Apart from the exposition and interpretation of Quranic teaching, which is a vast subject, the critical problems that have preoccupied students of the Qur'ān fall for the most part into four divisions. First there is the question of the origins of the Qur'an in the broadest sense. How did the substance of the book come to be and what sort of material does it constitute? From what kind of roots in the social situation or the personal life of Muhammad does it spring? What is the relation to the literary deposits of other preceding religious traditions? It may be argued that this problem might more properly be considered as an aspect of study of the Prophet since it has to do with the modes of revelation, the nature of prophetic psychology and experience, and the possible prophetic acquaintance with or dependence upon religious writings of Christians and Jews, whether directly or through informants.

Technological inventions in recent decades having so totally revolutionized the nature and extent of communications between various parts of the world, it is difficult to appreciate how severely restricted inter-cultural knowledge was even in the almost immediate past. Translation has always been one of the few media available for the transference of ideas and emotions from one language group to another and, as we shall see, even it has been of remarkably limited range and influence, certainly between the peoples of the Near East and the English-speaking world. Fear and dislike of what is different and therefore seemingly threatening are natural human responses that have governed international relations throughout history; that translation has been and continues to be so limited an influence mitigating such fear and dislike is surely tragic. A brief survey of translation from Arabic to English in previous centuries will hopefully assist us in viewing the range of modern materials available in book form in a proper perspective.