QUR'AN; SALE, George (trans.).

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The Koran, Commonly called The Alcoran of Mohammed, Translated into English immediately from the Original Arabic; First edition of the first English translation of the Qur'an direct from the Arabic, the basis of all subsequent English editions for the next hundred years. Sale's edition was lauded by such figures as Gibbon and Voltaire and remained a valued piece of Middle Eastern scholarship until well into the 20th century. George Sale (c.1696-1736) neglected a promising legal career to pursue his oriental studies. He believed Muhammad sincere in his intentions, which earned him criticism from some of his contemporaries, and his edition also includes an extensive 187-page study of all that was known of Islam in Georgian England, making it "a landmark in the history of Qur'anic studies" (Holt, p. 58).Gibbon's treatment of Arabian history and Islam in the Decline and Fall relied heavily on Sale, while Edward Said praised his efforts to "deal with Arab history in terms of Arab sources" and to "let Muslim commentators on the sacred text speak for themselves" (p. 117).

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