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The Muslim Institute is honoured to host Professors M.A.R. Habib and Bruce B Lawrence at a specially organised book launch of their new and ground-breaking work: The Qur'an: A Verse Translation. Chair: Farhana Mayer.
"This must be the most beautiful translation of the Qur'an ever, being the first attempt to produce a verse rendition of the final divine revelation to humankind. It is both impressively poetic and accurate. It also includes an elaborate introduction, furnishing insightful background to the Islamic Holy Book". - Dr. Ahmad Elezabi, Director General, Al-Azhar Center for Translation, University of Al-Azhar, Cairo, Egypt
"The Qur’an: A Verse Translation captures the imagery and lyricism of the Sacred Text superbly, while renovating the language of earlier translations. An extraordinary achievement, it will be my go-to translation from now on". - Ziauddin Sardar, author, founder and trustee of The Muslim Institute
Published on 1 March, the product of a ten-year collaboration, the ground-breaking The Qur’an: A Verse Translation offers readers the first edition in English to echo, in accessible and resonant verse, the sonorous beauty of the Arabic original as well as the complex nuances of its meaning.
Rendering the entire text of the Qur’an into verse may seem controversial but Professors Lawrence and Habib have spent considerable time and effort over the last decade making the case to teachers, scholars and experts that the “out loud” virtues of the Qur’an in Arabic deserve to be honoured in English. The Qur’an: A Verse Translation is the first edition in English that strikes a perfect balance between sound and sense.
This special event, organised by the Muslim Institute in conjunction with publishers W. W. Norton & Company, will be a unique opportunity to hear these USA based authors and collaborators talk about this immense undertaking, why they embarked upon it and what they want the reader, Muslim and non-Muslim, to gain from it. The evening will include an introductory conversation, readings from the text and a question and answer session.
This London event will take place in the beautiful library at Conway Hall, the historic meeting place just a few minutes walk from Holborn underground station.
Teas and coffees will be served. The event is by invitation only. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
Hardback copies of The Qur'an: A Verse Translation will be on sale at a special 30% discount. Cost on the night: £22.40
M.A.R. Habib is a Distinguished Professor of English at Rutgers University. Among his many books is a volume of poetry, Shades of Islam: Poems for a New Century (2010). He lives in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
Bruce B. Lawrence is the Marcus Family Humanities Professor of Religion Emeritus at Duke University and adjunct professor at the Alliance of Civilizations Institute, Ibn Haldun University, Istanbul. He is the author, coauthor, or editor of sixteen books about Islam, including The Koran in English: A Biography (2017). He lives in Hillsborough, North Carolina.
The event will be chaired by Farhana Mayer.
Farhana Mayer is a published author in her field of Qur’anic Hermeneutics. Her latest publication An Introduction to Qur’anic Ecology and Resonances with Laudato Si’ (Laudato Si’ Research Institute | Randeree Charitable Trust, 2023) compares Qur’anic principles applicable to integral ecology with the themes of Pope Francis’ ecological epistle Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home. Her earlier publications include: Spiritual Gems: The Mystical Qur'an Commentary Ascribed to Ja`far al-Sadiq (Louisville, Fons Vitae, 2011) and Anthology of Qur’anic Commentaries: On the Nature of the Divine with F. Hamza and S. Rizvi (Oxford, Oxford University Press | Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2008). Her recent research at Oxford University explores a Qur’anic perspective on the qualitative and ontological relationship between God and humankind. Farhana was formerly a lecturer in Sufism at SOAS (2010–2012) and also at the Institute of Ismaili Studies (in Sufism and Qur’anic Exegesis), where she headed the Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities (2012–2015). She has a long-standing involvement in interfaith dialogue and promoting understanding and cooperation.
For more information email [email protected]