Publisher Description

The Qur'an is God's word. It was revealed to Prophet Muhammad through the Angel Gabriel 1,400 years ago and has been preserved in its original form ever since, guiding humankind to the Islamic creed and legislation, informing them of the stories of earlier prophets and their communities and calling people to believe in Allah, the One.Millions of people have learned its entirety by heart throughout every generation since it was first revealed. Nearly every Muslim memorises parts of it, and most recite a portion of it every day. No book, religious or otherwise, is read and recited or listened to as frequently as the Qur'an. Those who recite it in Arabic are always eager to do more, aware of its inimitable clarity, rhythm and brevity, yet modern English readers have had limited access to its meanings, with most reliant upon translations prepared in archaic English, unappealing to the contemporary reader.In this new translation the renowned author and scholar Adil Salahi has endeavoured to put the meanings of the Qur'anic verses and surahs in simple and straightforward form, so that the 21st century reader may find it concise easy to access, and yet full of expansive expression.

Author Biography

Adil Salahi's writings include the acclaimed Muhammad: Man and Prophet and Pioneers of Islamic Scholarship, and the English translation of the 18-volume In the Shade of the Qur'an. His main career has been in radio and print journalism, and for over 30 years he was editor of 'Islam in Perspective', a twice-weekly full-page column in the Arab News, a Saudi daily newspaper.

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Kube Publishing Ltd.

Long Description

The Qur'an is God's word. It was revealed to Prophet Muhammad through the Angel Gabriel 1,400 years ago and has been preserved in its original form ever since, guiding humankind to the Islamic creed and legislation, informing them of the stories of earlier prophets and their communities and calling people to believe in Allah, the One. Millions of people have learned its entirety by heart throughout every generation since it was first revealed. Nearly every Muslim memorises parts of it, and most recite a portion of it every day. No book, religious or otherwise, is read and recited or listened to as frequently as the Qur'an. Those who recite it in Arabic are always eager to do more, aware of its inimitable clarity, rhythm and brevity, yet modern English readers have had limited access to its meanings, with most reliant upon translations prepared in archaic English, unappealing to the contemporary reader. In this new translation the renowned author and scholar Adil Salahi has endeavoured to put the meanings of the Qur'anic verses and surahs in simple and straightforward form, so that the 21st century reader may find it concise easy to access, and yet full of expansive expression.

Excerpt from Book

Introduction The Qur''an is God''s word which He revealed to Prophet Muhammad through the Angel Gabriel. God had earlier revealed scriptures to different prophets, including the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel. The Qur''an is clearly intended to be God''s final message to mankind, setting out the way of life God wants people to lead. It sets their lives on the right course and ensures their happiness in this world and the next. In this present life, they have through God''s message what gives them satisfaction of their physical and spiritual needs, as well as a sense of complete fulfilment. Implementation of the Qur''an in this present life ensures for them admittance into heaven in the life to come. This means a second life of perfect bliss and happiness, as well as enjoyment of what is even better, namely that God is pleased with them. The Qur''an was revealed in parts during the period from the beginning of Muhammad''s prophethood in 610 to shortly before he passed away in 632. Although the revelations given to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) included much more than the Qur''an. The Qur''an is given in God''s own word, while the rest of His revelation was expressed by Prophet Muhammad in his words and style. The two complement each other and together form the Islamic message. The Qur''an is God''s own word, and it has been preserved in its original form over the fourteen centuries of Islamic history. This is due, first and foremost, to the fact that God has guaranteed its preservation: ''It is We Ourselves who have bestowed this reminder from on high, and it is We who shall preserve it intact''. (15: 9) When the Prophet received a surah or a passage of the Qur''an, he immediately dictated it to one or more of his scribes. Many of his companions memorised it. When he passed away, his successor as head of the Muslim state, Abu Bakr, ordered the collation of a complete copy of the Qur''an to serve as reference. This was a meticulous exercise completed during Abu Bakr''s reign which lasted less than two years. The task was entrusted to Zayd ibn Thabit who had learnt the complete Qur''an by heart under the Prophet''s own instruction and guidance. Zayd gathered the written parts together, requiring two independent witnesses to testify that they were present when the Prophet dictated it to the scribe who kept it. Thus, authenticity was perfectly assured through the four people involved up to that point: the scribe, the two witnesses and Zayd, plus the written copy. However, Abu Bakr, [Umar, [Uthman and [Ali, all of whom knew the full Qur''an by heart, further checked the complete copy. The whole exercise was repeated again less than fifteen years later, when reference copies were produced by a committee headed by Zayd himself and who was helped by three more of the Prophet''s companions who also knew the Qur''an by heart. These copies were checked against the original copy collated during Abu Bakr''s reign. A copy was then sent to each of the main cities of the Muslim state, with a reciter who memorised the Qur''an in full to teach people its proper recitation. The Qur''an is recited every day by every Muslim who keeps up his or her prayer. It is recited in prayer and at other times, because its recitation is an act of worship. Millions of people have learned its entirety by heart throughout every generation since it was first revealed 1,400 years ago. Nearly every Muslim memorises parts of it, and most recite a portion of it every day. Those who know it by heart read it in full once a week in order to retain it in their immediate memory. None feels this to be a demanding task, even though it takes at least an hour and a half every day. On the contrary, they approach it with the eagerness of one who feels it adds to their happiness. No religious book is read and recited or listened to as frequently as the Qur''an. Yet those who recite it are always eager to do more. The question is whether this is due only to the religious aspect or if there is something more about the Qur''an? The religious factor is undoubtedly very important, but what is there about the Qur''an that attracts non-Muslim Arabs to memorise some passages of it? Indeed, some of them read it in its entirety time after time. We need to remember that the Qur''an was revealed during a time when the Arabs were very proud of their language and used it so skilfully as to include fine forms of expressive speech. Moreover, they attached great importance to poetry. As they were largely unlettered people, poetry was the way they recorded their history, highlighted their bright moments, expressed their sorrows, extolled the merits of their departed elders, described their happiest events, reviled their enemies and recorded the lessons they learnt through hard experience. They chanted it in their social gatherings, and through poetry their news travelled from one part of Arabia to another. It also served as their formal and social media. What is special about Arabic poetry is that a poem may run into hundreds of lines, maintaining the same metre and rhyme, without giving even a hint of affectation or the rhyming word sounding laboured. In this they benefited by the fact that Arabic is a derivative language, which means that a three-consonant root can generate words in double figures in the forms of verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs bearing the same meaning as the root and adding varying connotations. For example, if we take the Arabic root h-d-th, meaning to do and to speak, we may derive the following fifteen words: happened, narrated, speaker, interlocutor, spokesman, spoken statement, converse, conversation, accident, recent, made something new, invented a new thing, event, innovated, recently, and the causer of an event.[1] Furthermore, the root will also provide several more words delivering yet greater subtleties in each instance. In the tribal society of Arabia, with tribes often raiding each other for plunder or revenge, the rise of a poet was an occasion for great celebration, because he could always highlight the merits of his tribe and revile its opponents. The fact that poetry is easily memorised and survives for a considerable length of time added to its importance. When Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) recited passages of the Qur''an to the Arabs, in his efforts to advocate his message, they could not place it in any form of speech they knew. For certain, they realised that, despite its use of rhyme at times and having rhythm, it was not poetry. The Prophet appreciated poetry and could distinguish what was fine and what was of low standard, and he listened to some recitals of fine poetry, but he never expressed himself in any form that could be described as akin to poetry. He did not even quote any line of poetry in his speech. Discerning Arabs were quick to recognise that the Qur''an was of a much superior quality than even the finest of their poetry. Hence, when anyone suggested that his opponents should describe Muhammad as a poet, the suggestion was rejected out of hand. Having listened to two passages of the Qur''an, al-Mafruq ibn [Amr, the head of the major Arabian tribe, the Shayban, said to the Prophet: ''What you say is not the word of a human being. Had it been human speech we would have recognised it''.[2] One of the finest aspects of the Qur''an''s style is the combination of word economy and expansive expression. Many literary critics have expressed wonder at how the Qur''an presents its ideas with the number of words it uses: it is a case of full meaning with minimum words, and this is consistent throughout, even when it provides detailed legislation. One clear example is the system of inheritance which assigns shares to different heirs, covering all situations and relations that may arise in any family and leaving no room for dispute. The whole system is outlined in verses 11, 12 and 176 of the fourth surah, Women. Together these verses use no more than 209 words in 22 lines. The Qur''an tells stories of earlier prophets and their communities. Brevity is again a main feature of its style. In th

Description for Sales People

A modern translation of the Qur'an by the acclaimed author, Adil Salahi, whose other works are highly respected. The translation is simple and bears comparison with the best-selling edition by Abdul Haleem, published by OUP. The layout and design is DISTRACTION FREE. It is an English only translation (does not include Arabic). There are very few footnotes, and wherever possible the meaning of the original Arabic has been conveyed in the translation. The launch of this book will be a landmark for the author and a milestone publication for Kube. It will be the first original translation of the Qur'an we have published since its inception. Despite the number of translations on the market we expect that the author's name, his clear and refined used of English and the simplicity of its style will resonate with readers. If this edition carves a niche for itself in bookshops it can continue to sell for decades. Reviews will be sought in academic journals in the UK, USA and elsewhere, along with reviews in all religion/book related media.

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