1911 Rare Book - The Coran. Quran, Its Composition and Teaching by William Muir

Author: Sir William Muir.
Title: The Corân: Its Composition and Teaching; and the Testimony it Bears to the Holy Scriptures.
Publisher: London, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1911.
Language: Text in English, with quoted passages in Arabic.
Size: 6.5 X 5 inches.
Pages: 239 pages + publisher's add.
Binding: Attractive and very good, near fine, publisher’s original green cloth binding, decoratively stamped in black and gilt on the spine and upper board. Gilt Arabic script and English title on front cover; spine gilt-lettered and labeled “Non-Christian Religious Systems.” (hinges fine, overall slightly scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. 
Content: Very good content (bright and tight, rare light foxing and staining - as shown). 

The book: This is the 1911 reprint of Sir William Muir’s controversial but historically significant analysis of the Qur’an, published as part of the Non-Christian Religious Systems series under the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. It presents Muir’s Christian missionary-influenced critique and exposition of the Qur’an, its compilation, doctrines, and its points of contact with Judeo-Christian scripture. While his interpretations are shaped by 19th-century colonial and theological biases, the work remains a notable example of early Western scholarly attempts to engage with Islamic texts. The edition includes original Arabic passages from the Qur’an and their English translations, supplemented by commentary from classical Muslim scholars such as Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti.

The author: Sir William Muir (1819–1905) was a British colonial administrator, scholar, and historian of early Islam. Educated at Haileybury and Edinburgh, Muir served in the Bengal Civil Service and later became the Lieutenant Governor of the North-Western Provinces of British India. He is best known for his work The Life of Mahomet (1858–1861), which, like this book, reflects the orientalist scholarship and theological concerns of Victorian Britain. His writings played a central role in shaping Western views of Islam in the 19th century, though they are now often critiqued for their apologetic and polemical tone.