abdulhakeem
10-08-04, 10:32 PM
A Monumental English translation and commentary of the Holy Qur’an was done by a person who, remarkably, was a product of Western education and deeply immersed in Western culture – Abdullah Yusuf Ali. As he himself admits in his preface to the translation, “I have explored Western lands, Western manners, and the depth of Western thought and Western learning, to an extent which has rarely fallen to the lot of an Eastern mortal.”
It is unfortunate that we know little about the life and work of this great Muslim scholar whom Allah had chosen for outstanding contribution to the Qur’anic literature. The contribution was duly recognised by the Muslim world when his work was adopted as the official English translation of the government of Saudi Arabia – the cradle of Islam – and printed and reprinted for distribution world over.
Born in 1872 in a humble Bohri (a branch of Shia sect) family of Surat (India), he achieved in terms of respect, position, power and intellectual calibre, almost everything one could aspire for. However, his martial life, both first and second, was dismal and ended in divorce, the first for infidelity. Both of them were English women.
Four children from the first wife had been a source of continuos agony and pain. The only child from the second was not much different from the four, but better in his relations with his father. His marriages to English women could be attributed to his desire to bridge the gap between the East and the West, because through all his successes and failures he had never lost touch with his Eastern heritage and endlessly strived to bring about some sort of harmony between the East and the West.
The saddest aspect of his life was that he died a nonentity in a miserable situation. Monetarily, he was not in a bad position. He was a British pension holder and had other sources of income. But during the last days of his life, he became mentally sick and, at times was found roaming about in tattered clothes in the streets of London with no fixed abode.
In the words of his biographer, M.A. Sherif, “it was in a harsh winter of Britain on December 9, 1953, that a confused Abdullah Yusuf Ali ws found out of doors, sitting in the steps of a house in Westminster. The police took him to Westminster Hospital. He was discharged the following day and a London County Council home for the elderly in Dovehouse Street, Chelsea, took him in. He suffered a heart attack on December 10 and was rushed to St Stephen’s Hospital in Fulham.
Three hours after admission he died. Unusually, there were no relatives to claim his body and arrange for the funeral. However, the deceased was known to the Pakistan High Commission and as soon as the Coroner for the County of London had completed the inquest, an Islamic burial was arranged in the Muslim section of Brookwood cemetery, Surrey. “So, in these enigmatic circumstances, ended the remarkable life of Abdullah Yusuf Ali, at the age of 81”.
Yes, Allah is great. That Abdullah Yusuf Ali was raised to an enviable position and then left to die in utter misfortune clearly shows, that we are helpless creatures, we cannot move a single finger without the blessings and mercy of Allah. During his heyday nobody could have thought that his end would be that miserable. Misery at an old age is a curse from which we are advised to seek Allah’s protection. It is incumbent on all of us to develop the sense of Taqwa – persistent fear of God for self-righteousness – and seek forgiveness for all our sins.
Son of Yusuf Ali Allahbuksh, a police inspector – in British days, quite an important position for a native Indian – his father was awarded the title of Khan Bahadur, an award the British government bestowed on Muslims for some act of public service or philanthropy.
Educated in Mumbai and then, on a government scholarship, at Cambridge, he successfully competed for the Indian Civil Service and was later called to the bar. After a stint of service in various provinces of India as a member of the legendary ICS, he finally resigned and left for London. He was a staunch loyalist of the British empire. He played a major role in political and educational fields in India and represented the country at national and international gatherings. He made a significant professional contribution to educational policies in secondary, tertiary and adult education. He was the contemporary of such Muslim luminaries of India as Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar and Sir Mohammed Iqbal.
For a common language for India, he aligned himself firmly on the side of English as the only practical option for India. He identified several disadvantages in adopting Urdu. Finally Yusuf Ali wrote articles on the Prophet Muhammad referring to him as “My Mahbub” (Beloved).
MONDAY :30/04/2001
http://www.islamweb.net/php/php_arabic/readArt.php?lang=E&id=2023
It is unfortunate that we know little about the life and work of this great Muslim scholar whom Allah had chosen for outstanding contribution to the Qur’anic literature. The contribution was duly recognised by the Muslim world when his work was adopted as the official English translation of the government of Saudi Arabia – the cradle of Islam – and printed and reprinted for distribution world over.
Born in 1872 in a humble Bohri (a branch of Shia sect) family of Surat (India), he achieved in terms of respect, position, power and intellectual calibre, almost everything one could aspire for. However, his martial life, both first and second, was dismal and ended in divorce, the first for infidelity. Both of them were English women.
Four children from the first wife had been a source of continuos agony and pain. The only child from the second was not much different from the four, but better in his relations with his father. His marriages to English women could be attributed to his desire to bridge the gap between the East and the West, because through all his successes and failures he had never lost touch with his Eastern heritage and endlessly strived to bring about some sort of harmony between the East and the West.
The saddest aspect of his life was that he died a nonentity in a miserable situation. Monetarily, he was not in a bad position. He was a British pension holder and had other sources of income. But during the last days of his life, he became mentally sick and, at times was found roaming about in tattered clothes in the streets of London with no fixed abode.
In the words of his biographer, M.A. Sherif, “it was in a harsh winter of Britain on December 9, 1953, that a confused Abdullah Yusuf Ali ws found out of doors, sitting in the steps of a house in Westminster. The police took him to Westminster Hospital. He was discharged the following day and a London County Council home for the elderly in Dovehouse Street, Chelsea, took him in. He suffered a heart attack on December 10 and was rushed to St Stephen’s Hospital in Fulham.
Three hours after admission he died. Unusually, there were no relatives to claim his body and arrange for the funeral. However, the deceased was known to the Pakistan High Commission and as soon as the Coroner for the County of London had completed the inquest, an Islamic burial was arranged in the Muslim section of Brookwood cemetery, Surrey. “So, in these enigmatic circumstances, ended the remarkable life of Abdullah Yusuf Ali, at the age of 81”.
Yes, Allah is great. That Abdullah Yusuf Ali was raised to an enviable position and then left to die in utter misfortune clearly shows, that we are helpless creatures, we cannot move a single finger without the blessings and mercy of Allah. During his heyday nobody could have thought that his end would be that miserable. Misery at an old age is a curse from which we are advised to seek Allah’s protection. It is incumbent on all of us to develop the sense of Taqwa – persistent fear of God for self-righteousness – and seek forgiveness for all our sins.
Son of Yusuf Ali Allahbuksh, a police inspector – in British days, quite an important position for a native Indian – his father was awarded the title of Khan Bahadur, an award the British government bestowed on Muslims for some act of public service or philanthropy.
Educated in Mumbai and then, on a government scholarship, at Cambridge, he successfully competed for the Indian Civil Service and was later called to the bar. After a stint of service in various provinces of India as a member of the legendary ICS, he finally resigned and left for London. He was a staunch loyalist of the British empire. He played a major role in political and educational fields in India and represented the country at national and international gatherings. He made a significant professional contribution to educational policies in secondary, tertiary and adult education. He was the contemporary of such Muslim luminaries of India as Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar and Sir Mohammed Iqbal.
For a common language for India, he aligned himself firmly on the side of English as the only practical option for India. He identified several disadvantages in adopting Urdu. Finally Yusuf Ali wrote articles on the Prophet Muhammad referring to him as “My Mahbub” (Beloved).
MONDAY :30/04/2001
http://www.islamweb.net/php/php_arabic/readArt.php?lang=E&id=2023