What is the best translation of the Quran?

[silenus]

I have several students who would like to read it for informational purposes. Not looking to convert, not looking for ammo in religious arguments, just general knowledge. To that end, is there any translation that people would recommend? My copy is a 1909 translation for the Everyman’s Library, and there has to be a better version out there.

[CalMeacham]

I just finished reading seven different translations in tandem – no joke. It took me over a year.

Of course, I can’t remember the names of most of the translators, but the one I would recommend as the overall most readable is the one by N.J. Dawood and published by Penguin. It’s far and away the most readable, as my recent experience more than confirms.

According to Wikipedia:

Nessim Joseph Dawood was born in Baghdad to a Jewish family.[1] His real surname was Yehuda. The name on his Iraqi ID card consisted of his own given name, plus those of his father and paternal grandfather, “Nessim Yosef [Joseph] David.” He changed “David” to “Dawood” when he applied for a passport. His nom de plume became N.J. Dawood.[2]
…
His translation of the Koran is still thought to be the best-selling English language version – it has been reprinted at least 70 times, appearing in several revised editions and formats. For N J Dawood, the Koran was a lifelong “work in progress” – constantly revised and refined in the course of an entire career.

…
N J Dawood’s approach to the Koran is that of a scholar approaching the greatest work of Classical Arabic literature, free from any religious bias. He greatly admires the Koran’s eloquence and powerful rhetoric (describing it in his introduction as “not only one of the most influential books of prophetic literature but also a literary masterpiece in its own right”),[6] and his translation endeavours to do justice to both. The translation includes explanatory footnotes.

The problem, if you want anything deeper, is that it contains nowhere near enough footnotes for anyone not raised Muslim or familiar with the historical background. Furthermore, a lot of Muslims feel that he sort of breezed by any difficulties of translation or sensitive issues.

Those wanting something more rigorous recommend the Mohammed Pickthall translation. I can’t recommend it, myself – it’s a lot less readable than Dawood, but the pious have fewer objections to it.

for the life of me I can’t recall the other translators. If you’re interested, I’ll look them up when I get home (or you can look up my entry on them in the What Are You Reading Thread), but I can’t recommend most of them to anyone like myself.

[Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker]

An earlier thread.

[silenus]

Thanks, Earl! That’s just what I need. And a belated thanks to Johanna for her wisdom in that thread.