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Rating: 
Summary: No philosphy
Review: A problem for anyone trying to get to grips with Islam is that it has no structured philosophy. Those who tried to formulate one, such as al-Suhrawardi in 1191, tend to be executed.It is just faith. Believe these ideas, however daft they may seem to the rational mind. That is all there is. However much a book may emphasise the poetry and beauty of the writing, it does not develop into anything intellectually valuable or acceptable to rationally minded people. The effect of this it to create an aggressive and expansionist society, intolerant of any questioning or free discussion.
Rating: 
Summary: A very poetic translation
Review: At a little over two hundred ages this isn't meant to be a whole translation of the Quran. Selected surahs are translated and Cleary provides notes on them in the back of the book. As he also translates eastern religious texts many times he will provides parables from Buddhism within the notes. He has a very poetic and simple way of translating the surahs.
Rating: 
Summary: Selective and Political Correct
Review: I must confess that I was unable to read this cover to cover as it was so dry and tasteless. It seems to me from other sources I have read that the Quran is a Book of beautiful poetic mystic style with many levels of reality as all mystic books have. There is no way of discerning that from this translation. I know there must be better out there. If anyone can recommend one I would love to know about it.
Rating:
Summary: Muslim approval
Review: I was so distressed by this translation of the Koran that I went to a scholarly Muslim friend--for I read no Arabic. He assured me I was right: "It's a terrible translation." The tone is inconsistent, the annotation hardly helpful, and the insistance on using "God's" instead of "His" annoying and clumsy. The device seems to be borrowed from PC Christians. I am sorry I am required to use it with my students.
Rating: 
Summary: Words of the prophet
Review: In this continuation of the Essentials series, Thomas Cleary presents a basic introduction to the Koran. Koran (Qur'an, in some transliterations) literally means 'reading' or 'recitation'. According to Islamic tradition, the Koran is a spiritually revealed book, in the way Torah was revealed to Moses or the Gospel message was revealed to Jesus. Connecting to these earlier voices of the same God, the Koran also serves as a clarifier, a standard. The prophet Muhammad, born about year 570, orphaned early, led a fairly unremarkable life until about age 40, when he had a revelation, which his wife was perhaps first to recognise. This is a work in English; it is an article of faith among Muslims that the Koran cannot be truly translated into any language apart from the classical Arabic in which it was revealed. There is a fundamental difference between Arabic (or, more precisely, semitic) language and western languages. While all of the Koran is sacred for Muslims, there are portions which are more understandable and accessible to the Western reader; Cleary has assembled these together here. 'Arabic, most precise and primitive of the Semitic languages, shows signs of being originally a constructed language. It is built up upon mathematical principles--a phenomenon not paralleled by any other language.' Given this view of the language, there are extensive notes throughout Cleary's translation to try to clarify some of the linguistic elements that are lost in translation. 'In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful All praise belongs to God,
Lord of all worlds,
the Compassionate, the Merciful,
Ruler of Judgment Day. It is You that we worship,
and to You we appeal for help.
Show us the straight way,
the way of those You have graced,
not of those on whom is Your wrath,
nor of those who wander astray.' This is the opening of the Koran. The Koran and Islamic tradition holds that there have been 128,000 prophets, who have in their turn revealed 104 Books. The Torah, the Psalms, the Gospel and the Koran are the four most important books according to the Muslim point of view. Theologically, Islam is not exclusionist, and recognises the validity of revelation that has come before (even if not recognising that current practice retains the authority of that validity). As a priest, I recall the lines 'People of the Book,
do not go to excess
in your religion,
and do not say of God
anything but truth.' The prophet Muhammad would get irritated if a prayer leader would stretch things out to the discomfort of the attenders. 'The Messiah
does not disdain
to be a servant of God,
and neither do the intimate angels.
As for those who disdain
the worship of God
and who aggrandize themselves,
God will gather
all of them up.' In the search for pure truth, the Koran gives insight. 'Say,
"It is God, Unique,
God the Ultimate.
God does not reproduce
and is not reproduced.
And there is nothing at all
equivalent to God."' Philosophy, history, sometimes confusing but mystically-deepening insights are all presented here. Cleary mostly allows the text of the Koran to stand for itself, without analysis, to allow the spirit to speak directly to the reader. More commentary and historical grounding for the non-Muslim reader would be nice Various parts of the Koran were revealed in different places, and Cleary takes account of this in his organisation. Also, headings allow one to follow lines of thought, but it sometimes takes some real study and meditation to figure out the connexions. Spend some time with these writings, and approach it with an open mind and heart, holding fast to your own beliefs, to see what new light might be shed upon them.
Rating:
Summary: Avoid!
Review: Perhaps a good book for those remotely interested in the Koran, but no use for classwork. And to those who have a yen for completion, it will be frustratingly incomplete. Its 202pp is a significant truncation, cf., Dawood's Penguin translation at 437pp. And these are a short 202pp, being written in a verse format leaving vast amounts of white on the right margin. So it's probably only 100pp or less of actual text. For an introduction, it may not be bad, but you can buy a 'real' complete Koran for less money -- which you will probably want to buy after reading Cleary in any event. I'd save myself the trouble and money (and perhaps some intellectual shame: imagine getting caught with 'Selected sections of the Bible') and purchase a complete translation. The Koran is important enough to read cover to cover, although, I must admit, this is a bit of a chore.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Introduction to the Quran
Review: Thomas Cleary's "Essential Koran" is a great introduction to those who are vaguely familiar with the Quran. Cleary attempts to give the translation a poetic quality which is the essence of the original Arabic. Undoubtedly, the correct way to understand the essence of Quran is to learn Quranic Arabic.
Every translation has its shortcomings. However, Cleary's effort to simplify the translation of the Quran for the lay non-Muslim or lay Muslim is appreciated.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Introduction to the Quran
Review: Thomas Cleary's "Essential Koran" is a great introduction to those who are vaguely familiar with the Quran. Cleary attempts to give the translation a poetic quality which is the essence of the original Arabic. Undoubtedly, the correct way to understand the essence of Quran is to learn Quranic Arabic.
Every translation has its shortcomings. However, Cleary's effort to simplify the translation of the Quran for the lay non-Muslim or lay Muslim is appreciated.
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