This is a wilfully bad translation by a Jew (I mean no anti-Semitism - my point is that he is not a Muslim but it's also not unexpected for a Jew in particular to want to misrepresent the Qur'an) of a nevertheless wilfully bad book that is however no worse than any other "revealed" book of religion. Interesting just because one can't know how good or bad something is until one reads it (and Islam has been in the news a lot lately). Islam is doing well to be as peaceful as it is considering the book from which it sprung. There is also much good in there, of course. ( )

What can I say really? I'm extremely biased, already having been Muslim before opening the book. I read it in it's original Arabic, which I think makes the world of difference, unfortunately. The Arabic language is practically the only way Arabic culture has survived, as far as I can see, and a very very large part of that is due to the Koran and its flawless Arabic.

In terms of Arabic grammar, rhetoric and style, this would be the perfect book. To this day, it is well known that the best chance of becoming as fluent as a native Arabic speaker, none is more highly recommended than the Koran.

One thing I was shocked by is the repetition. I couldn't believe how many times the story of Moses was retold! However, many people who have read it many times tell me that every time they read it they find new meanings, something which, as a book lover, is very intriguing to me.

What I loved the most about it was its cryptic surahs. There are some which appear to be completely rhetorical, but upon closer inspection you uncover a meaning to it. My favorite one is (unfortunately I can't remember the Surah it came in) when it says, 'Thulumat fawqa thulumat', which roughly translates into 'darkness over darkness'. It sounds grim at first, but to me it sounded simply beautiful, and after a bit of study, one interpretation I found was that it was referring to two different things: the ocean and a woman's pregnancy. Sounds strange? Well for the ocean it was referring to the impenetrable and unimaginable darkness found in the deep sea, which obviously in those days no one could experience and had any idea about. The particular way it was described alluded to layering, and this was later attributed to the different currents and undercurrents in the ocean.
As for the woman's pregnancy, another thing which was almost a complete mystery in those days, it was meant to describe, according to the interpretation, the layers inside a woman's belly during pregnancy (excuse my horrible descriptive qualities!), meaning the placenta etc.

I just thought that comparing the two to each other was incredibly beautiful and sounds so poetic in arabic, the only disappointment I feel is that not everyone can appreciate it in its true language, and unfortunately, the English translations aren't very beautiful. ( )

An approachable translation that explains its choices and avoids modern meanings when appropriate. ( )

Far be in from me to rate or review the Koran. I am rating and reviewing the work of N. Dawood who prepared the Penguis Classic Edition. The book is well organized with enough information to allow the general reader to understand most of the Koran's verses.

I read the Koran because so many people claim it is the reason for Islamic actions against Western society; and even more claim that terrorism and other extremism is a perversion of the Koran. I definitely side with the latter after reading the Book. The message is that God will punish the unbelievers; the role of the believers is to let them be. ( )