Thomas Jefferson’s Qur’an and the history carried by a two-volume book

The Qur’an associated with Thomas Jefferson is a two-volume English translation published in London in 1764. Today it is preserved at the Library of Congress. Its history involves a young reader studying law, the rebuilding of a national library, and a much later congressional ceremony that gave the book renewed public visibility.

Monticello’s research identifies the edition as George Sale’s translation, originally issued in 1734 and reprinted in the edition Jefferson owned. A Williamsburg bookseller’s daybook records his purchase in 1765. That document is a useful anchor because it establishes an ordinary transaction behind an object often surrounded by sweeping claims.

An object with a documented journey

Jefferson acquired the book while studying law with George Wythe. Monticello notes that it became part of the collection sold to Congress in 1815. The Library subsequently rebound the volumes in 1918. These dates describe different stages in the physical life of the object and should remain distinct in a caption or timeline.

An eighteenth-century book may therefore contain bindings added much later. When looking at a photograph, distinguish the printed text from the current cover and other features of conservation or rebinding. The visible object can preserve several moments at once.

The Library’s catalog record provides the edition details needed to identify the work. Those bibliographic facts are especially valuable when an online image is presented simply as “Jefferson’s Qur’an.” Another copy of the same edition might look similar while having a different ownership history.

Ownership and interpretation

Owning a religious book establishes that it belonged to a library. Understanding how its owner read or used it requires additional evidence. Jefferson’s broader intellectual interests and the place of religion in his catalog help situate the volumes, but the book alone cannot answer every question about his beliefs.

The English translation also represents a particular European encounter with Islam. Readers interested in the text should notice the translator and publication context rather than treating the edition as an unmediated presentation of the Arabic Qur’an. Its historical significance includes the way knowledge traveled through translation.

For Muslim American history, the book opens a discussion about Islam’s place in early American intellectual and political life. That discussion becomes stronger when placed beside the writings of enslaved African Muslims. Together, such objects reveal markedly different relationships to language, religion, freedom, and access to the historical record.

The volumes also reveal a difference between the history of a text and the history of a particular copy. Sale's translation first appeared in 1734; Jefferson's edition was printed thirty years later. His 1765 purchase came before the Declaration of Independence, while its transfer to Congress followed the destruction of the earlier congressional library during the War of 1812. Monticello's research follows that ownership trail. The same printed words thus moved from a private law student's reading to a public institution charged with preserving national knowledge.

The 2007 ceremony

In January 2007, Representative Keith Ellison used the Jefferson volumes during a ceremonial swearing-in. The Library of Congress documented the event and the books’ movement from its collection. The word “ceremonial” is important because the photographed occasion should be distinguished from the formal oath taken by members together on the House floor.

The event brought an eighteenth-century acquisition into a contemporary debate about American belonging. A historic object became part of a public image of a Muslim officeholder. Readers can examine that later use without assuming that the book had always carried the same political meaning.

The Library’s account also explains that the volumes were part of the collection housed in the Capitol before the opening of the separate Library building in 1897. This detail makes the book’s institutional journey tangible. It occupied different rooms and served different readers long before it appeared in widely circulated modern photographs.

Explore it carefully

Start with the catalog record and compare its title, date, translator, and format with the museum or exhibition label. Then consult Monticello’s research for the purchase evidence and the Library’s account of the congressional ceremony.

If planning a visit, check the current exhibition information directly with the Library. A famous object may be digitized, placed on temporary display, or subject to conservation-related access limits. Historical exhibition pages establish that a display occurred, while current visitor information establishes whether it can be seen today.

For an article or school project, useful images include the title page, a view of the two volumes, and the original catalog entry when its reproduction terms permit. Each should be captioned for what it actually shows.

The book’s power as a historical source comes from this specificity. Publication, purchase, preservation, and later public use can all be traced. Following those stages gives readers a firmer understanding than relying on a single photograph or a claim detached from the evidence.

Sources & further reading 4 sources

1. Monticello encyclopedia
2. Library of Congress catalog record
3. Library of Congress ceremonial oath account
4. Library of Congress exhibition