Qur'an & Tafsir
- Quran ExplorerSearch and browse the Qur'an in translation along side the Arabic text. Listen to the Qur'an recitation and translation in Arabic, English, and Urdu
- Quran at Tanzil.NetSearch in Arabic. Displays several English translations.
- The Holy Qur'anTranslated by M.H. Shakir and published by Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an, Inc., in 1983. Please note: translated from a Shia perspective. Hosted at the University of Michigan.
- Al-TafsirIncludes translation, commentary (tafsir), and recitation.
- Internet Sacret Text Archive - IslamLinks to various translations & hadith.
- Early Western Korans Online: Koran Printing in the West, 1537-1857"...demonstrates the impact of the holy book of Islam in Europe."
The Qur'an by Call Number: Baker-Berry BP109 2004"This new translation is written in a contemporary idiom that remains faithful to the original..." Haleem is a noted Sunni scholar, a graduate of Al-Azhar. Brief textual notes supplement the text.
The Qur'an by Call Number: Baker-Berry BP109 .J6513 2007This new translation of the Qur'an is the result of decades of study by the translator of the text, of the traditional Muslim authorities, and of work by western scholars. Special thought has been given to what the text would have meant to its original hearers and to the fact that the Qur'an was originally an oral work. Includes introductory notes.
The Qur'an by Call Number: Baker-Berry BP130.4 .K3226 2008Khalidi (American Univ. Beirut) provides a poetic modern translation, but it lacks explanatory notes.
The Koran Interpreted by Call Number: Baker-Berry BP109 .A7 1955aThe first English translation that attempted to capture the flavor of the Arabic text.1 Considered by many as one of the best non-sectarian translations.
Companion to the Qur'an by Call Number: Baker-Berry BP130.4 .W34The work of a well-known authority on the life of Muhammad and the origins of Islam. Based on Arberry's translation (above) with explanatory notes.
The Koran by Call Number: Baker-Berry BP109 .D38 1993The first translation to use contemporary English. However, the sequence was changed, beginning with "the more Biblical and poetic revelation" and ending with the "more topical chapters."1 Ziauddin Sardar, writing in The Guardian, notes that many Muslims hold this translation in low regard.(7)
A Commentary on the Qur'ān by Call Number: Baker-Berry BP130.4 .B44 1991Richard Bell's translation maintains the suras in their proper order, but rearranged the individual components according to a theory of "the three main periods of the composition of the Qur'an."(5). Bell's annotations and notes were not included in the 1937-39 edition, but are available in this 1991 edition.
Al-Qur'an by Call Number: Baker Berry BP109 1988
Translation by Ahmed Ali with Arabic text. The translator was a noted Pakistani poet, novelist, professor, and diplomat. His translation attempts to echo the rhythms and cadences of the Arabic.
An Interpretation of the Qur'an by Call Number: Baker-Berry BP109 2002Translated by Majid Fakhry with Arabic text. Its aim is to present the meaning of the Qur'an in "a simple, readable English idiom." Includes explanatory footnotes in English.- Holy Qurʼan = al-Qurʼān al-ḥakīm by Call Number: Baker-Berry BP109 1985b v.1-10Translated by M.H. Shakir with Arabic text from a Shia perspective.
- The Glorious Koran : a bi-lingual edition with English translation, introduction, and notes by Call Number: Baker-Berry BP109 .P5 1976Translation by M.M.W. Pickthall, an English convert to Islam. The translation is quite literal, includes few annotations, and reflects the style of the Authorized Version of the Bible.(5)
Message of the Qur'An by Call Number: Baker-Berry BP109 .A8 1980Muhammad Asad, an Austrian convert to Islam (Leopold Weiss), brings a modernist perspective to his translation of the Qur'an, which at certain points diverges from traditional Muslim understandings of the text.(6)
The Meaning of the Holy Quran by Call Number: Baker-Berry BP109 .A34 2001Abdullah Yusuf Ali's translation, first published between 1934-1937, is non-sectarian and apologetic work. It was produced as a reaction to Pickthall's translation, which he thought was excessively literal.(5) It provides brief summaries of each Sura and regularly includes homiletical amplifications not found in the text. (2, 3, 4, 5)
The Koran: the Eternal Revelation Vouchsafed to Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets. by Call Number: Baker-Berry BP109 .K48 1971Muhammad Zafrullah Khan's translation reflects a strong Ahmadi viewpoint, which aims to establish the legitimacy of Ghulam Ahmad as a prophet. As such, it should be used primarily as a source for studying the Ahmadi movement.(1)
- Dictionary of Qur'anic Usage"...comprehensive, fully-researched and contextualised Arabic-English dictionary of Qur'anic usage..."
- Qur'an Concordance"...a unique finding aid which allows users to identify and localize text fragments, or even snippets, of the Qurʾān.
An Anthology of Qur'anic Commentaries by Call Number: Baker Berry BP130.4 .A58 2008 v.1
- Al-TafsirIncludes translation, commentary (tafsir), and recitation. Provided by the Kingdom of Jordan.
1. Kahn, Mofakhar Hussain (1986). "English translations of the Holy Qur'an : a bio-bibliographic study." Islamic Quarterly 30(2): 82-108.
2. Kidwai, A.R. (1987). "Translating the untranslatable: a survey of English translations of the Qur'an." Muslim World Book Review 7(4):66-71. http://mquran.org/content/view/9218/11/
3. _____. (1988). "English translations of the Holy Qur'an : an annotated bibliography." Hamdard Islamicus 11(4):47-55.
4. Jeffery, Arthur (1940). "Yusuf Ali's translation of the Qur'an." Moslem World 30:54-66.
5. Bobzin, Harmut (2006). "Translations of the Qur'an." in Encyclopedia of the Qur'an, J.D. McAuliffe, ed. Leiden: Brill. Vol. 5:340-358.
6. Chande, Abdin. (2004). "Symbolism and allegory in the Qur'an: Muhammad Asad's modernist translation." Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations 15(1): 79-89.
7. Sardar, Ziauddin. (2008). "The eternal present tense." The Guardian, June 21, 2008. URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/jun/21/saturdayreviewsfeatres.guardianreview26
For a survey article on translations of the Qur'an, see Pearson, J. D., "Bibliography of translations of the Qur'ān into European languages", in Arabic Literature to the End of the Umayyad Period. (1st ed.) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983. 502-520. Cambridge Histories Online. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CHOL9780521240154.026
See also:
Peachy, Davut W. S. “English Translations of the Qur’an and the Roles of Why, By Whom, For Whom and How.” Al-Bayan: Journal of Qur’an and Hadith Studies 11, no. 2 (January 1, 2013): 31–54. doi:10.11136/jqh.1311.02.03.