The Nexus ArchiveFormative text
The Quran
by Quranic Revelation
Marmaduke Pickthall's English translation of the Quran, preserved as a complete source route.
- Brutal
- c. 610 CE
- ~13 hr 30 min read
- 74 chapter guides
- Public domain
Start reading · Read the Surah 1 guide free
Before the text
Editor's Prelude
An Address to the Human Soul
The Quran speaks to people who pray, doubt, quarrel, trade, raise children, and fear death. For Muslims, it is divine revelation given to Muhammad, a text to be recited as well as read. Its central question reaches into ordinary life: what does a person owe the One who gives life, provision, and guidance?
Its chapters, called surahs, do not form one continuous story. A prayer may give way to an argument, a law, a remembered prophet, or a scene of judgment. Familiar figures return in different settings. Repeated phrases give these changes a rhythm and insistence. Mercy and warning often stand close together.
Pickthall’s English uses older forms of speech, but the human stakes are immediate. Wealth can feed a hungry neighbor or become an excuse for pride. A spoken claim can conceal a divided heart. The opening asks for guidance; the final prayers seek refuge. Between them lies a sustained address to human choice, dependence, and responsibility.
The opening pages
Surah 1: Al-Fatiha (The Opening)
1:1 In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
1:2 Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds,
1:3 The Beneficent, the Merciful.
1:4 Master of the Day of Judgment,
1:5 Thee (alone) we worship; Thee (alone) we ask for help.
1:6 Show us the straight path,
1:7 The path of those whom Thou hast favoured; Not the (path) of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray.
Surah 2: Al-Baqara 1-59: Guidance, Adam, and Israel
2:1 Alif. Lam. Mim.
2:2 This is the Scripture whereof there is no doubt, a guidance unto those who ward off (evil).
2:3 Who believe in the Unseen, and establish worship, and spend of that We have bestowed upon them;
2:4 And who believe in that which is revealed unto thee (Muhammad) and that which was revealed before thee, and are certain of the Hereafter.
2:5 These depend on guidance from their Lord. These are the successful.
2:6 As for the Disbelievers, Whether thou warn them or thou warn them not it is all one for them; they believe not.
2:7 Allah hath sealed their hearing and their hearts, and on their eyes there is a covering. Theirs will be an awful doom.
2:8 And of mankind are some who say: We believe in Allah and the Last Day, when they believe not.
2:9 They think to beguile Allah and those who believe, and they beguile none save themselves; but they perceive not.
2:10 In their hearts is a disease, and Allah increaseth their disease. A painful doom is theirs because they lie.
2:11 And when it is said unto them: Make not mischief in the earth, they say: We are peacemakers only.
2:12 Are not they indeed the mischief-makers? But they perceive not.
2:13 And when it is said unto them: believe as the people believe, they say: shall we believe as the foolish believe? are not they indeed the foolish? But they know not.
2:14 And when they fall in with those who believe, they say: We believe; but when they go apart to their devils they declare: Lo! we are with you; verily we did but mock.
2:15 Allah (Himself) doth mock them, leaving them to wander blindly on in their contumacy.
2:16 These are they who purchase error at the price of guidance, so their commerce doth not prosper, neither are they guided.
2:17 Their likeness is as the likeness of one who kindleth fire, and when it sheddeth its light around him Allah taketh away their light and leaveth them in darkness, where they cannot see,
Read it in a Quest
A crossing through sacred discipline, duty, moral formation, mercy, and judgment.
Chapter guides · 74
Surah 1
A Prayer for Guidance
The opening joins trust in divine mercy with the need for guidance.
Praise and dependence
The prayer praises Allah as Lord of the Worlds, the Merciful, and Master of the Day of Judgment. Its speakers turn to Him alone for worship and help.
The request
They ask for the straight path: the way of those who have received His favor, rather than those who face anger or lose their way.
Surah 2: Al-Baqara 1-59: Guidance, Adam, and Israel
Guidance and the Failure to Listen
The passage links guidance with a response and warns that claims of belief can hide refusal.
Belief put to the test
The passage distinguishes believers, deniers, and people whose words conceal their unbelief. In its account of Adam, Allah gives him knowledge, and Iblis refuses to bow before him. The account then describes Adam and his wife disobeying and receiving words of repentance.
Israel reminded
The Children of Israel are reminded of their covenant, rescue from Pharaoh, worship of the calf, pardon, and food in the wilderness. The section ends with another failure to obey: some change the words they were told to say when entering a township, and punishment follows.
Surah 2: Al-Baqara 60-121: Covenant and Warning
Covenant and Religious Claims
The passage holds that religious inheritance does not excuse disobedience or guarantee salvation.
Surah 2: Al-Baqara 122-177: Abraham, Direction, and Righteousness
Prayer Direction and Righteousness
The passage connects the direction of prayer with a wider account of generous and faithful conduct.
Surah 2: Al-Baqara 178-242: Law, Family, and Trust
Duty in Worship and Family Life
The passage sets limits on retaliation, conflict, and the use of power within families.
Surah 2: Al-Baqara 243-286: Striving, Charity, and the Closing Prayer
Divine Power and the Use of Wealth
The passage joins claims about divine power to duties in giving, trade, and debt.
Surah 3: Al-E-Imran 1-63: Revelation, Mary, and Jesus
Mary, Jesus, and Divine Power
Jesus is presented as a messenger whose birth and miracles depend on Allah.
Surah 3: Al-E-Imran 64-120: Argument, Covenant, and Fidelity
Faithfulness Rather Than Religious Pride
The passage disputes religious claims while distinguishing honest people from wrongdoers.
Surah 3: Al-E-Imran 121-200: Trial, Defeat, and Steadfastness
Faith After Defeat
The passage examines faith after battlefield failure, when immediate success can no longer sustain it.
Surah 4: An-Nisa 1-35: Family, Orphans, and Obligation
Property, Marriage, and Household Authority
The passage assigns duties to those who control property and authority within families.
Surah 4: An-Nisa 36-86: Justice, Trust, and Public Conduct
Worship, Judgment, and Ordinary Conduct
The passage tests faith through honest judgment, care for others, and the handling of fear.
Surah 4: An-Nisa 87-113: Allegiance, Conflict, and Judgment
Limits in Conflict
The passage distinguishes enemies from people seeking peace, and mistakes from deliberate wrongdoing.
Surah 4: An-Nisa 114-176: Counsel, Hypocrisy, and Inheritance
Justice, Kinship, and Religious Claims
The passage rejects family loyalty and religious claims as excuses for false judgment.
Surah 5: Al-Maeda 1-50: Covenant, Law, and Justice
Covenants and Just Conduct
The passage connects duty to Allah with justice even toward people one dislikes.
Surah 5: Al-Maeda 51-86: Loyalty, Warning, and Mercy
Loyalty, Disagreement, and Belief
The passage draws firm religious boundaries while making distinctions within the People of the Scripture.
Surah 5: Al-Maeda 87-120: Worship, Witness, and Jesus
Sincere Duty Rather Than Empty Claims
The passage moves from everyday obligations to the final questioning of Jesus.
Surah 6: Al-Anaam 1-73: Signs, Denial, and Return
The Messenger’s Warning and Divine Judgment
The passage answers demands for spectacular signs by stressing the messenger’s warning.
Surah 6: Al-Anaam 74-117: Abraham and the Signs of Creation
Abraham Turns Toward the Creator
Abraham argues that things that rise and set cannot be worshipped as Lord.
Surah 6: Al-Anaam 118-165: False Worship and Final Accountability
Invented Rules and Divine Commands
The passage contrasts fabricated religious restrictions with duties of justice and care.
Surah 7: Al-Araf 1-58: Adam, Warning, and the Heights
Pride, Temptation, and Judgment
The opening stories contrast pride with the willingness to admit wrongdoing.
Surah 7: Al-Araf 59-102: The Earlier Messengers
Messengers Meet Repeated Resistance
The accounts describe powerful communities rejecting warnings about their worship and conduct.
Surah 7: Al-Araf 103-171: Moses, Pharaoh, and Israel
Moses, Deliverance, and Disobedience
The account of Moses joins rescue from oppression to the continuing duty to obey.
Surah 7: Al-Araf 172-206: Covenant, Signs, and Worship
Remembering Rather Than Turning Away
The passage rejects ignorance and inherited custom as excuses for refusing guidance.
Surah 8
Victory, Spoils, and Duty
Disputes over spoils are answered with calls to trust, discipline, and faithful conduct.
Surah 9: Al-Tawba 1-59: Treaty, Conflict, and Loyalty
Broken Treaties and Divided Loyalties
The passage combines commands to fight with duties toward people who keep agreements or seek protection.
Surah 9: Al-Tawba 60-92: Charity, Hypocrisy, and Excuse
Giving and Duty Expose Hypocrisy
The passage distinguishes willing service from public claims that conceal refusal.
Surah 9: Al-Tawba 93-129: Repentance, Testing, and Mercy
Repentance and Honest Conduct
The closing section separates concealed disloyalty from acknowledged failure and repentance.
Surah 10
Belief Before the Final Crisis
The surah contrasts timely trust with belief that arrives only when punishment is unavoidable.
Surah 11
Warnings Repeated, Communities Lost
The stories of earlier messengers are meant to strengthen patience under rejection.
Surah 12
Joseph’s Family Is Brought Together
Betrayal and imprisonment do not prevent the story from ending in recognition and forgiveness.
Surah 13
Images of Truth and Falsehood
The surah uses images of nature to distinguish lasting truth from claims it presents as powerless.
Surah 14
Gratitude and Its Consequences
The surah contrasts grateful trust with pride in gifts that can disappear.
Surah 15
Mercy, Warning, and Reassurance
The surah offers reassurance without removing the consequences of refusal.
Surah 16
Divine Gifts and Grateful Conduct
The surah presents everyday provision as a reason for worship, justice, and faithful promises.
Surah 17
Human Dignity and Just Conduct
The surah joins divine authority to duties that reach into family life, trade, and speech.
Surah 18
The Limits of Human Knowledge
The stories unsettle confidence in wealth, power, and one’s first judgment of events.
Surah 19
Mercy in Unexpected Births
The accounts of John and Jesus present birth, prophecy, and devotion as gifts of divine mercy.
Surah 20
Moses Is Given Help for a Difficult Task
The central account presents a frightened messenger receiving support rather than acting through his own strength.
Surah 21
Messengers, Mortality, and Judgment
The surah answers mockery by joining human messengers to a history of divine help.
Surah 22
Pilgrimage, Sacrifice, and Devotion
Pilgrimage and sacrifice are placed within a wider account of resurrection, justice, and duty.
Surah 23
Faith, Conduct, and the Final Account
The surah links prayer, trustworthiness, and generosity to its account of judgment.
Surah 24
Accusation, Privacy, and Harmful Speech
Rules for accusation, privacy, and worship join the image of divine light to public conduct.
Surah 25
The Messenger and His Followers’ Conduct
The surah answers objections to the messenger before describing faithful servants of the Merciful.
Surah 26
A Repeated Warning Ends with a Distinction
The stories repeat a pattern of rejection, rescue, and judgment, then distinguish revelation from dishonest speech.
Surah 27
Solomon’s Power and Gratitude
Solomon’s account connects extraordinary power with the duty to recognize its source.
Surah 28
Moses and the Limits of Pharaoh’s Power
The account of Moses’ early life contrasts human threats with protection through unexpected people.
Surah 29
Belief Under Trial
The surah calls for endurance and rejects promises that one person can carry another’s guilt.
Surah 30
Roman Defeat and the Promise of Victory
An opening promise of Roman recovery leads into a wider challenge to judging by appearances.
Surah 33
Public Loyalty and Household Duties
The surah moves between a community under siege and rules for the prophet’s family.
Surah 34
Wealth, Power, and Judgment
The accounts of Solomon and Sheba turn prosperity into a test of gratitude.
Surah 35
Creation and Its Creator
The surah contrasts human need with divine power, knowledge, and mercy.
Surah 36
Creation and the Promise of Resurrection
The surah answers disbelief in resurrection through stories, signs, and a final challenge.
Surah 37
Abraham’s Test and the Prophets’ Submission
Accounts of prophets and their peoples lead back to the claim that Allah alone is Lord.
Surah 38
Authority, Testing, and Repentance
The central examples place powerful servants under divine judgment and guidance.
Surah 39
Mercy, Repentance, and Judgment
The invitation to seek forgiveness stands beside a warning against waiting until rescue is impossible.
Surah 40
A Believer Speaks Against Pharaoh’s Violence
The account gives a dissenting voice to a man within Pharaoh’s own family.
Surah 41
Refusal, Witness, and Answering Evil
The passage contrasts a guarded heart with the willingness to answer evil through good.
Surah 42
Revelation, Counsel, and the Response to Wrong
The surah joins a shared history of revelation to duties within a believing community.
Surah 43
Wealth, Rank, and the Messenger
The surah challenges the belief that a messenger must display wealth or worldly rank.
Surah 46
The Warning Reaches Beyond Human Hearers
The surah links rejection among human communities with belief among a company of jinn.
Surah 49
Belief, Speech, and Conduct
The surah places careful speech, fair treatment, and honest commitment above claims of status.
Surah 55
A Question That Keeps Returning
The repeated question about denied favors links gifts of life with the surah’s warning of judgment.
Surah 56
Three Outcomes at the Event
The surah divides humanity into the foremost, those on the right, and those on the left.
Surah 57
Wealth, Giving, and Divine Sovereignty
Giving is placed within a larger account of divine sovereignty and human limits.
Surah 67
Sovereignty, Provision, and Human Dependence
The surah uses creation and daily provision to challenge the belief that human security is self-made.
Surah 78
The Day of Decision
The surah moves from images of everyday provision to a gathering in which deeds determine outcomes.
Surah 87
Worldly Life and the Hereafter
The surah calls for praise and remembrance rather than a preference for immediate comforts.
Surah 93
Reassurance and Duties to Others
The surah turns reassurance and remembered care into a call to generosity.
Surah 96
Learning, Pride, and Obstructed Worship
The gift of learning is contrasted with the pride that obstructs another person’s worship.
Surah 103
Faith and Mutual Exhortation
The surah joins faith to good work and mutual exhortation.
Surah 109
A Firm Boundary in Worship
The speaker refuses to exchange or combine the objects of worship.
Surah 112
Divine Oneness Without Parentage or Equal
Four verses state Allah’s uniqueness in direct terms.
Surah 113
A Prayer for Protection from Harm
The speaker seeks refuge in the Lord of Daybreak.
Surah 114
Refuge from the Whisper Within
The final prayer asks protection from evil that reaches the human heart.
Questions readers ask
- How long does it take to read The Quran?
- About 13 hr 30 min in total.
- How difficult is The Quran?
- Brutal. A long text; about 14 hours of reading.
- Which translation is this?
- The Marmaduke William Pickthall translation from the Arabic. The text follows The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930).
- Can I read The Quran for free?
- The Quran is part of Nexus Premium, so reading it needs an account and a Premium subscription, and completing an earlier Quest's Mastery. The opening above and two chapter guides on this page are free to read.
- How many chapter guides are there?
- 74 chapter guides, written by the Nexus editors. Two open in full here; the rest show their opening line.
Source text: public domain. Chapter guides: original Nexus writing. The Quran is part of The Nexus Archive, guided Quests through the great works.