Thank you, Sam, a very good insight into nuances that can be gleaned from a knowledge of the Arabic and its root system. My own interest in trying to learn the Arabic was partly the belief that all great literature is best in its own language, secondly, a challenge to see if I could learn to read this language that is almost no points of contact with English. Of course, I also hoped that I might appreciate the Quran more deeply and even at my elementary level this has been true in that I can read the simpler short surahs that come at the end of the book, and there is something very pleasing about the rhythmic flow of the Arabic. Being in the senior age group, I don't expect to reach anything like proficiency so I'm grateful for your translation and all the marvellous help on reader.quranite.com. I also like Arberry, who seems to have invented a sort of 'arabicised' English just to give a sense of the flow of the Arabic.
Thank you, Sam, a very good insight into nuances that can be gleaned from a knowledge of the Arabic and its root system. My own interest in trying to learn the Arabic was partly the belief that all great literature is best in its own language, secondly, a challenge to see if I could learn to read this language that is almost no points of contact with English. Of course, I also hoped that I might appreciate the Quran more deeply and even at my elementary level this has been true in that I can read the simpler short surahs that come at the end of the book, and there is something very pleasing about the rhythmic flow of the Arabic. Being in the senior age group, I don't expect to reach anything like proficiency so I'm grateful for your translation and all the marvellous help on reader.quranite.com. I also like Arberry, who seems to have invented a sort of 'arabicised' English just to give a sense of the flow of the Arabic.