Books on Islam: Arabic-French Qurans with phonetics, stories of the prophets, Sufism and introductions. Clear, well-made editions to read and share.
Our books on Islam are written for believers, for people discovering this religion and for children. You will find bilingual Qurans, accounts of the lives of the prophets, works on Sufism and introductory books. They present the beliefs, practices and history of Islam. An introductory book explains, for example, the five pillars: the declaration of faith, prayer, almsgiving, fasting during Ramadan and the pilgrimage to Mecca.
The Quran is the holy book of Muslims. It has 114 surahs, that is, 114 chapters, divided into verses. For Muslims, it was revealed in Arabic to the Prophet Muhammad over a period of about 23 years. The first surah, al-Fatiha, has seven verses and is recited in every prayer.
The stories of the prophets tell of the lives of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, as presented by the Muslim tradition. The collection by Ibn Kathir, a fourteenth-century scholar, is one of the most widely read. Editions for children tell these stories with illustrations, without depicting the prophets, out of respect for tradition.
Sufism is the mystical path of Islam. It seeks to bring the believer closer to God through prayer, meditation and poetry. Rumi and Farid al-Din Attar, author of “The Conference of the Birds“, are among its great figures.
An Arabic-French Quran presents the Arabic text and its French translation, often side by side. With phonetics, it adds a third column: the Arabic words written in Latin letters. This way you can read the text aloud without yet knowing the Arabic alphabet.
Look at the translator’s name. The translation by Muhammad Hamidullah, published in 1959, is one of the most widespread in French. Other well-known translations are those by Denise Masson and Jacques Berque. Each translation makes different choices of words: the preface explains the method followed.
Check the legibility. A reasonably large Arabic font, with the vowels marked, makes reading easier. Some editions use colours to mark the rules of recitation, known as tajwid. These colours show, for example, which letters to lengthen or to pronounce through the nose.
Finally, choose the format. A pocket format slips into a bag. A large format is easier to read at home, resting on a stand. A hardback cover or a leatherette one protects the pages better over the years. For a child, choose an edition in large letters gathering the short surahs from the end of the Quran, often the first ones learned.
Many Muslims treat the Quran with great respect. They touch it after performing their ablutions and keep it up high, above other books. They also avoid placing it directly on the floor.
For reading, a folding wooden stand, called a rehal, holds the book open at a good height. It comes in olive wood or carved wood and folds away flat. It avoids damaging the binding by opening the book too flat. A fabric cover or a box protects the Quran from dust between readings.
Keep your books away from sunlight and damp, which yellow and warp the paper. An old or heavily used copy can be entrusted to a bookbinder, who will redo its cover and re-sew its pages. A fabric bookmark saves you from folding down pages to find your place.
These books sit well alongside Rumi’s poems, in our oriental novels and poetry section. To read the Quran without phonetics, our Arabic methods teach the alphabet step by step. You can also browse all our oriental books.
