When so many translations of, and commentaries on, the Holy Qur'an already exist, a desire for spiritual blessing and grace is not in itself sufficient justification for undertaking a fresh venture in this field. The effort will only be worthwhile if it fills gaps left by earlier works, or satisfies some unmet need felt by those interested in studying the Holy Book. The principal aims throughout have been to help the reader to acquire a clear grasp of the Qur'an, to clarify ambiguities that he may encounter in his study, and to solve problems that may arise in his mind. It is for the reader to judge how far these aims have been achieved.

Most English translations of the Qur'an make particularly lifeless reading because, following the biblical pattern, the translation of each verse is numbered and begins on a new line. It will soon become obvious that the impact is nothing like that created by reading a coherent and continuous text.

As already pointed out, every surah of the Qur'an is, in fact, a segment of speech, revealed at a certain stage of the Islamic Ummah (nation). Each revelation was occasioned by the demands of certain circumstances, and had certain purposes to fulfill. Every surah is so vitally linked with its situational background and its circumstantial setting that anyone reading a mere verbal translation divorced from its context, would fail to appreciate many of the points being made. It, therefore, also seems reasonable to occasionally add a few words in such a way that the translated text reflects the situational context, even if only to a very limited extent, and thus renders the passages more comprehensive and more meaningful to the reader.

Consideration of these shortcomings has led me to attempt what I would prefer to call an explanatory Tafseer or interpretative exposition, rather than a literal translation. In other words, I have not tried to render the Arabic text of the Qur'an into another language. Instead I have tried to express in my own words, and as faithfully as possible, the meaning conveyed to me by the Qur'anic passages and the impression they make upon me.