to suspend this major work for a while and devote my time and energy instead to complete the translation of the Qur’an and the short explanatory notes that Sayyid Mawdudi had written for his abridged, one-volume work on the Qur’an Tarjuma-’i Qur’an-i Majid ma[ Mukhtasar Hawashi published in 1976. The idea was to make available an English translation of the Qur’an with short explanatory notes that would meet the need of the readers of the Qur’an who are concerned with knowing its essential teachings.
The present work represents my compliance with that request. As the readers of Towards Understanding the Qur’an are aware, I had already translated up to Surah 28 (al-Qasas) of the Qur’an and this had already appeared as part of the seven volumes of the above-mentioned work published so far. For the present work,
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however, I reviewed that translation quite carefully and critically and modified it at quite a few places. As for the translation of the remaining Surahs – 29 to 114 – it was done afresh. I cannot thank God enough for enabling me to accomplish this task. The mere idea that I will, insha’ Allah, find a place among the translators of the Qur’an is a matter of extraordinary privilege which fills my heart with immense gratitude to the Almighty.
I must confess that before I had prepared the manuscript of the abridged one-volume work, I did not have more than a faint idea of the true value and merit of the abridged version of Tafhim as a vehicle for dissemination of the Qur’an’s message. It was only after I had completed the draft of this work and read its proofs more than once – a task that made me read the text in one go – that I realized what a useful work it is. With all its merits, Tafhim al-Qur’an is a massive work and comprises something close to 4,000 pages of large-size paper in Urdu. It requires a considerable amount of sustained interest and a certain degree of academic competence to go through this significant piece of Qur’anic scholarship, especially its copious notes. It is no wonder, therefore, that although Tafhim attracted a very large readership, the abridged Urdu edition of the work prepared by Mawdudi himself has reached a much larger readership. We hope that the abridged edition of Tafhim in English will possibly also draw a very large readership and will thus be a source of enlightenment for a great number of people. The worth of the present work also lies in the fact that its short notes provide that essential explanation of the Qur’an without which an ordinary reader’s understanding of it might remain inadequate. At the same time, the notes indeed seem confined to the bare minimum so that one hardly finds anything that is not necessary for a proper understanding of the Qur’anic teachings.
In finalizing the text of this work I have greatly benefited, as I had benefited earlier in Towards Understanding the Qur’an, from the critical comments and suggestions of Ms. Suzanne Thackeray and Dr. A.R. Kidwai and it is my pleasant duty to express my profound gratitude to them. Dr. Kidwai was kind enough also to cast a second critical look at the text which helped me weed out
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quite a number of lapses. I greatly appreciate this important contribution of his and I am beholden to him for that. At the Foundation Mr. Naiem Qaddoura rendered valuable assistance in setting the Arabic material and page layout. Dr. Manazir Ahsan, by his constant, even if polite reminders, did not permit this writer to relax or remain indolent for long! As for my life-long friend, Khurshid Ahmad, it is no exaggeration to say that his words of appreciation, encouragement, kindness and support helped me strengthen my resolve to give this work the best of whatever I have. In a way, both Towards Understanding the Qur’an and the present work are an epitome of a long, time-tested and profound friendship and camaraderie. I am thankful to all of them.
Several friends in Islamabad have also obliged me in the preparation of this work. My friend and colleague, Mr. S.M. Afzal Iqbal, Director Publishing, Administration and Finance, Islamic Research Institute, undertook the painstaking and meticulous task of culling out for this work the explanatory notes for Surahs 1-28 from the first seven volumes of Towards Understanding the Qur’an. This was a very tedious task requiring meticulous care which saved me considerable time and effort. I am deeply indebted to Mr. Afzal Iqbal for the fine job he has done.
Several of my colleagues at the Islamic Research Institute have also assisted me in several ways. Mr. Amjad Mahmood and Gohar Zaman cheerfully typed and retyped the manuscript quite a number of times. Mr. Tufail Hussain Jadoon worked very hard to typeset and format the text, which was by no means an easy task. The Institute’s skilled proof-readers, Mr. Muhammad Nazir and Mr. Mazhar Iqbal also worked assiduously to ensure accuracy. Dr. Muhammad Junaid Nadvi of the Centre of Islamic Studies, International Islamic University, Mr. Abdurrahman Saaleh, Editorial Assistant, Islamic Studies and Mr. Muhammad Akram Afzal of the Islamic Research Institute provided academic assistance. Mr. Qaiser Shahzad of the Islamic Research Institute very carefully went through the manuscript from cover to cover, perhaps more than once, and favoured me with quite a few critical comments. I feel great pleasure in acknowledging the contributions of these friends and colleagues and thanking them.
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Muhammad Modassir Ali, again a colleague of mine at the Institute, worked with me on this manuscript day after day and month after month and assisted me in ways just too numerous to be counted. He critically reviewed the text over and over again, his sharp eyes and penetrating brain perceiving errors, oversights and inadequacies which had escaped my notice. His constant and critical scrutiny of the text has doubtlessly led to the improvement of the text. Apart from providing academic assistance, Modassir also contributed very significantly to technical matters pertaining to the formatting of the text, to preparing the index, and helped me with the preparation of the Glossary of Terms and Biographical Notes. Enormous is the amount of time that he has devoted to and the extent of interest he has lavished on this work of mine and most valuable is the assistance he has rendered to me in seeing this book through to completion. I do not think that mere words can ever adequately express my gratitude to him.
The responsibility for whatever mistakes, oversights or inadequacies, remain in this work despite the assistance I have received, lies squarely on my shoulders.
May Allah bless all those whose names have been mentioned above as well as those whose names could not be mentioned although they have helped and encouraged and inspired me in connection with this work in one way or another.
Islamabad Zafar Ishaq Ansari
August 25, 2005
N.B. ▶ refers to the continuation of the paragraph adopted by Mawdudi in the Urdu translation
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It must be said at once that this is an introduction to Towards Understanding the Qur’an, and not to the Qur’an itself. It has been written with two objectives. First, to acquaint the reader with certain matters which he should grasp at the very outset so as to achieve a more than superficial understanding of the Holy Book. Second, to clarify those disturbing questions that commonly arise in the mind of the reader during the study of the Qur’an.
[ I ]
We are accustomed to reading books which present information, ideas and arguments systematically and coherently. So when we embark on the study of the Qur’an, we expect that this book too will revolve around a definite subject, that the subject matter of the book will be clearly defined at the beginning and will then be neatly divided into sections and chapters, after which discussion will proceed in a logical sequence. We likewise expect a separate and systematic
