Note on References from the Qur’an

The references to the Qur’an in English in this resource are from the translation by A.J. Arberry, The Koran Interpreted, Oxford Paperbacks, World Classics series.

The Qur’an is considered to be untranslatable in its pure form into any other language from the original Arabic. For this reason it is suggested that it would be advantageous to have recourse to other popularly available translations in English to bring the meaning as near as possible to the sense of the original. A short list of the translators of the more accessible versions is Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Muhammad Asad, N J Dawood and Marmaduke Pickthall. Further assistance is also now available from the compendious nine volume translation and exegesis of the Qur’an by Al-Hilali and Muhsin Khan produced under the auspices of the Islamic University, Al-Madina Al-Munawwara. The following two recent translations by Abdalhaqq and Aisha Bewley and M.A.S. Abdel Haleem are also recommended. A serious study of the Qur’an will of course necessitate a working knowledge of Arabic.