Rating: 
Summary: Very clear, well written
Review: Michael Sells delves into the language of the Quran and the meaning of some of the earliest surah. For anyone that has a copy of the Quran, this book would be extremely helpful.
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Summary: Superb work
Review: Michael Sells does a terrific job in giving context and meaning to some of the most poetic chapters of the Quran (early surahs). While some people are upset that he leaves out the later chapters, you have to realize that many of those later chapters are NOT poetic. The Quran is divided into two types of chapters. One set referring to historical events, the other set dealing with clear religious principles. Unfortunately many right wingers, and fanatical muslims alike look to the surahs that deal with historical events as somehow justifying terror. Michael Sells tries to give the reader some insight into why the literature of the Quran has such a strong resonance with both muslims and non-muslims alike. For him to center a book on this aspect of the Quran is truly an accomplishment, and will hopefully launch further studies into perhaps the strongest appeal of the Quran: its language.
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Summary: A Unique Approach
Review: Michael Sells is Professor of Religion at Haverford College where he has taught for 17 years in the areas of Islam; Comparative Religions; Islamic and Comparative mysticism, and Middle East love poetry.Sells noticed the unusual effect the recited Qur'an has on its audience, sometimes moving even those who may not be particularly religious to tears. In fact Qur'an literally means " The Recitation". Sells found that Westerners, who do not read or speak Arabic, cannot appreciate the beauty and power of the Qur'an, because the standard written English translations fail to retain the inner rhythms, sound patterns and textual dynamics of the original. In this book Sells' goal is" to allow those who do not have access to the Qur'an in its recited Arabic form to encounter one of the most influential texts in human history in a manner that is accessible", and "to present in English some of the texture, tone, power and subtlety of the Arabic text". I think the author has definitely succeeded in this respect. The 30-page Introduction contains valuable information about the historical and cultural background of Arabia, the core teachings of Islam, the narrative style of the Qur'an, and an interesting discussion of the difficulties inherent in any translation, but especially in the translation of the Qur'an and the author's different and distinctive approach to translating the early Suras (Chapters). Contrary to the opinions expressed by many viewers, who gave this book bad reviews because it contains only the early revelations, Sells' aim was not to promote the Qura'nic message by omitting disturbing verses (if there is such a thing!), but he chose these Suras because they are the ones that best serve his stated goals,as they are characterized by "hymnic quality, condensed and powerful imagery and sweeping lyricism" and so offer the best example of the sound patterns and "sound vision" (the relationship of sound to meaning) of the Qur'an. To further facilitate the appreciation of this sound vision of the Qur'an, the author encloses a CD with the book, and he offers a full transliteration of the six Suras recited in the CD, accompanied by a word-for-word English gloss, so the reader can follow the Arabic recitation on the CD with the help of the transliteration and gloss.
The core of the book is a sensitive translation of Sura 1, the first 18 verses of Sura 53, and Suras 81-114. Facing each translation is a commentary on the Sura, including: interpretation, historical context and key themes. Although the author did not really have me in mind when writing this book (me being an Arab Muslim), I enjoyed reading the beautiful translation and commentaries, as there is always something new to learn when reading about the Word of God. What I liked most about the CD is that the six Suras are recited, in different styles, by six different reciters from around the world, including two women (living in Kuwait I have, never before heard Qur'an so beautifully recited by women). This book is a brilliant approach to the Qur'an, which allows those who do not read or speak Arabic to encounter its unique sound effects, and that also boasts a beautiful translation and an insightful commentary! The many bad reviews this beautiful and valuable book got on this forum have nothing to do with the book. These reviewers attacked the book and the author because they do not accept any book that contradicts the negative opinion they've formed about Islam. However, if you want to open up your mind and learn about Islam directly from its source, this is definitely a good book to start with. Later if you want to learn more I recommend: The Message of the Qur'an by Mohammad Asad (the best interpretation but may be difficult to find as it's currently out of print), or The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an by Abdullah Yusuf Ali.
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Summary: "Fundamentalist" But Love This Book
Review: Most people would categorize me as a "fundamentalist" Christian, but I love this book. It opened my eyes to the beauty that is in the Qur'an and helped me to see part of why so many people follow Islam. No doubt there is more that could be said about Islam than is found in this book, but I wasn't looking for a treatise on Islamic doctrine. I believe that if one wants to know what another religion teaches than it is better to go to those who follow that religion rather than those who oppose it. Otherwise there is too much danger of being exposed to a "strawman" argument. Having read most of this book and listened to the CD numerous times, I am still a Christian who has many disagreements with Islamic doctrine, but one with a better appreciation of the power of Islam. Frankly, the Qur'anic recitations on the CD are some of the most beautiful sounds I have ever heard and they bring tears to my eyes.
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Summary: Isolated review of the Qur'an which ignores history
Review: My objection is that you can not gain the purported understanding by ignoring the Qur'an in its entirety or the historical application of the writing. If I write "peace is good" on a slip of paper, but in historical practice in religious ceremonies preach that the way to obtain this peace is by killing others; Dehumanize those who do not follow my slip of paper so as to make killing them easier; teach children that the way to achieve my peace is by commiting suicide in a fashion which kills others....can you really draw conclusion about my slip of paper religion in a vaccuum? I think it is written well, but it lacks real world perspective and remains to isolated in its perspective to provide useful insight. Peace is good.
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Summary: A book on how to understand the Qur'an
Review: Sells is a professor of religion at Haverford. He runs into all kinds of linguistic problems when he teaches the Qur'an as part of Haverford's comparative religions program. This book is his way of trying to get around those linguistic problems. It is not the entire Qur'an -- he takes those verses that are representative of the Qur'an and analyzes them in detail, giving us tools to analyze them in detail ourselves. The Qur'an was totally incomprehensible to me until I read this book. For those insistng that this book is not representative of the Qur'an because it doesn't include any fighting verses (that's the view of the Christian fundamentalists suing UNC), it's useful to remember that only about 47 of 6,236 Qur'anic verses urge fighting. That's less than 1 percent of the Qur'an, and thereore hardly representative. I had to read the Bible as a freshman, and we didn't discuss the violent passages in the Bible (of which there are many). And if some Muslims have based violent actions on the Qur'an, just as many non-Muslims, like the Ku Klux Klan, Timothy McVeigh, David Coresh, the instigators of the Jonestown massacres, and people who blow up abortion clinics all base their actions on the Bible. That's not even taking into account the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition.
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Summary: The best way to be introduced to the Qur'an
Review: So many non-Muslims have the idea that the Qur'an is just a dry book of laws, with little or no poetic value. But most of the time, that's because they're reading it backwards! The traditional ordering of the Qur'an puts the earlier, shorter and more spiritual chapters towards end (near chapter 114). If you read from the beginning, you see the long legalist chapters first, and the effect is similar to opening the Bible at Leviticus or Deuteronomy and reading through the old Israelite legal codes. Michael Sells solves this problem by concentrating on the shorter, earlier revelations. Since these are the first ones any young Muslim would be exposed to, it successfully gives readers the closest thing possible to a "natural" acquaintance with the Muslim scripture.
Rating:
Summary: The best way to be introduced to the Qur'an
Review: So many non-Muslims have the idea that the Qur'an is just a dry book of laws, with little or no poetic value. But most of the time, that's because they're reading it backwards! The traditional ordering of the Qur'an puts the earlier, shorter and more spiritual chapters towards end (near chapter 114). If you read from the beginning, you see the long legalist chapters first, and the effect is similar to opening the Bible at Leviticus or Deuteronomy and reading through the old Israelite legal codes. Michael Sells solves this problem by concentrating on the shorter, earlier revelations. Since these are the first ones any young Muslim would be exposed to, it successfully gives readers the closest thing possible to a "natural" acquaintance with the Muslim scripture.
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Summary: Poetic approach is the best approach
Review: The author has a poetic approach to Quran and in my opinion this is the best approach. Poetry doesn't cause anyone any trouble, everyone reads it and enjoys it. Poetry doesn't claim to give us all the answers to human questions, it doesn't ask us to map out our lives after its teaching or else we go to hell. No one kills for it and no one will die for it either. But unfortunately Quran doesn't classify itself as a poetry, unlike the author's approach. In fact Quran explicitly says " It is not a poetry, and nor Mohammad is a poet". That is where the trouble begins. People are going to take it too seriously and be willing to live by it and die for it and a dangerous picture begins to emerge. I agree with someone else's comment that the holy books are inherently confusing, and ambiguous, though some people disagree that this is the case. In fact prophet Muhammad himself was aware of this fact and in a saying attributed to him, he says that soon my followers will divide into some 70 divisions regarding their understanding of Quran and of all of them only one is right and the rest are false. Well, which one is the right one? Who knows, you take your pick and you have one-seventieth chance of being right (hey better odds than winning a lottery I guess). Even Quran criticizes people for division, saying " ... and they became parties and each party is pleased with what they have got...). Of course God advises us not to scatter and divide by saying " All cling to the rope of God and do not divide among yourselves" well that is fine and dandy but apparently our good Lord forgot one little minor detail. He forgot to provide us with a mechanism and process by which one can avoid deadly disputes regarding Quran and hence avoid nasty religious divisions . How are we supposed to realize this advice and make it real? He doesn't tell us nor does He provide us with guidelines. I am an Arab Moslem and when I read the Quran I end up understanding it very different from many of my other fellow Moslems. But whose understanding is right? How am I supposed to find out? What standard do I have to gauge my understanding? Scholars? But the poor scholars are divided amongst themselves like the rest of us. They are just as confused as we are though maybe at a different level but nevertheless confused. It is the case of blind leading blind. So I think Mr. Sells approach would be the best, read the holy books like a book of poetry and enjoy. Don't look into them for finding answers or living your life by them.
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Summary: dangerous book
Review: The problem with this book, and with the forced reading of it by all incoming freshman at UNC, is that it does NOT provide a balanced, comprehensive look at the Qur'an/Koran, let alone contemporary Muslim thinking. This book focuses only on the early suras (verses), which gives the misleading impression that Islam is merely an exotic peaceful spiritual faith. But if that's the case, why are we witnessing an orgy of terror and murder committed in the name of Islam all over the world? Why are so few Muslims speaking out against this violence if it is truly a "perversion" of their "peaceful" religion? This book makes no mention of the Islamic tenet of holy war, or the rewards in heaven for those Muslims who die killing "infidels" (non-Muslims).
No mention is made of Islamic law, which essentially bans the freedoms of thought, press and speech. How so? Sharia (Islamic law) mandates the DEATH penalty for blasphemy, postacy, non-belief, heresy, and changing your religion from Islam to anything else. Death is also mandated for anyone who has the misfortune to be born gay, or who has pre-marital sex or extra-marital sex. Conveniently, this severe repression of sexuality serves to increase frustration and aggressiveness in people, all the better to use them as pawns in a war against the infidels. Make no mistake, the goal of Islam is to take over the world and forcibly convert every non-Muslim to Islam. The only exception might be made for Jews and christians, who will be forced to accept a second-class citizen status in Islamic society. This is a religion born of war, and ideally suited to war. It is dangerous, and so is this book.
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