I am wanting to read the Qur'an but I am a n00b at it. Is there a study version?

9/10/2008 11:58:54 AM

haha do any of the chain bookstores have copies? would be good to know

9/10/2008 12:13:28 PM

go to your local mosque and ask for a copy

they will give you one for free

9/10/2008 12:15:20 PM

this one is VERY good...i have by no means read the entire thing (not even scratched the surface), but it was recommended to me by a muslim professor when i was taking the world religions course under dr. stewart, and i was very impressed...the prof said that it was his favorite to recommend for those who were new to the qur'an and/or those who wanted better explanations of difficult text

http://www.amazon.com/Message-Quran-Muhammad-Asad/dp/1904510000/

9/10/2008 12:19:09 PM

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0764555812/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link

9/10/2008 1:00:06 PM

this muslim guy at work is trying to convert me

he gave me the muslim equivalent to those "jesus loves you" pamphlet things

i read it all and was not impressed

9/10/2008 1:17:49 PM

Quote :

"haha do any of the chain bookstores have copies? would be good to know"

Of course they do. Any Barnes & Noble or Borders should have the Koran.

9/10/2008 2:17:48 PM

As a companion, I recommend Elass' quick book. It's very, very short, and incredibly unbiased (despite it being from a Christian perspective).



As far as texts, Ali's text is the one I've studied. It's considered one of the preeminent translations, as many English speaking Muslims use this text.

http://www.amazon.com/Quran-Text-Translation-Commentary/dp/0940368323/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b

9/10/2008 3:43:00 PM

There are many English translations of the Qur'an. Some good, some not so good. Some (many) by Orthodox Muslims, some by unorthodox Muslims or Muslims who belong to weird/wacko sects.

Before you buy a physical translation, it would be best if you could read a few on the web, and buy the one that you like the style of.

1) http://www.globalquran.com

28 translations into 23 languages, of which 5 are in English. You can view as many translations at the same time as you want. View the 5 English ones at the same time for any random chapter, and read a few verses to acquaint yourself with the differences between them.

2) http://www.quran-online.net

67 translations into 22 languages, of which 27 are in English. You can view upto 3 translations at the same time. View 3 at a time until you have read them all. NOTE: On this website, some of the translations are by the weird sects that I mentioned.

3) http://www.alketab.com

English translation with commentary at the bottom (scanned pages, not text).


Helpful info from wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qur%27an_translations

Quote :

"In 1734, George Sale produced the first scholarly translation of the Qur'an direct from Arabic into English. Since then, there have been important English translations by John Rodwell in 1861, E.H. Palmer in 1880, Richard Bell in 1937, and Arthur John Arberry in 1955. All these translators were non-Muslims. There have been numerous translations by Muslims; the most popular of these are the translations by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, Dr. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din al Hilali, Maulana Muhammad Ali, Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Mohammed Habib Shakir, Muhammad Asad, and Marmaduke Pickthall."

All of the mentioned ones are found on the 2nd page I listed, including the translations from the 1700s and 1800s.

Good luck!

9/10/2008 7:21:01 PM

Let me find some scripture in the bible that can make any christian a terrorist. Not all muslims are terrorist.
I am reading a book that refers to scripture in the Qur'an often. There is no need for this non sense.

\

[Edited on September 10, 2008 at 11:32 PM. Reason : nm]

9/10/2008 11:28:02 PM

Don't bother. It's way worse than reading the bible

Quote :

"Rather than being a chronology, the Koran's 114 suras, or chapters, are generally laid out according to length, from longest (286 verses) to shortest (three verses). "

9/11/2008 1:00:14 AM

I took a world religions class and had an english copy of it. I sold it at the end of the semester though.

9/11/2008 8:33:12 AM

non Muslim aren't allowed to touch the Arabic text. Translations do not fall into that.

9/11/2008 11:22:34 AM

if it's not in arabic, then they don't really consider it a real qur'an. it's just "an english representation" or something. the guy at work tried to explain it to me and it was in the book he gave me.

they're trying to avoid the types of changes and losses in meaning that have occurred with the bible, i think.

9/11/2008 11:25:48 AM

^^that doesn't make much sense
wouldn't they want "infidels" to read up and become whatever the islamic equivalent of being saved is?

9/11/2008 11:33:49 AM

Quote :

"non Muslim aren't allowed to touch the Arabic text."

i have a copy with the arabic and the english translation side-by-side

where does that fall

9/11/2008 11:42:54 AM

you have to purify yourself, for which I don't know what that really means, to be able to touch those pages.

9/11/2008 11:47:57 AM

Quote :

"you have to purify yourself, for which I don't know what that really means, to be able to touch those pages."

well i guess i have sinned then

9/11/2008 12:10:37 PM

Quote :

"if it's not in arabic, then they don't really consider it a real qur'an. it's just "an english representation" or something. the guy at work tried to explain it to me and it was in the book he gave me. they're trying to avoid the types of changes and losses in meaning that have occurred with the bible, i think."

But orthodox Islam also teaches that you must pray out loud (verbally, not to yourself) in Arabic. Maybe someone can explain the reason for this.

FYI, Bible translations can be word by word, phrase by phrase, or paraphrase. Word by word is seen as the most accurate method, while phrase by phrase and paraphrase are simpler to understand, especially for people with a limited vocabulary. I'd be curious to know how the Qur'an is typically translated.

9/11/2008 12:11:53 PM

the one I was reading was like reading the King James Version of the bible. I was literally wanting to bang my head against the wall.

9/11/2008 12:29:51 PM

^^only if you're muslim buddy.

9/11/2008 12:30:36 PM

Quote :

"^^only if you're muslim buddy."

What are you talking about? I asked 2 questions about Islam. Of course the issues I asked about only apply to Muslims.

9/11/2008 2:03:37 PM

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"Maybe someone can explain the reason for this."

Islam says the contents of the Qur'an are literally the words of God. They were transmitted to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel during revelations that lasted 23 years. He was just a messenger, and had no say in what is inside the Qur'an. And so, prayers (the ones that include bowing and prostrating) have to be said in Arabic (basically you recite passages from the Qur'an). There is no limit on the length of the passges that should be recited, and it is OK to hold the Qur'an and read from it.

However, if you are just praying to God as in "Oh God grant me health and success", etc., they can be said in any language, in any place, at any time.

Quote :

"I'd be curious to know how the Qur'an is typically translated."

There are all types of translations. The newer ones and the more widely accepted ones are word by word. Older ones tend to be phrase by phrase or paraphrasing. Some even use old English, and so are hard to understand for a lot of people.

Just for curiosity's sake, I went to http://www.quran-online.net , Chpater 56, and then looked at the translation of Verse 1 in the 27 English translations. Literally (from the Arabic), the verse says:

When The Event has taken place, (it is talking about the Day of Judgement/Resurrection, but refers to it as "The Event", and not by name)

Here is what I found:

[Names at the beginning are the translators' names]

Quote :

"A. J. Arberry: (1) When the Terror descends Ahmed Ali: (1) WHEN WHAT IS to happen comes to pass -- Ali Ünal: (1) When the Event to happen happens, Amatul Rahman Omar: (1) (Beware of the time) when the inevitable (and the promised) Event shall come to pass. Daryabadi: (1) When there happeneth Event. Faridul Haque: (1) When the forthcoming event does occur. George Sale: (1) When the inevitable day of judgment shall suddenly come, Hamid S. Aziz: (1) When the Inevitable Event comes to pass - Hilali & Khan: (1) When the Event (i.e. the Day of Resurrection) befalls. J. M. Rodwell: (1) WHEN the day that must come shall have come suddenly, M. Ahmed & Samira: (1) When/if the battle/Resurrection/event fell/happened . M. Asad: (1) WHEN THAT which must come to pass [I.e., the Last Hour and Resurrection.] [at last] comes to pass M. Mahmoud Ghali: (1) When the Event (Literally: the Befalling) befalls, M. Sarwar: (1) When the inevitable event comes, M. Taqi Usmani: (1) When the Imminent Event (of Doom) will occur, Maulana M. Ali: (2) When the Event comes to pass -- Pickthall: (1) When the event befalleth - Qaribullah: (1) When the Event (the resurrection) comes Rashad Kalifa: (1) When the inevitable comes to pass. Shabbir Ahmed: (1) When the Inevitable Episode unfolds. Shakir: (1) When the great event comes to pass, Sher Ali: (1) When the Inevitable event comes to pass - Syed V. Ahamed: (1) When the Event that must occur will become a reality, Umm Muhammad: (1) When the Occurrence occurs, Yusuf Ali: (1) When the Event inevitable cometh to pass, [Progressive Muslims]: (1) When the inevitable comes to pass."

As you can see, the translations vary quite a bit. Even with such a simple short verse, if they can differ to that degree, imagine how much they can differ when the verses get longer, more complicated, and especially talk about issues which are controversial to us humans (women, morality, punishments, etc).

Try out what I did with a longer verse.

Quote :

"if it's not in arabic, then they don't really consider it a real qur'an. it's just "an english representation" or something. the guy at work tried to explain it to me and it was in the book he gave me. they're trying to avoid the types of changes and losses in meaning that have occurred with the bible, i think."

This is correct. As I said earlier, the words in Arabic are divine. A translation by humans is not divine, and cannot possibly convey all the meanings and nuances of the original Arabic. Some words in Arabic have tens of meanings/nuances. When you translate, you replace it with a word in your own language which might convey only a couple or a few of the intended nuances. And that's why it is obligatory upon every Muslim -- be they Eskimos -- to learn Arabic and eventually read the original. Until you become proficient in Arabic, of course you read and try to follow/understand translations. But you still have to memorize a few verses to be able to offer prayer. Arabic is easy to read as it is literally 100% phonetic. Once you learn the letters and practice a bit, it becomes easy.

Quote :

"you have to purify yourself, for which I don't know what that really means, to be able to touch those pages."

You have to perform "ablution", the same ceremonial washing that has to be done before offering the 5 prayers (rinsing with water of hands, face, arms, feet, etc). The ablution is nullified by sleeping, passing of wind, urinating, vomiting, defecating, or sex. If any of those take place, ablution has to be done again to perform the next prayer, etc.

Quote :

"non Muslim aren't allowed to touch the Arabic text."

I see what you are saying, but I don't agree with it. If you are a Muslim, you are required to perform ablution to handle the Qur'an, otherwise you sin. If you are NOT a Muslim, you are already a sinner as it is, and so it doesn't matter how you handle the Qur'an. The ablution is not even applicable because, well, you are not even a Muslim, so it wouldn't make sense to perform ablution. Islam doesn't stop anybody from learning about it. So if you want to learn, learn it in anyway you can. Read a translation, read the original if you know Arabic, attend the prayers in a mosque (or just observe), etc.

Quote :

"the one I was reading was like reading the King James Version of the bible. I was literally wanting to bang my head against the wall."

I am not too familiar with the Bible. I did read bits of the KJV for an English course as an undergrad in 1996, but can't remember anything. Is it written in old English? Is that what you meant by what you said? If so, you probably read the translation by Yusuf Ali.

************************************************************************

Just to avoid offending anybody, let me say that anything I have said above is not from me, but are facts/beliefs from Orthodox Islam. Doesn't necessarily mean I agree with any/all of it or not, so if anybody finds anything offensive, take it up Allah, not with me.



[Edited on September 11, 2008 at 6:15 PM. Reason : POST 22222 !!!]

9/11/2008 6:07:55 PM

Quote :

"What are you talking about? I asked 2 questions about Islam. Of course the issues I asked about only apply to Muslims."

relax man, I was replying to the guy above you. I posted just after someone else, and didn't notice it b/c I was at work.

9/11/2008 6:26:17 PM