The Weaver Reads reviewed The Study Quran by Seyyed Hossein Nasr
The New Standard in English
5 stars
I’m hesitant to rate the content of a religious text, so I’ll instead speak here to the translation and the essays.
Over the course of the past month (Ramadan) I made it my personal mission to read the Qur’an in its entirety. I had read that many considered this version to be the best, so I read a juz each day. I also read all of the essays, although I did NOT read the commentary.
I think that this edition of the Qur’an seeks to be what the King James Version of the Bible is for the Anglophone world. That is to say, the standard, which can be quoted and referenced for decades or centuries to come. The language used in the Study Qur’an reflects that. It is dignified in tone, not conversational or casual, but also not jargon-laden and unapproachable. Seyyed Hossein Nasr and his team did a great …
I’m hesitant to rate the content of a religious text, so I’ll instead speak here to the translation and the essays.
Over the course of the past month (Ramadan) I made it my personal mission to read the Qur’an in its entirety. I had read that many considered this version to be the best, so I read a juz each day. I also read all of the essays, although I did NOT read the commentary.
I think that this edition of the Qur’an seeks to be what the King James Version of the Bible is for the Anglophone world. That is to say, the standard, which can be quoted and referenced for decades or centuries to come. The language used in the Study Qur’an reflects that. It is dignified in tone, not conversational or casual, but also not jargon-laden and unapproachable. Seyyed Hossein Nasr and his team did a great job on that front.
The essays are all written from a Muslim standpoint, although they are non-sectarian and lean towards perennialism, which I personally appreciate but understand that others may not. You won’t find the critico-historical perspective here and, if that’s what you’re looking for, the Oxford Handbook to Qur’anic Studies does a great job of filling the gap.
The Qur’an is a hard text, and I’m sure it’s not meant to be read cover to cover. It’s light on narrative, and the sūwar are organized from longest to shortest rather than by theme or chronology. The message really seems to be about how to build a Muslim community, with a lot of legal regulations. When narrative is invoked, it’s as an aside to some other larger point. Still, I’m glad I read this version, as the editors—at times—signpost important passages and how they fit into zāhir/bātin (exoteric/esoteric) readings.
If it’s not heretical to have a favorite sūrah, or at least a sūrah that resonated with me the most, it has to be Sūrat al-Kahf.