Best English translation of the Quran: the main translations compared

Why translations differ

Quranic Arabic is dense: one word can carry several shades of meaning, and grammar that Arabic leaves implied has to be spelled out in English. Every translator chooses between staying close to the Arabic word order (literal) and writing natural English (idiomatic), and decides how much explanation to add. None of these choices is neutral, which is why reading more than one translation is so useful.

The main English translations compared

Translation	First published	Translator	Style	Good for
Sahih International	1997	Three American Muslim women translators, published in Saudi Arabia	Close to the Arabic, plain modern English, with brackets for added words	Study alongside the Arabic; widely used online
M. A. S. Abdel Haleem	2004	Professor of Islamic Studies at SOAS, University of London; Oxford University Press	Flowing, natural British English with brief notes	Reading for meaning, first-time readers
The Clear Quran, Mustafa Khattab	2015	Canadian-Egyptian imam and scholar	Clear modern English, approved by Al-Azhar	Young readers, reverts, easy reading
Abdullah Yusuf Ali	1934–37	Indian-British scholar	Elevated, old-fashioned English with extensive notes	Readers who like classic style and commentary
Marmaduke Pickthall	1930	English convert and novelist	Literal, King James-style English (“thee”, “thou”)	Literary interest; older readers
Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Qur’an	1980	Austrian-born scholar	Interpretive, with long rationalist notes	Advanced readers; read critically
Al-Hilali and Muhsin Khan	1970s onward	Scholars in Madinah; printed by the King Fahd Complex	Literal, with many explanations added in brackets from tafsir	Readers wanting classical tafsir explanations inline

Dates are for first publication; most have since been revised.

Which one to choose

• Reading next to the Arabic, verse by verse: Sahih International.
• Reading the whole Quran for meaning: Abdel Haleem or The Clear Quran.
• For a child or a new Muslim: The Clear Quran, which also has editions for children; see our Quran classes for reverts.
• To understand the explanations behind verses: a translation with notes, together with an English tafsir book.

The limits of any translation

A translation gives you the meaning but not the sound, the rhythm or the layers of the Arabic. It cannot show you that the same root runs through a whole passage, or that the word order puts the emphasis somewhere English cannot. That is where learning even a little Arabic pays off: just 100 common written words make up more than a third of the Quran’s text; see the most common words in the Quran.

For a step-by-step path from translation to deeper understanding, read how to understand the Quran, and the background in what language the Quran is written in. To study meaning with a teacher, in English or Urdu, see our tafseer classes and our Quranic Arabic course.