The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an (English Arabic Text)

1822 Pages·2001·228.63 MB·English

by  Abdullah Yusuf Ali

In the name of Allah,
the Compassionate, the Merciful,
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Universe,
and Peace and Prayers be upon
His final Prophet and Messenger.
..
•
The ltleaning of The Holy (lur'an
Tenth Edition
1420 AH I 1999 AC
Reprint
1424 AH I 2004 AC
The Meaning of
THE
HOLY
-
UR'AN
- -
'ABDULLAH YUSUF 'ALI
New Edition with Qur'anic Text (Arabic),
Revised Translation, Commentary and
Newly Compiled Comprehensive Index
amana publications
Beltsville, Maryland, U.S.A.
Published by
amana publications 10710 Tucker Street
Beltsville, Maryland 20705-2223 USA
Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]
Web: www.amana-publications.com Email: [email protected]
© 1422 AHl2001 AC by
Amana Corporation
Tenth Edition (1420 AHl1999AC)
Reprinted 1424 AHl2004 A
The Library of Congress has catalogued
the previous edition as follows:
'An, 'Abdullah Yusuf, 1872-1953 A.C. (1289-1372) A.H.)
The Meaning of the Holy Qur'1ln , 'Abdullah YOsuf 'An.-
New ed. with rev. translation. commentary. and newly compiled
index.
p. i-Ix.ii 1762 23 em.
English and Arabic 1997
New rev, (9th) ed. previously published as:
The Holy Qur'cin. 1989
added title page title: Tarjmat Ma'ani 01 Qur'all
of Karim hi al lnjil1z;yah
Includes bibliographicaJ references and index
ISBN 0-9 I 5957-76-0
I. Koran. English & Arabic. 1997 II: Title
BPI09 1997
297.1'227 - - de21 97-37495
ClP
ISB 0-915957-76-0 Hardcover (6x9)
ISBN 0-915957-32-9 son Cover (6x9)
ISBN 0-915957-77-9 Pocket Size (4x6)
ISBN 1-59008-016-5 Deluke Pocket Size (4x6)
PUBLISHER'S NOTE
Al J:Iamd Ii Allah (Praise be to Allah), this Revised Edition is a culmination
of experiences in the last two decades in publishing translations of the meaning
of the Qur'an in several languages. With the Grace of Allah, amana publications,
a subsidiary of Amana Corporation has succeeded in publishing this great work
of the late 'Abdullah Yiisuf 'Air, revised for the first time after his death with the
highest standard of scholarship and authenticity that it deserves.
About eight years ago, the work for this edition began when we started the
J,eJection of fhl' mo.~1 recogniSl"d and authentic available English translation of the
meaning of the Qur'in. The selection committee, comprised of highly reputable
Muslim scholars, decided on the work of 'Abdullah Yiisuf 'Ali and solicited opinions
and criticisms from Islamic institutions and scholars around the world. A number
of committees re;v:iewed all the responses carefully, examined the text meticulously,
updated the material and refined the commentaries. The last complete review was
undertaken by the late Ismail Rijr al Faliiqi, who was then Presidem of the
International Institute of Islamic Thought (lIlT) in the United States of America.
Guided by its own commitment to serve the Quran, amana publications
undertook this tremendous task, and in cooperation with the lIlT completed this
honorable work. amana publications and lIlT established an editorial board whose
effort was [0 implement the final recommendations of the committees and to
concentrate on the manuscript preparation, overall editorial changes, and revisions
in style and format (discussed in the Preface to the Revised Edition). All praise
be to Allah for enabling us to serve the Qur'an by making available this Revised
Edition.
We acknowledge with deep appreciation the efforts of lIlT and all those who
helped produce this monumental work of 'Abdullah Yusuf 'AlT. May Allah bless
his soul and reward him generously; wa al l:famd li Allah Rabb at 'Alam7n (All
Praise and Gratitude is due to Allah, the Lord and Sustainer of the Worlds).
Jumadi al Akhirah 1409 A.H. Fakhri al Barzinji, President
January, 1989 A.C. amana publications
Washington, D.C.
'ABDULLAH YUSUF 'ALf
On April 4, 1872 A.C. 1289 A.H .. 'Abdullah Yasuf'An was bon! in a family of the Bohra
community in Sural. India. His father, a merchant. was a very religious man who
made sure that his 50n learned Qur'a-n before anything else. Upon the completion
of young 'Abdullah'a committing the entire Qur':rn to memory, his father celebrated
the occasion with a grand banquet. thw showing to his 50n the imponance of his
achievement and the importance of the Qur'J:n. In addition to studying
contemporary knowledge at school. 'Abdullah continued to recei~ lessons in Arabic
language and never ceased in his slUdies of the Qur'J:n. He was a superior slUdent
who excelled in academic achievement and won the much co~ted Indian Civil
Service Award. a prestigious honour resulting from the extremely competeti~
entrance: examinations for high pmitions in the Indian Civil Service which wealthy
families would aspi~ for their sons to r«eive. 'Abdullah was easily able to absorb
English literature and was considered to be among the best of his fellow countrymen
in writing English. Many of the most well-known scholarly magazines in India
published his works and expressed their appreciation for his beautiful literary style.
Later, 'Abdullah Yosufleft India for Europe and visited many European capitab
and C'o'CnlUally resided in LDndon for a considerable period of time, While in london,
he waa exposed to many translations of the Qur'1:n and continued to have a
tremendous interest in it and its studies. He then began to closely study the Qur'J:n
giving special attention to its various interpretations, both old and new, After studying
what was written about the Qur'a-n 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 hia monumental work of t.ranslating and
commenting 011 the Qur'nn which aftcf three fnll years of work was completed
on hi~ 65th birthday. 'Abdullah Yilsuf 'An later died in London on December 10. 1953
AC. 1372 A,H,
PREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION
It has been more than half a century since the first appearance of 'Abdullah
y-usuf 'All's superlative \o\'Ork, Th~ Holy Qur'an: Text, Transllltion and Commentary.
Since that time, there have been innumerable reprintings and millions of copies
dinributed throughout the world, It is, by far, the best known, most studied, and
most respected English translation of the Qur'an. It was the first monumental and
authoritative work. of its kind and it subsequently iru;pired many such similar
endeavours. The eloquent poetic style of the traru;lation and the authenticity of
the extensive commentaries and explanatory notes, have, no doubt, contributed
greatly to its much deserved reputation as thf! English translation of the meaning
of the Qur'an.
The tremendous impact that this work has made upon the English.reading
Mwlims (as well as, many non· Muslims) of the world, has never been greater than
it is today and shaU continue- in shaa AI14h (Allah willing)- for generations to
come, It has enabled interested readers of English, who do not have a proficiency
in reading and comprehending Qur'anic Arabic, to greatly enrich their
understanding of the meaning and the incomparable beauty and perfection of the
Gloriow Qur'i n. It has given them a more authentic and reliabk translation and
commentary from which they could make a serious study.
'A. Ylisuf 'Ali was quick to point out that there can be no absolute or perfect
rendition of the meaning of the Qur'lin and, at best, only an interpretation of
iu understood meaning can be offered. Probably, he never envisaged how universal
his work would someday become, for he was primarily attempting to explain his
understanding of the Qur'an to his fellow·countrymen- both Muslims and non·
Muslims alike, Therefore, he was apt to occasionally use rderences which could
not be easily appreciated outside the milieu of the Indian Subcontinent.
Although it may not have been the intention of the author to reach such a
wide range of readers as existS today. there nevertheless has long been a need for
a revised new edition reflecting the Deeds and demands of today's enthusiastic
readership, In response to this need, the present edition represents the first major
revision since the initial printing over fifty years ago.
Revisioru have been made in both the content and fonn of the original work.
Where necCMary, the content has been brought up·to·date and within the CUITe.nt
understanding and interpretation of the Qur'an, In the translation, the Siirah
introductions. and the commentaries, such changes ~re relativdy few and infrequent
and have been duly noted as having been revised, The reader will, however, find
$uch notable changes as the use of the name 'Allah' for the word 'God' (as used
in previous editions) since it was felt that the use of this Most Glorious Name is
morc- widely understood and accepted by the general reader today. Also, the word
'Messenger' has been given preference over the word 'Apostle' for the meaning of
the Original Qur'anic word in Arabic, 'Ra..rul: The reason bei!lg, it was felt, that
the former term more clearly expresses the Islamic usage of the term without any
negative connotations which may be associated with the laner term resulting from
inaccuracies in iu use by other religious or historical worb.
The explanatory footnotes and the appendices, however, were subject to more
frequent, and occasionally more substantial, changes than those in the translation
and the commentaries, The reason being there was a greater need of general
updating of information and clarification of certain explanatioTl5 which were subject
to misinterpretation, There were also a few instances in which certain pOrtions
of the material were deleted, either due to its outdatedness or due to its proneness
to misinterpretadon.