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Richard Bell (1876 – 1952) was a British
Arabist An Arabist is someone, often but not always from outside the Arab world, who specialises in the study of the Arabic language and culture (usually including Arabic literature). Origins Arabists began in medieval Muslim Spain, which lay on t ...
. He was lecturer in
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...
at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 158 ...
and also served as Minister of Newton Wamphray, a small country parish from 1907 to 1921. On returning to Edinburgh, he spent his remaining years at the university in the study of the
Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...
. Between 1937 and 1939 he published a translation of the Qur'an, and in 1953 his ''Introduction to the Qur'an'' was published (revised in 1970 by
W. Montgomery Watt William Montgomery Watt (14 March 1909 – 24 October 2006) was a Scottish Orientalist, historian, academic and Anglican priest. From 1964 to 1979, he was Professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at the University of Edinburgh. Watt was one of ...
). Both works have been influential in Quranic studies in the west. Reading the Quran with Richard Bell
/ref> He was an early investigator of Christian influences on the development of Islam.


Works

*''The Qur'an. Translated, with a critical re-arrangement of the Surahs'' 2 vols, Edinburgh University Press, 1937–39 *''The Origin of Islam in its Christian Environment'' The Gunning Lectures. Edinburgh University Press, 1925 *''Introduction to the Qurʾān'' Islamic Surveys 8. Edinburgh University Press, 1953, revised by W. Montgomery Watt 1970, new edition 1995


External links

*
The Qur’ān
available online (first edition 1937/1939, ''T. & T. Clark'', Edinburgh).


References

British Arabists Translators of the Quran into English Scottish orientalists Scottish translators Academics of the University of Edinburgh 1876 births 1952 deaths {{Quran-translator-stub