N.J. Dawood is the editor and translator who wrote the Introduction for The Koran (or Qu’an, meaning Recital) is the collection of revelations to Muhammad from God. In 2006 Amazon.com listed 11 books by Dawood.

Dawood says, “Their collection was completed during the caliphate of ‘Umar, the second Caliph and an authorized version was established during the caliphate of ‘Uthman, his successor (644-56). To this day this version is regarded by believers as the authoritative Word of God. But, owing to the fact that the kufic script in which the Koran was originally written contained no vowels or diacritical points, variant readings are recognized by Muslims as of equal authority.” This Penguin Classic version by N.J. Dawood was recommended to me by a Muslim (a former student here at Iowa State University in Ames, IA) as an “accurate” English translation. It follows the traditional order of the 114 surahs (chapters): by length, beginning with the longest. He suggested to me a particular reading order – not chronological (which is hard to establish) but by topic.

I have read The Koran three times, as he suggested. Surahs of Abraham, Moses, and other OT men differ in significant ways from the OT, especially surahs involving Jesus. What struck me forcefully was that the Koran is a consistent call to fear and obey God. What follows any lack of fear and obedience is eternal damnation. What follows strict obedience is less clear: rewards beyond one’s imagination. The theme of God’s love seldom occurs, as it is overwhelmed by the theme of the fear of God. On my third reading, I noted how seldom God’s love appeared: 12 times God “loves ….” and 9 times God “does not love….” Unlike the Bible I found very little to inspire me, but I did find much to make it clear how the Koran can be used as a weapon to “inspire” Islamic fundamentalists to become terrorists. I’m glad I read it thrice, but I suggest one read it from end to beginning, from shortest to longest. I now feel that a version with significant commentary (as we have with the New Interpreters Study Bible that uses the NRSV with Apocrypha) would be a better choice.