Bibliography of the different Versions of the Qur'an
(consulted or used on this website)Arabic Versions Qur'an
We mostly work with the modern standard edition of the Arabic Qur'an, the so-called Cairo text, used in nearly all Qur'an editions currently in print. Occasionally we consult other Arabic versions as well. For details, see this article.
In the English section of Answering Islam we obviously quote mainly English translations of the Qur'an. The below list will provide a more detailed citation for the editions used. Authors of individual articles may use other editions, but at least to the below we have access, either in print or via online editions and use these in various articles or comparisons of translations found mainly in the Qur'an Versions section.
The chapter is often said to contain the 'essence' of the Quran, and in 15:vI it is called the 'Seven Oft Repeated Verses.' This chapter should be read attentively. Quran irving pdf Irving 19142002 was an American Muslim author, professor, and scholar. He wrote the first American English translation of the Quran.This package in PDF format is Color-Coded Quran in Arabic Text with a corresponding.
English Translations by Muslims
Many of the below listed versions of the Qur'an are also available online (cf. the Islamic Links page).
Pickthall | Muhammad Marmaduke William Pickthall The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'an London, 1930 |
Yusuf Ali | Abdullah Yusuf Ali The Holy Qur'an: Translation and Commentary Lahore, 1934 and 1937 Saudi Revision: The Holy Qur-an: English translation of the meanings and Commentary |
Al-Hilali & Khan | Interpretation of the Meanings of The Noble Qur'an In the English Language A Summarized Version of At-Tabari, Al-Qurtubi and Ibn Kathirwith Comments from Sahih Al-Bukhari ByDr. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali, Ph.D and Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan Darussalam Publishers and Distributors, Riyad, Saudi Arabia Twenty-Third Revised Edition, August 1998 |
Shakir | The Holy Qur'an translated by Mohammad Habib Shakir Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an, Inc., 1983 |
M. Sarwar | The Holy Qur'an by Sheikh Muhammad Sarwar (Translator) Islamic Seminary, Elmhurst, June 1981 |
Malik | Al-Qur'an, the Guidance for Mankind English with Arabic Text by Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik The Institute of Islamic Knowledge, 1997 |
T.B. Irving | The Qur'an: First American Version English Translation by Dr. T.B. (Thomas Ballantyne) Irving Amana Books, 1985 (later editions were renamed as 'Holy Qur'an: the Noble Reading') |
R. Khalifa | QURAN The Final Testament Authorized English Version Translated from the Original by Rashad Khalifa, Ph.D. Revised Edition, Universal Unity, 1992 |
M. Asad | The Message of the Qur'an Translated and Explained by Muhammad Asad Dar Al-Andalus, Gibraltar, 1980 |
Sher Ali | The Holy Qur'an Arabic Text with English Translation by Sher Ali Rabwah, 1955 |
Maulana M. Ali | The Holy Qur'an Arabic Text, English Translation and Commentary Maulana Muhammad Ali Ahmadiyyah Anjuman Isha'at Islam, Lahore, Inc. U.S.A., 1995 |
Nooruddin | The Holy Qur'an Arabic Text - English Translation As explained by Allamah Nooruddin Rendered into English by Amatul Rahman Omar & Abdul Mannan Omar Noor Foundation - International Inc., 2nd. Edition, 1997 |
Note: In the above list, I do not distinguish between mainline or sectarian Muslims (e.g. Maulana M. Ali belonging to the Ahmadiyya sect, or Rashad Khalifa being the founder of a certain group of 'Submitters').The only criterion for inclusion in this list is that these translators consider themselves to be Muslims, and therefore they translated the Qur'an as believers in its message as they understood it.
Translations by non-Muslims
Arberry | The Koran Interpreted Translated with an Introduction by Arthur J. Arberry Oxford University Press, 1964 |
Dawood | The Koran Translated with Notes by N. J. Dawood Penguin Books, 1997 |
Palmer | Edward Henry Palmer The Koran London: Oxford University Press, 1880 |
Rodwell | The Koran Translated from the Arabic by J. M. Rodwell Everyman, 1997 |
Sale | The Koran Translated into English immediately from the Original Arabic by George Sale C. Ackers, 1734 |
Paret | Der Koran Übersetzung von Rudi Paret Verlag W. Kohlhammer, Siebente Auflage 1996 |
Qur'an Versions
Answering Islam Home Page
Answering Islam Home Page
Our brother, Dr. T.B. Irving has passed away. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi rajiun. To Allah we belong and to Him we return.
Dr. Irving was once a fixture at Muslim conventions. This author, professor, and translator of the first American English translation of the Quran who accepted Islam over 50 years ago passed away peacefully on the morning of September 24, 2002 in his Mississippi home. He had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
Few Muslim publications or media know about his death or published anything about his condition while he was sick. We need to remember our scholars. We need to be there for them with our concern, our Dua and our good wishes, especially in the last moments of their lives.
The state of this translator of the Quran can remind us of Yusuf Ali, another Muslim whose translation of the Quran into English is world renown.
Yusuf Ali did not need money to take care of himself. But when he passed away on a cold London night about 50 years ago, he was sick and alone. The Muslim community only came to know later about his death.
Some background on Dr. Irving
It was Muslim 'stubbornness' which eventually led the Canadian Quran translator and writer Thomas Ballantyne (T.B.) Irving to Islam.
'I remember especially a missionary returned from India stating how the 'Mohometans' (Muslims) were so obdurate in adhering to their religion; that was my first encounter with Islam, and it roused an unconscious admiration in me for their steadfastness to their faith and a desire to know more about these 'wicked' people,' he recounted in the book 'Islam: Our Choice', a collection of interviews with Muslims who have converted to the faith.
T.B. Irving later became one of these 'obdurate' people, choosing the name Al Hajj Ta'lim Ali Abu Nasr.
Born in Preston, Ontario in 1914, this professor, writer, translator and activist is best known for his translation of the Quran entitled, The Quran: First American Version (1985).The work is an attempt to make the English translation of the Quran more readable to an audience not used to the old style of English common in most translations.
Irving was particularly concerned about making the Quran accessible to Muslim youth in North America.
'A new generation of English-speaking Muslims has grown up in North America which must use our scripture differently than their fathers would have done. Their thinking roots have become distinct on a new continent without the familiar use of our holy tongue, and a great difference has developed between their customs and their ancestral faith,' he wrote in the introduction of his translation, entitled, The Qur'an: The Noble Reading.
The cover of the 1993 edition of this translation features a photograph of the dome of the Great Umayyad Mosque of Cordoba, Spain. This provides a hint at another passion of his: Muslim Spain.
Irving was considered a leading expert on the Arab-Islamic period in Spanish history, especially with his book Falcon of Spain. This was a study of Spain under Muslim rule, with a special emphasis on the Umayyad ruler AbdurRahman I, who Irving considered a 'great statesman'.
Irving's other books in English include: Growing Up In Islam; The Quran: Basic Teachings, which he co-authored with Dr. Khurshid Ahmad and Muhammad Manazir Ahsan; Had You Been Born a Muslim; Religion and Social Responsibility; Tide of Islam; Islam Resurgent; Islam in its Essence; Polished Jade; Stories of Kalil and Dimna; The Mayas Own Words, as well as various articles on Central American Literature.
In Spanish, Irving wrote Cautiverio Babilónico en Andalusía,
Nacido como Musulmán, and El Poema de José
In addition, he wrote a number of other articles and essays published in various journals.
Irving learned and taught at a diverse list of universities from across the continent, including McGill University in Montreal, Canada, Princeton University in New Jersey, University of San Carlos in Guatemala, University of Minneapolis, and the University of Tennessee, from which he retired as a professor of Spanish and Arabic in 1980.
Following retirement, he served as the dean of the American Islamic College in Chicago between 1981-1986. It was during his time there that he published his translation of the Quran.
His service to Islam as a writer was noticed by the Pakistani government, who rewarded him the Sitara-e-Imtiaz award (Star of Excellence) for service to Islam in 1983.
Dr. Irving's last years
Dr. Irving's son, Nicholas, moved from Guatemala to take care of his father. While Dr. Irving did not need monetary or medical help, he would have appreciated hearing from Muslims, especially those who benefited from his work as a writer and scholar.
Although he could not talk and could only eat with the help of a feeding machine, he was conscious.
I visited him last year, while he was in a nursing home. Standing next to his bed, I felt each time I said Shahadah (the Islamic declaration of faith), he moved as though he was trying to respond to it.
May Allah forgive him and grant him Paradise for his contributions to humanity.