Which Qur'an translation?

SpazzBurd · **Which Qur'an translation? -** 07-25-2007

I was wondering which English Qur'an translation is closest to the Arabic. I don't know any Arabic, or I would read it in Arabic.

These are the translations I have

M. M. Pickthall
Ahmed Ali
Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Abdullah Yusuf Ali

**Woodrow** · **Re: Which Qur'an translation? -** 07-25-2007

They are no translations that catch the full meaning or depth of the Arabic. Most Arabic words have no exact English equivalent.

What I have seen on a personal level that it is best to read both M. M. Pickthall and Abdullah Yusuf Ali together. Between the two I find that they approach the actually meaning, if read together and combining the feel of both. If at all possible try to listen to an audio presentation in Arabic as you read in English. Just listening to the Arabic recitation while reading the English, does increase the richness felt.

Andrew · **Re: Which Qur'an translation? -** 07-26-2007

I have no understanding of arabic at the moment so I have been reading one produced by Darusslam which was handed to me from a friend. It is good and has explanations with it too.

MaiCarInMtl · **Re: Which Qur'an translation? -** 07-30-2007

I am currently reading the Yusuf Ali version (as I do not speak arabic - although I am trying to learn) and so far, so good. I bought it because it came highly recommended and reviewed on the amazon site.

As a translator (French/English), I can tell you right away that no matter how hard you try, translations are never 100% perfect (or rarely), this due to many reasons such as expressions, sayings, cultural influences, etc. A certain word in one language might be completely acceptable, but the closest translation in another language might, for some reason, have a negative connotation associated with it.

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	(#1 (permalink))
SpazzBurd Limited Member Status: Offline Posts: 21 Reputation: 37 Rep Power: 0 Join Date: Sep 2006 Gender: Way of Life: Undisclosed	Which Qur'an translation? - 07-25-2007 I was wondering which English Qur'an translation is closest to the Arabic. I don't know any Arabic, or I would read it in Arabic. These are the translations I have M. M. Pickthall Ahmed Ali Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik Abdullah Yusuf Ali

	(#2 (permalink))
Woodrow Abdullah Muhammad Status: Offline Posts: 11,205 Reputation: 58244 Rep Power: 99 Join Date: May 2006 Location: Minnesota Gender: Way of Life: Muslim	Re: Which Qur'an translation? - 07-25-2007 They are no translations that catch the full meaning or depth of the Arabic. Most Arabic words have no exact English equivalent. What I have seen on a personal level that it is best to read both M. M. Pickthall and Abdullah Yusuf Ali together. Between the two I find that they approach the actually meaning, if read together and combining the feel of both. If at all possible try to listen to an audio presentation in Arabic as you read in English. Just listening to the Arabic recitation while reading the English, does increase the richness felt. __________________

	(#3 (permalink))
Andrew Member Status: Offline Posts: 60 Reputation: 339 Rep Power: 10 Join Date: May 2007 Location: UK Gender: Way of Life: Undisclosed	Re: Which Qur'an translation? - 07-26-2007 I have no understanding of arabic at the moment so I have been reading one produced by Darusslam which was handed to me from a friend. It is good and has explanations with it too.

	(#4 (permalink))
MaiCarInMtl Obsessed knitter Status: Offline Posts: 215 Reputation: 1051 Rep Power: 10 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Montreal, QC, CA Gender: Way of Life: Muslim	Re: Which Qur'an translation? - 07-30-2007 I am currently reading the Yusuf Ali version (as I do not speak arabic - although I am trying to learn) and so far, so good. I bought it because it came highly recommended and reviewed on the amazon site. As a translator (French/English), I can tell you right away that no matter how hard you try, translations are never 100% perfect (or rarely), this due to many reasons such as expressions, sayings, cultural influences, etc. A certain word in one language might be completely acceptable, but the closest translation in another language might, for some reason, have a negative connotation associated with it.