Der Koran

The translation, whose essential intention was to provide an authentic insight into the earliest origins of Islam, is not complete, like the translations by Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall, Friedrich Rückert, and Hubert Grimme, as Martin Klamroth also focuses on those surahs that were revealed before the migration from Mecca to Medina. The order of the fifty surahs chosen by the translator does not entirely align with the proposals of Theodor Nöldeke from his "History of the Qur'an." Martin Klamroth profitably precedes each surah translation with historical introductions that generally correspond to the interpretations of Islamic tradition. In his perspective, the biography of the Prophet Muhammad is reflected in the text of the Quran. The appendix to this book presents the content of the untranslated Meccan surahs, while the Medinan surahs are not considered. Martin Klamroth was a German high school teacher, Arabist, and historian of mathematics. He studied theology and Oriental studies in Tübingen, Göttingen, and Strasbourg. In Strasbourg, he attended lectures by Theodor Nöldeke, who had been active there since 1872 and established modern critical Quran research with his work. Theodor Nöldeke reviewed Martin Klamroth's book very positively.