Many non-Muslims who are genuinely interested in studying Quran and Islam often face a few challenges. This article is an attempt at making things clearer for our fellow brothers and sisters who are trying to study the Quran and Islam.
The first question is which is the most authentic translation in English?
We believe that Quran is the word of God. To understand why these words are extraordinary and to understand their true miracle we must understand them in their original language, Arabic. I don’t know if you are bilingual or no, but I speak four languages. Two of them I learned as a first language but even then, I cannot bring the true essence of words from one language to another. Translations just feel flat. And while one can understand the general meaning of Quran, the actual beauty and miracle within the words is lost in translation.
That does not mean that one shouldn’t read translations or if you don’t know Arabic you cannot understand Quran, but we have to keep in mind that translations do not do justice to the true essence of Quran. And no translation is going to be perfect.
Having said that, I personally recommend the following three translations:
- Saheeh International
- Translation by Mufti Taqi Usmani
- Mustafa khattab, the clear Quran
All three translations are available online at The Noble Quran. Just select which translation you want to read from the settings menu.
Before you start studying Quran, you must understand a few things:
- Quran is not poetry, but it is not prose either. It has its own unique form. A cross between the two. If you are interested, you can learn more about the literary style of Quran from here and here.
- Coming from a habit of reading prose books with chronological order, some people feel that there is no coherence in Quran. But Quran is not a chapter book. Quran is divided into surahs. Which, for the want of a better word, is translated as chapter but again, Quran is not a chapter book.
Surah literally means a walled city, so each surah or chapter is an independent body of text. So let’s say, you were reading a novel. You cannot understand chapter 10 without reading chapter 1 -9 first. You won’t know how the story has progressed thus far. But a surah is not like that. You can read the last surah of Quran without reading the whole Quran first and it will make perfect sense. But at the same time all the surahs have a gradual transition in meaning from one to other.For example, the first surah of the Quran, “Al Fatihah”, is the opening surah, an introduction to the book if you will, in which Allah teaches us to ask the right thing from Him i.e. guidance. And the second surah “Al Barqarah” further describes the guidance, discusses different group of men who received or rejected guidance etc. Yet at the same time if you read surah “Al Baqarah” on its own without reading the first surah, you will be able to understand it perfectly.
- The primary purpose of Quran is to deliver guidance and advice to mankind. It is not a history book. Even when it mentions parts of history, the purpose is to draw lessons from it and not to describe the events in a chronological order.
For example, you will find a lot of mentions of Prophet Moses (may peace be upon him) in the Quran. But all his story and the story of Israelites is scattered through out the Quran and not mentioned in a chronological order. In fact, sometimes the later parts of the history are mentioned before the earlier parts and vice versa. The reason is that Quran mentions only those parts of story which have a direct bearing on the topic being discussed. - The composition of Quran is unique. It is like no other book. But it is a literary masterpiece all the same. Its prime miracle lies in its literary quality. That is how it challenged the ideals of the eloquent Arabs – it’s first audience. Since people compare it to the literary forms of modern literature, they sometimes feel that Quran jumps from topic to topic. To give you an idea of its literary style, I would recommend reading Surat al-Baqarah: A Structural Analysis by Raymond K Farrin and The Remarkable Structure of the Quran.
- One of the gravest injustice one can do to any scripture is cherry picking its verses. One of the most abused verse of Quran is “And kill them wherever you overtake them and expel them from wherever they have expelled you…” (Quran 2:191) which has been used as an excuse to kill non-Muslims.
But if you read this verse in its correct context you will know that it is about a particular event in history. So, reading isolated verses without knowing their context is certainly not the way to go. That’s why it is recommended to study Quran alongside a commentary.
I would recommend “Maarif al Quran”, it is a precise commentary, explaining verses, the history behind the revelation of verses and so on. It is written for laymen, so the focus is not on scholarly discussions. Its target audience are Muslims so non-Muslims may need some help in understanding the terminology etc. - And finally, Islam is not what Muslims do. And no Islamic country, including Saudi Arabia, is in complete accordance with Islamic principles. So, if you want to study Islam, go to the source i.e. Quran and the authentic traditions of Messenger Muhammad (may peace be upon him) and not base your knowledge or opinions on the acts of individual Muslims.
Where should one start?
- I would recommend starting from the beginning of the Quran i.e. Surah Al Fatihah. Read a couple of translations and the commentary. The Noble Quran website also gives links to some video lectures for this surah.
- Get in touch with more Muslims especially the reverts. Talk to them about what inspired them but if you have any questions try to find the right people to answer. I would also recommend watching this show where different people tell what made them revert to Islam. (Turn on the subtitles)
- If you need any help, please feel free to contact me. You can find all my contact details on my website naveeraashraf.com
May the All-Mighty guide everyone in their journey towards Him.