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Praise
be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds, Who has said in
His Noble Book:
"There
has come to you from Allah Light and a Perspicuous Book." (5.15)
And may peace and blessings be upon the Seal of
the Prophets, Muhammad, who has said that:
"The best among you is he who learned the
Qur-ăn and then taught it." (Narrated by the six except Muslim)
May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him, his family and all his Companions.
The Glorious Qur-ăn is the Book of Allah, the
Wise and Worthy of all Praise, Who has promised to safeguard it from
any violations in its purity. It becomes incumbent upon each and every
person who seeks the dignity of this world and the bliss of the
Hereafter to regulate his life according to it, to implement its
commandments and to pay homage to the magnificence of the One Who
revealed it. This can be an easy task for those favored with guidance
from Allah, especially those blessed by an understanding of Arabic, the
language of the divine communication. But for those not acquainted with
Arabic, their ignorance is a barrier between them and this source of
guidance and illumination. A translation of the message of Allah is
thus a task not to be taken lightly or performed superficially.
Before the reader begins to study the Qur-ăn,
he must realize that unlike all other writings, this is a unique book
with a supreme author, an eternal message and a universal relevance.
Its contents are not confined to a particular theme or style, but
contain the foundations for an entire system of life, covering a whole
spectrum of issues, which range from specific articles of faith and
commandments to general moral teachings, rights and obligations, crime
and punishment, personal and public law, and a host of other private
and social concerns. These issues are discussed in a variety of ways,
such as direct stipulations, reminders of Allah's favors on His
creation, admonitions and rebukes. Stories of past communities are
narrated, followed by the lessons to be learned from their actions and
subsequent fates.
The Qur-ăn enjoys a number of characteristics
unique to it alone, some of which are as follows:
- It is the actual Word
of Allah; not created but revealed for the benefit of all mankind.
"Blessed
is He Who sent down the Criterion to His servant, that it may be An
admonition to all creatures." (25.1)
- It is complete and
comprehensive. The Almighty says:
"Nothing
have We omitted from the Book." (6.38)
In another place we read,
"And
We have sent down to thee the Book explaining all things." (16.89)
- It is a theoretical and
a practical Book, not only moralizing but also defining
specifically the permissible and the forbidden. The importance of
understanding the message of the Qur-ăn is undeniable, but simply
reciting it with the intention o f seeking Allah's pleasure and reward
is also an act of worship and meritorious in itself. Allah
Almighty says:
"So
take what the Prophet gives you, and refrain from what he prohibits
you."
(59.7)
- Allah has perfected His
religion for all mankind with the revelation of this Book. He
says:
"This
day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you
and have chosen for you Islam as your religion." (5.3)
- It is Allah's eternal
miracle revealed to the Prophet Muhammad for all succeeding
generations. In response to those who doubt the authorship of the
Qur-ăn, Allah Almighty has challenged the most articulate Arabs to
produce a whole book, ten chapters or even one solitary chapter
which can be remotely comparable to the Qur-ăn. But to this day,
no one has succeeded in meeting the challenge of the Almighty. The
critics of the Qur-ăn; have been struck dumb by its ineffable
eloquence and surpassing beauty.
"Say,
if the whole of mankind and jinns were to gather together to produce
the like of this Qur-ăn, they could not produce the like thereof; even
if they backed-up each other with help and support." (17.88)
The Almighty also says:
"Or
they may say: 'He forged it.' Say: 'Bring ye then ten chapters forged,
like unto it and call (to your aid) whomsoever ye can other than Allah,
if ye speak the truth.'" (11.13)
And again
"Or do
they say: 'He forged it'? Say: 'Bring then a chapter like! Unto it and
call (to your aid) anyone ye can besides Allah, if it be ye speak the
truth.'"
(10.38)
- It has been revealed to
re-establish the sincere worship of Allah alone, without
association of any partners with Him.
"This
is a Book with verses basic or fundamental (of established meaning),
further explained in detail, from One Who is Wise and Well-Aware. (It
teaches) that you should worship none but Allah." (11.1-2)
"And
they have been commanded no more than this: to worship Allah, offering
Him sincere devotion, being true in faith, to establish regular prayer
and to give Zakat, and that is the religion Right and Straight." (98.5)
- It contains a complete
code which provides for all areas of life, whether spiritual,
intellectual, political, social or economic. It is a code which
has no boundaries of time, place or nation.
"Verily
this Qur-ăn doth guide to that which is most right." (17.9)
- Allah Almighty has
taken upon Himself the duty of preserving the Qur-ăn for ever in
its entirety, as He says:
"We
have without doubt sent down the Message, and We will assuredly guard
it (from corruption)." (15.9)
So well has it been preserved, both in memory
and in writing, that the Arabic text we have today is identical to the
text as it was revealed to the Prophet. Not even a single letter has
yielded to corruption during the passage of the centuries. And so it
will remain for ever, by the consent of Allah.
Given the depth as well as the sublimity of the
Qur-ănic text, a faithful translation of it into another language is
virtually impossible. The various translations that exist today,
however accurate they may be, cannot be designated as the Qur-ăn, since
they can never hope to imitate the diction or the style of the Book of
Allah. But as translation is one of the few ways to export the message
of the Qur-ăn to allow those lacking in knowledge of Arabic to share
this priceless gift, it becomes a duty for those in a position to
fulfill this task.
A number of individuals have in the past
ventured to translate the Qur-ăn, but their works have generally been
private attempts, greatly influenced by their own prejudices. In order
to produce a reliable translation free from personal bias, a Royal
decree (No. 19888, dated 16/8/1400 AH) was issued by the Custodian of
the Two Holy Mosques, King Fahd ibn Abdul Aziz, at that time the deputy
prime minister, authorizing the General Presidency of the Departments
of Islamic Researches, Ifta, Call and Guidance to undertake the
responsibility of revising and correcting a particular translation
which would be selected for this purpose and made publicly available
later.
To accomplish this enormous task, a number of
committees were formed, comprising scholars well qualified both in
Islamic Shari'a and the English language. Some of these scholars were
associated with the General Presidency of the Departments of Islamic
Researches, Ifta, Call and Guidance.
The first committee was given the task of
examining the existing translations and choosing the most suitable one
from among them. The committee discovered that there was no translation
free from defects and so there were two options open for consideration
: the first was to select the best translation available and then adopt
it as a base for further work as well as a source of reference, with
the objective of revising its contents and correcting any faults in
view of the objections raised against it; the second was to prepare a
fresh and independent translation, starting from scratch.
It became obvious from studying these
translations that the second option demanded much time and effort,
neither of which were available at the time. The first option was
therefore considered to be more practical, since it met the existing
urgent requirements and helped to achieve the desired goal in a
comparatively short period of time. The translation by the late Ustadh Abdullah
Yusuf Ali was consequently chosen for; its distinguishing characteristics,
such as a highly elegant style, a choice of words close to the meaning
of the original text, accompanied by scholarly notes and commentaries.
The committee began revising and correcting
this translation with the aid of other translations available, by
comparing and then adopting best expressions as well as by introducing
fresh expressions where necessary. The committee was fully aware of all
the criticisms that had been directed against this translation and
which had been carefully brought to the notice of the presidency by a
number of academic bodies and other involved parties. In the second
stage, the entire work of this committee was referred to a number of
individuals and organizations who then augmented any deficiencies in
the work of the committee.
A third committee was set up to collate all
their suggestions. It then compared all such views regarding specific
issues, selected the appropriate one(s) and arrived at a text as
authentic and defect-free as was humanly possible.
Finally, a fourth committee was formed to look
into the findings of the second and third committees and to implement
the recommendations made by them. Furthermore, this committee had to
finalize the text by adopting the most accurate expression where needed,
besides checking the notes vigilantly so as to clear any misconceptions
regarding the articles of faith, varying juristic opinions and thoughts
not in conformity with the sound Islamic point of view.
In the course of its work, the committee came
across some Arabic words which could not be translated correctly, such
as Zakat and Tagűt. It was therefore decided to give a
transliteration of these words in English with a brief explanatory note
for each one at its first occurrence in the text. The reader will find
a list of such words at the end of this preface, as well as a list
containing an English transliteration of Arabic letters. A list of the
abbreviations used in this work is also provided. Finally, the reader
will find at the end of the text a comprehensive list containing
references to proper names of people, places and important topics,
dealt with either in the text or in the accompanying notes.
According to the Royal decree (No. 12412, dated
27/10/1405 AH), this translation is printed at King Fahd Holy Qur-ăn
Printing Complex in Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah and also with coordination
of the General Presidency of the Departments of Islamic Researches,
Ifta, Call and Guidance.
To implement the directions of the Custodian of
the Two Holy Mosques (may Allah preserve him) concerning the
Propagation of the Book of Allah, its distribution and translation into
every language spoken by Muslims the worldwide, and due to the
cooperation between the General Secretariat of King Fahd Holy Qur-ăn
Printing Complex and the Presidency of Islamic Researches, Ifta, Call
and Guidance regarding a faithful, specific and scholarly translation
of the meanings of the Holy Qur-ăn, we are pleased to present to all
Muslims and those seeking spiritual light among English speaking people
this translation which comes as one of the series of the translations
of the meanings of the Holy Qur-ăn into various languages printed by
the Complex in Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah.
May Allah reward bounteously those who were
behind this blessed work.
The Presidency of Islamic Researches, Ifta,
Call and Guidance.
The translation presented in this site is
unauthorized. If you notice any errors, or have any comments or
suggestions, please contact the maintainer. The Holy Qur-ăn is
published by:
King
Fahd Holy Qur-ăn Printing Complex.
P.O. Box 3561 Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah.
Saudi Arabia.
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