The man whose English approximate-translation of the Quran, most of us probably have sitting in our homes, considered one of the ‘best’ English ‘commentators’ on the Quran. All i know about him is what he has written in the preface/introduction of his English translation. Grew up somewhere in India, educated there i think, spent the middle years of his life in Lahore. It’s a shame that a person whose exhaustive commentaries on the Quran, is someone whose biography i don’t really know much about.
Does anyone know anything about him? What was his life like - family/education/political beliefs/awards/distinctions, etc.? Where is he buried? Did he write any books/articles?
i think his knowledge and commentary/notes on the Quran have been pretty vast but you don’t really hear much about him as a person not a scholar.
I had a booklet about his life, if I find it I will fill in the details. **Abdullah Yusuf Ali ** was born in Surat India and belonged to Bohra Shia Sect. He did live in Lahore quite some time of his life. No doubt that he is a distinguished translator of Holy Quran in English Language.
Following are the books written by him:
Cultural History of India During the British Period
Mary and Jesus in the Qur’an
Quranic Message Guide co-authored with Ashfaque Ullah Syed
He died in 1951 in London and is buried in Muslim cemetery at Brookwood, Surrey, near Woking, Surrey England. ( About 35 mile south west of London)
About five ten feet away from his grave is the resting place of another great English translator of Holy Quran, Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall , born William Pickthall in 1875 in London, to an Anglican clergyman, and spent his formative years in rural Suffolk. He was contemporary of Winston Churchill at Harrow, the famous private school. In 1917, Pickthall reverted to Islam and soon became a leader among the emerging group of British Muslims. He died on May 1935.
“Biography of ‘ABDULLAH YUSUF ‘ALI
'ABDULLAH YUSUF ‘All was born in 1872 A.C./1289 A.H. into a family of the Bohra community in Surat India. His father, a merchant, was a very religious man who made sure that his son learned Qur'an before anything else. When young 'Abdullah's completed the memorization of the entire Qur'an to memory, his father celebrated the occasion with a grand banquet, thus showing to his son the significance of his achievement, and the importance of the Qur'an. In addition to his regular schooling, 'Abdullah continued to receive lessons in Arabic language and never ceased in his studies of the Qur'an.
He was a superior student who excelled in academic achievement and won the much-coveted Indian Civil Service Award, a prestigious honor awarded in a very competitive entrance examinations for high positions in the Indian Civil Service; which well- to do families aspire that their sons receive. 'Abdullah was adept in leaning English literature and was considered to be among the best of his fellow compatriots in written English. Many of the leading scholarly magazines in India published his works and expressed their appreciation for his beautiful literary style. Later, 'Abdullah left India for Europe, touring many European capitals and finally resided in London for a considerable period. In London he was exposed to many translations of the Qur'an and continued to have a keen interest in it and its studies. He then began to closely study the Qur'an with a focus to the various interpretations, both old and new.
After studying what was written about the Qur'an in both European and Eastern languages, he returned to India and took up new residence in Lahore where he became the Dean of the Islamic College. He then began his monumental work of translating and commenting on the Qur’an. He passed away later in London on December 10th 1953 A.C./1372 “
now, this is just to clear my doubts....
someone, somewhere, i dont recall who and i dnot recall the venue nor the event, but i do remember that i was told that since we have translations other than Yusuf Ali's. we shud try to use them instead of his translations....
reason, he wasnt a practising muslim....
i read about him on the net, dint show me any such thing about him that he wasnt a muslim good enuff that we read his commentary....
^^ His translation of the Quran itself is very good and I don’t think that anybody had any objections to it. In sense he was religious but did not ‘fit in’ anywhere. He was born a Bohra Shia, but showed great respect to Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) and Hazrat Omar (ra) and since he did not move around in ‘his own circle’, he was ‘disowned' by the Shia community at large. (They always refer to him as a Sunni.).
Unlike other great Quran translators into English, like Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall and Muhammad Asad, apart from direct translation of Quran he had used his own personal opinions in commentaries and explanations of the Quranic verses.
I've seen his translations used mostly by Sunnis.. Shias i have observed use Shakir..
I have preferred Shakir over Yusufali, although none of them alone could be trusted for an accurate translation. u have to mix and match and use others not so readily available on the web translators too.
Quite a dilemma now.. that he was a Shia.. Shakir is used by Shias, Pickthall was a convert, not to mention non-Arab, Asad was a jewish convert, Rashad Khalia is off the rocker with the prophethood claims and some over the top translations, and u have to control yourself when reading Maudoodi.
PA! whats it about maududi's translation that requires so much control????
Ibn Sadique, i did not know that he was a shia, and the person who told me not to refer to his commentary just told me that he wasnt that religious so we shud turn to other translation now that we have them....
but, yes, it is news....
Ibn Sadique, wow i was not aware that he was buried so close to Marmaduke Pickthall. That is interesting. Thank you very much for that biographical information regarding him.
It is of tertiary concern to me whether Sunnis, Shias or people from Mars use his translations more. i realize there are mistakes in Yusuf Ali's work; he was human and infallible as we all are. He is also someone who possessed a vast knowledge of not just Islam, but if you read his commentary and notes - he had a vast knowledge of Victorian poetry, the Gospels, Deuteronomy, the Torah, etc etc. Something i admire.
i'd like to focus on him as a person - as a husband, father, son. i've heard enough of him as a scholar.
Nadia I dont mean to derail your post, but I read his translation along with others, and what I myself have noted, and this is just my opinion, but Yusuf Ali's commentary often seems "Sufi" in nature to me, as opposed to anything else. But thats just me. Wondering if anyone else has noticed this.
Sis Nadia