The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary

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 by Saudi Arabian beneficiaries during the late 20th century.

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.

Gentle and discerning reader! what I wish to present to you is an English Interpretation, side by side with the Arabic Text. The English shall be, not a mere substitution of one word for another, but the best expression I can give to the fullest meaning which I can understand from the Arabic Text. The rhythm, music, and exalted tone of the original should be reflected in the English interpretation. It may be but a faint reflection, but such beauty and power as my pen can command shall be brought to its service. I want to make English itself an Islamic language, if such a person as I can do it, and I must give you all the accessory aid which I can.

Since I last greeted my readers collectively I have been able to perform the Pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca and the sacred territory around it and seen with my own eyes the city and territory of Medina, with all the country around and between the holy Cities. I have realised for myself the scenes in which the revelations came which I have humbly sought to interpret. I hope that some glimpses of this experience will have been conveyed to my dear readers.

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 latter's arrival in the marketplace.

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