Carl W. Ernst 
How to Read the Qur’an [PDF ebook] 
A New Guide, with Select Translations

With new translations of 725 verses, this compact introduction and reader’s guide to the Qur’an gives non-Arabic speakers the most precise translations available together with the tools they need to understand the text. It deals with sensitive issues regarding the interpretation of sacred texts and helps students to understand the differing points of view and major debates. A substantial explanatory introduction summarises the historical and literary issues and engages with the religious and political context of understanding the Qur’an today, including an appreciation of the ritual and oral uses of text.