Basically what the title says. I don’t know Arabic, but I’m interested in reading the Koran. I’m assuming there is more than one translation into English, as the Christian Bible has many different translations.
Is one translation considered better than another, from the original Arabic? We do have a mosque in town, if I wrote to the imam there do you think he would let me know his opinion?
There is a tradition in Islam that the Quran is, strictly speaking, untranslateable since it was revealed by God in Arabic and carries its full range of associations only in that language; but as a matter of fact, it has been translated into other languages many times, and a wide range of translations into English is available. Wikipedia has a page dedicated to them.
The question as to which translation is “the best one” is, of course, subjective and differs as to one’s own cultural and theological views. In general, I would assume it’s better to choose a more recent translation rather than an old one from the 18th or 19th century, since the more recent ones benefit from the progress of linguistic and intercultural research; on the other hand, the old ones can be more “flowery” in the language they use, so if you want that you can specifically watch out for translation that follow that style.
I’m sure a local imam would be happy to recommend a translation if you politely contact him and say you’re interested in reading the Quran. It can be, though, that a different imam would have a different recommendation.
A couple of years ago I realized that I had compiled more translations of the Koran than of any other religious text, including the Bible. I decided to read them all, simultaneously, reading the same suras from each. My main impetus for this was my finally obtaining an annotated edition, sort of comparable to the Penguin editions of the New Testament or the Anchor edition of the Bible. Unfortunately, I can’t recall the name of that edition or the translator/annotater. It was one thick volume, though. I figured it would shine some light on the others.
I found, as I had on previous readings, that the N. J. Dawood translation published by Penguin books is far and away the easiest to read and the most fluid translation. That doesn’t mean, of course, that it’s the “best” in the sense of most theologically faithful or most accurate, but if I had to pick one to read, that would be it.
Several people recommend the translation by Marmaduke Pickthall. This one I had as a Signet paperback. It’s available online, too – The Quran Translation by M. Pickthall and The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'ân, Index . This one is considered theologically accurate. It’s by an Englishman who was Muslim (but I assume Daoud was, too). It was translated over a hundred years ago, and the english is a bit creaky on account of that, and I found it harder going.
The others I didn’t find significantly interesting by comparison. I had the M.A.S. Abdel Haleem translation (Oxford World Classics) and the J.M. Rodwell translation (published by Dover books – probably the least expensive one, published as a Dover Thrift Edition). This latter one came out in 1909, older than the Pickthall translation. It also re-arranges the suras, so you have to consult a table in the front if you are folowing the other translations, which have them in the traditional order.
My personal prejudice is to go with the Dawood translation from Penguin, which is the most readable and one of the more easy to obtain. Your mileage may vary.
Thank you both for your advice. I will look up the Dawood translation, and I really may contact the imam to see what he says.