Interpretation of the Meanings of the Noble Qur'an

by Muhammad Muhsin Khan (Translator), Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali (Translator)

Interpretation of the meanings of the Noble Qur'an with Arabic text in the modern English language. A summarized version of At-Tabari, Al-Qurtubi and Ibn Kathir with comments from Sahih Al-Bukhari.
This 1 volume summarized version offers brief commentary and Ahadith wherever necessary. This unique combination of commentary and relevant Ahadith makes this a very useful study reference tool.

الدكتور محمد تقي الدين الهلالي والدكتور محمد محسن خان قد قاما بترجمة معاني القرآن الكريم في هذا الكتاب إلى اللغة الإنجليزية ترجمة صحيحة أثناء عملهما في الجامعة الإسلامية بالمدينة المنورة.

Genres: Islam, Religion, Nonfiction

928 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Muhammad Muhsin Khan (Arabic, Pashto, Urdū: محمد محسن خان;) born 1345 Al-Hijri[1] (1927) is a contemporary Islamic scholar of ethnic Afghan origin, most notable for his renowned English translations of Sahih Bukhari and the Qur'an, entitled The Noble Qur'an, which he completed along with Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali.

Reviews

[Brandon Ford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I finally made it through. This is very difficult to just "pick up and read." I was exposed to Islam through college history courses, lectures, books and the internet years before tackling the text itself. For the novice, I would advise that you do the same.(not necessarily for years because I am seriously studying the religion) This translation is very helpful with parenthetical additions to the text to assist in clarifying difficult passages, footnotes tying the text to its context in the hadith and other key Islamic sources, and translator commentary.

I am not a Muslim. I am simply studying, so my rating is based on how usable and informative the translation is to me personally.

[Faisal Khan · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Really good. My first read on the English translation of the Holy Quran" - this was the review I wrote for this version when I first read it in my college days.Those were the days when I simply accepted that Saudi government version of Quran must be the best ! Frankly speaking I didn't get 100% of meaning then since I didn't read any commentary, biography of Prophet Muhammad or had any knowledge of how to understand the Quran.But still lot of misconceptions were cleared.

But over the course of time my knowledge of Islam has increased and I have revised my review for the same book by downgrading it.Though most, perhaps 95%, of the verses of this version may not have any problem but there are some verses which may lead to misleading interpretations especially due to the commentary of the author provided in the brackets alongside the translation.Also quoting hadith has created confusion.

For eg - (Though the concept of perrenialism is a debatable one but a wrong translation of the below verse makes things less objective.It doesn't let the reader decided what he wants to believe after making a rational choice.)

Surah Al-Imran, ayah 110 (3:110) is translated and interpretated by Muhsin Khan as :

You [true believers in Islamic Monotheism, and real followers of Prophet Muhammad) and his Sunnah] are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind; you enjoin Al-Ma'ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam has ordained) and forbid Al-Munkar (polytheism, disbelief and all that Islam has forbidden), and you believe in Allah . And had the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) believed, it would have been better for them; among them are some who have faith, but most of them are Al-Fasiqun (disobedient to Allah - and rebellious against Allah's Command).

Other translations of the same verse : (source : http://www.altafsir.com, http://corpus.quran.com)
Marmaduke Pickthall ===>
Ye are the best community that hath been raised up for mankind. Ye enjoin right conduct and forbid indecency; and ye believe in Allah. And if the People of the Scripture had believed it had been better for them. Some of them are believers; but most of them are evil-livers.

Muhammad Asad ===>
YOU ARE indeed the best community that has ever been brought forth for [the good of] mankind: you enjoin the doing of what is right and forbid the doing of what is wrong, and you believe in God.
Now if the followers of earlier revelation had attained to [this kind of] faith, it would have been for their own good; [but only few] among them are believers, while most of them are iniquitous

SAHIH INTERNATIONAL ===>
You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah . If only the People of the Scripture had believed, it would have been better for them. Among them are believers, but most of them are defiantly disobedient.

Yusuf Ali ==>
Ye are the best of peoples, evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and believing in Allah. If only the People of the Book had faith, it were best for them: among them are some who have faith, but most of them are perverted transgressors.

Shakir ==>
You are the best of the nations raised up for (the benefit of) men; you enjoin what is right and forbid the wrong and believe in Allah; and if the followers of the Book had believed it would have been better for them; of them (some) are believers and most of them are transgressors.

Muhammad Sarwar==>
You are the best nation that ever existed among humanity. You command people to good and prohibit them from evil, and you believe in God. Had the People of the Book accepted the faith (Islam), it would certainly have been better for them. Some of them have faith, but most of them are evil doers.

MAS Abdul Haleem ===>
[Believers], you are the best community singled out for people: you order what is right, forbid what is wrong, and believe in God. If the People of the Book had also believed, it would have been better
for them. For although some of them do believe, most of them are lawbreakers.


ADVISE - don't read it. Other versions like Abdul Haleem (Oxford Classics) are far better. Also read the biography of the Prophet Muhammad (eg - Martin Lings) before reading the Quran translation to know the background of the revelation. Further, reading Quran with a commentary is even better.

(revised in 2017)

[Bismillah]

Best Tafsir of the Qu'ran. Studied and teach others from

[Julia Carrigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's the Qur'an! It's the actual verbatim word of God! It's the best book!

This translation though was not really the best. In fact, of the 6 translations I've read at this point, this is probably my least favorite. I liked that Khan chose to leave a lot of words untranslated but transliterated (muttaqun, fasiqun) as this increased by Qur'anic vocabulary but I'm not sure this would be good for beginners. But there were simply too many parentheticals taking away from the direct word of the texts and too many parentheticals repeating the same things over and over a (meaning of ayat). Some of the parentheticals seemed like quite obviosu stretches and very particular interpretations. I understand that this and other decisions came because the translation's subtitle is "A summarized version of At-Tabari, Al-Qurtubi and Ibn Kathir with comments from Sahih Al-Bukhari" but I don't think the place for commentary is directly in line with the actual word of Allah ﷻ. Also some antisemitism it seems to me in some places.

But this copy was really nice and I really benefitted from the Arabic alongside it, as I can now pretty much figure out what ay of the words mean with the side-by-side translation.

I also bought this from the holy city of the holy Prophet ﷺ (peace be upon him and all his family and companions) so it will always be special in that way too.

Also here is a list of the ayat and surahs that I connected with particularly this time:
2:28
2:74
2:115
2:131
2:152
2:164
2:170
2:186
2:265
5:64
6:16-18
6:50
6:52
6:59
6:63-64
6:79
6:99
7:57
8:24
9:15
9:24
9:128-129
10:24
10:99
11:41
12:30
13:2
13:4
13:28
14:34
15:85
16:17
16:79
16:96
17:28
19:58
21:87-88
21:104
25:45
28:88
29:60
30:20
31:34
32:9
32:21
35:3
35:32
35:34
36:20-27
36:38-40
36:80
39:9
40:64
42:36
43:10 masjid taqwa
53:43
57:16 the timing…
70:6-7

Al anaam: the realities of the disbelievers

Hud: the way Allah ﷻ comforts rasulullah with similarities to other prophets and the reality of the destroyed nations

Yusuf: as always especially verb شغف

Ar-rad: beautiful succession of heart shaking signs/ ayat

Al-furqan: hard hitting reminder of the stakes of yawm al qiyamah

Az-zukhraf: really hit about masjid aqsa, rousing reminder, beautiful compilation

ar-Rahman: ya Allah ﷻ I get it oh my what is the reward of good but good?

Nuh: intimate truths between nuh and his creator, simple and beautiful

[Arash Ahsani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the best efforts of the Catholic church to destroy Donatism and Arianism they remained the greatest enemies of the Creed of Constantinople and threatened its very existence however they were completely vanished with the advent of Islam but an observant reader of the Quran and those with whom Muhammad was in contact during his experience of the revelations might realise that the Heretical movements of the early days of Roman Christianity found refuge in the Arabian peninsula and continued their resistance against Idolatry and Pagan rituals through a newly found medium.

[MusaMoses · Rating 5 out of 5]

Au'thoo Minash Shaytaanir Ar- Rajeem... Bismillah Ar Rahmanir Ar Raheem...
1.Alif Laam Mim
2.Dhaalikal Alkitaabu la rayba feehi hudaan lil mutaqin...
(Alhamdu'illah)... please read!!! May Allah ta' ala Guide us thru this Hardship and Adversity and trials and tribulations and grant us ease from our past present and future outcome
Forgive us Allah ta'ala
Ameen. Allahu Akbar

[Luciano · Rating 1 out of 5]

Most unprofessional version of a Holy Book. Ridiculous comments from the author, imposing his personal opinion in one of the most popular english versions of the book. After reading the first ten pages I couldn’t help feeling the hate of the writer inside me.

[Syikinyunus · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent translation & I think it would be good for beginners who want to read the translation of Quran. The English used are not as “literature-like” as compared to a few other translations.

[B · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best translation in terms of providing context, information, and accurate detailed translation.

[Lauma Lapa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Books like this one cannot be evaluated in a five star system. Conceptions can.
It is very confusing to read a text that has more interpretations than the actual text.
Then again, there is the Amplified bible...

[Sheridan]

Just translations from random Surahs. Kinda wierd. Don't know why they chose those specific ones.