English translations of the Quran

Following is a list of English translations of the Quran. The first translations were created in the 17th and 19th centuries by non-Muslims, but the majority of existing translations have been produced in the 20th and 21st centuries.

The earliest known English translation is The Alcoran (1649) which is attributed to Alexander Ross, chaplain to King Charles I. It was translated from the French translation, L'Alcoran de Mahomet, by the Sieur du Ryer.

The Koran, Commonly Called the Alcoran of Mohammed (1734) was the first scholarly translation of the Quran and was the most widely available English translation for 200 years and is still in print. George Sale based this two-volume translation on the Latin translation by Louis Maracci (1698).^[1] Thomas Jefferson had a copy of Sale's translation, now in the Library of Congress, that was used for House Representative Keith Ellison's oath of office ceremony on 3 January 2007.^[2]

Muslims did not begin translating the Quran into English until the early 20th century.^[3] The Qur'an (1910) was translated by Mirza Abul Fazl of Allahabad, India. He was the first Muslim to present a translation of the Qur'an in English. The English Translation of the Holy Qur'an with Commentary (1917), translated by Maulana Muhammad Ali, was "the first English translation by an Ahmadiyyah follower to be generally available and to be made accessible to the West."^[4] Muhammad Ali was the leader of the Lahori Ahmadis. Wallace Fard Muhammad, the founder of the Nation of Islam, exclusively used Ali's translation.

The meaning of the Qur'an (1940) by Muhammad Asad AKA Leopold Weis, was first original work by a European in English on interpretation of Quran and have translation. He started writing the commentary while living in Arabia in the 30s. Available at al-quran.info.^[5]

The Koran Interpreted (1955) by Arthur Arberry was the first English translation of the Quran by an academic scholar of Arabic, Islam, and Sufism. Arberry attempted to maintain the rhythms and cadence of the Arabic text. For many years, it was the scholarly standard for English translations.

The Holy Qur'an: Arabic Text and English Translation (1990) was the first translation by a Muslim woman, Amatul Rahman Omar.

The Noble Quran: Meaning With Explanatory Notes (2007) by Taqi Usmani is the first English translation of the Quran ever written by a traditionalist Deobandi scholar.^[6]

Clear Quran (2012) by Talal Itani, a computer programmer Arab American, emphasis on simplicity and literal translation, available online at al-quran.info and m.clearquran.com.

The Easy Quran: A Translation in Simple English. Translated by Tahir Mahmood Kiani. Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd. 2022, (originally published independently, 2019). ISBN 978-1915357007 (https://tahapublishers.com/book/the-easy-quran). It is considered the easiest and most accessible translation by far, useful for both children and adults.

^ Reading Islam's Holy Book by Eric Walberg, Al-Ahram Weekly, 20–26 September 2007 Issue No. 863
^ "Thomas Jefferson's Copy of the Koran To Be Used in Congressional Swearing-in Ceremony". loc.gov. U.S. Library of Congress. 3 January 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Ali, Maulana Muhammad (2012). The Holy Qur'an. Dublin, Ohio: Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha'at Islam Lahore Inc., U.S.A. pp. I-1. ISBN 978-0-913321-01-0.
^ Asad, Muhammad (1980). The Message of the Qur'ān ebook. Distributor: E. J. Brill. Gibraltar: Dar al-Andalus. ISBN 978-1-904510-35-2. OCLC 1036705681.
^ Nawi, Zaharudin; Marzuki, Zunaidah Mohd (20 June 2017). "Mufti Muḥammad Taqī 'Usmānī and his scholarly contribution to the Qur'anic studies: Mufti Muhammad Taqī 'Usmānī dan sumbangan ilmiahnya dalam bidang al-Quran". Al-Irsyad: Journal of Islamic and Contemporary Issues. 2 (1): 106. doi:10.53840/alirsyad.v2i1.29. ISSN 2550-1992. S2CID 164280586.

[1] Reading Islam's Holy Book by Eric Walberg, Al-Ahram Weekly, 20–26 September 2007 Issue No. 863

[2] "Thomas Jefferson's Copy of the Koran To Be Used in Congressional Swearing-in Ceremony". loc.gov. U.S. Library of Congress. 3 January 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2017.

[:0-3] Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[4] Ali, Maulana Muhammad (2012). The Holy Qur'an. Dublin, Ohio: Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha'at Islam Lahore Inc., U.S.A. pp. I-1. ISBN 978-0-913321-01-0.

[5] Asad, Muhammad (1980). The Message of the Qur'ān ebook. Distributor: E. J. Brill. Gibraltar: Dar al-Andalus. ISBN 978-1-904510-35-2. OCLC 1036705681.

[6] Nawi, Zaharudin; Marzuki, Zunaidah Mohd (20 June 2017). "Mufti Muḥammad Taqī 'Usmānī and his scholarly contribution to the Qur'anic studies: Mufti Muhammad Taqī 'Usmānī dan sumbangan ilmiahnya dalam bidang al-Quran". Al-Irsyad: Journal of Islamic and Contemporary Issues. 2 (1): 106. doi:10.53840/alirsyad.v2i1.29. ISSN 2550-1992. S2CID 164280586.

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