Majaribio ya kunasa uzuri wa Qur'ani kwa tafsiri zisizo na mipaka au za kiholela pia ni ya kiburi, yanapotosha, na yamehukumiwa kushindwa. "Simfonia isiyoigika, ambayo sauti zake zenyewe huwasukuma watu hadi kulia na kufikia furaha kuu" 26 ipo tu katika lugha ya Kiarabu.
Attempts to catch the charm of the Qur’aan in loose or free translations are also presumptuous, misleading, and doomed to failure. “The inimitable symphony, the very sounds of which move men to tears and ecstasy” 26 exists only in the Arabic.
Mafanikio yoyote, hata kidogo, yatawafanya wasomaji waamini kwamba wanauonja Qur'aan, ilhali kwa kweli wanaonja hisia za mtafsiri na ustadi wake wa kifasihi. Hata madai ya kutafsiri maana za Qur'aan ni ya uongo, kwa sababu mwandishi wa tafsiri hizo huchagua maana anazoona zinafaa kwa maneno ya Kiarabu yenye maana zaidi ya moja, na kwa maneno ambayo hayana kisawe katika lugha nyingine. Pia huchagua kati ya maana halisi na maana ya kimafumbo, na hutafsiri ile anayoiona inafaa. Kwa hakika, tafsiri zote ni tafsiri za maelezo (tafseer), baadhi zikiwa sahihi zaidi kuliko nyingine.
Any degree of success will only dupe readers into thinking that they are experiencing the Qur’aan, whereas in reality, they are experiencing the feelings of the translator and his literary skills. Even claims to translations of the Qur’aan’s meanings are false because the author of such translations chooses meanings which he feels are appropriate in the case of Arabic words which have more than one meaning and words which have no non-Arabic equivalent. He also chooses between literal and figurative meanings and translates the one which he considers appropriate. All translations are in fact tafseers, some more accurate than others.
Mara nyingi tafsiri za Kiingereza za Qur'ani huorodhesha katika utangulizi wao majina ya tafsiri za kitamaduni na kamusi za lugha ambazo zilitegemewa. Hili linaweza kuonekana jambo dogo sana, lakini likiwekwa kwa namna nyingine tofauti hiyo ingeonekana wazi zaidi. Mufassir husema kwa namna ya kufafanua, kana kwamba anasema: "Hiki ndicho ninachoelewa kutoka katika aya." Mtafsiri husema kana kwamba ameshaelewa kikamilifu maana ya aya na kuitafsiri, kana kwamba anasema: "Hiki ndicho maana ya aya." Tofauti kati ya njia hizi mbili ni kubwa sana. Kwa hiyo, watafsiri wanapaswa kusisitiza katika dibaji zao na vichwa vya kazi zao kwamba hii ni ufahamu wao binafsi wa Qur'ani. Huenda njia bora zaidi kwa mtafsiri ingekuwa kutafsiri tu maandishi ya msingi ya tafsiri za kitamaduni, kwa kutumia maelezo ya chini ya ukurasa kueleza maana nyingine zinazowezekana na muktadha wa vifungu pale inapohitajika.
Most translations list in their forewords the names of the classical tafseers and lexicons on which they relied. This may seem to be a very fine point, but if it were put in another way perhaps the difference would be more obvious. The mufassir speaks in an explanatory way as if to say: “This is what I understand from the verse.” The translator speaks as if he has completely understood the verse’s meaning and translated it as if to say: “This is what the verse means.” The difference between the two approaches is quite vast. Hence, translators should emphasize in their prefaces and titles the fact that this is their personal understanding of the Qur’aan. Perhaps the best approach for a translator would be to simply translate the basic text of the classical tafseers using footnotes to explain other possible meanings and the context of the passages where necessary.
Hii haimaanishi kwamba "tafsiri" zilizopo hazina thamani yoyote kabisa, na kwamba wale wasioelewa Kiarabu wanapaswa kuacha kuzisoma. Tafsiri zilizopo zinatumika kufikisha ujumbe mkuu wa Qur-aan kwa wale ambao hawawezi kuupata kutoka kwenye Qur-aan yenyewe. Hata hivyo, msomaji anapaswa kukumbuka kwamba anachosoma si tafsiri ya Qur-aan wala maana yake yote, bali ni maelezo tu kwa lugha nyingine. Kujifunza Kiarabu kwa kiwango chochote kinachowezekana kunapaswa kuwa miongoni mwa malengo ya Waislamu wote, ili waweze kuisikia kauli ya Allaah kama ilivyoteremshwa hasa.
This is not to say that existing “translations” are of no value whatsoever and that those who do not understand the Arabic should stop reading them. Existing “translations” serve to convey the basic message of the Qur’aan to those who cannot get it from the Qur’aan themselves. However, the reader should bear in mind that what he or she is reading is not a translation of the Qur’aan or all of its meaning, but only an explanation in another language. Learning Arabic to whatever degree possible should be among the goals of all Muslims in order that they may hear Allaah’s words exactly as they were revealed.