The Qur'an: With a Phrase-by-Phrase English Translation

Book Synopsis: This is the 6th Edition and 5th revised version of this translation. The Qur'ān is, in its own words, “light,” which means that it is self-manifesting, with no need of an external source of illumination; other things need light to become visible and manifest. With it, God guides those who pursue His pleasure to the ways of peace, and brings them out from darkness into light by His will, and guides them to a straight path (5:16).

Of course, the Qur'ān is not an exception among revealed scriptures in that it is a source of light and guidance. According to the Qur'an, so were the Torah and the Gospel, scriptures given to Moses and Jesus. All scriptures of Divine origin are a source of light and guidance.

Nothing is more important for man than the knowledge of the very Source of reality. Any knowledge that is not informed with this awareness is just a kind of ignorance. All effort that does not derive from this knowledge is ultimately fated to end in futility and failure. The Qur'ān claims to be the most reliable source of this knowledge and the best guide for human endeavor. It teaches that the Source of being is also the chief Source of guidance.

Expert Opinions About This Translation:

This is a wonderful translation. It is both faithful and fluent. [The translator has] struck a nice balance here. It is a real improvement over existing translations. - Dr Muhammad Legenhausen

What Qarai has accomplished… is a revival of the art of translation as an adjunct to the understanding of the original, skillfully adapted to the needs of the English-speaking student of the Qur'an… He has opted always for the maximum degree of closeness to the Arabic compatible with comprehensibility, thereby coordinating translation with original in the most substantial of ways.

Although Qarai envisions his translation as a paraphrase of the Qur'anic meanings, as a tool for gaining access to the original, it must be stressed that his translation reads extremely well even if regular cross-reference to the Arabic not be the purpose of the reader.

The language Qarai has chosen is clear, chaste, straightforward and dignified, distant from both the archaisms and the modernisms that have been affected by other English translators of the Qur'an… It is plain, indeed, that a serious and profound appreciation of the Qur'anic message has animated the whole of Qarai's successful labors. We warmly recommend his translation to all with a serious interest in the Qur'an. - Prof. Hamid Algar

As a person who was part of a team that worked on a translation, I was often asked during this process what translation I recommend… What I want to do in this video is first talk about two translations that I do recommend and I have often recommended, which are those by A. J. Arberry and the one by Ali Quli Qarai… I really found this (Ali Quli Qarai’s) translation to be quite excellent, and I was really surprised when I came upon it, because hardly anybody has spoken about it. One of the great things about this translation for somebody who is learning Arabic is that the translation has Arabic right next to it, but it has it phrase by phrase—not just the whole verse, but the exact phrases next to the exact Arabic. So if you are studying Arabic, you can use this very well to identify the exact translation and the Arabic… it is more accurate and more consistent than almost any other translation and more accurate than Arberry, in fact. I don't think I found any passage where I could say that Ali Quli Qarai made an egregious mistake. - Prof. Joseph Lombard (member of the team of translators of The Study Qur'an, in a video talk) Read more