The Koran (Oxford World's Classics)

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 688 pages
• Published by: Oxford University Press September 11, 2008
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0199537321
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0199537327
• Book Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 1.6 inches
• Weighs: 1.1 pounds

About The Author
Arthur John Arberry (1905-1969) was a respected scholar of Arabic, Persian, and Islamic studies. Formerly Head of the Department of Classics at Cairo University in Egypt. He was also the Sir Thomas Adams's Professor of Arabic at Cambridge University from 1947 until his death in 1969.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: The Koran (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback) The Koran is a classic of Arabic prose and poetry and a key religious texts. However, it has yet to be introduced to the west in an accessible and accurate way (at least on a large scale). This translation does some of the work. It was made I believe in the 30's so some of the language is a bit archaic for today. Nevertheless, it often employs good expression. The author himself admits his work is poor echo of the original. The book is typeset like poetry, with various changes of tone indicated by changing the layout from a more prose-like one to one with more narrow stanzas. There's also much white space. This is a very positive point as most texts, especially translations, ignore white space as a crucial feature in understanding. A noticable defect is total lack of commentary. Unlike other religious texts, the Koran is structured around a context that isn't present in the text (whereas say the Bible provides many historical accounts as opposed to just reflections on them without the stories). The Suras are arranged roughly in descending order of length, not by topic or time. As a result, reading from cover to cover you jump around in time and place hundreds of times. So a bare, unannotated translation means a lot will be missed. Even a simple introduction to each of the 114 Suras would have done well, but alas. A good bottom-line version for those who aren't Muslim and want to read the Koran from a secular point of view and don't have time to get into the details. If you want anything more, look for another translation.