The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'an : Explanatory Translation

by Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall (Editor)

An Explanatory Translation.

Genres: Religion, Islam, Philosophy, Theology, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Poetry

746 pages, Paperback

Published August 1, 1996

About the author

Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall (born Marmaduke William Pickthall, 7 April 1875 – 19 May 1936) was a Western Islamic scholar noted for his English translation of the Qur'an. A convert from Christianity, Pickthall was a novelist, esteemed by D. H. Lawrence, H. G. Wells, and E. M. Forster, as well as a journalist, headmaster, and political and religious leader. He declared his conversion to Islam in dramatic fashion after delivering a talk on ‘Islam and Progress' on 29 November 1917, to the Muslim Literary Society in Notting Hill, West London. He was also involved with the services of the Woking Muslim Mission in the absence of Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din, its founder.

Reviews

[Faizi Crofts · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my personal favorite translation of the Qur'an. Another great one (recommended by Shoghi Effendi I am to understand is the Rodwell translation. Both are very highly regarded by Muslim scholars. This translation is elegant, accessible and regarded as sensitively translated.

The Qu'ran itself is a masterwork of religious genius at the very least and from my perspective constitutes one of the sources of the word of God alongside the Bible, the Bahá’í writings and perhaps the Upanishads.

[Kaylyn]

Feel weird rating a religious text because...that’s not really my place? Amazing text though and a fascinating look into a religion I’m coming to find is vastly misunderstand in American mainstream culture. Definitely thought provoking and worth a read.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Glorious Qur'an is the holy book of Islam. This edition is an English translation with explanations of the names of the Surahs and notes on the text. I found the notes helpful.

The text is remarkably different from the Jewish and Christian scriptures which are more detailed, especially regarding the stories and histories. The Glorious Qur'an also assumes familiarity with the Jewish and Christian scriptures, though the Glorious Qur'an does differ in some details of these accounts.

The Glorious Qur'an emphasizes Allah as one without partners or assistants -- which seems to exlcude the Christian understanding of the Trinity, the elevation of Jesus to God, the elevation of Mary and the saints -- and that the chief concerns of people is to surrender to Allah. The Glorious Qur'an also emphasizes Allah's nature as particularly loving, wise, beneficial, and merciful, Allah as creator and provider; the importance of relgious practice including worship, prayer, and repentance; and the importance of charity and justice.

This edition includes a table of contents, a Translator's forward, an Editor's Introduction, the text, and a Brief Index of Subjects.

This edition was recommended to me by a professor of religion who uses this edition in his courses.

This was my first reading of the Glorious Qur'an. I read the Surah's in the order of revelation and not in the order they are presented. (You can find the order of revelation on-line.). I found it quite interesting because of the very different style from the Jewish and Christian scriptures and yet its reliance on these. I also found the Glorious Qur'an deeply moving.

[محمد الساكت · Rating 5 out of 5]

ترجمة إنجليزية بريطانية أدبية راقية جدًا، وقد أشاد بها كثير من علماء الأزهر الشريف، منهم فضيلة الإمام الأكبر محمد مصطفى المراغي - شيخ الجامع الأزهر الأسبق - وفضيلة العلَّامة أ.د. محمد أحمد الغمراوي، وغيرهما. واعتبرها بعضهم إنجازًا أدبيًا كبيرًا
وقد أكد في مقدمته على أن هذه الترجمة هي نقل إلى اللغة الإنجليزية دون أن يتعرض إلى الترجمة التفسيرية أو الإبداعية؛ لأنه أدرك يقينًا أنه من
المستحيل أن يترجم القرءان بما يماثل النسق القرءاني العظيم.
رحم الله محمد مارماديوك بيكثال، وجزاه عنا خير الجزاء

[Alice Harbin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only thought to read a bit of the Koran, but was pleased to see that it began with a biography of Muhammad. I appreciated the opportunity to learn about him.
The Koran itself actually mimics the King James version of the Bible, but the similarity is quite superficial.

[Timothy Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t really know how to review a religious text, but the book is beautiful with a lot of good messages, I believe if someone had an interest in learning about Islam they should read.

“Cursed is man, how disbelieving is he”

[Andrew McHenry · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's widely acknowledged that for Muslims, reading a translation of the Qur'an is not the same as reading the authentic Arabic text. And further, reading any text that is considered sacred straight through (like you would any other book) is not the same as studying it closely for devotional purposes. I feel the need to write these things prefatorily because I've run into people through the years who read the Bible and then spoke of it dismissively: "I know your text and I'm not interested." I don't want to be guilty of that mistake.

Also, while reading it I wondered if I had the best translation available. Pickthall's work has been a standard for some time for English readers. (It was assigned to me in graduate school back in the early 90s.) My printed version goes back to the early 50s, and I saw somewhere that it first came out in 1930. In that era, British and American churches tended to use edited versions of the old King James Bible, and I got the sense that Pickthall's version was catering to that type of religious expectation. He uses a lot of antiquated verbiage: "Lo!... Thee/thou," etc. And the verses are spliced up individually, so there are no clean paragraph breaks to identify the shifts in thought. It made me wonder if there are more of a contemporary English versions available, or not.

That said, I found the work to be a tedious read. While the historical information in the introduction was helpful, and the brief introductions to each Surah gave a little idea of setting/context, the arrangement is not chronological and it makes it very hard to get a bearing on what exactly is being communicated. Anytime you're reading a religious text it's important to understand not just *what* is said, but *who* is saying it and *why* it's being said.

The reader does get some sense of development, however, by contrasting some of the Madinah surahs with the earlier Meccan ones. The former often conclude their phrases by anchoring the statement in the author's theological assumptions, like grace or omniscience: "Allah is gracious, merciful," "Allah is the seer, knower," etc.

This book is very human - with big, frequent stresses on believing in Mohammed's claims of revelation. Sometimes there's such a passion in it that you get a sense of insecurity behind it, rooted in the author's deep-felt frustration when people aren't persuaded. Other times you get the sense that it goes back to power, since Mohammed (unlike Jesus) was a politically as well as a religiously prominent man... like it's all in an attempt to consolidate power behind the prophet. But either way it often comes with graphic threats of hell-fire and condemnation. The Qur'an rivals the damnation content of any religious text out there - which doesn't much make for an enticing read.

Part of the reason I'm not very drawn to it is because, at least compared to the Bible, it is very monolithic. The Bible is a collection of books and authors; here there's just one individual. True, Mohammed draws from narratives in the Bible as well as other Middle-Eastern narratives - but even there he always seems to cast the story in his own likeness.

Overall I found the work redundant. I was glad when I finished it; it's not a book I will be all that eager to go back to anytime soon.

But again, I hold my perspective alongside the certainty that there are reasons why others are drawn to it - as well as why it emerged prominent in filling a religious vacuum in its time and place.

[Igor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surah 5: Al-Ma'idah - 46: "And We caused Jesus, son of Mary, to follow in their footsteps, confirming that which was (revealed) before him in the Torah, and We bestowed on him the Gospel in which is guidance and a light, confirming that which was (revealed) before it in the Torah - a guidance and an admonition to those who ward off (evil)."

Surah 5: Al-Ma'idah - 48: "And to you We have revealed the Scripture with the truth, confirming whatever Scripture was before it, and a watcher over it..."

I recommend reading the Scripture that "was before it", starting with Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

A conspiracy to deny Jesus as God.

[Dr Ahmad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extraordinary and superb translation of Holy Quran.

[irraj · Rating 5 out of 5]

bit challenging but beautiful translation, marmaduke you alright white boy

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the read pretty dry and boring, but I know that entertainment is not the reason for this book, so I am not factoring that into my rating. I also found that there were contradictions, a ton of repetition, and some things that struck me as pretty odd. Overall, I would say that there are a lot of similarities with the Bible and the Christian God, but there are of course many differences too. The biggest theme of the Koran, aside from declaring how great Allah is, seemed to be to repeatedly declare that Jesus is not God and the anyone who believes He is is a fool and a retched sinner and deserves a horrible death and eternity in Hell.

[Grahambo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outstanding translation with explanation of the Suras. Eye-opening for a student of the Arabian peninsula.

[Saeeda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not my favorite translation but it's readable.

[Lisa Bauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The famous Pickthall translation of the Qur'an, done by an English convert to Islam.

[Kobina Amissah-Fynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent message.