Introduction to Reading the Quran by Muhammad Hamidullah

A publisher asked Professor Muhammad Hamidullah to translate the Koran, on the recommendation of Louis Massignon. At first, he refused, claiming that French was not his native language. However, he changed his mind, fearing that someone with bad intentions would do it for him. A very short time was given to him. Thus in six months he translated the Koran, which was published in 1959. Louis Massignon will testify to the quality of his work with these words:

“The major interest that this translation of the Koran presents is that it is the thoughtful and mature work of a Muslim, a thinker and a believer whom this Holy Book concerns personally. He lives from it, he wants to transpose it into French as he recites it in Arabic; with naked faith. His French sentences are as strict a copy as possible of the Arabic grammatical structure, particularly independent and capricious, of the sacred text. »

This historical translation was preceded by an introductory note to the reading of the Koran, which reviews everything you need to know to understand Islam and the history of the Koran. He discusses the Revelation and these different types, the history of the conservation of the Koran and the Sunna, compares the Holy Book to previous revelations and in a few lines teaches us the life of the Prophet.

The translations are numerous today, it seemed judicious to us to propose to the readers, whether they are Muslims or not, this introduction to the reading of the Koran so that they are accompanied by the rich teachings of our late Professor, that Allah have mercy on him.