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Section 2

  Books for Learning

After reviewing hundreds of books, we have selected the following materials as the best in quality, writing style, accuracy and content for Islamic education.

Part A

The Best Qur'an Translations

1. The Holy Quran (Kanzul Iman) Translated by Prof. Faridul Haque Published by World Islamic Mission Pakistan.

2. The holy Quran (Kanzul Iman) Translated by Dr A Majid Published by Awais Company Lahore Pakistan. (For detailed information about these translations read our article titled Qur'an Translations.

3. The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an. Translated by 'Abdullah Yusuf Ali. Amana Publications.

Strengths: It is very easy to get, the deluxe edition contains the Arabic text and has very nice commentary. It is a standard translation used all over the world. You can also find this translation with a transliteration sometimes.

Weaknesses: The English translation is in old style English, some translated passages are not clear.

Cost: Between $10 and $20 depending on the size and style of printing.

4. The Noble Qur'an. Translated by Muhsin Khan and T. Al Hilali. Dar ul Ihya.

Strengths: The English is sort of easy to read except for the annoying and endless parenthetical notes. It has the Arabic text printed very sharply.  Weaknesses: The translators have put some of their own opinions in the footnotes and parenthetical notes in the translated text that are not necessarily true. For example, they give the impression that women are not allowed to pray in the Masjid (Mosque) and that face-veils and gloves are required for Muslim women to wear. Both of these things can be proven wrong by the sayings of the Blessed Prophet (saw). But besides a few seemingly anti-women oriented opinions, the translation reads smoothly. 

Cost: The book comes in many sizes from tiny to large. Prices vary from $10 to $30.

5. The Holy Qur'an as Explained by Allamah Nooruddin. Translated By A. Omar.

Strengths: The book is nicely printed with a leather cover.  It "feels" holy because of its meticulously designed presentation.

Weaknesses: Some of the translated verses are not entirely accurate to the meaning or understanding of the majority of Muslims. The translators are Qadianis (a group outside of Islam who are not Muslims according to Islamic definitions). 

Cost: $10-$20.

6. The Message of the Qur'an. Translated by Muhammad Asad. Dar ul Andalus.

Strengths: This is the most comprehensive, single volume translation and tafseer you will ever find in one volume in English. It is excellent, to put it mildly, if your interest is to understand the context of revelation and the fine details behind Qur'anic teachings.

Weaknesses: It is a hard to find book.  Some of the tafseer glosses over more difficult concepts making it harder to understand what is actually being said. It is Hardcover only and is 8.5 X 11 inches in size. Cost: About $50.00 on average.

7. El Coran. Spanish Translation by Abdel Ghani Melara Navio. This is one of the only Spanish translations done by a Muslim. A Christian named Julio Cortes does the other Spanish translation with the same name. Only the Muslim translation should be used because Julio Cortez declared that he wanted to distort the Qur'an in Spanish. (Read his preface and Intro in Spanish.)  A new translation by Amana is now available.  We will review it shortly.

There are other Qur'an translations available, but they either suffer from choppy English and bad grammar or are difficult to get. Examples include those by Shakir, Ahmed Ali, Ameer Ali, Daryabadi, etc. Beware of non-Muslim translations. They distort the meanings of Qur'anic verses on purpose and even admit to doing it in their introductions just so they can insult Islam. Some non-Muslim translations are by N.J. Dawood, Rodwell, Sales, Arberry and others. For more info on this topic, you may read our article titled Qur'an Translations.

Part B

The Best Books For Learning Islamic Beliefs

1. Al Aqidah At-Tahawiyyah (Muslim articles of faith) by imam Tahawi Available in English. Available in our articles section.

2. What Islam is All About? By Yahiya Emerick. Covers everything. Need we say more?

3. Belief in Islam published by Hizmet Religious Books USA (Hizmet has many books on Islam in different languages)

4. Islam: Beliefs and Teachings. By Ghulam Sarwar. Good basic overview. PB

5. Ihya Uloom ud Din. Imam al Ghazali. An excellent classical work on Islamic beliefs and how the thinking person lives them.

6. Remembrance of Death and After-Life. Imam Abu Hamid Muhammad al Ghazali.

Pretty much the best book for issues on life after death.

7. What happens after death

 

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