Product Description

A contemporary English translation of the Arabic holy book which brought the sacred words of Allah to the Muslims.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1445486 in Books
• Published on: 1956-08-30
• Original language: Arabic
• Binding: Paperback
• 447 pages

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Arabic

About the Author
Born in Baghdad, N J Dawood came to England as an Iraq State Scholar and graduated from London University. His translation of the Tales from the Thousand and One Nights was first published as Penguin No.1001 in 1954 and has since been printed in eighteen various editions. He is best known for his translation of the Koran, the first in contemporary English idiom, which was published as a Penguin Classic in 1956.

Customer Reviews

An Important Read
I had no real interest in Islam until 9/11, after which I picked up and read Islam: The Straigh Path by John Esposito. I then did an independent study of Sufism, which is what sparked my interest in Islam enough to read The Koran, its central text.

Although I cannot comment on the other reviewers' differing views on the accuracy of this translation, I can write that this translation does convey something of the thunderous power that Muhammad's earliest listeners must have heard and experienced when these suras (speeches - the Koran is a collection of 114 speeches given by Muhammad, which Muslims believe were revelations given to him by God) were first delivered.

There are a number of things that one could mention content-wise, as each sura deals with something slightly different. God, women, human relationships, one's relationship to the non-believing world, Judaism, Christianity, and Arabic paganism are all touched upon in the Koran (along with other topics). It reads much like the Bible at points, and many of the more familiar Biblical stories are here, along with extra-Biblical legends. The Koran really isn't a bizarre religious text, but very much belongs to the genealogy of monotheistic, prophetic writings.

One of the things that I really liked about this particular translation was the way that Dawood cross-referenced relevant Biblical texts from both the Tanak/Old Testament and the New Testament. The footnotes detailing Arabic pagan practice were also helpful, as were the footnotes giving basic historical information. One certainly gets a feel for where the Koran was coming from and who it was going to when it was first delivered.

In reading this, it is worth reflecting on how a passage can lend itself to multiple interpretations. There are very few passages in the Koran that make any mention of war, and far more passages that assert that one should leave judgment to God. Yet, in our own time, these passages on war seem to be used - in some circles, at least - far more often than the passages that counsel one to merely give warning and leave the rest to God.

I think that the Koran is worth reading, especially given the current socio-political climate and I found this particular translation to be helpful due to Dawood's many footnotes. Regardless of the translation you end up buying, at least check this one out as it will give you an important insight into the world of the early Muslims, which continues to shape our world today.

A summary, not complete
N.J. Dawood's translation has been held in high regard throughout the English speaking world (though not by English speaking MUSLIMS). It certainly achieves the translator's stated goal: to render the Koran in contemporary English. In comparison to Abdullah Y. Ali and especially Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall, Dawood's translation flows easily and naturally, while retaining in some part the forcefulness of the original Arabic.

However, a key point missed by some who run across this book in the store is this: Dawood has heavily edited and OMITTED portions of the Koran that he felt were repetitious or unnecessarily lengthy. While that's fine for a general audience, completists and orthodox Muslims will be irked by the omission of parts of the text. In short, this is NOT a complete Koran.

That being said, the language and diction of this translation is certainly to be admired. Dawood's offering is clear and eminently readable. Although this book is inappropriate for any serious study of the Koran, it is more than adequate as a first Koran for the non-Muslim taking an interest in Islam.

Readable, Reliable Rendition of Islam's Sacred Scriptures
When I decided to read the Koran, I studied the various translations available, trying to find the most readable, reliable version available. I downloaded all available public domain translations from gutenberg.org and carefully compared them against the translations currently available in print. I bought several, but not all, the translations, and settled upon this translation to read. I chose this translation because it was one of the most readable and because of my long experience of the reliability of Penguin translations.

As one who knows next to nothing about Islam, I was struck by three things: The moral teachings; the martial teachings; and the figure of Jesus.

First the moral teachings: They are quite similar to the moral teachings of the Christian Bible. Indeed, the Koran explicitly recognizes the scriptural nature of the "Torah" and the "Gospel." The moral teachings don't seem to be as plentiful in the Koran as in the New Testament, but I think there's a very good explanation. Mohammed was at war most of his prophetic career, therefore quite a lot of the Koran deals with warfare.

Second, the martial teachings: They are quite prevalent, and one could easily read the martial teachings to the exclusion of all else in the Koran. Something that struck me about the martial teachings was that they stressed non-aggression. The good believer is to fight only in self defense, and only enough to accomplish the defense. After defeating the enemy, then the good believer must be forgiving and merciful.

Martial teachings prevail in number over moral teachings in the Koran because Mohammed was persecuted in his lifetime, driven out of Mecca, attacked in Medina, and forced to defend himself in a bloody war. Quite naturally, if he's engaged in a war during most of the time he's revealing the Suras of the Koran, he's going to be talking about warfare. Thus, warfare can become a significant aspect of Islamic theology.

Third, the figure of Jesus: Jesus occupies a place in the Koran superior to all the prophets who preceded him. Muslim belief about Jesus is very similar to, but also quite different from, Christian belief. So near, yet so far apart.

Reading the Koran isn't going to make you an expert on Islam any more than reading the Bible is going to make you an expert on Christianity. But given the political, religious, and cultural climate of today's world, it is worth the effort to try to learn something about the beliefs of approximately 1,000,000,000 of our fellow-beings on this planet.