Q558 :Which translation of the Qur’an do you
renetmend?
A558 : This is a very difficult question to answer.
There are numerous translations of the Qur’an into English. None of
them can be renetmended without reservations. The one which has been
widely used is that of Mr. Yousuf Ali. Its numerous footnotes are of
help in understanding the meaning of the text. Dar El-Ifta has
undertaken a project to publish it with some amendments and
corrections. I am not sure whether this new version has been published
yet. Its main drawback is that it is a little apologetic. The
translation done by Mr. Pickthall is much too literal, which makes it a
little difficult to read. On the other extreme, we find Mr. Dawood’s
very readable, but tends to give himself too much licence and, at
times, he changes the order of the text rather arbitrarily. He has also
rearranged the surahs in a highly arbitrary manner. Mr. Asad’s
translation is rendered in a very good style, but he follows a strictly
rational explanation of the text of the Qur’an, which leads him, at
times, to make gross errors. These are but a few examples which I
have given to explain the difficulty I face in giving an answer to this
question. If one has to use a single translation, perhaps Yousuf Ali’s
remains the safest. But the use of such translation should be only to
have an initial idea of the meaning which should be supplemented by
wider study.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )