The Koran (Everyman's Library)

Rating:
Summary: Great Translation, Great footnotes, needs tabs, etc.
Review: A Moslem recommended Pickthall's translation to me. It has really helpful notes, and since the translator is a devout Moslem, I could rely on the translation as representing what a Moslem would consider it to mean (generally, it's considered bad to translate the Koran, due to any corruption problems between languages, for much the same reason as it is for the Bible).

But it's hard to find stuff, and I'd have liked more annotations on keywords and phrases like "Lord of the Worlds", and "if ye did but know". Then again, I don't think this book was meant to be anything but the plain text, with as little annotation as possible. For that, it's great.

Rating:
Summary: Poor translation with a dash of revisionism
Review: First the good news. Mr. Pickthall has provided an introduction that satisfies the questions a semi-casual reader such as myself has as to the origins of Islam. The more important chapters ("Surahs") also have additional notes that explain their historical context, which is appreciated.

Now the bad news: the translation overall has serious problems and some of Mr. Pickthall's commentary on Islam is laughable. The most glaring problem is his insistence on using archaic grammar forms, such as "thee," "thou," "ye" and so forth in the text, as well as uncommon or archaic words -- such as "troth" and "aught" -- when modern and normal ones like "faithfulness" and "anything" would have been appropriate. I recently read a modern English translation of the Apocrypha, and found it significantly easier to read than my trusty King James translation of the Bible. I think I would have had a similarly easier experience if Mr. Pickthall had provided a modern version of the Koran.

Mr. Pickthall also has an annoying habit of translating the past participle as "used to," instead of using the straight past tense or the pluperfect. So, where a normal translation might read: "We make them taste a dreadful doom because they disbelieved" or "had disbelieved," Mr. Pickthall renders it "We make them taste a dreadful doom because they used to disbelieve." That may be a literal translation from the Arabic, but in English it's jarring, and after seeing this oddball verb form dozens if not hundreds of times, it really grates.

The revisionism. I actually laughed out loud at Mr. Pickthall's statement that Mohammed "raised women from the status of chattel to complete legal equality with man" (p. xxvi). That's nonsense. For crying out loud, in the birthplace of Mohammed, women aren't even allowed to drive cars. And the Koran itself doesn't place women on anywhere near an equal level to men. For example, men can divorce their wives by saying "I divorce you" three times, but women have no such equal right (S-rah 2:229). Men also receive greater inheritances than women. Surah 4:177. See also generally Surah 2:226-7; 4:34. Mohammed gets props for condemning female infanticide (Surah 16:58-9) but that's hardly the same thing as gender equality, I think you'd agree.

As for the Koran itself -- well, it has an intellectual consistency and vigor that Christians are unaccustomed to, since the Bible has numerous authors and styles, and clashing views of comportment, nature of God, justice, duty, salvation and mercy. The biblical author that comes closet to style and substance to Mohammed is probably Jeremiah. The Koran is fanatically monotheistic in its outlook, and the book's requirements to worship Allah could best be summarized as carrot-and-stick: worship Allah and follow His directions and be rewarded; if you don't, you'll be severely punished. The book is moreover extremely repetitive, dour, utterly humorless and, despite its energy, much more tedious than other scriptures I have read.

One more thing. Let's dispense with the political correctness and admit that the truth: the Koran provides ample justification for and/or endorsement of those who perpetrated the atrocities of September 11, 2001. See Surahs 2:190-1, 193, 246; 3:157-8, 169, 195; 4:74, 76-7; 8:39, 65; 9:5, 29, 36, 111, 123; 22:39; 47:4; 61:4.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best translations
Review: Firstly, any Quranic translation should be the first book read by those interested in Islam. This Quranic translation is highly recommended. Pickthall tries to translate the true original Arabic meanings without adding his personal interpretation of what certain words or phrases could mean. This is a huge positive as the Quran should be translated literally from the original Arabic text. Yet, the reader should also be aware of the social context of 7th century Arabia (the time when the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad). However, Pickthall sometimes uses the Old English style which appears in the Bible. This results in oddness in certain parts of the translation. However, on the whole, this is a very good literal translation.

Rating:
Summary: A Dissapointment
Review: I was very much dissapointed by the Koran. I had heard much about it and as one of the most important religious scriptures of the world, I decided that it was something that I should read first-hand. Since I don't know classical Arabic, I thought the best that I could do was to get a translation made by a practicing Muslim, rather than a scholar who would (perhaps unintentionally) distort the faith or give only an academician's point of view. most of what I have heard about Islam was very negative and so I tried to keep an open mind while reading this book. Still, I was much disappointed. I found the book to have very little subtlety in it. It seems to be a very simple, direct, tribal-oriented tome that will undobubtedly aid one in understanding Arabian culture to a substantial degree, but which all the same, will probably do little to help anyone understand life or their place in it. It has often been said that when Christianity and Islam encounter one another, the majority of the people tend to gravitate toward Islam. I can see why this is true -- the theology is much simpler than the muddled trinitarianism of the Bible and the means of expression is much more direct and less confusing than the Hebrew writings, but even so, this book seems to show the route to a completely external faith -- one where obedience and submission is much more imprortant than understanding. The morality that the book encourages was an improvement over the traditional Arabian morality (pre-Muslim era), but it is abysmal for a modern human being. Although Islam raised the status of women when it was first conceived of by Mohammed, a following of this book today gives one an excuse for discrimination and even violence. I once thought that the talk of jihad was all just anti-Muslim propaganda, but this book seems much like the Bible in that it shows a petty, vengeful little god who rather than uplifiting humanity, simply keeps it down in a deep ravine. If you have an open mind, Islam as Pickthall conceives it is not for you. The "Conference of the Birds" is a much better treatise in every way.

Rating:
Summary: Go to the source, know what Muslims are about-Read this book
Review: Islam and Muslims are today's headlines,and they are mostly not positive. This book is the book that Muslims believe and follow. For someone seeking information about the 2nd largest religion in the world and the fastest growing religion, why not go to the source directly? This book is one of three widely accepted english translations. It has helpful footnotes, etc. But again the author's goal is to translate the Quraan and not to incrporate his own thoughts, after all, just as the majority of Christian's believe the Jesus as divine, Muslims believe the Quran is the word of God. Do not forget other people's theories, opinions and feelings. Read them and read this book with an open mind that is true, and formulate your own.

Rating:
Summary: Something wrong with this copy?
Review: Judging by the review below (Poor translation with a dash of revisionism) the reader gives a number of references which purportedly give justification for 9/11. I checked each reference against my copy of the Pickthall translation and could not understand what he meant until I realised he was consistently referring to 1 verse prior to the reference he has given (From Surah 3 onwards I think). This could be because this Pickthall translation has had a verse added (not uncommon when finding English translations of the Koran from non-Islamic sources/bookstores) - I have several Pickthall translations (from different publishers) and have found them to be all synchronised in their translations of the original Arabic (as have my Yusuf Ali translations) and I bought all of them from Islamic sources.

Secondly the verses he refers to as purportedly inciting 9/11 are deliberately interpreted as such by people who commit evil acts because they are inherently evil people. Not because they read the Koran like normal (non-murderous) people like you and me.

So, these versus can also be interpreted by normal people to mean what other enlightened beliefs preach i.e. fight oppression, to die in the path of God is noble, etc.

I do suggest you read the Pickthall translation of the Koran (not just to test yourself whether you would commit 9/11 after reading them!). Also if you are serious to check your understanding by cross-referencing it with other English translations such as the Yusuf-Ali translation (also available on Amazon.[com] if you wish). If you are incredibly serious then learn Classical Arabic or at least get an understanding of it from a sincere native speaker.

Rating:
Summary: Something wrong with this copy?
Review: Judging by the review below (Poor translation with a dash of revisionism) the reader gives a number of references which purportedly give justification for 9/11. I checked each reference against my copy of the Pickthall translation and could not understand what he meant until I realised he was consistently referring to 1 verse prior to the reference he has given (From Surah 3 onwards I think). This could be because this Pickthall translation has had a verse added (not uncommon when finding English translations of the Koran from non-Islamic sources/bookstores) - I have several Pickthall translations (from different publishers) and have found them to be all synchronised in their translations of the original Arabic (as have my Yusuf Ali translations) and I bought all of them from Islamic sources.

Secondly the verses he refers to as purportedly inciting 9/11 are deliberately interpreted as such by people who commit evil acts because they are inherently evil people. Not because they read the Koran like normal (non-murderous) people like you and me.

So, these versus can also be interpreted by normal people to mean what other enlightened beliefs preach i.e. fight oppression, to die in the path of God is noble, etc.

I do suggest you read the Pickthall translation of the Koran (not just to test yourself whether you would commit 9/11 after reading them!). Also if you are serious to check your understanding by cross-referencing it with other English translations such as the Yusuf-Ali translation (also available on Amazon.[com] if you wish). If you are incredibly serious then learn Classical Arabic or at least get an understanding of it from a sincere native speaker.

Rating:
Summary: Great Translation, Great footnotes, needs tabs, etc.
Review: M. Pickthall's translation is one of the most widely and read translations of the Quran. It is clear and concise. This book is an excellent aid in understanding the word of Allah. Unlike other translations, it is translated in modern english making the content easier to grasp and understand.

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