The Luminous Qur'an

Of more than 140 complete translations of the Qur’an, only very few may be recommended for English-speaking readers who are new to the Qur’an/Islam. What makes these stand out above the others are: (i) their faithfulness to the Qur’anic text; (ii) their presentation skills; and (iii) their elucidation of things Qur’anic. Another contributing factor behind the success and excellence of these few translations is their earnest, pious commitment to imbue the readers with the life-giving soul stirring the message of the Qur’an. Waleed al-Amri’s The Luminous Quran belongs to this same enviable category. This competent Saudi scholar, the head of Translation and English Studies at Taibah University, has sound credentials to embark upon translating the Qur’an. What is more edifying is that he has been successful in conveying the meaning of the Qur’an in chaste English, which should enable readers to comprehend the contents of the Qur’an and derive guidance from it. The volume under review, covering the first three Surahs: al-Fatihah, al-Baqarah and Al [Imran, is the first in a multi-volume series encompassing the whole Qur’anic text. There is, however, inadvertent omission of Surah al-Fatihah on the title page.