The Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University

Citation of Books Detail

Click here to return to the main list

Author QuotedA.J. (Arthur John) Arberry
Title QuotedKoran interpreted
Date (Year/Month/Day)1965/11/07
Imprint 
QuotationOn the other hand I am quite sure that at least one letter of mine must have gone astray. I am certain that I wrote acknowledging the gift of Arberry's translation of the Koran which I find excellent, and I even gave an explanation of why I thought it would not be right for me to chant the Koran daily, as I do not know how this ought to be done properly, and I would not want to simply go in for improvisation in so serious a matter. It seems to me that here again, my task is rather to chant the sacred books of my own tradition, the Psalms, the Prophets, etc., since I know the proper way of doing this. But on the other hand I read the Koran with deep attention and reverence.
Quotation SourceThe Hidden Ground of Love: The Letters of Thomas Merton on Religious Experience and Social Concerns.; Selected and edited by William H. Shannon. / New York : Farrar Straus Giroux. 1985, p. 61
Letter toAbdul Aziz
Notes 
Link to Merton's Copy  

(If there is a link above showing up as a number, click it to open another window with a full text version.)