The Quran was revealed by God Almighty to Prophet Muhammad in Classical Arabic language, as confirmed by God Himself in the Quran:

An Arabic Quran without any crookedness so that hopefully they may be reverent. 39:28
 

The people alive during the time of Prophet Muhammad spoke Arabic, and thus, the Quran was revealed in Arabic so that the people could comprehend it. 

 

We have made it easy and in your tongue so that they may be reminded. 44:58

 

Since those who don’t speak Arabic must rely on translations, it is imperative that the non-Arabic speakers find a reliable translation that is most true to the original Arabic text.
 

So where do we start with our search on finding the most accurate English translation? A good place to start would be to work out which English translations were based straight from the Arabic words of God Almighty Himself, rather than a different translation in another language.

 

There is currently a list of 18 names on Wikipedia of those who have translated the Quran directly into English from the original Arabic text: 

 

1. George Sale, 1734, Koran, Commonly called The Alcoran of Mohammed.

George Sale (1697–1736) was a British Orientalist scholar and the first to translate the Arabic Quran directly into English, although still relied heavily on a Latin translation. 

 

2. John Meadows Rodwell, 1861, The Koran.

John Medows Rodwell (1808–1900) was an Anglican cleric of the Church of England and an Islamic studies scholar.

 

3. E.H. Palmer, 1880, The Qur’an: The Sacred Books of the East Part Nine.

Edward Henry Palmer (1840 – 1882) was born in Cambridge and was an English explorer and orientalist, especially in Persian and Hindustani.

 

4. Mohammad Abdul Hakim Khan, 1905, The Holy Qurʾan with a commentary.

Dr. Abdul Hakim Khan holds the enviable distinction of being the first Muslim English translator of the Quran. He lived in early twentieth century British India and was a physician by profession.

 

5. Hairat Dehlawi, 1912, The Koran Prepared, Delhi.

Mirza Hairat Dehlavi (1868 - 1928) was born as Muhammad Umrao Baig in India in 1868. He was a little known Urdu and Persian scholar. He also translated the hadith books of Bukhari, Mishkat, and Darmi in Urdu.

 

6. Mírzá Abu’l-Faḍl, 1911, The Qur’an, Arabic Text and English Translation Arranged Chronologically with an Abstract, Allahabad.

Mírzá Muḥammad Gulpáygání, (1844 - 1914) better known as Mírzá Abu’l-Faḍl Gulpáygáni was a Persian Bahá’í who was a respected scholar of Islam prior to becoming a Bahá’í.

 

7. Maulana Muhammad Ali, 1917. The Holy Qur’an: Text.

Muhammad Ali (1874 - 1951) was a British Indian, a writer, scholar, and leading figure of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement.

 

8. Hafiz Ghulam Sarwar, 1929, Translation of the Holy Qur’an, Singapore and Woking, England.

Hafiz Ghulam Sarwar (1873 - 1954) was of Indian origin who served in the Malayan Civil Service of the British colonial empire. He was also Mufti of Penang and served as District Judge of Singapore.

 

9. Marmaduke Pickthall, 1930, The Meaning of the Glorious Qu’ran.

Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall, born Marmaduke William Pickthall (1875 – 1936) was an English novelist and Islamic scholar, born in London.

 

10. Abdullah Yusuf Ali, 1934, The Meaning of the Holy Qur’an, Lahore.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali (1872 – 1953) was an Indian British barrister who wrote several books about Islam.

 

11. Maulvi Sher Ali, 1936, The Holy Quran with English translation.

Maulvi Sher Ali Ranjha (1875 – 1947) was a prominent Ahmadi scholar from the Ranjah clan of (Bhera, Sargodha District, modern day-Pakistan.

 

12. Richard Bell, 1937-39, The Qur’an. Translated, with a critical re-arrangement of the Surahs.

Richard Bell (1876 – 1952) was a British Arabist. He was an Arabic lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and served as Minister of Newton Wamphray.

 

13. Abdul Majid Daryabadi, 1941, The Holy Qur’an, English Translation, Lahore,

Mawlānā Abdul Majid Daryabadi (1892 – 1977) was an Islamic scholar, philosopher, writer, critic, researcher, journalist, and Quranic exegete active in the Indian subcontinent during the 20th century.

 

14. Arthur John Arberry, 1955, The Koran Interpreted: A Translation,

Arthur John Arberry (1905 - 1969) was born in the United Kingdom and was a British scholar of Arabic literature, Persian studies and Islamic studies.

 

15. N. J. Dawood, 1956, The Koran,

Nessim Joseph Dawood (1927 – 2014) was born in Baghdad to a Jewish family and was an Iraqi Jewish translator, best known for his translation of the Quran.

 

16. Khadim Rahmani Nuri, 1964. The Running Commentary of the Holy Qur-an,

Dr. Khadim Rahmani Nuri was an Indian Muslim and lived in a small town of Shillong, India.

 

17. Muhammad Zafrulla Khan, 1970, “The Qur’an: The Eternal Revelation vouchsafed to Muhammad the Seal of the Prophets”,

Muhammad Zafrulla Khan (1893 - 1985) was born in Sialkot, India. He was a Pakistani politician, diplomat, and international jurist, known particularly for his representation of Pakistan at the United Nations (UN).

 

18. Muhammad Asad, 1980, The Message of The Qur’an.

Muhammad Asad (1900 – 1992) was an Austro-Hungarian Muslim who lived in modern day Ukraine. He worked as a journalist, traveller, writer, political theorist, and diplomat who also translated the Bukhari hadiths with commentary.

 

After researching about these 18 English translators and their backgrounds, we discover none were even native in the Arabic language!

 

Some were not even native English speakers either, meaning English and Arabic were their second and third learnt languages!

 

Naturally, the most accurate translation would have to be native in the Arabic language, as in, Arabic was their first language. 

 

In 1989, Dr. Rashad Khalifa was the 19th person to translate the Arabic Quran into English. He was the first translator of native Arabic tongue, which contributes to the clarity and accuracy of his translation.

 

19. Rashad Khalifa 1989. Quran: The Final Testament.

Dr. Rashad Khalifa (1935 - 1990) was born in the Arab Republic of Egypt. He was a Muslim scientist and computer expert who immigrated to the United States in 1959.

 

“In 1968, I realized that the existing English translations of the Quran did not present the truthful message of God's Final Testament... When I saw the truth of God's word thus distorted, I decided to translate the Quran, at least for the benefit of my own children.” - Rashad Khalifa 

 

Although not perfect, Rashad Khalifa’s English translation was excellent in providing us with God’s true message of the Quran, a significant improvement from all previous translations.

 

He was the first to correctly translate verse 17:46 as “Quran alone” when all others have incorrectly and misleadingly translated the words to mean “Lord alone”.

 

And We have placed veils over their hearts so that they would not understand it, and deafness in their ears. And when you commemorate your Lord, in the QURAN ALONE, they turn their backs in aversion. 17:46​​​​​​​​