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The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Koran: The Inspiring Truth About the Sacred Book of Islam
A simple, explanatory guide to Islam's central text.
Taking the same approach as the bestselling The Complete Idiot's Guide(r) to the Bible, this book presents a balanced overview of the Koran, explaining not only the "flow" of the Koran, but also what it has to say about Allah and humanity, virtue, justice, life on earth, the afterlife, women, love, unbelievers, faith, and tradition.
Taking the same approach as the bestselling The Complete Idiot's Guide(r) to the Bible, this book presents a balanced overview of the Koran, explaining not only the "flow" of the Koran, but also what it has to say about Allah and humanity, virtue, justice, life on earth, the afterlife, women, love, unbelievers, faith, and tradition.
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 20, 2009
I promised my friends (and boyfriend) in Turkey that I would read the Koran this summer. They are very concerned about the fate of their Christian friend’s soul. I appreciate their concern, so I agreed to study about Islam to alleviate some of their fears.
My first step, of course, was to buy an English translation of the Koran. I realized immediately, though, that I was entering into complex and confusing ground. My next step, then, was to put the Koran down and read, instead, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Koran.
This was my first foray into The Complete Idiot’s world. The book is clearly organized and easy to read. However, I never felt as if I was actually an idiot or that the book was written for a child or an adult with below-average intelligence. Instead, it has an easy-to-follow layout and stays with the basics.
I was expecting an explanation of the Koran itself, but the guide provides background information on the prophet Muhammad, the origins of the religion, and even addresses modern Islam. Although it makes many references to the Koran, most of the content deals with issues outside the book.
I believe I am approaching the Koran with an open mind. I live in an Islamic country. All of my friends there are Muslim. My boyfriend is a believer. Yet, I couldn’t help but feel slightly manipulated by The Complete Idiot’s Guide. Rather than provide a subjective discussion of the Koran, the guide almost feels like a missionary tract—or something produced by a PR firm.
Shaykh Muhammad Sarwar, the author, is clearly concerned with Islam’s bad rap in Western countries, and justifiably so. I know from firsthand experience that much of what I hear about Islam in the Western media and popular culture is absolutely false, and Sarwar does his best to reverse and explain these misconceptions.
Yet, he paints an almost too rosy picture of the religion. No culture is perfect. I also know from firsthand experience that the culture (though not specifically the religion) can be deeply flawed (the same, of course, can be said of most religious cultures). I hoped for a more balanced view of the religion and culture. I wanted to know the good and the bad. I turned to the guide to learn the basics of the Koran and not to be proselyted to.
In the end, Sarwar invites the reader to pick up the Koran and decide for herself if it is really the word of God. I should have just done that in the first place instead of relying on The Complete Idiot’s Guide for background information.
My first step, of course, was to buy an English translation of the Koran. I realized immediately, though, that I was entering into complex and confusing ground. My next step, then, was to put the Koran down and read, instead, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Koran.
This was my first foray into The Complete Idiot’s world. The book is clearly organized and easy to read. However, I never felt as if I was actually an idiot or that the book was written for a child or an adult with below-average intelligence. Instead, it has an easy-to-follow layout and stays with the basics.
I was expecting an explanation of the Koran itself, but the guide provides background information on the prophet Muhammad, the origins of the religion, and even addresses modern Islam. Although it makes many references to the Koran, most of the content deals with issues outside the book.
I believe I am approaching the Koran with an open mind. I live in an Islamic country. All of my friends there are Muslim. My boyfriend is a believer. Yet, I couldn’t help but feel slightly manipulated by The Complete Idiot’s Guide. Rather than provide a subjective discussion of the Koran, the guide almost feels like a missionary tract—or something produced by a PR firm.
Shaykh Muhammad Sarwar, the author, is clearly concerned with Islam’s bad rap in Western countries, and justifiably so. I know from firsthand experience that much of what I hear about Islam in the Western media and popular culture is absolutely false, and Sarwar does his best to reverse and explain these misconceptions.
Yet, he paints an almost too rosy picture of the religion. No culture is perfect. I also know from firsthand experience that the culture (though not specifically the religion) can be deeply flawed (the same, of course, can be said of most religious cultures). I hoped for a more balanced view of the religion and culture. I wanted to know the good and the bad. I turned to the guide to learn the basics of the Koran and not to be proselyted to.
In the end, Sarwar invites the reader to pick up the Koran and decide for herself if it is really the word of God. I should have just done that in the first place instead of relying on The Complete Idiot’s Guide for background information.
July 19, 2012
it's a useful book. i like that it's broken up by topic and then relevant quotes from an english translation of the Koran are listed and discussed. like all "complete idiot" and "for dummies" books this is written like a 6th grade text book and tends to be repetitive. given that the authors are Muslim, there is a certain bias to the writing, for the most part it didn't bother me, but the final chapters were a bit heavy handed. while i don't mind a chapter on what the Koran says about unbelievers, a chapter dedicated to unbelievers being tortured in hell, followed by a chapter where they talk about how they hope they've shown the reader the Truth and can bring you into the fold felt kind of insulting. Overall, a decent introduction to the contents of the Koran.
January 23, 2026
An extremely biased and unreliable source. Nearly every page feels like it is trying to push you into conversion rather than scholarly education. The author says he would like to let the Koran speak for itself, but rarely allows it to. There is also a lot of defensiveness, with many sections focused on “many non-Muslims think this, but actually Muslims don’t do that” instead of just focusing on sharing relevant information about the faith and the Koran itself. This book did come out soon after 9/11 (on the back cover reads “Learn more about (…) The true meaning of ‘jihad’ in the Koran (it means the struggle to have faith, not holy war) so while the attempt for “damage control” is understandable, this was an inappropriate platform. Even this, however, he does not do very well, as he will bring up terrorism attacks or how the religion was often spread by force, and instead of explaining how this goes against the Koran as claimed, will say “But haven’t Jews and Christians also shed blood in the name of their religion?” Which is… not a great argument.
The author compares Islam to other religions, though he clearly has little understanding of the religions he compares it to. He states that Zoroastrianism ‘was’ a polytheistic and pagan faith, while this faith is actually a monotheistic religion that still exists today, and he compares the Koran to the Tanakh and the Christian Bible by saying unlike these texts Muslims believe the Koran to be the inspired word of God… which was a strange thing to say, since Jews and Christians also see their relative texts as divinely inspired (with some exceptions). He also describes Muhammad as “relentlessly emphasized the divine message - belief in a single God, in resurrection, and a final judgement - with a single mindedness and a sense of purpose that has few, if any, parallels in any other grass roots movement in history”, also sharing the unique strength Muhammad had while evading assassination - not to be that person, but this also describes Jesus, who was actually crucified. After comparing Islam to Christianity several times, but then avoiding comparison here, was clearly an influenced choice.
As for the rest, it is an extremely shallow and pacified look into the Koran and its history, based in faith instead of true scholarship and evidence based research. While there is some information on Modern day Muslim beliefs that could help understand what your Muslim friends or community members believe, there is little use for much else.
The author compares Islam to other religions, though he clearly has little understanding of the religions he compares it to. He states that Zoroastrianism ‘was’ a polytheistic and pagan faith, while this faith is actually a monotheistic religion that still exists today, and he compares the Koran to the Tanakh and the Christian Bible by saying unlike these texts Muslims believe the Koran to be the inspired word of God… which was a strange thing to say, since Jews and Christians also see their relative texts as divinely inspired (with some exceptions). He also describes Muhammad as “relentlessly emphasized the divine message - belief in a single God, in resurrection, and a final judgement - with a single mindedness and a sense of purpose that has few, if any, parallels in any other grass roots movement in history”, also sharing the unique strength Muhammad had while evading assassination - not to be that person, but this also describes Jesus, who was actually crucified. After comparing Islam to Christianity several times, but then avoiding comparison here, was clearly an influenced choice.
As for the rest, it is an extremely shallow and pacified look into the Koran and its history, based in faith instead of true scholarship and evidence based research. While there is some information on Modern day Muslim beliefs that could help understand what your Muslim friends or community members believe, there is little use for much else.
February 20, 2010
I am really enjoying this book. I do wish to actually read the Koran in the near future (instead of just excerpts), even though I won't be able to read what Muslims dub as the 'true' Koran (since I will be reading the English Translated version and not the Arabic Version). This book has helped me understand different beliefs, culture and history. It has also given me a new insight to a book I previously read "Politics of Piety: The Islamic Revival and the Feminist Subject". In this Complete Idiot's Guide Muhammad Shaykh Sarwar does a great job explaining from an insider's view. Though I don't agree with some of the Islamic principles, there are many great concepts to be had in the Koran. Many subjects have been addressed and explained such as: feminism and the role and expectations of the Muslim women and men, the importance of families, and the affirmation that Allah (God) is the only god. The religion is based on submitting oneself to Allah (Muslim means 'one who submits' and Islam meaning 'complete submission'). The ways of submission are found in the suras which are memorized and recited. This guide is the perfect prerequisite for the real Koran.
February 18, 2009
Allison was reading this book and I snatched it away from her when she came to visit. I didn't know much at all about the Koran, Islam, or Muslims, and this book was a good little overview.
December 6, 2012
Interesting read. I have an interest in learning about the Koran and this was a good place to start.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews