The translations and notes in De Sacy’s Chrestomathie arabe (Paris; 1826) can also be used to advantage.
Very many valuable articles will be found scattered through the Zeitschrift of the German Oriental Society (hereafter Zdmg), the Journal asiatique (hereafter Ja), the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (hereafter Jras) and the Vienna Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes (hereafter Wz).
It is always worth while to consult the Encyclopædia Britannica.
The best translations of the Qur’an into English are those by E. H. Palmer (2 vols., Oxford; 1880) and J. M. Rodwell (London; 1871). The first more perfectly represents the spirit and tone, and the second more exactly the letter. The commentary added by Sale to his version and his introduction are still useful.
The Thousand and One Nights should be read in its entirety in Arabic or in a translation by every student of Islam. English translation by Lane (incomplete but accurate and with very valuable commentary); Burton (last edition almost complete; 12 vols., London: 1894). Payne’s translation is complete, as is also Burton’s privately printed edition; but, while exceedingly readable, Payne hardly represents the tone of the original. There is an almost complete and very cheap German version by Henning (published by Reclam, Leipzig); Mardrus’ French version is inaccurate and free to such an extent as to make it useless. Galland’s version is a work of genius; but it belongs to French and not to Arabic literature.
R. P. A. Dozy: Essai sur l’histoire de l’islamisme. Leyden, 1879. A readable introduction.
A. Müller: Der Islam im Morgen-und-Abendland. 2 vols. Berlin, 1885, 1887. The best general history of Islam.
Stanley Lane-Poole: The Mohammedan Dynasties; chronological and genealogical tables with historical introductions. Westminster, 1894. An indispensable book for any student of Muslim history.
C. Brockelmann: Geschichte der arabischen Litteratur. 2 vols. Weimar, 1898, 1899. Indispensable for names, dates, and books, but not a history in any true sense.