Bi ismillahi rahmani raheem
Assalamu alaikum
This is an Excelent Resource for muslim and people of other faiths.
http://www.islamibayanaat.com/EMQ.htm -
http://www.islamibayanaat.com/EMQ.htm
Ma'ariful Qur'an [Complete 8 Volume Set]
by http://www.albalagh.net/taqi.shtml" style=" - Mufti Muhammad Shafi Usmani
Probably to be the most comprehensive commentary of the Qur'an in
English by Mufti Shafi Uthmani. These volumes cover an Introduction and
commentary of Surat al-Fatiha to Surat al-al-Nas. Translated by Prof
Muhammad Hassan.
The author, Mufti Muhammad Shafi' born in 1314/1896, graduated in
1336 ah at the age of 22 years. He had from the very beginning a
natural affinity with Fiqh and Literature. In 1350/1922 he was
appointed to the Mufti's post. In 1368/1949 he went away to Pakistan,
where, as a member of the Board of Islamic Teachings in the Constituent
Assembly, he helped in compiling the Islamic constitution. In 1951 he
established a seminary under the name Darul Uloom at Karachi, which is
now an important and great center of Islamic learning there. He is an
author of many books on Tafsir, Hadith, Fiqh Numbering almost 200.
Mufti Muhamma, during his tenure of office nearly 26,000 fatwas were
written.
From the Foreword of Justice Mufti Taqi Usmani to Volume 1
Ma'ariful-Qur'an is the name of a detailed Urdu commentary of the
Holy Qur'an written by my father Maulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi'. He was
one of the eminent scholars who served as a professor and as a grand
Mufti of Darul-Uloom Deoband, the well-known university of the Islamic
Sciences in the sub-continent of India. In 1943, he resigned from
Darul-Uloom, due to his active involvement in the Pakistan movement,
and when Pakistan came into existence, he migrated to Karachi where he
devoted his life for this new homeland of the Muslims and served the
country in different capacities. He also established Darul-Uloom
Karachi, an outstanding institute of Islamic Sciences on the pattern of
Darul-Uloom Deoband, which is regarded today as the biggest private
institute of higher Islamic education in Pakistan.
He was a prolific writer who left behind him about one hundred
books on different Islamic and literary subjects. Ma'ariful-Qur'an was
the last great work he accomplished four years before his demise.
The origin of Ma'ariful-Qur'an refers back to the third of
Shawwal 1373 A.H. (corresponding to the 2nd of July 1954) when the
author was invited to give weekly lectures on the Radio Pakistan to
explain selected verses of the Holy Qur'an to the general audience.
This invitation was accepted by the author on the condition that he
would not accept any remuneration for this service and that; his
lectures would be broadcast without any interference by the editing
authorities. The permanent title of this weekly program was
"Ma'ariful-Qur'an" (The Wisdom of the Holy Qur'an) and it was broadcast
every Friday morning on the network of Radio Pakistan.
This series of lectures continued for ten years up to the
month of June 1964 whereby the new authorities stopped the programme
for reasons best known to them. This series of lectures contained a
detailed commentary on selected verses from the beginning of the Holy
Qur'an up to the Surah Ibrahim (Surah no. 14).
This weekly programme of Radio Pakistan was warmly welcomed by
the Muslims throughout the globe and used to be listened to by
thousands of Muslims, not only in Pakistan and India but also in
Western and African countries.
After the programme was discontinued, there was a flood of
requests from all over the world to transfer this series in a book-form
and to complete the remaining part of the Holy Qur'an in the shape of a
regular commentary.
These requests persuaded the esteemed author to revise these
lectures and to add those verses, which were not included in the
original lectures. He started this project in 1383 A.H. (1964) and
completed the commentary of Surah al-Fatihah in its revised form and
started the revision of Surah al-Baqarah. However, due to his numerous
involvements he had to discontinue this task, and it remained
unattended during the next five years.
In Shawwal 1388 (1969) the esteemed author suffered from a
number of diseases, which made him restricted to his bed. It was during
this ailment that he restarted this work while on bed and completed
Surah al-Baqarah in the same condition. Since then he devoted himself
to the "Ma'ariful-Qur'an". Despite a large number of obstacles in his
way, not only from the political atmosphere of the country and the
difficult responsibilities he had on his shoulders in different
capacities, but also from his health and physical condition, he never
surrendered to any of them and continued his work with a miraculous
speed until he accomplished the work in eight volumes (comprising of
about seven thousand pages) within five years only.
After appearing in a regular book-form, Ma'ariful-Qur'an was
highly appreciated and widely admired by the Urdu-knowing Muslims
throughout the world. Thousands of copies of the book are still
circulated every year, and the demand for the book is so increasing
that it has always been a problem for its publisher to satisfy the
demand to its optimum.
A Few Words about the Present English Translation of Ma'ariful-Qur'an
Let me say a few words about the present English translation of the Ma'ariful-Qur'an.
Although a large number of English translations of the Holy
Qur'an are available in the market, yet no comprehensive commentary of
the Holy Qur'an has still appeared in the English language. Some brief
footnotes found with some English translations cannot fulfill the need
of a detailed commentary. Besides, they are generally written by the
people who did not specialize themselves in the Qur'anic sciences, and
their explanatory notes do not often reflect the authentic
interpretation of the Holy Qur'an. Some such notes are based on an
arbitrary interpretation having no foundation in the recognized
principles of the exegesis of the Holy Qur'an, and are thus misleading
for a common reader.
On the other hand, during the last few decades, the Muslim
population has increased among the English speaking countries in
enormous numbers. These people and their new generations need a
detailed commentary of the Holy Qur'an which may explain to them the
correct message of the last divine book with all the relevant material
in an authentic manner which conforms to the recognized principles of
tafsir (the exegesis of the Holy Qur'an).
Since Ma'ariful-Qur'an was the latest book written on these
lines and was proved to be beneficial for a layman as well as for a
scholar, it was advised by different circles that its English
translation may fulfill the need.
It made me look for a person who might undertake the task, not
only with his professional competence, but also with his commitment to
serve the Holy Qur'an.
Fortunately, I succeeded in persuading Prof. Muhammad Hasan
Askari, the well-known scholar of English literature and criticism, to
undertake the translation. In the beginning he was reluctant due to his
strong sense of responsibility in the religious matters, but when I
assured him of my humble assistance throughout his endeavor, he not
only agreed to the proposal, but also started the work with remarkable
devotion. Despite my repeated requests, he did never accept any
honorarium or a remuneration for his service. He was a chain-smoker.
But he never smoked during his work on Ma'ariful-Qur'an, which
sometimes lasted for hours.
In this manner he completed the translation of about 400 pages
of the original Urdu book and 156 verses of the Surah al-Baqarah, but
unfortunately, his sudden demise discontinued this noble effort.
Strangely enough, the last portion he translated was the commentary of
the famous verse:
"And surely, We will test you with a bit of fear and hunger
and loss in wealth and lives and fruits. And give good tidings to the
patient who, when they suffer a calamity, say, 'We certainly belong to
Allah and to Him we are bound to return."
Prof. Askari passed away in 1977, and due to my overwhelming
occupations during the next 12 years, I could not find out a suitable
person to substitute him. It was in 1989, that Prof. Muhammad Shamim
offered his services to resume the translation from where Prof Askari
had left it. I found in him the same sincerity, commitment and devotion
I had experienced in the late Professor. Moreover, he had decided to
devote the rest of his life to the service of the Holy Qur'an without
any financial benefit. Here again I tried my best to persuade him to
accept some kind of honorarium, but it was in vain. He started his work
from the Verse 158 of Surah al-Baqarah and has now completed the
translation of the first two volumes of the original Ma'ariful-Qur'an
and is working on the third volume. (Now five volumes have been
produced and work is going on the remaining three volumes.)
Both Prof. Muhammad Hasan Askari and Prof. Muhammad Shamim
have insisted that their translations must be revised by me from the
religious point of view. For this purpose, I have gone through the
typescript of the translations of both of them and suggested some
amendments where it was necessary.
The translation of Prof. Askari had been started at a time
when the esteemed author of Ma'ariful-Qur'an was still alive. We were
fortunate to receive some guidelines from the author himself. He had
advised the translators not to be too literal in translation to
sacrifice the natural flow of the text. Moreover, he had emphasized
that while rendering his book into English, the requirements of English
readership must be kept in mind. Some discussions may be dispensed
with. Similarly, many paragraphs may be condensed in the English
version in order to avoid repetition.
The esteemed author had authorized me for suitable decisions
in these matters. Both the learned translators, despite their earnest
effort to reflect the original text as accurately as possible, have
followed, in consultation with me, the said advices of the author
himself. However they have never tried to sacrifice the original
concept of the text for the beauty of language alone. Particularly, in
the juristic discussions of the book, they have been very strict in the
translation, lest some change in the style should creep in and distort
the accurate connotation of the Islamic injunctions. In such places,
the reader may feel some difficulty. However, a more concentrate
reading can easily remove it.
Translation of the Holy Qur'an
The original Urdu Ma'ariful-Qur'an had not given a new
translation of the Holy Qur'an itself. Rather, the esteemed author had
adopted the Urdu translations of Maulana Mahmoodul-Hasan
(Shaikhul-Hind) and Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanavi on which he based his
commentary. While rendering the book into English, we had three options
about the translation of the Holy Qur'an:
(a) To adopt any one of the already available English
translations of the Holy Qur'an, like those of Arberry, Pickthall or
Abdullah Yousuf Ali.
(b) To translate the Urdu translations used in the Ma'ariful-Quran into English.
(c) To provide a new translation of our own.
After a great deal of consideration and consultation, we elected
to work on the third option, i.e. to prepare a new translation of the
Holy Qur'an. The reasons behind this decision were manifold which need
not be detailed here. In short, we wanted to prepare a translation,
which may be closer to the Qur'anic text and easier to understand. For
this purpose, we formed a committee with the following members:
1. Prof. Muhammad Shameem.
2. Mr. Muhammad Wali Raazi.
3. This humble writer.
This committee has accomplished the translation of the Holy
Qur'an up to the Surah Yusuf and is still going on with this project.
The committee has all the famous available translations of the
Holy text before it, and after a deep study of the relevant material
found in the classical Arabic commentaries, lays down the new
translation in as simple expressions as possible. While doing so, we
have tried our best that the different possible interpretations of the
Qur'anic text remain undisturbed, and the new translation accommodates
as many of them as practicable. We have tried not to impose on our
reader a particular interpretation where several interpretations were
equally possible. However, where the translation could not accommodate
more than one connotation, we have followed the one adopted by the
majority of the classic commentators including Maulana Ashraf Ali
Thanavi on whose translation the Ma'ariful-Qur'an is based.
Despite all these sincere efforts, one cannot avoid the
admission that the exact translation of the Holy Qur'an is impossible.
One cannot convey the glory and the beauty of the divine expression in
any other language, let alone the English language, which, despite its
vast vocabulary, seems to be miserable when it comes to the expression
of spiritual concepts.
Therefore, even after observing all the precautions at our
command, we feel that we were trying to translate a text, which is - as
Arberry has rightly put it - totally untranslatable.
However, this is another humble effort to convey the basic
message of the Holy Qur'an to a common reader in a simple manner. How
far we have succeeded in this effort? Allah knows best.
The Scheme of the Translation
Now, here are some points to be kept in mind while consulting the translation.
1. Although the translators have tried their best to preserve
not only the literal sense of the Holy text, but also the order of
words and sentences, yet, while translating the idiomatic expressions,
it is sometimes felt that the literal translation may distort the
actual sense or reduce the emphasis embodied in the Arabic text. At
such places effort has been made to render the Qur'anic sense into a
closer English expression.
2. Both in the translation of the Holy Qur'an and in the commentary, a uniform scheme of transliteration has been adopted.
The scheme is summarized in the beginning pages of the book.
3. The names of the prophets have been transliterated according
to their Arabic pronunciation, and not according to their biblical
form. For example, the biblical Moses has been transliterated as Musa,
alayhi salam, which is the correct Arabic pronunciation. Similarly,
instead of biblical Abraham, the Qur'anic Ibrahim, alayhi salam, and
instead of Joseph, the Qur'anic Yusuf, alayhi salam, has been
preferred.
However, in the names other than those of prophets, like Pharaoh, their English form has been retained.
4. A permanent feature of the original Urdu Ma'ariful-Qur'an is
its "Khulasa-e-Tafseer" (Summary). Under every group of verses, the
esteemed author has given a brief summary of the meaning of the verses
to help understand them in one glimpse. This summary was taken from
Bayan-ul-Qur'an, the famous commentary of Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanavi,
rahmatullah alayh. He has set up this summary by adding some
explanatory words or sentences within brackets to his Urdu translation.
The esteemed author of Ma'ariful-Qur'an has reproduced this summary
(after simplification in some places) with the heading
of-Khulasa-e-Tafsir before his own commentary to the relevant group of
verses.
While translating Ma'ariful-Qur'an into English, it was very
difficult, rather almost impossible, to give that summary in the same
fashion. Therefore, the translators have restricted themselves to the
commentary of Ma'ariful-Qur'an and have not translated the
Khulasa-e-Tafsir. However, where they found some additional points in
the summary, which are not expressly mentioned in the commentary, they
have merged those points into the main commentary, so that the English
reader may not be deprived of them.
It is only by the grace of Allah Almighty that in this way we
could be able to present this first volume of this huge work. The
second volume is already under composing, and we hope that Allah will
give us tawfiq to bring the next volumes as soon as possible.
Acknowledgments are due to all those who contributed their
efforts, advices and financial support to this work. Those deserving
special reference are Prof Abdul-Wahid Siddiqi, Dr. Zafar Ishaq Ansari,
Mr. Abubakr Varachia and Mr. Shu'aib 'Umar (both of South Africa) Dr.
Muhammad Ismail (of U.S.A), and Mr. Altaf Barkhurdaria.
My elder brother Mr. Muhammad Wall Raazi has been associated
with the work right from its beginning, and has always been a great
source of guidance, support and encouragement. He is a member of the
committee set up for the translation of the Holy Qur'an and his
remarkable contribution, not only to the translation of the Holy
Qur'an, but also to the translation of the commentary is unforgettable.
He, too, has been contributing his valuable time and effort to this
project for years just for the sake of Allah. May Allah approve his
contributions with His pleasure and bless him with the best of rewards
both here and hereafter.
As for Prof. Muhammad Shameem, the original translator of
Ma'ariful-Qur'an after the demise of Prof. Muhammad Hasan 'Askari, all
the formal words of acknowledgment seem to be miserably deficient for
the valuable service he has rendered to this project. He has not only
translated the book with precaution and love, but also devoted his
whole life to the Holy Qur'an and spared no effort to bring this volume
into light. Out of his commitment to the cause, he did not restrict
himself to the work of a translator, but also undertook the function of
an editor and a proofreader and supervised all other minute details of
the publishing process. His devotion, sincerity, and hard work are
beyond any amount of admiration. May Allah grant him the best reward of
His absolute approval for his noble work. Amin.
With these few words I am honored to present this first volume
to the readers. May Allah approve this effort and make it beneficial to
the Ummah. 'Amin.
Muhammad Taqi Usmani
Darul-Uloom, Karachi-14
10 Safar 1416
9 July 1995
maariful quran maariful quran maariful quran http://www.al-rashad.com/maariful-quran-complete-volume-p-148.html - http://www.al-rashad.com/maariful-quran-complete-volume-p-14 8.html
-------------
Rasul Allah (sallah llahu alaihi wa sallam) said: "Whoever knows himself, knows his Lord" and whoever knows his Lord has been given His gnosis and nearness.
|