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 Arab culture, culture (usually including Arabic literature). Origins Arabists began in Al Andalus, medieval Muslim ...

. He was lecturer in Arabic at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

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, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

. 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). 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 20th-century Scottish translators Academics of the University of Edinburgh 1876 births 1952 deaths {{Quran-translator-stub