URGENT: Best English Quran translation?

RI_RS —

Hi all, can someone just tell me what the best one is and where you can get it?

My atheist friend was asking for one tonight and asked what was the best one cos all the ones they've seen thus far have had bad reviews and I wanna let em know QUICK before they lose interest in reading the Quran!

Cheers bigears'!

Forum

You — Mon, 23 May 2011 - 18:30

I don't think there are any good english translations really.

Irfan ul Qur'an


This one has some explanations with it too to explain what is being discussed.

There are also Yusuf Ali and Pikhtall, but with all of them it depends on what style of writing the person prefers and they all will have their ideosyncrosies - but as a base, any would be good if it is readable to the reader.

I can't remember the name of the person whose translation we use on this site.

RI_RS — Mon, 23 May 2011 - 21:32

[quote=ThE pOwEr Of SiLeNcE]www.quranexplorer.com has a few different translators[/quote]

No, I just want to know what the best most reliable one is.
i don't know anything about it so i don't know which is
and I don't wanna push him towards something salafi-fied that would make Islam look terroristy or whatever since he's sceptical as it is.

You — Mon, 23 May 2011 - 21:45

If he doesnt mind olde engligh, Pikhthall's translation I think was aimed at non Muslims (it was serialised in some newspaper or something).

But with all translations, they will never be perfect, so it depends on what style the person prefers.

RI_RS — Mon, 23 May 2011 - 21:54

[quote=You]If he doesnt mind olde engligh, Pikhthall's translation I think was aimed at non Muslims (it was serialised in some newspaper or something).

But with all translations, they will never be perfect, so it depends on what style the person prefers.[/quote]

I suppose I just want the most liberal-ish version

You — Mon, 23 May 2011 - 22:19

that is how you apply stuff, not the words. Pick any and as long as the style of writing does not put people off, it will be a good bet.

Actually, Aisha Bewley's translation may be a good option. Review. EDIT - quick look and many arabic words are pretty untranslated in it in order to "not use words that have imbued meanings", but this makes it trickier for the casual non Muslim reader.

(Not that I have read any of these.)

Ya'qub — Tue, 24 May 2011 - 13:07

Muhammad Asad's is a good one, he's a convert hinself & explains things from a 'western' outlook, but the book version is massive & expensive, cos it has loads of extra notes, explanations etc.
I think the simplist, most clear is the one by Saheeh International. It uses modern English, & only has enough notes to understand what the text says, rather than being overbearing or confusing (like I've found in others).
I think u can order it free online somewhere, or it comes in lots of sizes so should be really cheap.

RI_RS — Tue, 24 May 2011 - 23:11

[quote=Lilly][quote=MakeMeRawr_8TeenF] salafi-fied that would make Islam look terroristy or whatever since he's sceptical as it is.[/quote]

gee thanks...[/quote]

Well whatever, closest thing that was muslim and extreme I could think of and they're quite known to be linked to al-Qaeeda and 'jihadism'. I just couldn't see actual al-Qaeeda making Quran Tafsirs. My bad if I offended you.

LookingToSee — Tue, 24 May 2011 - 23:17

[quote=MakeMeRawr_8TeenF][quote=Lilly][quote=MakeMeRawr_8TeenF] salafi-fied that would make Islam look terroristy or whatever since he's sceptical as it is.[/quote]

gee thanks...[/quote]

Well whatever, closest thing that was muslim and extreme I could think of and they're quite known to be linked to al-Qaeeda and 'jihadism'. I just couldn't see actual al-Qaeeda making Quran Tafsirs. My bad if I offended you.[/quote]

euh... im linked to Al-Qaeda and jihadism?!? slow down with the generalizing! i'm not offended though...

what do you mean by a salaf? just so i know if im a "salaf" in your eyes...

RI_RS — Wed, 25 May 2011 - 00:07

[quote=Lilly][quote=MakeMeRawr_8TeenF][quote=Lilly][quote=MakeMeRawr_8TeenF] salafi-fied that would make Islam look terroristy or whatever since he's sceptical as it is.[/quote]

gee thanks...[/quote]

Well whatever, closest thing that was muslim and extreme I could think of and they're quite known to be linked to al-Qaeeda and 'jihadism'. I just couldn't see actual al-Qaeeda making Quran Tafsirs. My bad if I offended you.[/quote]

euh... im linked to Al-Qaeda and jihadism?!? slow down with the generalizing! i'm not offended though...

what do you mean by a salaf? just so i know if im a "salaf" in your eyes...[/quote]

I dunno, r u?
I'm talking about the extremist end of salafi obviously, and not Wahabism overall.
I'm not generalising, as I'm not at all interested in Salafism, I only know that a lot of their texts are said to be extreme and they're always being linked to al-qaeeda. Iunno if thats propoganda or not. (Google it.)

And I said 'salafi-fied' so even if it wasn't exactly salafi but it was LIKE that, its not what I wanted, I wanted a super liberal one and salafis aren't exactly known for their liberalism.

The Lamp — Wed, 25 May 2011 - 11:43

I hear you, if someone asked for a copy of the Quran I would be vary about giving them a non-authentic Salafi translation. The best ones I think would probably be Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Muhammad Asad, Bewely, or maybe the Monotheistic Group one may be worth looking at. At the end of the day, you have to tell your friend that there is no such thing as a "translation" it's the interpretation of the translation.

You could tell him that if he has any questions he can ask you and you'll point him in the right direction, no?

I hope that helps. 🙂

You — Thu, 26 May 2011 - 22:43

I don't think that we are doing the translators justice by suggesting such things.

The Qur'an is nuanced and deep and multilayered.

Every translation is unique as it will contain that author's insights into the texts.

Unless there is a factual accuracy in the translation, I don't think you cna go wrong with any of them, unless they are written ina prose and style that the reader is not too fond of.

RI_RS — Sat, 28 May 2011 - 16:13

[quote=The Lamp]I hear you, if someone asked for a copy of the Quran I would be vary about giving them a non-authentic Salafi translation. The best ones I think would probably be Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Muhammad Asad, Bewely, or maybe the Monotheistic Group one may be worth looking at. At the end of the day, you have to tell your friend that there is no such thing as a "translation" it's the interpretation of the translation.

You could tell him that if he has any questions he can ask you and you'll point him in the right direction, no?

I hope that helps. :)[/quote]

Thank you! Glad you understand.

And yeah course, I would hope that goes without saying though 😃

You — Tue, 31 May 2011 - 22:51

The english translation of ibn kathir is not that free flowing.

(I am pretty sure ibn kathir's tafsir is not too... controversial. If you ignore books from the last two centuries, anything earlier will generally be agreed upon or arguable at the least. The main thing to remember there is that they would be written by humans too, so will have some views you may or may not like, but that is ok, it is acceptable. It is how people work and as long as they are within the broadstrokes that are allowed, it is ok.)

RI_RS — Tue, 31 May 2011 - 23:16

[quote=ThE pOwEr Of SiLeNcE]On a related note, is there any particular tafseer you would recommend?[/quote]

I remember on tribune Muslim Bro I think it was recommending (a) particular one(s), so ask him; seems like something he'd know (:

RI_RS — Tue, 31 May 2011 - 23:20

[quote=You]The english translation of ibn kathir is not that free flowing.

(I am pretty sure ibn kathir's tafsir is not too... controversial. If you ignore books from the last two centuries, anything earlier will generally be agreed upon or arguable at the least. The main thing to remember there is that they would be written by humans too, so will have some views you may or may not like, but that is ok, it is acceptable. It is how people work and as long as they are within the broadstrokes that are allowed, it is ok.)[/quote]

What d'you mean by 'free flowing'?
and when you Google Tafseer his is the first few that come up so I'm guessing it's the main one?

What counts as a Tafsir anyway? Like would even THIS be considered a valid accompaniment?
http://www.irshadmanji.com/feminist-quran

You — Tue, 31 May 2011 - 23:29

[quote=MakeMeRawr_8TeenF]What counts as a Tafsir anyway? Like would even THIS be considered a valid accompaniment?
http://www.irshadmanji.com/feminist-quran[/quote]

Tafsir = explanation, sometimes detailed, sometimes brief. SO it sets the context of the verses, their various understood meanings etc and how/where they apply depending on how detailed the tafsir is.

The tafsir by Ibn Kathir is like a (detailed) glossary where for each verse it mentions what people understood from them etc, but the connection between one verse and the one preceeding it you may have to make yourself. Maybe others are like that too? but that is what I noticed when I was looking up something specific on it at some point on tafsir.com - have a look at the tafsir for some surah. It has a lot of info, but its not easy at the same time.