Daily Wisdom

The book under review consists of 365 selected passages of the Holy Qur’an covering the whole year. This attractive presentation engages the reader in daily reflection with the passages linked to a particular aspect necessary to learn and practise in one’s daily life. The selections are mainly from the following surahs (chapters): al-Baqarah (2), al-Nisa’ (4), Bani Isra’il (17), al-Natil (16), which cover 30, 20, 20, and 17 days each respectively. While al-An[am (6) and al-A[raf (7) cover 10 days each; Yunus (10), al-Mu’minun (23), al-Rum (30), al-Zumar (39), and al-Jathiyah (45) cover 9 days each; al-Kahf (18), TaHa (20), al- Hajj (22), and Luqman (31) cover 8 days each; and a number of others cover a week – like Hud (11), Al-Ra[d (13), and Al-Furqan (25) less than a week: from 6/5 days to a single day.

The author points out that there are ‘more than 60 complete English translations of the Qur’an’. But as they are addressed mostly to ‘more specialist readerships’, presupposing some ‘background knowledge of comparative religion, theology, history, geography, and of Qur’anic Arabic terms’, the present selection of Qur’anic Daily Wisdom, rather than presenting a literal translation of the Qur’an, presents and paraphrases these selected Qur’anic passages in an uncomplicated, simple and straightforward English while ‘striving to retain its original message’. (p. vii)