The Holy Qur’an with English Translation and Commentary (English and Arabic Edition)
The Holy Qur,an was the revealation given to Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) from Allah (God)by way of the Angel Gabriel (S.R.A.) approx. 1400 A.D.
The Holy Qur’an with English Translation and Commentary (English and Arabic Edition)
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Review by Richard L. Nevitt (shakur-abdel-Haleem) for The Holy Qur’an with English Translation and Commentary (English and Arabic Edition)
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I would like to offer some reasons why I recommend this translation over ALL others commonly available, especially for Muslims who would like to give a Qur’an to any academic type person who is well educated or even just well read. I am not a member of the Lahore movement they even refuse to sell me their books so this is not a biased opinion. Also a caution for Muslims: this IS NOT a Qaidani book as often believed (they strongly condemn Qaidani’s) and you will find this translation given a positive review with slight reservations in the first edition of Yusuf Ali’s translation. So, onto those reasons.Most other translations are actually embarrasing to nascent Islam’s reputation for high scholarship and professionlism. They fail embarrasingly in one or more (often all) of the following: either no index at all (Asad, etc) or a very poor index (Yusuf Ali, Muhammad Khan etc); professional quality of the printing and publication itself (Yusuf Ali etc); also the readability of the Arabic script (most); and most importantly either no commentary (Arberry, Pickthall, actually most) or very bad commentary (Khan’s dishonest use of brackets or Yusuf Ali’s inaccurate, dogmatic, awkward style).This Qur’an has: 1. a very thorough index, 2. excellent publication and printing quality, 3. the very best I’ve seen in Arabic script readability, 4. the most scholarly and thorough commentary I’ve seen with only Asad coming close, 5. a commentary that offers the multiple possiblities where this occurs without telling you which choice “is the only right choice”, 6. linguistic commentary with separate Arabic linguisitic index, 7. finally most important is the date this translation and commentary were done: early 1900′s revision around 40′s-50′s; that M.M. Ali’s types of comments were made, especially about women at these early dates is a proud fact for Islam. A new paraphrased for English as a second lanquage version or a simple English paraphrase is the only way I can see to improve this work.I would not reccomend ordering this or his other books from the publisher as they don’t seem to respond well to individual orders, but ordering through dealers works just fine.
Review by Dr.Muhammad for The Holy Qur’an with English Translation and Commentary (English and Arabic Edition)
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In the Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful…
As-Salaam-Alaikum! (Peace unto you)
This is the best translation of the Holy Qur’an in English. Marmuduke Pickthall, Abdullah Yusuf Ali, and others all acknowledge the wonderful work done by Mr. Ali. Mr. Ali’s translation is both lucid and intelligent. He is not biased against women, trying to make them subservient and docile. His translation contributed to Islam becoming more respected at the time of the first printing back in early 1900′s.
I’m not in the Ahmaddiyya movement. But let me say that it never cease to amaze me how many people restate the same old lies, either because they are being vicious, or more probably-because they are just ignorant. I’m not being vicious in saying “ignorant”, just noting that I’m using that word in the context of saying they don’t know what they are talking about. The Ahmaddiyya’s never said that Prophet Muhammad Ibn Abdullah (PBUH) was not the seal of the Prophets. They said that they believed the Madhi had come. That’s the difference-that’s it. If you don’t believe that the Madhi came as they say (and I don’t believe it, in all due respect)-then fine. If not, then you are just still looking for him to come.
Critics use that one thing to attack Mr. Ali’s work, or to slander him and the Ahmaddiyya Movement. But then, the Ahmaddiyya’s at least let women drive,don’t force them to be as chattel, etc. See, when one looks to dwelve into the word for foolishness, then that is what one finds. And one you go seeking
a translation, filled with notes about why the translator gave the translation he did (and note that Qur’anic Arabic is different than Colloquial Arabic-just as the Queen’s Engish is way different than American English) and seeking to revive and renew the interests of the world in Islam-that’s the book to read!
Mr. Ali also gives painstaking history on issues of controversy in his notes to the text-including one of the finest defenses I’ve read against the critics of the Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) (the Holy Qur’an gives the best!) This is the book to read, for all the reasons noted by the other supporters of this translations. I rather doubt if a single critic has ever read it. Instead, they are just repeating the same old tired lies.
This is the translation that shakes up the hypocrisy, lies, misapplications, and purposeful misinterpretations of some.
Sincerely,
Dr. Muhammad
Review by Robert Arconti for The Holy Qur’an with English Translation and Commentary (English and Arabic Edition)
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I will preface this note by referring to the other comments here about how well researched this translation is and mention that probably about 900 of the 1300 pages of this volume are the translator’s detailed explanations of exactly why he translated things the way he did. You’ll see in other reviews as well that not only Ahmadis (the author was one of the immediately followers of the founder of the Ahmadi movement) but many others consider this to be without doubt the best translation of the Qur’an into English.
All I can say is I wish the world would read and understand the Qur’an as translated here. I am not a Muslim but a long-time student of early Christianity, and I came to read this Qur’an in an effort to try to understand the increasing number of comments by many Western scholars in recent years that, of all the world’s present religions, that which probably represents Jesus’ actual teachings is Islam. I can now see why they say this. Islam, as embodied in this translation of the Qur’an, is nothing short of a noble, highly ethical, and peaceful religion.
In case these comments should be seen as “Christian-bashing,” I should mention that not only are Ahmadis, from whose ranks Maulana Muhammad Ali came, generally not recognized as Muslims by the bulk of Muslims, but they are even outlawed and actively persecuted in some Muslim areas. And yet, even mainstream Muslims seem to agree that this is the best translation!
In our presently very troubled world, if the scholars are correct that indeed the actual teachings of Jesus are most similar to at least Qur’anic Islam, as revealed in Maulana Muhammad Ali’s translation, it would appear that Jesus’ teachings are equally misunderstood by a very large number of both Christians and Muslims.
Review by for The Holy Qur’an with English Translation and Commentary (English and Arabic Edition)
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Maulana Muhammad Ali’s translation of the Quran and his masterful THE RELIGION OF ISLAM are inspiring, cogently argued, and painstakingly documented treatises on Islam’s natural role as a progressive force for political, spiritual, and intellectual empowerment.
The beauty of these wonderful books is that they prove that Islamic faith does not have to be inimical to morally grounded modern intellectuals. Without abandonning so much as an iota of the real Islamic tradition–as opposed to all the un-Islamic cultural traditions which have crept into “Islamic” though over the centuries–the Maulana proves that supposedly “un-Islamic” notions of women’s rights, democracy, etc., were enshrined in the Quran long before they became prevalent in the West.
If you’re an open-minded, intelligent Muslim who’s disturbed by how shallow so much Islamic discourse is, you need these books as ammunition against the Mullahs!
If you’re a “seeker” trying to learn about Islam, you need these books as counterweights to all the ignorance and empty-headed legalism currently being propagated by many Muslim “scholars”.
Sincerely,
[...].
Review by A. Ijaz for The Holy Qur’an with English Translation and Commentary (English and Arabic Edition)
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I have been studying Islam for some now and I have many translations of the Holy Quran. I must say, without prejudice, that this one is the most clear and understandable of them all. But more impressive is the commmentary that runs along with the translation — this adds considerable context. If you had one Holy Quran, this is the one to get.