What is in the Quran? Message of the Quran in Simple English (Abdur Raheem Kidwai)

What is in the Quran? is a simple-English presentation of the meanings of the Qur'an by Abdur Raheem Kidwai, first published in 2013, with a revised and expanded third edition from Viva Books, New Delhi, in 2023. ¹

Kidwai, born in 1956, directs a Qur'anic studies centre at Aligarh Muslim University and holds PhDs in English literature from Aligarh and Leicester; he is known for his reviews of others' translations and for three bibliographies of English Qur'an translations, the first of which (2007), printed by the King Fahd Complex, reviews over seventy. ¹

Kidwai says his work is not strictly a translation but an attempt to present the meaning and message of the Qur'an in simple, fluent English; it seems aimed at readers with limited knowledge of the Islamic tradition or with English as a second language. ¹ For all its simplicity it carries 410 footnotes introducing basic beliefs and concepts, rarely discusses Arabic terms or justifies its choices, and chooses pronouns to fit the context. ¹ Mykhaylo Yakubovych notes its frequent language of gender justice and its references to the Bible and to common ground among the Abrahamic religions. ¹

Yakubovych observes that, although a forerunner of "simple" translations that mostly represents mainstream exegesis, it has not become widely popular, and that Kidwai's reviews of other translations have had more impact than his own. ¹

• Mykhaylo Yakubovych, "Qur'an translation of the week #187", The Global Qur'an, 2024. ¹