The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary
| Part of a series on |
| Translations of the Quran into English |
|---|
 |
| By Sunnis |
| Hilali / Khan Marmaduke Pickthall, 1930 Abdullah Yusuf Ali, 1934 Ahmed Raza Khan Mohammed Knut Bernström Ali Ünal Muhammad Asad |
| By Shi'as |
| Mir Ahmed Ali Mohammed Habib Shakir |
| By Ahmadis |
| Maulvi Sher Ali Muhammad Zafarullah Khan Maulana Muhammad Ali |
| By non-Muslims |
| Robert of Ketton, 12th century Sieur du Ryer, 1647 John Medows Rodwell, 1861 A. J. Arberry, 1955 Thomas Cleary |
The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary is an English translation of the Qur'an by Indian Muslim civil servant Abdullah Yusuf Ali (1872–1953). It has become among the most widely known English translations of the Qur'an, due in part to its prodigious use of footnotes, and its distribution and subsidization from Saudi Arabian beneficiaries during the 20th century.[1]
Contents |
[edit] History
Ali began his translation in the 1920s, after he had retired from the Civil Service and settled in the United Kingdom.
The translation was first published in 1934 by Sh. Muhammad Ashraf Publishers of Lahore, India (later Pakistan), one of the major Islamic publishing houses still in business today. The original translation was in its third edition at the time of Ali's death.
- Ali, Abdullah Yusuf (1934). The Holy Qur-ān: English Translation & Commentary (With Arabic Text) (1st ed.). Kashmiri Bazar, Lahore: Shaik Muhammad Ashraf.
- Ali, Abdullah Yusuf (1938). The Holy Qur-an: Text, Translation & Commentary (3rd ed.). Kashmiri Bazar, Lahore: Shaik Muhammad Ashraf.
[edit] Saudi sponsorship
In 1980, the Saudi religious establishment felt the need for a reliable English translation and exegesis of the Qur'an to be made available for the increasing English language readership across the globe. After researching the various translations in print at the time, four high-level committees under the General Presidency of the Department of Islamic Research chose Yusuf Ali's translation and commentary as the best available for publication. After significant revisions, a large Hardback edition was printed in 1985 by the King Fahd Holy Qur'an Printing Complex of Saudi Arabia, according to Royal Decree No. 12412. This edition served as the officially sanctioned English translation of the Saudi religious establishment, until it was replaced by the Noble Qur'an Translation upon the later's arrival in the marketplace.
[edit] Amana editions
The translation established its pre-eminent position in the North American market when Amana Publications of Maryland reprinted the original edition in 1977, retitling it as The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an. Originally printed in paperback in two volumes, it was consolidated into a single hardback edition in 1983.
In 1989, Amana introduced a revised "New Fourth Edition" featuring revision of the translation and commentary undertaken with the help of the International Institute of Islamic Thought.[2] The New Revised Amana print is currently in its 11th edition, dated May 2004.
The Islamic Foundation of UK released an 'English Only' hardback edition in 2005, which features both the translation and commentary without the accompanying Arabic text. It is based on the Revised Amana edition with some additional revisions by the Foundation's own editorial staff.
[edit] Controversies
Later editions of it remain in print but with numerous changes, major and minor, such as the replacement of "God" with "Allah", the removal of certain commentary references to Hasan and Husayn, and the expurgation of entire appendices which contained Yusuf Ali's views on Dhul-Qarnayn's identification as Alexander the Great and financial interest.[3]
San Diego assistant professor Khaleel Mohammed has described the translation as "a polemic against Jews" due to content in its footnotes.[1]
[edit] External links
- Quran Database Archive More than 77 translations available in variety of SQL,CSV,Excel,Text and HTML for developers and web site owners
- Online Quran Project includes the Qur'an translation of Abdullah Yusuf Ali (see also the original translation of Abdullah Yusuf Ali).
- The Holy Qur'an Wikilivres
- Full text at the Digital Library of India in three volumes: [1], [2], [3]
- Three translations at Project Gutenberg
- Unfaithful Translation Of some of The Meanings Of The Noble Qur’an By Yusuf Ali
[edit] References
- ^ a b Mohammed, Khaleel (2005). "Assessing English Translations of the Qur'an". Middle East Quarterly. http://www.meforum.org/717/assessing-english-translations-of-the-quran. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- ^ Preface, The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an. Amana Publications. 978-1590080252
- ^ "Investigating Distortions in Islamic Texts: Abdullah Yusuf Ali's Qur'an commentary, the deletion of the merits of Imams Hasan and Husayn, and other changes" (2000). Al-Islam.org
