The Meaning of Life

The first translation of the Qur’an into English was done in 1649, that’s over a thousand years after our Prophet passed away! But it was only in 1930 when a translation was done by a Muslim thus greatly reducing misconceptions and wrong representations in the earlier translations. The latest one, definitely one to be read, is written by Professor Haleem, who is the professor of Islamic studies at University of London. Written in a clear and flowing language, it is most helpful as most of us nowadays being educated in English tend to think in English. Hence reading a Malay translation, which yours truly got one since the age of 12, is at times quite difficult to grasp. This English translation does help. When it was launched, the Archbishop of Canterbury was amongst those who conveyed his delight at its publication, making the Qur’an more widely and more reliably available to those who do not know Arabic. The Archbishop, who is the principal leader of the Church of England, however is facing a different limelight right now. He is facing demands to quit as the row over sharia law intensified, where he calls for some of the Islamic law to be brought into the British legal system, making the British public angry and the highly provocative British media machine springing into action.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._A._S._Abdel_Haleem