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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:
1) 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)
2) 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)
3) 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)
4) 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)
5) 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)
6) 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)
7) 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)
8) 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
Tagût. 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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