Quran by A. S. Mohamed: Intro

 Introduction

This translation of the Holy Quran was compiled with the sole objective of portraying the exact message of the original Arabic text in a contemporary reader-friendly English language. The following guidelines were observed:

1- A translation, not an interpretation

To ensure that the set objective is achieved, this translation does not include the personal interpretation 
of the author, but only the exact representation of the Arabic text.

Any personal interpretation, even with the best of intentions, ultimately opens the door to errors since any human understanding will at times contain errors. Only God's own words are free from error (4:82).

When there was a need to add commentary, this was always added as a footnote, but no additions of any kind were added to the text itself. Footnotes provide various commentaries by the author. They are not part of the Quranic text.

2- Absence of ideology, culture and current trends

The Quran is a Book intended for all people, all places and all times. To translate the Arabic text in line with current culture or current trends is to compromise the universality of the Quran.

The objective of producing an exact translation made it also necessary to be free from all 
pre-conceptions. Indeed, pre-conceptions can often obscure the mind from the true intended meaning.

3- Adherence to the grammatical rules of the English language

Some efforts were made to translate the Quran word for word, and in exactly the same order such words appear in the Arabic text. However, despite the good intention behind such efforts, the end result often yielded incomprehensible sentences.

As an example, sentence construction and the positioning of words within a sentence in Arabic is not always the same as in the English language. In such cases, minor positional alterations were applied without altering the meaning of the Arabic text.

4- Arabic words that have no English equivalents

Due to the fact that the Arabic vocabulary is much richer than the English vocabulary, many Arabic words do not have exact English equivalents. In such cases, combinations of English words were used to convey the correct meaning. 

In some other cases, when combinations of words could not express the correct meanings, such words were left as they are un-translated. 

For the benefit of the reader, a glossary of such words and their meanings is provided at the end of the book.

5- No words added or removed

A very strict rule adhered to in this translation is that no words were added that are not in the Arabic text. Equally no words in the Arabic text were removed. Such additions or subtractions will always alter the meanings of the verses. 

We have in the Quran an assurance that the Word of God in the Quran is complete (6:115). We also have an assurance that the verses of the Book have been perfected (11:1). Needless to say, what is complete and perfect does not require any additions or removals.

This rule is extended even further. Throughout this translation, no words have been added between brackets. Such additions may seem harmless, but in fact, they result in leading the reader to think that: this is what God meant! 

Subsequently, this promotes an understanding of the Quranic text that reflects the understanding
of the translator, be it correct or incorrect.

God could have added such words to the Quranic text if God deemed them necessary, but God did not. The deliberate absence of such words should be respected.

6- The Quran is its own dictionary

Another strict rule followed in this translation is the use of the Quran as its own dictionary. The Quranic words were therefore translated according to how they were used in the Quran. When the Quranic meaning of a word is different from the commonly used meaning, the Quranic meaning is always the one used. The Quranic meaning of any word can be attained by studying all verses that use such a word. The correct meaning is the one that is in harmony with all the verses in question.

In any language, various words change in meaning with time. As a result, when we consult an Arabic dictionary today, we will obtain the meaning of the Arabic words as used today. This does not always coincide with their use in the Quran 14 centuries ago. To attain the correct understanding of the Quran, it is necessary, therefore, to use the Quran as its own dictionary.

In some rare cases, certain Arabic words in the Quran are used only once in the whole Book. In these cases, it was not possible to study different verses where such words are used to derive the correct meaning. In such cases, the translation that coincides with the spirit of the verse, and the overall message of the Holy Quran was used.