This is the best translation into Modern English that I have seen of Islam's sacred, eternal, and unchangeable text. The introduction, while useful, skirts the question of WHEN the original was actually written down, trotting out the "traditional" ("it is claimed/believed that....") view that it was compiled within months of the death of Muhammad in 632 CE. There is at least a footnote, steering attentive, less credulous readers in the direction of modern, mainly German, attempts to enquire into the historicity of the Qur'an. Introductory notes to each Surah give some context, and footnotes elucidate this inconsistent, opaque, repetitive set of oral revelations further. A sketch map of Arabia is of limited utility, but better than nothing. The index is far from thorough, but is better than some translations with NO index.