Ma’ariful Qur’an

Ma’ariful-Qur’an OnlineFOREWORD by Justice Maulana Muhammad Taqi UsmaniMa’ariful-Qur’an is the name of a detailed Urdu commentary of the Holy Qur’an written by my father Maulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi’. He 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 servedthe country in different capacities. Healso established Darul-Uloom Karachi, an outstanding institute of Islamic Sciences on the pattern of Darul-Uloom Deoband, which is regarded today as the biggest privateinstitute 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-Qur’an was the last great work he accomplished four years before his demise.The origin of Ma’ariful-Qur’an refersback to the third of Shawwal 1373 A.H. (corresponding to the 2nd of July 1954) when the author was invited to give weekly lectures on the Radio Pakistan to explain selected verses of the Holy Qur’an to the general audience. This invitation was accepted by the author on the condition that he would not accept any remuneration for this service and that; his lectures would be broadcast without any interference by the editing authorities. The permanent title of this weekly program was “Ma’ariful-Qur’an” (The Wisdom of the Holy Qur’an) and it was broadcast every Friday morning on the network of Radio Pakistan.This series of lectures continued for ten years up to the month of June 1964 whereby the new authorities stopped the programme for reasons best known to them. This series of lectures contained a detailed commentary on selected verses from the beginning of the Holy Qur’an up to the Surah Ibrahim (Surah no. 14).This weekly programme of Radio Pakistan was warmly welcomed by the Muslims throughout the globe and used to be listened to by thousands of Muslims, not only in Pakistan and India but also in Western and African countries.After the programme was discontinued, there was a flood of requests from all over the world to transfer this series in a book-form and to complete the remaining part of the Holy Qur’an in the shape of a regular commentary.These requests persuaded the esteemed author to revise these lectures and to add those verses, which were not included in the original lectures. He started this project in 1383 A.H. (1964) and completed the commentary of Surah al-Fatihah in its revised form and started the revision of Surah al-Baqarah. However, due to his numerous involvements he had to discontinue this task, and it remained unattended during the nextfive years.In Shawwal 1388 (1969) the esteemed author suffered from a number of diseases, which made himrestricted to his bed. It was during this ailment that he restarted this work while on bed and completed Surah al-Baqarah in the same condition. Since then he devoted himself to the “Ma’ariful-Qur’an”. Despite a large number of obstacles in his way, not only from the political atmosphere of the country and the difficult responsibilities he had on his shoulders in different capacities, but also from his health and physicalcondition, he never surrendered to any of them and continued his work with a miraculous speed until he accomplished the work in eight volumes (comprising of about seven thousand pages) within five years only.After appearing in a regular book-form, Ma’ariful-Qur’an was highly appreciated and widely admired by the Urdu-knowing Muslims throughout the world. Thousands of copies of the book are still circulated every year, and the demand for the book is so increasingthat it has always been a problem forits publisher to satisfy the demand to its optimum.A Few Words about the Present English Translation of Ma’ariful-Qur’anLet 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 are 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 fulfill the need of a detailed commentary. Besides, theyare generally written by the people who did not specialize themselves in the Qur’anic sciences, and their explanatory notes do not often reflectthe 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.On the other hand, during the last fewdecades, the Muslim population has increased among the English speaking countries in enormous numbers. These people and their new generations need a detailed commentary of the Holy Qur’an which may explain to them the correct message of the last divine book with all the relevant material in an authentic manner which conforms to the recognized principles of tafsir (the exegesis of the Holy Qur’an).Since Ma’ariful-Qur’an was the latest book written on these lines andwas proved to be beneficial for a layman as well as for a scholar, it was advised by different circles that its English translation may fulfill the need.It made me look for a person who might undertake the task, not only with his professional competence, but also with his commitment to serve the Holy Qur’an.Fortunately, I succeeded in persuading Prof. Muhammad HasanAskari, the well-known scholar of English literature and criticism, to undertake the translation. In the beginning he was reluctant due to his strong sense of responsibility in the religious matters, but when I assured him of my humble assistance throughout his endeavor, he not only agreed to the proposal, but also started the work with remarkable devotion. Despite my repeated requests, he did never accept any honorarium or a remuneration for his service. He was a chain-smoker. But he never smoked during his work on Ma’ariful-Qur’an, which sometimes lasted for hours.In this manner he completed the translation of about 400 pages of theoriginal Urdu book and 156 verses ofthe Surah al-Baqarah, but unfortunately, his sudden demise discontinued this noble effort. Strangely enough, the last portion he translated was the commentary of the famous verse:“And surely, We will test you with a bit of fear and hunger and loss in wealth and lives and fruits. And give good tidings to the patient who, when they suffer a calamity, say, ‘We certainly belong to Allah and to Him we are bound to return.”Prof. Askari passed away in 1977, and due to my overwhelming occupations during the next 12 years, I could not find out a suitable person to substitute him. It was in 1989, that Prof. Muhammad Shamim offered his services to resume the translation from where Prof Askari had left it. I found in him the same sincerity, commitment and devotion I had experienced in the lateProfessor. Moreover, he had decided to devote the rest of his life to the service of the Holy Qur’an without any financial benefit. Here again I tried my best to persuade him to accept some kind of honorarium, but it was in vain. He started his work from the Verse 158 of Surah al-Baqarah and has now completed the translation of the first two volumes of the original Ma’ariful-Qur’an and is working on the third volume. (Now five volumes have been produced and work is going on the remaining three volumes.)Both Prof. Muhammad Hasan Askari and Prof. Muhammad Shamim have insisted that their translations must be revised by me from the religious point of view. For this purpose, I havegone through the typescript of the translations of both of them and suggested some amendments where it was necessary.The translation of Prof. Askari had been started at a time when the esteemed author of Ma’ariful-Qur’anwas still alive. We were fortunate to receive some guidelines from the author himself. He had advised the translator