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Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide.

Print Price: $29.95

Format:
Hardback
512 pp.
1 map, 129 mm x 196 mm

ISBN-13:
9780192805485

Publication date:
May 2004

Imprint: OUP UK


The Qur'an

Muhammad Abdel Haleem

Series : Oxford World's Classics

'Read! Your Lord is the Most Bountiful one who taught by the pen, who taught man what he did not know.'

The Qur'an, believed by Muslims to be the word of God, was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad 1400 years ago. It is the supreme authority in Islam and the living source of all Islamic teaching; it is a sacred text and a book of guidance, that sets out the creed, rituals, ethics, and laws of the Islamic religion. It has been one of the most influential books in the history of literature. Recognized as the greatest literary masterpiece in Arabic, it has nevertheless remained difficult to understand in its English translations. This new translation is written in a contemporary idiom that remains faithful to the original, making it easy to read while retaining its powers of eloquence. Archaisms and cryptic language are avoided, and the Arabic meaning preserved by respecting the context of the discourse. The message of the Qur'an was directly addressed to all people regardless of class, gender, or age, and this translation is equally accessible to everyone.

Readership : Anyone interested in, or studying, the Qur'an, Islam, Arabic Studies, Comparative Religion, Muslim society and culture, philosophy, cultural studies

Reviews

  • `Publishing an accurate, sensitive, well-annotated English translation of the Qur'an is a timely move and should be lauded...A great many myths about Islam can be countered by simply reading this. It should be on every liberal person's shelf alongside the Torah and the New Testament.'
    SB Kelly, Scotland on Sunday
  • `He has managed to transform the complex grammar and structure of the holy book into a form of modern English which reads easily and flows smoothly without taking liberties with the inviolable text.'
    Shereen El Feki, Economist

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Muhammad Abdel Haleem was born in Egypt, and learned the Qur'an by heart from childhood. Educated at al-Azhar, Cairo, and Cambridge Universities, he has taught Arabic and Islamic Studies at Cambridge and London Universities since 1966, including courses in advanced translation and the Qur'an. He is now Professor of Islamic Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He is also working on An Introduction to the Qur'an and English Translations of the Qur'an: The Making of An Image. He is the Editor of the Journal of Qur'anic Studies and the London Qur'an Studies series.

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Special Features

  • A major new translation of the supreme authority in Islam, published at a time of intense interest in the Islamic religion and the Muslim world.
  • The translation is accurate, easy to read and free from the archaisms, incoherence, and alien structures that mar most existing translations. It explains stylistic features peculiar to Arabic, and offers solutions to the difficulties of rendering these into English. Respect for the immediate context and different aspects of meaning produces greater clarity of meaning; dialogue addressed to the Prophet is identified to avoid confusion. Paragraphing and punctuation have been added to assist meaning and sentence structure. The beginning of each verse is marked in small superscript type in order not to interrupt the flow or distract the reader.
  • The introduction offers a brief history of the revelation and compilation of the Qur'an, its structure and stylistic features, and considers issues of interpretation in relation to militancy, intolerance, and the subjection of women.
  • Notes explain geographical, historical, and personal allusions and cross-referencing within the Qur'an.
  • Map.
  • Index in which Qur'anic material is arranged into topics for easy reference.