the Qur'an open to all curious readers." --Andrew Rippin, University of Victoria
>"Highly recommended for its critical scholarship and its general usefulness. Likely to become the standard tool in the years to come for courses involving the study of the Qur an in a secular academic context." --Einar Thomassen, University of Bergen, Marburg Journal of Religion
>"The major benefit of this meticulously crafted translation is its extensive set of intratextual and intertextual references. The former cover all the major terms used in the Qur'an, providing the Arabic original word in a footnote, with usages, whether parallel or variant, from other Qur'anic chapters. The latter display an intimate engagement with both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, as well as a range of secondary literature that can be seen to supplement brief or cryptic Qur'anic references. Both sets of references make this an indispensable companion or guide book for reading, engaging and studying the Qur'an." --Bruce B. Lawrence, Duke University

>(cont.)

The Study Quran (like any reviewer even read it in full at 2k+ pages), praising either nothing at all about it (it's scope) or how good it is at indoctrinating the reader into either islam itself or into the belief that the only or 'correct' brand of islam is the PC brand of islam
>“This scholarly yet accessible work speaks directly to the tensions and misunderstandings of our gravely polarized world. It should be on the shelves of libraries and universities throughout the English-speaking world.” (Karen Armstrong, author of Fields of Blood)
>“The Study Quran represents a breakthrough for bringing the message of the Quran to the English-speaking world. The translation itself is beautiful, but the commentary truly makes this an indispensable resource for anyone -- whether Muslim or non-Muslim -- who wishes to appreciate the Quran’s message.” (Mohammad Fadel, Associate Professor of Law, University of Toronto Faculty of Law)
>“Many English translations of the Quran have been ill-suited to foiling extremist ideology or introducing Americans to Islam. Ten years in the making, The Study Quran is an effort to change that.” (Daniel Burke, CNN)
>“New Study Quran seeks to increase understanding.” (Amanpour, CNN)
>“What distinguishes The Study Quran is not merely its collective authorship but the scope and scale of its ambition.” (The Muslim World)
>”The Study Quran puts this great religious work in historical perspective. It is causing a stir and maybe something of a revolution [and] pissing off the Saudis. This interpretation would seem to challenge extremists and seeks to remedy the previous absence of solid historical discourse.” (The Daily Beast)
>“This Quran is impressive, timely, and necessary, especially for Western audiences debating the nature of Islam in light of attacks made by Islamist groups throughout the Middle East and the West, and increasingly heated presidential campaign debates regarding Muslims in the United States.” (The Diplomat)

/thread

bump

Can you post Droge's translation of Surah Al-Fatihah?

Why is it that I can't find a single page on the interent on who is this A. J. Droge?