Dr. Muhammad Hamidullah (1908 - 2002) greatest contribution is the translation of the Holy Qur’an into three languages — English, French and German.  He was an authority on Islamic and international law, which he taught at Osmania University in Hyderabad for a decade. He wrote over 1,000 articles in seven leading languages — English, French, German, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish and Persian.

It is said that hundreds of German and French people embraced Islam at his hand. In 1946, Hamidullah was appointed as a member of Nizam’s delegation sent to the League of Nations. In 1948 he returned to France and lived there for the rest of his life as a “stateless citizen” of the world. In 1959, he published his translation of the Holy Qu’ran in French, the first translation by a Muslim scholar in the language. It has undergone into 30 reprints and the last edition had over 2 million copies. The other two translations were in English and German.

In 1985, the Pakistan government, in recognition of his scholarship and services, awarded him the “Hilal-i-Imtiaz” civilian award and donated 10 million Pakistani rupees in cash. He declined the title and donated the whole sum to the Islamic Research Academy in Islamabad.

In 1996, when he was 88 and engaged in his literary struggle alone, he fell ill in Paris. There was no one from his family living near him. The granddaughter of his brother, Saadia Ataullah, took him to Jacksonville, Florida (USA) to take care of him. He passed away on Shawwal 13, 1423 AH (Dec. 17, 2002).

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