Islam - Its Meaning for Modern Man — Page 8
8 the Preface to The Koran Interpreted, the Islamic Scripture is, strictly speaking, untranslatable. Each verse, indeed each phrase, is rich in meaning, has several facets, and must be construed with reference to the context. A faithful paraphrase in keeping with the context is the best that can be attempted. In rendering the Arabic text into English, the author has followed closely the English translation by Maulavi Sher Ali published by the Oriental and Religious Publishing Corporation Ltd. , Rabwah, West Pakistan, under the title The Holy Quran. Incidentally, that translation follows the correct method of numbering the verses. It should be noted that in the Quran, references to Allah often change abruptly from first to third person, but the context makes the meaning clear. The events of the Prophet’s life and his exposition of Islamic values and principles are based upon authentic and well-recognized original sources. As, however, English translations of these are not easily available to the average Western reader, it has not been considered necessary to add references which could serve no difficulty in locating the references in the original biographical works and the six authoritative collections of Traditions. In most instances, modern place names have been used, e. g. Ethiopia, not Abyssinia. In the author’s treatment of the subject, care has been taken to avoid doctrinal differences and