Familiarity with the Qur'an is essential to an understanding of Islam. This lucid translation, in accessible modern English, opens the way to a fuller understanding of the Qur'an, and for those more familiar with the text offers a deeper account of the themes, the rationale of the translation and a discussion of the place of the Qur'an in contemporary political and religious concerns. The Qur'an is abridged to about two-thirds of its original length.
