M. A. S. Abdel Haleem

1930 – · Egyptian / British · Translated to English

SOAS, University of London

Muhammad Abdel Haleem is an Egyptian-born British scholar of Islamic studies and Professor of Islamic Studies at SOAS, University of London, where he founded the Centre of Islamic Studies. His translation, The Qur'an: A New Translation (Oxford University Press, 2004), is noted for its accessible modern English prose and structural reorganisation into paragraph-based units.

13:16
قُلۡ مَن رَّبُّ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَ ٰتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ قُلِ ٱللَّهُۚ قُلۡ أَفَٱتَّخَذۡتُم مِّن دُونِهِۦۤ أَوۡلِیَاۤءَ لَا یَمۡلِكُونَ لِأَنفُسِهِمۡ نَفۡعࣰا وَلَا ضَرࣰّاۚ قُلۡ هَلۡ یَسۡتَوِی ٱلۡأَعۡمَىٰ وَٱلۡبَصِیرُ أَمۡ هَلۡ تَسۡتَوِی ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتُ وَٱلنُّورُۗ أَمۡ جَعَلُوا۟ لِلَّهِ شُرَكَاۤءَ خَلَقُوا۟ كَخَلۡقِهِۦ فَتَشَـٰبَهَ ٱلۡخَلۡقُ عَلَیۡهِمۡۚ قُلِ ٱللَّهُ خَـٰلِقُ كُلِّ شَیۡءࣲ وَهُوَ ٱلۡوَ ٰحِدُ ٱلۡقَهَّـٰرُ ۝١٦
Abdel Haleem
Say [Prophet], ‘Who is Lord of the heavens and the earth?’ Say, ‘God.’ Say, ‘Why do you take protectors other than Him, who can neither benefit nor harm even themselves?’ Say, ‘Are the blind equal to those who can see? And are the depths of darkness equal to the light?’ Have the partners they assign to God created anything like His creation so that their creation is indistinguishable from His? Say, ‘God is the Creator of all things: He is the One, the All Compelling.’
qul man rabbu l-samāwāti wal-arḍi quli l-lahu qul afa-ittakhadhtum min dūnihi awliyāa lā yamlikūna li-anfusihim nafʿan walā ḍarran qul hal yastawī l-aʿmā wal-baṣīru am hal tastawī l-ẓulumātu wal-nūru am jaʿalū lillahi shurakāa khalaqū kakhalqihi fatashābaha l-khalqu ʿalayhim quli l-lahu khāliqu kulli shayin wahuwa l-wāḥidu l-qahār
13:17
أَنزَلَ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَاۤءِ مَاۤءࣰ فَسَالَتۡ أَوۡدِیَةُۢ بِقَدَرِهَا فَٱحۡتَمَلَ ٱلسَّیۡلُ زَبَدࣰا رَّابِیࣰاۖ وَمِمَّا یُوقِدُونَ عَلَیۡهِ فِی ٱلنَّارِ ٱبۡتِغَاۤءَ حِلۡیَةٍ أَوۡ مَتَـٰعࣲ زَبَدࣱ مِّثۡلُهُۥۚ كَذَ ٰلِكَ یَضۡرِبُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلۡحَقَّ وَٱلۡبَـٰطِلَۚ فَأَمَّا ٱلزَّبَدُ فَیَذۡهَبُ جُفَاۤءࣰۖ وَأَمَّا مَا یَنفَعُ ٱلنَّاسَ فَیَمۡكُثُ فِی ٱلۡأَرۡضِۚ كَذَ ٰلِكَ یَضۡرِبُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلۡأَمۡثَالَ ۝١٧
Abdel Haleem
He sends water from the sky that fills riverbeds to overflowing, each according to its measure. The stream carries on its surface a growing layer of froth, like the froth that appears when people melt metals in the fire to make ornaments and tools: in this way God illustrates truth and falsehood- the froth disappears, but what is of benefit to man stays behind- this is how God makes illustrations
anzala mina l-samāi māan fasālat awdiyatun biqadarihā fa-iḥ'tamala l-saylu zabadan rābiyan wamimmā yūqidūna ʿalayhi fī l-nāri ib'tighāa ḥil'yatin aw matāʿin zabadun mith'luhu kadhālika yaḍribu l-lahu l-ḥaqa wal-bāṭila fa-ammā l-zabadu fayadhhabu jufāan wa-ammā mā yanfaʿu l-nāsa fayamkuthu fī l-arḍi kadhālika yaḍribu l-lahu l-amthāl
13:31
وَلَوۡ أَنَّ قُرۡءَانࣰا سُیِّرَتۡ بِهِ ٱلۡجِبَالُ أَوۡ قُطِّعَتۡ بِهِ ٱلۡأَرۡضُ أَوۡ كُلِّمَ بِهِ ٱلۡمَوۡتَىٰۗ بَل لِّلَّهِ ٱلۡأَمۡرُ جَمِیعًاۗ أَفَلَمۡ یَا۟یۡءَسِ ٱلَّذِینَ ءَامَنُوۤا۟ أَن لَّوۡ یَشَاۤءُ ٱللَّهُ لَهَدَى ٱلنَّاسَ جَمِیعࣰاۗ وَلَا یَزَالُ ٱلَّذِینَ كَفَرُوا۟ تُصِیبُهُم بِمَا صَنَعُوا۟ قَارِعَةٌ أَوۡ تَحُلُّ قَرِیبࣰا مِّن دَارِهِمۡ حَتَّىٰ یَأۡتِیَ وَعۡدُ ٱللَّهِۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا یُخۡلِفُ ٱلۡمِیعَادَ ۝٣١
Abdel Haleem
If there were ever to be a Quran with which mountains could be moved, the earth shattered, or the dead made to speak [it would have been this one], but everything is truly in God’s hands. Do the believers not realize that if God had so willed, He could have guided all mankind? As for the disbelievers, because of their misdeeds, disaster will not cease to afflict them or fall close to their homes until God’s promise is fulfilled: God never fails to keep His promise
walaw anna qur'ānan suyyirat bihi l-jibālu aw quṭṭiʿat bihi l-arḍu aw kullima bihi l-mawtā bal lillahi l-amru jamīʿan afalam yāy'asi alladhīna āmanū an law yashāu l-lahu lahadā l-nāsa jamīʿan walā yazālu alladhīna kafarū tuṣībuhum bimā ṣanaʿū qāriʿatun aw taḥullu qarīban min dārihim ḥattā yatiya waʿdu l-lahi inna l-laha lā yukh'lifu l-mīʿād