For the first time, in one, book, are the three most popular English translations of the Qur'an: the ones by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Marmaduke Pickthall, and Muhammad Habib Shakir. Two of them, Abdullah Yusuf Ali and Muhammad Habib Shakir are Arabic scholars with impressive credentials, while the third is an English convert to Islam, with equally impressive credentials. For the first time, the Qur'anic reader can compare different translations of the Qur'an, and come away with a better understanding of the Arabic original. * * * Along with the Jewish Torah and the Christian Bible, the Islamic Koran (Al-Qur'an) is one of the most important books in the world, with over 1.5 billion followers across the globe. Unlike the Torah and the Bible, though, the Qur'an has rarely been translated to other languages. While there are several English translations of the Qur'an, most bookstores carry only one, not realizing that more than one is available. * * * Why is this important? Because translating between languages is as much an art as a linguistic science. Certain Arabic phrases and words have no direct translation to English and the translator must carefully choose how he translates that phrase or word, lest the reader come away with an incorrect understanding of what was written originally.