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Now, here are some points to be kept in mind while consulting the translation.

1. Although the translators have tried their best to preserve not only the literal sense of the Holy text, but also the order of words and sentences, yet, while translating the idiomatic expressions, it is felt that the literal translation may distort the actual sense or reduce the emphasis embodied in the Arabic text. At such places effort has been made to render the Quranic sense into a closer English expression.

2. Both in the translation of the Holy Quraan and in the commentary, a uniform scheme of transliteration has been adopted.  Read more... (740 words, estimated 2:58 mins reading time)

The original Urdu Ma’ariful-Qur’an had not given a new translation of the Holy Qur’an itself. Rather, the esteemed author had adopted the Urdu translations of Maulana Mahmoodul-Hasan (Shaikhul-Hind) and Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanavi which he based his commentary. While rendering the book into English, we had three options about the translation of the Holy Qur’an:

(a) To adopt any one of the already available English translations of the Holy Qur’an, like those of Arberry, Pickthall or Abdullah or Yosuf Ali

(b) To translate the Urdu translations used in the Ma’ariful-Qur’an into English.

(c) To provide a new translation of our own.  Read more... (456 words, estimated 1:49 mins reading time)

Let me say a few words about the present English translation of the Ma’ariful-Qur’an.

Although a large number of English translations of the Holy Qur’an is available in the market, yet no comprehensive commentary of the Holy Qur’an has still appeared in the English language. Some brief footnotes found with some English translations cannot fulfil the need of a detailed co’mmentary. Besides, they are generally written by the people who did not specialize themselves in the Qur’anic sciences, and their explanatory notes do not often reflect the authentic interpretation of the Holy Qur’an. Some such notes are based on an arbitrary interpretation having no foundation in the recognized principles of the exegesis of the Holy Qur’an, and are thus misleading for a common reader.  Read more... (851 words, estimated 3:24 mins reading time)

Ma’ariful-Qur’an is the name of a detailed Urdu commentary of the Holy Qur’an written by my father Maulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi’ was one of the eminent scholars who served as a professor and as a grand Mufti of Darul-Uloom Deoband, the well-known university of the Islamic Sciences in the sub-continent of India. In 1943, he resigned from Darul-Uloom, due to his active involvement in the Pakistan movement, and when Pakistan came into existence, he migrated to Karachi where he devoted his life for this new homeland of the Muslims and served the country in different capacities. He also established Darul-Uloom Karachi, an outstanding institute of Islamic Sciences on the pattern of Darul-Uloom Deoband, which is regarded today as the biggest private institute of higher Islamic education in Pakistan.
He was a prolific writer who left behind him about one hundred books on different Islamic and literary subjects. Ma’ariful-Quran was the last great work he accomplished four years before his demise.
 Read more... (644 words, estimated 2:35 mins reading time)