English Translations of Holy Quran

History of Holy Quran in English Translations

The historical timeline of English translations of the Holy Quran in the Western world with clear statistical analysis.

Non-Muslim Translations

  • Alexander Ross (1649) – Alcoran of Mahomet (From Frnech)
  • George Sale (1734) – Alcoran of Mohammed (Fron Arabic)
  • John Medows Rodwell (1861) – Sacred Books of the East
  • Edward Henry Palmer (1880) – The Quran
  • Richard Bell (1939) – The Qur’an
  • Arthur J. Arberry (1955) – The Koran Interpreted
  • N.J. Dawood (1956, revised 1990) – The Koran: A New Translation
  • Thomas Cleary (2004) – The Qur’an: A New Translation
  • Alan Jones (2007) – The Qur’an
  • A.J. Droge (2012) – The Qur’an: A New Annotated Translation
  • Jane Dammen McAuliffe (2017) – The Qur’an (Norton Critical Editions)
  • Gordon D. Nickel (2020) – The Qur’an with Christian Commentary
  • Robert B. Spencer (2022) – The Critical Qur’an

Muslim Translations

  • Hairat Dihlawi (1916) – The Koran
  • Marmaduke Pickthall (1930) – The Meaning of the Glorious Koran
  • Abdullah Yusuf Ali (1934, revised 1937) – The Holy Qur’an: Translation and Commentary
  • Abdul Majid Daryabadi (1957) – Tafseru-l-Qur’aan
  • Khadim Rahmani Nuri (1964) – The Running Commentary of the Holy Quran
  • Muhammad Akbar (1967) – The Meaning of the Qur’an
  • Hashim Amir Ali (1974) – The Message of the Qur’an
  • Muhammad Asad (1980) – The Message of the Qur’an
  • Thomas B. Irving “Ta’lim Ali” (1985) – The Qur’an: The First American Version
  • Ahmed Ali (1988) – Al-Qur’an: A Contemporary Translation
  • Muhammad Khalilur Rahman (1991) – The Clarion Call of the Eternal Quran
  • Ahmad & Dina Zidan (1993) – The Glorious Qur’an
  • Mir Aneesuddin (1993) – A Simple Translation of the Holy Quran
  • Syed Vickar Ahamed (1999) – The Glorious Qur’an
  • Emily B. Assami “Umm Muhammad” (1997) – The Holy Qur’an
  • Emily B. Assami, Mary Kennedy, Amatullah “A.J.” Bantley (1997) – Saheeh International
  • M. Farooq-e-Azam Malik (1997) – Al-Qur’an: Guidance for Mankind
  • Abdalhaqq & Aisha Bewley (1999) – The Noble Qur’an
  • Kamal Omar (1990s) – The Quran: Arabic Text and English Translation
  • Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali & Muhsin Khan (1977, 1993, revised 1999) – Interpretation of the Noble Qur’an
  • Nureddin Uzunoğlu (2000) – The Majestic Qur’an
  • Majid Fakhry (2002) – An Interpretation of the Qur’an
  • Zohurul Hoque (2000) – Translation and Commentary on The Holy Quran
  • M.J. Gohari (2002) – The Qur’an
  • Shaikh Basheer Ahmed Muhuyiddin – Quran: The Living Truth
  • Nooruddeen Durkee (2003) – The Tajwidi Qur’an
  • M.A.S. Abdel-Haleem (2004) – The Qur’an (Oxford World Classics)
  • Muhammad Karam Shah Al-Azhari & Anis Ahmad Sheikh (2004) – Jamal Ul Qur’an
  • Afzal Hoosen Elias (2007) – Quran Made Easy
  • Muhammad Taqi Usmani (2007) – The Meanings of the Noble Qur’an
  • Ali Ünal (2008) – The Qur’an with Annotated Interpretation
  • Ahmad Zaki Hammad (2008) – The Gracious Qur’an
  • Tarif Khalidi (2009) – The Qur’an: A New Translation
  • Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri (2009) – Irfan ul Quran
  • Yahiya Emerick (2010) – The Holy Qur’an: Guidance for Life
  • Imtiaz Ahmad (2010) – The Easy Qur’an
  • Maulana Wahiduddin Khan (2011) – The Quran: Translation & Commentary
  • Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri (2011) – The Glorious Qur’an
  • Assad Nimer Busool (2012) – The Wise Qur’an
  • Talal Itani (2012) – Quran in English: Clear and Easy to Read
  • Abdur Raheem Kidwai (2013) – What is in the Quran?
  • Fode Drame (2014) – Anwar-ul-Quran
  • Mustafa Khattab (2015, revised 2018) – The Clear Quran
  • Safi Kaskas (2015) – The Quran: A Contemporary Understanding
  • Sayed Jumaa Salam (2018) – Noor Al Bayan
  • Musharraf Hussain (2018) – The Majestic Quran
  • Adil Salahi (2019) – The Qur’an: A Translation for the 21st Century
  • Shehzad Saleem (2022) – The Qur’an Translated
  • Nuh Ha Mim Keller (2022) – The Quran Beheld

Barelvi Translations

  • Ahmed Raza Khan (1911) – The Holy Quran (Urdu)
  • Shah Farid-ul-Haque (1990) – Al-Quran English Translation (Kanz-ul-Eeman)

Shiite Translations

  • Mirza Abul Fazl (1911) – The Qur’an
  • Mohammed Habib Shakir (1999) – The Qur’an
  • Muhammad Sarwar (1981) – The Holy Qur’an
  • Syed V. Mir Ahmed Ali (1999) – The Holy Qur’an
  • Fazlollah Nikayin (2000) – The Quran: A Poetic Translation
  • Tahere Saffarzadeh (2001) – The Qur’an in Persian and English
  • Ali Quli Qara’i (2005) – The Qur’an with an English Paraphrase
  • Laleh Bakhtiar (2007) – The Sublime Qur’an (gender-neutral terms)
  • Ali Salami (2009) – The Magnificent Qur’an

Ahmadiyya Translations

  • Muhammad Abdul Hakim Khan (1905) – The Holy Qur’an (Indian)
  • Maulana Muhammad Ali (1917, revised 1951) – The English Translation of the Holy Qur’an with Commentary
  • Maulvi Sher Ali (1955) – The Holy Qur’an: Arabic Text and English Translation
  • Maulvi Sher Ali, Mirza Bashir Ahmad, Malik Ghulam Farid (1963) – The English Commentary of the Holy Qur’an
  • Pir Salahuddin (1969) – The Wonderful Koran
  • Muhammad Zafrulla Khan (1970) – The Quran
  • Amatul Rahman Omar & Abdul Mannan Omar (1990) – The Holy Qur’an: Arabic Text and English Translation

Translations by Prophetic Sunnah Deniers

  • Rashad Khalifa (1981) – Quran: The Final Testament
  • Ghulam Ahmed Pervez (1996) – Exposition of the Holy Quran
  • Shabbir Ahmed (2003) – The Qur’an as It Explains Itself
  • Edip Yuksel, Layth Saleh al-Shaiban, Martha Schulte-Nafeh (2007) – The Quran: A Reformist Translation
  • Monotheistic Group (2008) – The Message – A Translation of the Glorious Qur’an
  • Seyyed Hossein Nasr et al. (2015) – The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary

Notes:

  • Many translations have been revised post-publication (e.g., Yusuf Ali’s in 1987 by the Saudi government).
  • Recent efforts emphasize inclusivity and modern readability (e.g., Khattab’s The Clear Quran).
  • Some translations are sect-specific (e.g., Ahmadiyya or Barelvi).

This list highlights major translations, but numerous others exist, reflecting diverse theological and linguistic approaches.

References

  • Alsaleh Brakhw, A. A. M., & Shaik Ismail, S. F. (2014). The Importation of the Holy Quran into English: Governing Factors in the Translating Process. Arab World English Journal.
  • Abdur Raheem Kidwai. (2007). Bibliography of the Translations of the Meanings of the Glorious Quran into English: 1641—2002: A Critical Study. Al Madinah Al Munavvarah: King Fahd Quran Printing Complex, 474 pages.
  • Charles Burnett. (2004). “Ketton, Robert of (fl. 1141–1157).” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press.
  • The National Archives Annual Report (XII–XIV centuries) (2010). The National Archives. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 December 2010. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
  • Dunlop, D. M. (1960). The Work of Translation at Toledo. Babel, 6(2), 55–59.
  • Bevilacqua, A. (2013). The Qur’an Translations of Marracci and Sale. Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, 76(1), 93–130. https://doi.org/10.1086/JWCI24395514
  • Ali, Abdullah Yusuf. (1938). The Holy Qur-an: Text, Translation & Commentary (3rd ed.). Kashmiri Bazar, Lahore: Shaik Muhammad Ashraf. p. 287.
  • Mohammed, K. (2005). Assessing English Translations of the Qur’an. Middle East Quarterly.