Reading the Quran

Hey everyone,

Since everyone is in a religious mood because of Ramadan, I wanted to share with you about the Quran that I am reading. I have read the Quran in its entirety thrice in Arabic in the presence of an Islamic scholar. Somehow I wished I had read the translation back then too, because I was clueless each time I read it in Arabic.

There are two translations that I am reading now. Since I don't know Arabic that well, I cannot understand the Quran when I read it in Arabic. Even reading it in my mother tongue Urdu, I get lost. So I understand best when I read it in English. I have had gone through several different English versions, but not all of them appealed to me. But, there are two that are wonderful to read.

One translation is by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, published by H&G International. It is entirely in English, and reads like a novel. There is no Arabic text in this version. It is also not entirely in old English language, so none of that Doth, Thou and Thee kind of words slow you down. It actually is easy to understand and easy to grasp.

The other translation that I am reading is by Mohammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik, who has published his translation at the Institue of Islamic Knowledge in Houston, Texas. This translation is in simple English with absolute no old English langauge and uses a new revised translation. The best thing about this translation is how there is a synopsis of each chapter at the beginning. So for easy reference, you can browse through the brief summary of each chapter, and then going to the page number. Then, another cool thing is that at the beginning of each chapter there is background information, and a detailed summary. The concept is lifted off the study Bible, and I think it is a great concept. It is fun to read, easy to understand and easy to grasp. This translation is also very good for those who have never read the Quran, or for new Muslims.

Like I said, not all translations work for me. The ones I have mentioned above actually speak to me the most. I know for a fact that since 9/11 the language has been softened in the translation. I mean, in one of the earlier translations, the verse on wife-beating would say that as a last resort a man is allowed to "beat" his wife. In the newer translations, they have added a clarification, "beat (lightly)." Someone also gave me a copy of the Quran last year in Jeddah and when I checked it out, all the places where Allah is mentioned, it was in red. I knew immediately they had taken this concept of highlighting Allah in red from the Bible, where if you actually read some of the translations, Jesus' words are in red, or the word Lord is red.

So how do I read the Quran? I read it like I am doing a manuscript study. Seeing a lot of people revere the Quran to the point of wrapping it in a cloth and placing it on the highest shelf, I knew something was wrong with that. The Quran is the manual for life. It is meant to read and understood, not simply be read in Arabic and then place it away. So, I take out my highlighters and notebook, and I read one chapter, and if a chapter is too long, I break it down. I make notes. I highlight those verses that speak to me. I make notes of people, places, events and times. When I do all this, I actually understand the Quran on a deeper level as opposed to reading it in Arabic, or English, and then not doing anything about it.

Mansur