Short answer
You can read a translation to understand the meaning, and you are rewarded for learning. But a translation is not the Quran itself: the reward of recitation for each letter, and recitation in salah, belong to the Arabic. The best path is to read the translation and also learn to recite the Arabic, even slowly.
Reading a translation is permissible and good as study of the meaning, but it is not tilawah (recitation of the Quran). Reciting a translation in place of the Arabic in salah is not valid for someone able to learn the Arabic, according to the relied-upon Hanafi position; Imam Abu Hanifa is reported to have withdrawn his earlier allowance of this.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Allah sent the Quran down as an Arabic Quran (12:2). Its wording is part of the miracle, so every translation is a human attempt at the meaning, shaped by the translator's choices. This is why the four schools agree that a translation does not take the place of the Arabic in the prayer, and why the special reward of recitation is tied to the Arabic words.
That reward is large and within reach of beginners. The Prophet ﷺ said that whoever reads one letter of the Book of Allah earns a good deed, multiplied ten times. He also said that a person who struggles and stumbles through the Quran, finding it hard, gets two rewards.
- For salah, learn Surah al-Fatiha and a few short surahs in Arabic first.
- Use transliteration as a bridge while you learn the letters with the Noorani Qaida.
- Keep reading a trusted translation alongside, so you understand what you recite.
New Muslims can find a step by step path in the new Muslim guide. See also reading the Quran without understanding.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Yusuf 12:2
إِنَّآ أَنزَلْنَٰهُ قُرْءَٰنًا عَرَبِيًّۭا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ ﴿٢﴾
Indeed, We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur'an that you might understand.
The Quran is the Arabic revelation; a translation conveys its meaning but is not the Quran itself.
Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2910
Graded sahih... من قرأ حرفا من كتاب الله فله به حسنة والحسنة بعشر أمثالها ...
"Whoever reads a letter from the Book of Allah has a good deed for it, and a good deed is multiplied ten times."
The reward of recitation is attached to the letters of the Arabic text.
Sahih Muslim 798
Sahih... والذي يقرأ القرآن ويتتعتع فيه وهو عليه شاق له أجران ...
"The one who reads the Quran and stumbles over it, finding it difficult, has two rewards."
Encourages beginners to recite the Arabic even when it is hard.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Salah, chapter on the description of prayer. The discussion of reciting in Persian in salah and Abu Hanifa's reported withdrawal of his allowance.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Salah, chapter on the description of prayer. The relied-upon position that a translation does not count as the recitation of the Quran.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.