This "Interpretation of the Meanings of the Noble Qur'an in the English Language" is the Saudi-approved version, with a Wahhabist bent to its translation and lengthy footnotes. What I find most objectionable is the translators' practice of inserting parenthetical qualifying statements directly into the text — as if the speech of God needed to be improved or clarified by a committee! A particularly outrageous example occurs in the first sura, al-Fatiha. If this is not enough, the translation itself is awkward, graceless English.

In my opinion, any other English version of the Qur'an is to be preferred to this one. However, as the Saudi government continues to distribute innumerable copies, in beautiful bindings with extensive scholarly apparatus, it continues to be highly influential. I have received two different editions myself, without even asking for one. ( )