'The Qur’an: A Verse Translation' by M.A.R. Habib and Bruce B. Lawrence

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'The Qur’an: A Verse Translation' by M.A.R. Habib and Bruce B. Lawrence

'The Qur’an: A Verse Translation' by M.A.R. Habib and Bruce B. Lawrence

The ancient texts of Homer and Sophocles continue to be retranslated into English in a quest to free them from musty language—not of the Greek authors but of English translators from earlier, more cautious eras. Sacred texts have also been given fresh eyes in recent years, notably the translations of the Hebrew scriptures by poet-comp lit professor Robert Alter and the Greek New Testament by philosopher David Bentley Hart. The burden of translating texts held sacred is especially great, given their enduring influence and continued misinterpretation and misappropriation. Entire sects have been formed on the authority of bad translations. 

Entering the field is the new translation of Islam’s sacred book, the Qur’an. Poet and Rutgers’ English professor M.A.R. Habib and Duke University humanities professor Bruce B. Lawrence state their objectives and methods clearly in the book’s introduction. Their challenge on one level is no different than that of any translator: capturing the form of the original without distorting the content. Given that the Qur’an is recitative, meant to be read or chanted out loud, Habib and Lawrence chose verse instead of prose in short lines that amplify the succinct power of the words. They took care to suggest the pauses and cadences of the Arabic with repetitions that are not redundant but amplify the meaning of the words. 

As they explain, their versification transcends the flatness of linear thinking, allowing the text “to be registered on several levels: cognitive, sensible, psychological, and spiritual.” The God heard here isn’t speaking the language of fundamentalism but in allusions of infinity. 

Get The Qur’an: A Verse Translation at Amazon here.

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