A Critical Study of Abdel Haleem’s New Translation of the Holy Qur'an

Abstract

The Holy Qur’an is a divine book revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). It has been translated into various languages by both Muslims and non-Muslims. George Sale was the first to translate it into English directly from Arabic. After him E.H. Palmer, J. M. Rodwell, Richard Bell and Arthur J. Arberry gained familiarity among orientalists for their renditions of the Qur’an. Two Western converts to Islam namely Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall and Muhammad Asad published their translations. Some Arab scholars including an Iraqi Jew N. J. Dawood also translated the Holy Qur’an. Abdel Haleem, an Arab-British Muslim, has brought out his rendering of the Holy Qur’an in the first decade of twenty-first century. The article is a comparative study of the latter’s translation.