The Message of the Qur'an
By Muhammad Asad
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This is a translation of the Qur'an by Muhammad Asad, a European who lived with the Bedouin in the 1920s and became one of the most influential representatives of Islam to the West. It is available as a Kindle book, but you can also access it for free by going to al-quran.info and selecting the translation by Muhammad Asad.
You do not need to read the entire Qur'an, but we recommend browsing through to get a feel of what it is like. Read Surah Yusuf for a different rendition of the story of Joseph covered in Genesis last month. Unlike the Bible, the surahs (chapters) of the Qur'an are not organized in chronological order, and the longer ones many stories and subjects. Many of the most beautiful and iconic surahs are towards the end, where most of the short surahs are clustered.
Muslims traditionally experience the Qur'an in Arabic, and both calligraphy and Qur'anic recitation have been elevated to sublime art forms in Islamic tradition. We suggest checking out Islamic calligraphy on Pinterest or Google Photos, and looking up a recitation or two on YouTube as a complement to your exploration.