In the Shade of the Quran – (English) – (PB)

“One exception is the retention of the term “”surah””, which indicates a separate and independent part of the Qur’an An obvious English term which may be suggested for it is “”chapter”” But “”chapter”” is inadequate as a substitute for “”Surah”” because a chapter is supposed to deal with a single topic. None of the longer surahs of the Qur’an is confined to the discussion of one single idea. Furthermore, the Arabic term is used to refer to parts of the Qur’an only. No other book is divided into surah, not even the books of the Prophet’s traditions. Since it is a special word in Arabic, its retention in the English edition is unavoidable.
The verses of surahs have been indicated by starting a new line for each verse. Verses, however, do not start with a capital letter except where a verse begins a new sentence. If a verse runs in more than one line the continuity is indicated by giving the second line a wider margin. This arrangement has been followed so as to avoid giving any impression of similarity between the Qur’an and poetry.
Despite the hard work that has been put into this translation of Sayyid Qutb’s work, this English edition is nowhere near the Arabic original for excellence of style and perfection of expression. Whatever shortcomings this edition suffers from, the translators acknowledge as their own. The Author Name(s) is in no way responsible for them. But those who have had some experience in translation, and in the translation of Islamic texts in particular, recognise the difficulty of the task we have undertaken and will acknowledge that, humble as it may be, the result, in some measure, serves the purpose.
As this is the first English volume of “”In the Shade of the Qur’an””, comments on the translation are invited so as to incorporate any useful suggestions in the following volumes.
Finally, the translators wish to record their deep gratitude to Dr. Abdullah Jibril Oyekan who, as editor of The Muslim, gave them immense help and encouragement in the early stages of their work. His suCCessors also deserve our thanks Dr. Carol Miles of King Alfred’s College, Winchester edited the English text with meticulous care and made numerous improvements for which we express our thanks.
M.A.Salahi
A.A.Shamis
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