The short answer
The central scripture of Islam, received by Muslims as divine revelation in Arabic. Its recitation, ethical address, and theological claims belong together.
Islam · Primary text
The reading guide
An English translation is an interpretation of the Arabic text. Tafsir adds a further layer of commentary; neither should silently replace the source.
Reading lens: symbolic and religious interpretation; historical details are identified through the sources below.
What this text is doing
The Quran is received by Muslims as revelation in Arabic and encountered through recitation as well as reading. Its surahs address worship, accountability, mercy, social obligations, and the stories of earlier prophets. An English rendering helps a newcomer begin, but it remains a named translator’s interpretation.
An opening address
Al-Fatiha is a prayer as well as an entry point. Read slowly before trying to reduce the whole collection to a topical index.
Narrative and moral address
Surah Yusuf sustains a narrative, while other surahs move rapidly between reminder, argument, and ethical demand. The change in form is part of the experience.
Recitation and commentary
Listen alongside the Arabic text and a named translation. Tafsir can explain setting and interpretation; keep it distinct from the verses themselves.
Keep in mind: What does a translation make legible, and what does recitation convey that the page cannot?
Choose an edition
Use Quran.com with a named translation and consult tafsir for context. Record the surah and verse when citing a passage.
A path through the book
Al-Fatihah
Begin with the opening chapter and its place in prayer.
Maryam and Yusuf
Read sustained narratives with commentary.
A guided full reading
Use a study edition to follow recurring themes across surahs.
Sources & editions
- Quran.com: text and translations ↗
Edition and reading reference.
An editorial reading guide with original summaries and source links. Modern translations remain the work of their named translators.
Read alongside
At a glance
- Origin
- Symbolic. Received, in Muslim belief, by the Prophet Muhammad over about 23 years (c. 610–632 CE) in Mecca and Medina; the standard written codex is associated with the caliph Uthman, c. 650 CE
- Language
- Established. Classical Arabic
- Form
- Established. 114 surahs of unequal length, about 6,236 verses in the most common (Kufan) count; divided into 30 juz' for recitation
- First full reading
- Experiential. 12–20 hours in English; many Muslims recite the whole in Arabic over Ramadan, one juz' a day
Translation quoted on this page
The Meaning of the Glorious Koran: An Explanatory Translation — Marmaduke Pickthall, 1930
Rights ledger: recorded as a public-domain translation. First published in 1930 (New York: Knopf; London: Allen & Unwin). The passages here were checked against the 1938 Hyderabad printing reproduced by the Internet Sacred Text Archive; wording can differ slightly between printings. Pickthall died in 1936, so the translation has been public domain in life-plus-70 countries since 2007, and the United States term for works published in 1930 ended on 31 December 2025. The archive's older notice that the text is not public domain in the US predates that expiry.
Listen, then read Ad-Duha
20 minutesListen twice to a recitation of Surah 93 (Ad-Duha) in Arabic, following the Arabic script if you can, before reading any English. Then read Pickthall's verses 1–11 aloud. Write the three 'Did He not find thee' questions in one column and the three 'Therefor' commands beside them, and note which mercy is matched to which obligation. Finally, read the same surah in one modern translation and write down one word or phrase where the two English versions differ, and what the difference changes.
Key Insights
- Arabic remains central to the text’s religious life.
- Translation choices affect the reading of key concepts.
- A verse’s surrounding discourse matters for interpretation.
Quotes Worth Remembering
6 passages in Marmaduke Pickthall’s 1930 translation, each linked to the page it was checked against. Other translations word these lines differently.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, The Beneficent, the Merciful. Master of the Day of Judgment, Thee (alone) we worship; Thee (alone) we ask for help. Show us the straight path, The path of those whom Thou hast favoured; Not the (path) of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray.
Surah 1 (Al-Fatiha), verses 1–7
The whole opening surah, recited in every unit of the daily prayer, so a Muslim may say these seven verses dozens of times a day.
Marmaduke Pickthall, 1930 · check the source ↗
Warfare is ordained for you, though it is hateful unto you; but it may happen that ye hate a thing which is good for you, and it may happen that ye love a thing which is bad for you. Allah knoweth, ye know not.
Surah 2 (Al-Baqarah), verse 216
A hard Medinan verse addressed to a community under threat; it has to be read with its historical setting and with tafsir, and it closes on a limit to human judgment.
Marmaduke Pickthall, 1930 · check the source ↗
Allah! There is no God save Him, the Alive, the Eternal. Neither slumber nor sleep overtaketh Him. Unto Him belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth. Who is he that intercedeth with Him save by His leave ? He knoweth that which is in front of them and that which is behind them, while they encompass nothing of His knowledge save what He will. His throne includeth the heavens and the earth, and He is never weary of preserving them. He is the Sublime, the Tremendous. There is no compulsion in religion. The right direction is henceforth distinct from error. And he who rejecteth false deities and believeth in Allah hath grasped a firm handhold which will never break. Allah is Hearer, Knower.
Surah 2 (Al-Baqarah), verses 255–256 (Ayat al-Kursi and the verse that follows)
The Throne Verse is among the most memorised passages in the Quran; reading it with the next verse shows a statement about God's sovereignty followed directly by a statement about human choice.
Marmaduke Pickthall, 1930 · check the source ↗
Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The similitude of His light is as a niche wherein is a lamp. The lamp is in a glass. The glass is as it were a shining star. (This lamp is) kindled from a blessed tree, an olive neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil would almost glow forth (of itself) though no fire touched it. Light upon light. Allah guideth unto His light whom He will. And Allah speaketh to mankind in allegories, for Allah is Knower of all things.
Surah 24 (An-Nur), verse 35
The Light Verse sits inside a surah largely concerned with law and household conduct, and it names its own method: God speaks in similitudes.
Marmaduke Pickthall, 1930 · check the source ↗
O mankind! Lo! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. Lo! the noblest of you, in the sight of Allah, is the best in conduct. Lo! Allah is Knower, Aware.
Surah 49 (Al-Hujurat), verse 13
Addressed to all humankind rather than to believers only, the verse makes conduct, not lineage, the measure of standing before God.
Marmaduke Pickthall, 1930 · check the source ↗
Did He not find thee an orphan and protect (thee) ? Did He not find thee wandering and direct (thee) ? Did He not find thee destitute and enrich (thee) ? Therefor the orphan oppress not, Therefor the beggar drive not away, Therefor of the bounty of thy Lord be thy discourse.
Surah 93 (Ad-Duha), verses 6–11
An early Meccan surah addressed to the Prophet, in which three remembered mercies become three obligations toward the vulnerable.
Marmaduke Pickthall, 1930 · check the source ↗
Editorial reading map
An editorial reading map. Each row names a place to start, with the idea to carry and a short summary. Read the text itself for its own order.
01The opening (surah 1)
A seven-verse prayer placed before the rest of the book.
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Al-Fatiha praises God, names the Day of Judgment, and asks for guidance on the straight path. It is recited in every unit of the ritual prayer. Its position at the front is not chronological; many traditional reports place it among the early revelations, and Muslims often call it the mother of the book.
02The long surahs (surahs 2–9)
Extended, mostly Medinan surahs that address a growing community.
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Al-Baqarah, Al Imran, An-Nisa, and Al-Ma'idah combine law, worship, family obligations, and argument with Jews and Christians about earlier revelation. Classical scholars call a group of these 'the seven long ones', though authorities differ on exactly which surahs belong in it. Al-Baqarah alone, the longest surah, contains the Throne Verse (2:255). Surah 9, At-Tawbah, is the only surah that does not open with the basmala.
03The surahs of about a hundred verses (from surah 10)
Largely Meccan surahs in which the stories of earlier prophets carry the argument.
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Classical scholars call the next grouping al-mi'un, surahs of roughly a hundred verses or more; its boundaries vary between authorities. Yunus, Hud, and Yusuf tell of Noah, Moses, Joseph, and others as warnings and consolations. Yusuf (12) is the Quran's one sustained single narrative, while Al-Kahf (18) and Maryam (19) gather several stories, including those of Mary and Jesus.
04The oft-repeated surahs (the mathani)
Middle-length surahs that mix Meccan reminder with Medinan instruction.
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The traditional name al-mathani covers surahs shorter than the mi'un and longer than the final group; scholars disagree on the exact list. This stretch includes An-Nur (24), a Medinan surah on household law that holds the Light Verse, and Ya-Sin (36), widely recited for the dying and the dead. Reading straight through, a newcomer meets abrupt changes of address and subject, which classical commentators treat as part of the Quran's style.
05The separated surahs (from surah 49 or 50)
Shorter surahs, often divided by the basmala, recited frequently in prayer.
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Al-mufassal, 'the separated', begins at Al-Hujurat (49) or Qaf (50), depending on the authority. Al-Hujurat sets rules of speech and conduct for the Medinan community and ends with the verse on nations and tribes (49:13). Ar-Rahman (55) is built on a repeated refrain, and Al-Mulk (67) is commonly recited at night.
06The final thirtieth: Juz' 'Amma (surahs 78–114)
Short, mostly Meccan surahs that many Muslims memorise first.
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The last of the thirty equal parts (juz') used to pace recitation holds thirty-seven short surahs. Most are early Meccan: compressed oaths, images of the last day, and personal address to the Prophet, as in Ad-Duha (93) and Ash-Sharh (94). The book closes with Al-Ikhlas (112), a statement of God's oneness, and the two surahs of refuge (113–114).
Best For
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the Quran be translated?
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Many Muslims hold that it cannot, in the full sense: the Quran is understood as God's speech revealed in Arabic, and its sound, rhyme, and wording are considered part of the revelation and of its inimitability (i'jaz). An English version is therefore usually presented as a translation of the meanings, which is why Pickthall called his book 'The Meaning of the Glorious Koran'. Ritual prayer is performed in Arabic, and recitation, not the printed translation, is how most Muslims first encounter the text.
Which English translation of the Quran should I read?
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Pickthall (1930) is public domain and close to the Arabic, but its archaic English and 'Lo!' can feel distant. Widely used modern versions include M.A.S. Abdel Haleem (Oxford, 2004), The Study Quran (ed. Seyyed Hossein Nasr et al., 2015) with commentary, and Sahih International. Whatever you choose, cite surah and verse and check a second translation before building an argument on one English word.
Why is the Quran not in chronological order?
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The surahs are arranged, broadly, from longest to shortest after the opening Al-Fatiha, not in order of revelation. Muslim tradition holds that the arrangement follows the Prophet's instruction, and the standard written codex is associated with the caliph Uthman (c. 650 CE). Surahs are labelled Meccan or Medinan by their traditional setting, and scholars, Muslim and non-Muslim, debate the dating of individual passages.
Where should a beginner start reading the Quran?
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Start with Al-Fatiha, then read several short surahs from the final juz' (78–114) while listening to them recited in Arabic. Next, read a narrative surah such as Yusuf (12) or Maryam (19) with a commentary. Al-Baqarah is better read after that, because its length and legal material make it a difficult first entry.
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