The Koran

Vintage Penguin. #L52. A well-known Penguin Classics edition of The Koran, translated by N.J. Dawood and issued under the general editorship of E.V. Rieu. Dawood’s translation—first published in 1956 and revised several times since—aims for clarity and contemporary English while preserving the poetic force of the original text. The edition presents all 114 surahs, offering an accessible introduction to one of the world’s most influential religious works. Penguin’s revised versions typically include brief notes and a concise introduction, making this a reliable and readable copy for students of religion, history or literature. Dawood’s translation remains one of Penguin’s most widely circulated classics, praised for capturing “the thunder and poetry of the original.”.