Guide to reading the Quran?
January 21, 2025 2:57 PM Subscribe
I have a translation of the Quran that I would like to read, but I know I'll miss a ton of nuance and context if I just jump in on my own. What resources or guides are out there that would be good for someone from a culturally Christian American perspective?
An additional thought, though forgive me if you have already considered this, is to look through the “further reading” and “external links” sections of the Wikipedia article on the Quran, both of which are pretty extensive and offer resources that sound both accessible and as if they would help you get the most out of your reading journey.
posted by mdonley at 4:11 PM on January 21 [1 favorite]
posted by mdonley at 4:11 PM on January 21 [1 favorite]
I haven’t read it myself, but a book like How to Read the Qur’an , from the University of North Carolina Press, seems like it might at least illustrate some approaches to making the experience enriching to the depth you desire
Oh hey, I’m 95% sure I took a class with one of this guy’s grad students at UNC. Or at least, the time period fits, and my class similarly read the passages in the chronological order they’re thought to have been written. As the instructor explained it, the Quran as typically published is arranged roughly by order of the length of the passages, and isn’t necessarily meant to be read cover to cover. I would definitely recommend this approach, along with some reading on the development of Islam during Muhammad’s lifetime, because among other things the Quran is essentially telling that story from his perspective as it’s happening.
posted by showbiz_liz at 5:38 PM on January 21 [2 favorites]
Oh hey, I’m 95% sure I took a class with one of this guy’s grad students at UNC. Or at least, the time period fits, and my class similarly read the passages in the chronological order they’re thought to have been written. As the instructor explained it, the Quran as typically published is arranged roughly by order of the length of the passages, and isn’t necessarily meant to be read cover to cover. I would definitely recommend this approach, along with some reading on the development of Islam during Muhammad’s lifetime, because among other things the Quran is essentially telling that story from his perspective as it’s happening.
posted by showbiz_liz at 5:38 PM on January 21 [2 favorites]
From an in-community approach, the types of books you're looking for would be grouped under tafsir - and would include discussions of version differences, likely references to other books known to be revealed to other prophets. I just did a quick search and this website seems fine and contains three major tafsir works.
It's true that the book itself is organized from the longest to the shortest verses, this does mean that largely it's chronologically backwards as the Meccan-era verses that talked about very basics of the faith were the short ones, while the longer verses will be the ones with references to past prophets, past law, references to what the Prophet was facing at the time, how to govern/act etc.
For example, for all I said above, the first chapter is the Fatihah and it's pretty short, but that's due to its stature as the preface/opening to the book (it's not first revealed chapter either), and the one you have to recite in every prayer, and follows the order as established by the Prophet. But the next one is the longest of them all, and the title refers to the golden calf.
But in any case, I wouldn't say one is expected to read the book from page 1 in consecutive order. You can move around and read whichever chapter that interests you. For example, I would recommend for you to start with Ali Imran and Maryam because those chapters deal most with references a Christian would be familiar with, imo.
posted by cendawanita at 12:15 AM on January 22 [5 favorites]
It's true that the book itself is organized from the longest to the shortest verses, this does mean that largely it's chronologically backwards as the Meccan-era verses that talked about very basics of the faith were the short ones, while the longer verses will be the ones with references to past prophets, past law, references to what the Prophet was facing at the time, how to govern/act etc.
For example, for all I said above, the first chapter is the Fatihah and it's pretty short, but that's due to its stature as the preface/opening to the book (it's not first revealed chapter either), and the one you have to recite in every prayer, and follows the order as established by the Prophet. But the next one is the longest of them all, and the title refers to the golden calf.
But in any case, I wouldn't say one is expected to read the book from page 1 in consecutive order. You can move around and read whichever chapter that interests you. For example, I would recommend for you to start with Ali Imran and Maryam because those chapters deal most with references a Christian would be familiar with, imo.
posted by cendawanita at 12:15 AM on January 22 [5 favorites]
Of the short chapters, these are the ones Muslims recite most in prayer that you might be interested to start with first also: Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq, An-Nas. These are very short and together with al-Fatihah, pretty much gives you good insight.
posted by cendawanita at 12:18 AM on January 22 [4 favorites]
posted by cendawanita at 12:18 AM on January 22 [4 favorites]
Hi! Muslim here, converted recently, 3 years ago.
I had to learn about the Qur'an myself at the Cliffs Notes level before I could begin to approach it on its own. I am still using English language resources, since I am still at beginner level with Arabic.
I started out with the English translation AND commentary by Sidi Mohammad Asad, a European Jew who converted to Islam in the early part of the last century. The commentary, which gives summaries of each surah (kind of like a chapter) and individual commentaries on many ayat (kind of like verses), contains much beneficial knowledge. For a newb, I think it's an excellent place to begin. And there are apps of the entire translation for both Android and iOS!
Since then, I've moved on to other resources, including the excellent weekly Divine Book Club series from Glasgow's own Ibn Ashur Institute. They use the M.A.S. Abdul Haleem translation of the Qur'an, which uses a paragraph format that will feel very familiar to English speakers.
In general, if you want to learn about the Qur'an, please direct your attention first to resources from Muslims. Non-Muslims have done some good work in the area but they simply do not have the appreciation for the Word of Allah SWT that a Muslim will. And make no mistake: the Qur'an is the Word of God. It should be approached with care and respect even if you are not a believer.
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 9:01 AM on January 22 [3 favorites]
I had to learn about the Qur'an myself at the Cliffs Notes level before I could begin to approach it on its own. I am still using English language resources, since I am still at beginner level with Arabic.
I started out with the English translation AND commentary by Sidi Mohammad Asad, a European Jew who converted to Islam in the early part of the last century. The commentary, which gives summaries of each surah (kind of like a chapter) and individual commentaries on many ayat (kind of like verses), contains much beneficial knowledge. For a newb, I think it's an excellent place to begin. And there are apps of the entire translation for both Android and iOS!
Since then, I've moved on to other resources, including the excellent weekly Divine Book Club series from Glasgow's own Ibn Ashur Institute. They use the M.A.S. Abdul Haleem translation of the Qur'an, which uses a paragraph format that will feel very familiar to English speakers.
In general, if you want to learn about the Qur'an, please direct your attention first to resources from Muslims. Non-Muslims have done some good work in the area but they simply do not have the appreciation for the Word of Allah SWT that a Muslim will. And make no mistake: the Qur'an is the Word of God. It should be approached with care and respect even if you are not a believer.
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 9:01 AM on January 22 [3 favorites]
To second cendawanita's advice to dip and start with some of the shorter ones that are in the latter part of the book.
I also find Quran.com useful for easy to understand translations of Surahs and I also find their 'Surah Info' pages, while maybe not the most intellectual, a good straightforward guide to understanding the context for many of the Surahs.
I link to one of my favourite Surahs and its corresponding info.
posted by unicorn chaser at 9:33 AM on January 22 [1 favorite]
I also find Quran.com useful for easy to understand translations of Surahs and I also find their 'Surah Info' pages, while maybe not the most intellectual, a good straightforward guide to understanding the context for many of the Surahs.
I link to one of my favourite Surahs and its corresponding info.
posted by unicorn chaser at 9:33 AM on January 22 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thank you for all the recommendations, especially rabia.elizabeth! (I'll admit I remembered you saying in a comment somewhere that you'd converted to Islam so I was kind of hoping you'd see this question)
posted by extramachine at 5:30 PM on January 22
posted by extramachine at 5:30 PM on January 22
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“For anyone, non-Muslim or Muslim, who wants to know how to approach, read, and understand the text of the Qur’an, How to Read the Qur'an offers a compact introduction and reader's guide. Using a chronological reading of the text according to the conclusions of modern scholarship, Carl W. Ernst offers a nontheological approach that treats the Qur’an as a historical text that unfolded over time, in dialogue with its audience, during the career of the Prophet Muhammad.”
posted by mdonley at 3:56 PM on January 21 [2 favorites]