I am not sure as it is acceptable in Islam and will be interested to find out!

I've heard that the Arabic version is the "perfect" version, a copy of which is kept in heaven, and that translations are only approximations to varying degrees.

I imagine it would be better if you don't speak Arabic.

Just as a general rule, any book is always better in the native language in which it is written. That's why we have the expression "lost in translation". Different languages, and different cultures, have completely different ways of expressing things.

I have never read either version so cannot give an honest opinion. The translated version of very few books are as accurate or as good as the original.

Specifically I don't know...but most translations cannot express the nuances of another language.

Reading for understanding - use translations, there are many in English. Various sites offer free copies. Here's one http://www.allahsquran.com/. Popular English translations used to be those by Marmaduke Pickthall (archaic English, more veered towards literal linguistic translation) and Yusuf Ali (more leaning towards rendering meaning, lots of background information in appendices and lots of footnotes) Nowadays many other translations have sprung up - response to increased demands perhaps. Reading as an act of devotion or in the daily prayers - has to be only in the language of revelation. Hope it helps.

I read both english and arabic. It is always better to read the Koran in the arabic language (if you understand arabic) - though you may want to read the english translation next to it so see how the translator has interpreted the Koran. - The koran has rhyme and rhythm, this is lost when you translate to another language. - The Koran uses words in arabic that have double meanings (an english example would be 'present'), the translator may interpret it one way when the real meaning is the other (or even more: the meaning may require both words!) - metaphores when translated, can lose/change their meaning - terms that are still not understood may be translated differently (e.g. 1000yrs ago everyone said the sun went round the earth, but the Koran explicitly says that the earth goes round the sun. a translator in the past, may be unwilling to write the translation as "the earth moves round the sun" etc...

Equally! Arabic is a Semitic tongue and a brother of both Armenian, Greek and Hebrew!

No! I can read & understand both English & Arabic and have read the Koran in both languages simultaneously & compared them. - The Arabic version has rhyme & rhythm that is lost completely when translated to English. - The Arabic version has Arabic metaphores that are lost/make no sense when translated to English. - The Arabic version mentions things (sometimes literally) that humans still do not understand and when translated to English, the meaning can come out silly. etc... There is some use in reading it in English: though rhyme/rhythm/metaphors/unknowns are lost, tales from the past & their morals, speech on the supernatural can still make sense and be understood.

I am learning arabic to properly read the Qur'an, I have a copy in english but my understanding of the differences is in the literal transative difference. One example: Take neither Jew nor Christian as a friend" is the English translated phrase, but in Arabic Awliyah is the word for "friend" however, Awliyah has 3 other literal translations. One of those is correct in context being "guardian". This passage was stating that, if you could help it, don't let a Jew or a Christian take control of you as they would impose their beliefs on you and make you unable to practice Islamic traditions. The english translation sounds very aggressive and violent and pushes us into iraq...the other is very passive and tells people to live their lives for themselves. There are huge differences in the translation.

sure

reading it sure... but i've heard that reading it in Arabic and knowing the meaning of it is a very nice experience

you always lose the flavor of the text when you take it from its original language. but if you cannot, then do your best with various translations in english. some translations are better than others but none of them are quite the same.

In addition to all the opinions above, the quran has literal meanings and interpretation. Translation normally is a bit of both. The interpretation of the Quranic verses in Arabic is so vast, that even native speakers don't know much of it. However, the verses that constitute the basic of the Islamic Believe (which are few by the way) are very clear, either in Arabic or any translated language.

This is an interesting matter of contention. Certainly, any writing is BEST understood in its original language. However, many Muslims assert loudly and repeatedly that the Koran is only the real Koran in Arabic, and should (some say must) be read and recited in Arabic. Many go so far as to say that a translation can only give a slight hint to the true meaning of the Koran. (Oddly enough, this is not claimed about any other Arabic literature. Apparently this translation abberation only occurs with the Koran or the Hadiths.) This presents many problems given their theology. They believe that the word of Yahweh (Allah) became corrupted to the point that Yahweh had to correct it through His last and most important prophet, Muhammad. This word is to go out to all people on the Earth. Yet, it can only be truly read, recited, and understood by those speaking Arabic? Why would Yahweh do this? Is Yahweh a monoglot (speaking or knowing only a single language)? Out of thousands of languages, and previously preferring Hebrew, did Yahweh suddenly find an overwhelming, singular affinity for Arabic? Did Yahweh suddenly change His racism (He was always racist.) and stop preferring Jews and begin preferring Arabs? Does Yahweh expect everyone to start speaking Arabic suddenly, or does He simply not care whether or not non-Arabs worship Him? Why would Yahweh chose to reveal His word through an illiterate Arab who could never pass on His words to the non-arabophone world? In other words: Why would Yahweh send His universal message of truth to the world in a non-universal language without any hope of it ever being rendered in any other language? The assertion is absurd.

I'm a persain muslim girl. I can read Koran in both Arabi and Farsi language but I prefer English version.

ofcourse !!! the rhyme and rhythm will be lost due to the translation

if english is the only language you know or it will clarify a meaning for you then i quess it would be a good idea to read it in english. i myself started reading it in a koran which had half the page divided in arabic and english till i was good enough to read in arabic only and now i have started to learn some verses by heart.

its better in Arabic, because its the way God said it to the prophit (PBUH), plus the Qur'an is a miracl!! even we Arabic speakers cant totaly understand it, umm i dont know how to explain this *hehe* :p ,, the bottem line is its better in Arabic cuz this is the way Allah said it and its rhyme perfectly :p

Apparently, not everybody thinks so. A link to a story about 2 men sentenced to death for an improper translation. http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Religion/?id=1.0.2278563042

The Quran (Koran) was revealed to prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in Arabic and it is the very exact words of Allah (God) preserved since then word by word letter by letter. The english version is not the same Quran (Koran) but it is only the translation of the meaning of the arabic words in the Quran.

Any translation of any book necessarily loses something during translation. However if you know English well, it's better to read it in English than to try to learn Arabic and then read it in Arabic. It would take a long time for you to learn all the finer points of the language in order to get a full understanding.

What about the part where it says that men are superior to women? Is that lost in translation too? I have just started reading the english version and having reached "Repentence" I have to say that some of the content is shocking and also very contradictory. I would stress though I am not a muslim or indeed relegious in anyway but am reading it with a completly open mind. The book seems more about threats from god to beleive than actually having faith...please nobody take offence

So if you don't speak arabic then you can't read it? (and thus become an unbeliever) Seems like the kind of thing a reasonable god would do

According to some scolers and imams they say if you don't understand Arabic you can never fully understand the koran.

no, the Arabic version is amazing, and the words cannot be translated as well, they do a good job though, but defiantly not as good as reading it in Arabic

Bear in mind that the Jews were not called 'jews' till after the fall of the Northern Kingdom nor did they speak Hebrew till later, but were originally Aramaic speakers. The word for "god" in Aramaic is "Alaha", not yahweh. therefore when you read the Septuaguint (the oldest surviving version of the OT) meaning "70" in Koine greek (written on the orders of the High Priest Eleazaar for the 2nd king of the Ptolomey Empire around 3rdCentury BC) it is a concontion of Elohist and Yahwist literature. Elohist literature is OT script where the word for "god" was "Elohim"(translation "The Great God" or "Allah hu Akbar") and the Elohist lived in the Northern Kingdom (later Samaria) which fell to the disbelievers whenever it was and became just like the Romans, Greeks, Assyrians and Medes ie polytheistic idol-worshippers etc. The only group left lived in Judea (ie the tribe of Judah and remainants of the tribes of Levite and Benjamites), who called "god" "Yahweh". Thus they were the only people whose religion was quite unlike anybody else in the world so they became known as "jews" following "judaism" and living in a "jewish" manner. prior to that it was not called that, and if the Prophet Moses(pbuh) was hear now and you asked him if he was a "jew" and taught "judaism" he would never have heard of these phrases and words. They turned up after all the other lands and tribes had been vanquished (dan, asher, gad, etc). The Prophets Abraham, Isaac, Jacob(pbut), their wives and children came (according to the bible) from Aram, otherwise refered to as 'Aram-Narhair' or 'Aram of the Two Rivers' (Nile and Euphrates) founded by the son of the Prophet Noah (pbuh) called Aram. He founded a city called Aram or Iram (Iram of the Lofty Pillars) and the people in that land spoke Aramaic. hence why the Israeli flag is blue white blue with the star of david in the middle. The two blue are the two rivers, and the white bit with the star is the land they are after -Aram-Narhair (the original land). Unfortunately is in lower turkey, Eygpt, Lebanon, Syria, parts of Iraq and Iran and was given the the sons of the Prophet Ishmael(pbuh) while the Israelite were given somewhere in Palestine. They want it, but it aint gonna happen!

It is said that you must recite the Quran but it is better if you understand it as well. So you can recite it in the native language but if you do not know how to speak Arabic you can take the translated versions. But remember recitation in it's original form is essential.