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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: "King James" style English sometimes hard to follow
Review: I have this translation, the Yusuf Ali translation, and the "Translation Committee" in Istanbul (Ozek, et al) versions. Pickthall and Ali have some obsolete style English in them that can get in the way of understanding them; but combined with the Istanbul version it adds understanding. In many ways Pickthall's translation maintains more "depth" and some of the fluidity of the Arabic - at least according to some of the folks I know who read Arabic. Ali has some odd explanations from places like Shakespeare that seem out of place. So, I consider this one well worth purchasing - especially if you find the version that also includes the transliteration so you can learn to recite from it.
Rating:
Summary: Poor translation, with a dash of revisionism
Review: I have this translation, the Yusuf Ali translation, and the "Translation Committee" in Istanbul (Ozek, et al) versions. Pickthall and Ali have some obsolete style English in them that can get in the way of understanding them; but combined with the Istanbul version it adds understanding. In many ways Pickthall's translation maintains more "depth" and some of the fluidity of the Arabic - at least according to some of the folks I know who read Arabic. Ali has some odd explanations from places like Shakespeare that seem out of place. So, I consider this one well worth purchasing - especially if you find the version that also includes the transliteration so you can learn to recite from it.
Rating: 
Summary: Worthy Translation
Review: This book was my introduction to Islam--clear, concise translation was much appreciated. I learned, also, a little of why Islam seems incapable of producing a Jesus of Nazareth, a Buddha, a St. Francis of Assisi, a Gandhi, or a Martin Luther King--only violent fanatics whose path to God is through the bodies of their perceived enemies. My name is withheld for a good reason: Christians, Jews, and Buddhists tend not to murder the critics of their respective religions. Islam, unfortunately, is a dangerous "child religion," as exemplified by its adherents in the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, and elsewhere. There are no Christian, Jewish or Buddhist "Salman Rushdies," if the reader will notice.
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