What do you think?
The Qur'an: With a Phrase-by-Phrase English Translation
This is a wonderful translation. It is both faithful and fluent. [The translator has] struck a nice balance here. It is a real improvement over existing translations.
—Dr. Muhammad Legenhausen
•
What Qara'i has accomplished... is a revival of the art of translation as an adjunct to the understanding of the original, skillfully adapted to the needs of the English-speaking student of the Qur'an... He has opted always for the maximum degree of closeness to the Arabic compatible with comprehensibility, thereby coordinating translation with the original in the most substantial of ways.
Although Qara'i envisions his translation as a paraphrase of the Qur'anic meanings, as a tool for gaining access to the original, it must be stressed that his translation reads extremely well even if regular cross-reference to the Arabic not be the purpose of the reader.
The language Qara'i has chosen is clear, chaste, straightforward and dignified, distant from both the archaisms and the modernisms that have been affected by other English translators of the Qur'an.
... It is plain, indeed, that a serious and profound appreciation of the Qur'anic message has animated the whole of Qara'i's successful labours. We warmly recommend his translation to all with a serious interest in the Qur'an.
—Prof. Hamid Algar
•
As a person who was part of a team that worked on a translation, I was often asked during this process what translation I recommend.... What I want to do in this video is first talk about two translations that I do recommend and I have often recommended, which are those by A.J. Arberry and the one by Ali Quli Qara'i.
... I really found this (Ali Quli Qara'i's) translation to be quite excellent, and I was really surprised when I came upon it, because hardly anybody has spoken about it. One of the great things about this translation for somebody who is learning Arabic is that the translation has Arabic right next to it, but it has it phrase-by-phrase—not just the whole verse, but the exact phrase is next to the exact Arabic. So if you are studying Arabic, you can use this very well to identify the exact translation and the Arabic.
...[I]t is more accurate and more consistent than almost any other translation and more accurate than Arberry, in fact. I don't think I found any passage where I could say that Ali Quli Qara'i made an egregious mistake.
—Prof. Joseph Lumbard (of The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary)
—Dr. Muhammad Legenhausen
•
What Qara'i has accomplished... is a revival of the art of translation as an adjunct to the understanding of the original, skillfully adapted to the needs of the English-speaking student of the Qur'an... He has opted always for the maximum degree of closeness to the Arabic compatible with comprehensibility, thereby coordinating translation with the original in the most substantial of ways.
Although Qara'i envisions his translation as a paraphrase of the Qur'anic meanings, as a tool for gaining access to the original, it must be stressed that his translation reads extremely well even if regular cross-reference to the Arabic not be the purpose of the reader.
The language Qara'i has chosen is clear, chaste, straightforward and dignified, distant from both the archaisms and the modernisms that have been affected by other English translators of the Qur'an.
... It is plain, indeed, that a serious and profound appreciation of the Qur'anic message has animated the whole of Qara'i's successful labours. We warmly recommend his translation to all with a serious interest in the Qur'an.
—Prof. Hamid Algar
•
As a person who was part of a team that worked on a translation, I was often asked during this process what translation I recommend.... What I want to do in this video is first talk about two translations that I do recommend and I have often recommended, which are those by A.J. Arberry and the one by Ali Quli Qara'i.
... I really found this (Ali Quli Qara'i's) translation to be quite excellent, and I was really surprised when I came upon it, because hardly anybody has spoken about it. One of the great things about this translation for somebody who is learning Arabic is that the translation has Arabic right next to it, but it has it phrase-by-phrase—not just the whole verse, but the exact phrase is next to the exact Arabic. So if you are studying Arabic, you can use this very well to identify the exact translation and the Arabic.
...[I]t is more accurate and more consistent than almost any other translation and more accurate than Arberry, in fact. I don't think I found any passage where I could say that Ali Quli Qara'i made an egregious mistake.
—Prof. Joseph Lumbard (of The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary)
- GenresSpirituality
944 pages, Hardcover
Published March 26, 2007
About the author
Anonymous
3,450 followersBooks can be attributed to "Anonymous" for several reasons:
* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author
Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.
See also: Anonymous
* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author
Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.
See also: Anonymous
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 1, 2022
2025
So in love with this version of the Quraan < 3
---
2022
this phrase by phrase translation of the quraan is just phenomenal.
So in love with this version of the Quraan < 3
---
2022
this phrase by phrase translation of the quraan is just phenomenal.
December 28, 2015
I really enjoyed this translation. While it has some older-than-old Old English, the general meanings are good. I also truly appreciated the additional footnotes with alternate understandings of the translation of certain verses. Most of all, the unique feature of this Qur'an and translation is the phrase by phrase with Arabic phrase next to English phrase.
I would suggest the Arabic be slightly larger, as it's harder to read than normal, and that the phrase by phrase aspect more closely reflect the Arabic diction and word order. My goal in reading this translation was to understand Arabic and English words better, but the rephrasing of Arabic verbs to nouns, etc., for a more convenient English read detracts from learning Arabic, my intended goal.
That said, a beautiful translation and effort.
I would suggest the Arabic be slightly larger, as it's harder to read than normal, and that the phrase by phrase aspect more closely reflect the Arabic diction and word order. My goal in reading this translation was to understand Arabic and English words better, but the rephrasing of Arabic verbs to nouns, etc., for a more convenient English read detracts from learning Arabic, my intended goal.
That said, a beautiful translation and effort.
Read
March 11, 2026not my favorite translation but def one of the most beautiful ones I've read
September 2, 2026
My go to translation for devotional readings. I love it!
Read
May 27, 2015I'm not going to give the Qur'an a star rating because that just seems wrong. But I will say that I was struck by how much of the Qur'an spoke to me as a non-Muslim. At the same time that I was reading this translation, I also read portions of other translations that were more beautiful---more lyrical, maybe more poetic---in English, so I'm looking forward to reading through other translations, especially the Study Qur'an coming out from Harper Collins in November 2015.
August 19, 2011
It was very interesting to encounter all of the commentary about non-believers and their quotes such as "They are only myths of the ancients" and the like. Other than that, I found it even more redundant than the Bible.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews