Q: I know that when reading the quran one should know what they are reading and understand the meaning. I am interested in reading the quran and the meaning as well. However, I can’t seem to find the right definitions to  go off of. Some of them are too complicated and other don’t make complete sense to me. What type of translator do you recommend to read that is easy to understand.
Time: Sunday April 10, 2011 at 9:18 am

A: For a lay person to best understand the quran, they must start with basics, salah, zakat, kindness on all levels and in the rights places and times, etc. The Quran has a special Light that radiates from it. The Noor (Light) of the Quran fully permeates into the heart of the one that follows it when they think of it, hear it or interact with it on every level.
Once your intention is firm that you wish to change from within, merely find a good tafseer or better yet, a good scholar that you trust and listen to his tafseer while you driving, etc. Listen to a given CD over and over till you can follow what needs to be followed. Listening and not following is a sign of hypocrisy and True knowledge is never given to a hypocrite.
I am not a big fan of picking up and reading just every tafseer. This is a specialty field that should read by those that are into the ‘domain’ of tafseer. (Just as i do not expect anyone to pick up books written by scientists in a technical field and later spout out a correct interpretation.)
Stick to basics to build yourself up to this ‘higher’ level. This would not only apply to you, it would apply to those of us that fall in the ‘supposed scholar’ scholar as well.
More then the dependence on a translator, go to a good human that is qualified within the field. When you seek good, Allah (SWT) would show show you to His pathway, Ameen.

Allah Certainly Knows Best.