The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an

Complete Translation with Selected Notes

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

• Publisher: The Islamic Foundation
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9780860373926
• eBook ISBN: 9780860376118
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Islamic Theology

The Qur'an is the inimitable and direct Word of God. It was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad over twenty-three years, who faithfully transmitted it to humanity in the seventh century. Since then the text and meaning of the Qur'an has been preserved, word for word, exactly as it was fourteen hundred years ago. It is a Book of Guidance for all mankind with a central message of God's Oneness. Yet, it has several layers of meaning and beauty that are easily lost in translation.

This splendid translation, originally prepared in 1934, aimed to help readers understand the meaning of the Qur'an but also to appreciate its beauty and catch something of the grandeur of the Arabic.

This is a compact and revised edition of Abdullah Yusuf Ali's translation of The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an in modern English. It contains the complete translation of the Qur'anic text and retains essential notes of Yusuf Ali's exhaustive commentary on the Qur'an, which enables the reader to gain a better understanding of its message and helps to reveal some of the inexhaustible depth of knowledge it contains.

One of the most widely-used and known translations of the Qur'an into modern English, with 472 notes and an introduction.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali (1872–1953) was an Indian Islamic scholar. In 1938, Yusuf Ali's translation of the Qur'an was published in Lahore. His translation of the Qur'an is one of the most widely-known and used in the English-speaking world. He died in 1953 in London, United Kingdom.

Chapter 1

AL-FĀTIḤAH
(The Opening)

Introduction

First comes that beautiful Sūrah,¹⁷

The Opening Chapter¹⁸ of Seven Verses,¹⁹

Rightly called the Essence of the Book.

It teaches us the perfect Prayer.

For if we can pray aright, it means

That we have some knowledge of Allah

And His attributes, of His relations

To us and His creation, which includes

Ourselves; that we glimpse the source

From which we come, and that final goal

Which is our spiritual destiny

Under Allah’s true judgement: then

We offer ourselves to Allah and seek His light.

Prayer is the heart of Religion and Faith

But how shall we pray? What words shall convey

The yearnings of our miserable ignorant hearts

To the Knower of all? Is it worthy of Him

Or of our spiritual nature to ask

For vanities, or even for such physical needs

As our daily bread? The Inspired One

Taught us a Prayer that sums up our faith,

Our hope, and our aspiration in things that matter.

We think in devotion of Allah’s name and His Nature;

We praise Him for His creation and His Cherishing care;

We call to mind the Realities, seen and unseen;

We offer Him worship and ask for His guidance;

And we know the straight from the crooked path

By the light of His grace that illumines the righteous.

*** *** ***

1 In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.²⁰

2 Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer²¹ of the Worlds;
3 Most Gracious, Most Merciful; 4 Master of the Day of Judgement.

5 You do we worship, and Your aid we seek.²²

6 Show us the straight way,²³ 7 The way of those on whom You bestowed Your Grace, those whose (portion) is not wrath,²⁴ and who go not astray.²⁵

---

17. Each chapter or portion of the Qur’ān is called a Sūrah, which means a Degree or Step, by which we mount up. Sometimes whole Sūrahs were revealed, and sometimes portions, which were arranged under the Prophet’s directions. Some Sūrahs are long, and some are short, but a logical thread runs through them all. Each verse of the Sūrah is called an Āyah (plural, Āyāt), which means also a sign. A verse of revelation is a Sign of Allah’s wisdom and goodness just as much as Allah’s beautiful handiwork in the material creation or His dealings in history are signs to us, if we would understand. Some Āyāt are long, and some are short. The Āyah is the true unit of the Qur’ān. [15]
[Throughout this book “Sūrah” will be used for Chapter in the text.—Ed.]

18. Fātiḥah = Opening Chapter: See note 1 at the end of this Sūrah. [16]

18a. By universal consent it is rightly placed at the beginning of the Qur’ān, as summing up, in marvellously terse and comprehensive words, man’s relation to God in contemplation and prayer. In our spiritual contemplation the first words should be those of praise. If the praise is from our inmost being, it brings us into union with God’s Will. Then our eyes see all good, peace, and harmony. Evil, rebellion, and conflict are purged out. They do not exist for us, for our eyes are lifted up above them in praise. Then we see God’s attributes better (verses 2-4). This leads us to the attitude of worship and acknowledgement (verse 5). And finally comes prayer for guidance, and a contemplation of what guidance means (verses 6-7).

God needs no praise, for He is above all praise; He needs no petition, for He knows our needs better than we do ourselves; and His bounties are open without asking, to the righteous and the sinner alike. The prayer is for our own spiritual education, consolation, and confirmation.

That is why the words in this Sūrah are given to us in the form in which we should utter them. When we reach enlightenment, they flow spontaneously from us. [18]

19. These seven verses form a complete unit by themselves, and are recited in every prayer and on many other occasions. Cf. 15:87. [17]

20. The Arabic words Raḥmān and Raḥīm, translated “Most Gracious” and “Most Merciful” are both intensive forms referring to different aspects of Allah’s attribute of Mercy. The Arabic intensive is more suited to express Allah’s attributes than the superlative degree in English. The latter implies a comparison with other beings, or with other times or places, while there is no being like unto Allah, and He is independent of Time and Place. Mercy may imply pity, long-suffering, patience, and forgiveness, all of which the sinner needs and Allah Most Merciful bestows in abundant measure. But there is a Mercy that goes before even the need arises, the Grace which is ever watchful, and flows from Allah Most Gracious to all His creatures, protecting them, preserving them, guiding them, and leading them to clearer light and higher life. For this reason the attribute Raḥmān (Most Gracious) is not applied to any but Allah, but the attribute Raḥīm (Merciful), is a general term, and may also be applied to men. To make us contemplate these boundless gifts of Allah, the formula: “In the name of Allah Most Gracious, Most Merciful”: is placed before every Sūrah of the Qur’ān (except the ninth), and repeated at the beginning of every act by the Muslim who dedicates his life to Allah, and whose hope is in His Mercy

Opinion is divided whether the Bismillāh should be numbered as a separate verse or not. It is unanimously agreed that it is a part of the Qur’ān. Therefore it is better to give it an independent number in the first Sūrah. For subsequent Sūrahs it is treated as an introduction or headline, and therefore not numbered. [19]

21. The Arabic word Rabb, usually translated Lord, has also the meaning of cherishing, sustaining, bringing to maturity. Allah cares for all the worlds He has created.

There are many worlds, astronomical and physical worlds, worlds of thought, spiritual world. and so on. In every one of them, Allah is all-in-all. We express only one aspect of it when we say: “In Him we live, and move, and have our being.” The mystical division between (1) Nāsūt, the human world knowable by the senses, (2) Malakūt, the invisible world of angels, and (3) Lāhūt, the divine world of Reality, requires a whole volume to explain it. [20]

22. On realising in our souls Allah’s love and care, His grace and mercy, and His power and justice (as Ruler of the Day of Judgement), the immediate result is that we bend in the act of worship, and see both our shortcomings and His all-sufficient power. The emphatic form means that not only do we reach the position of worshipping Allah and asking for His help, but we worship Hi...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Understanding the Qur’ān—An Introduction by Sayyid Abul A‘la Mawdudi
• Excerpts from the Preface to the First Edition
• Translator’s Introduction
• Chapter
• 2 Al-Baqarah (The Heifer)
• 3 Āl ‘Imrān (The Family of ‘Imrān)
• 4 Al-Nisā’ (The Women)
• 5 Al-Mā’idah (The Table Spread)
• 6 Al-An‘ām (The Cattle)
• 7 Al-A‘rāf (The Heights)
• 8 Al-Anfāl (The Spoils of War)
• 9 Al-Tawbah (The Repentance) or Barā’ah (Immunity)
• 10 Yūnus (Jonah)
• 11 Hūd (The Prophet Hūd)
• 12 Yūsuf (Joseph)
• 13 Al-Ra‘d (The Thunder)
• 14 Ibrāhīm (Abraham)
• 15 Al-Ḥijr (The Rocky Tract)
• 16 Al-Naḥl (The Bee)
• 17 Al- Isrā’ (The Night Journey) or Banī Isrā’īl (The Children of Israel)
• 18 Al-Kahf (The Cave)
• 19 Maryam (Mary)
• 20 Ṭā Hā
• 21 Al-Anbiyā’ (The Prophets)
• 22 Al-Ḥajj (The Pilgrimage)
• 23 Al-Mu’minūn (The Believers)
• 24 Al-Nūr (The Light)
• 25 Al-Furqān (The Criterion)
• 26 Al-Shu‘arā’ (The Poets)
• 27 Al-Naml (The Ants)
• 28 Al-Qaṣaṣ (The Narration)
• 29 Al-‘Ankabūt (The Spider)
• 30 Al-Rūm (The Roman Empire)
• 31 Luqmān
• 32 Al-Sajdah (The Prostration)
• 33 Al-Aḥzāb (The Confederates)
• 34 Saba’ (The City of Saba’)
• 35 Fāṭir (The Originator of Creation)
• 36 Yā Sīn
• 37 Al-Ṣāffāt (Those Ranged in Ranks)
• 38 Ṣād
• 39 Al-Zumar (The Crowds)
• 40 Ghāfir (Forgiver) or Al-Mu’min (The Believer)
• 41 Fuṣṣilat (Expounded) or Ḥā Mīm
• 42 Al-Shūrā (Consultation)
• 43 Al-Zukhruf (The Gold Adornments)
• 44 Al-Dukhān (The Smoke)
• 45 Al-Jāthiyah (The Kneeling Down)
• 46 Al-Aḥqāf (Winding Sand-tracts)
• 47 Muḥammad
• 48 Al-Fatḥ (The Victory)
• 49 Al-Ḥujurāt (The Inner Apartments)
• 50 Qāf
• 51 Al-Dhāriyāt (The Winds that Scatter)
• 52 Al-Ṭūr (The Mount)
• 53 Al-Najm (The Star)
• 54 Al-Qamar (The Moon)
• 55 Al-Raḥmān (The Most Gracious)
• 56 Al-Wāqi‘ah (The Inevitable Event)
• 57 Al-Ḥadīd (Iron)
• 58 Al-Mujādalah (The Woman Who Pleads)
• 59 Al-Ḥashr (The Gathering or Banishment)
• 60 Al-Mumtaḥanah (The Woman To Be Examined)
• 61 Al-Ṣaff (The Battle Array)
• 62 Al-Jumu‘ah (Congregation)
• 63 Al-Munāfiqūn (The Hypocrites)
• 64 Al-Taghābun (Mutual Loss and Gain)
• 65 Al-Ṭalāq (Divorce)
• 66 Al-Taḥrīm (Prohibition)
• 67 Al-Mulk (The Dominion)
• 68 Al-Qalam (The Pen) or Nūn
• 69 Al-Ḥāqqah (The Sure Reality)
• 70 Al-Ma‘ārij (The Ways of Ascent)
• 71 Nūḥ (Noah)
• 72 Al-Jinn (The Spirits)
• 73 Al-Muzzammil (Folded in Garments)
• 74 Al-Muddaththir (The One Wrapped Up)
• 75 Al-Qiyāmah (The Resurrection)
• 76 Al-Insān (Man)
• 77 Al-Mursalāt (Those Sent Forth)
• 78 Al-Nabā’ (The Great News)
• 79 Al-Nāzi‘āt (Those Who Tear Out)
• 80 ‘Abasa (He Frowned)
• 81 Al-Takwīr (The Folding Up)
• 82 Al-Infiṭār (The Cleaving Asunder)
• 83 Al-Muṭaffifīn (The Dealers in Fraud)
• 84 Al-Inshiqāq (The Rending Asunder)
• 85 Al-Burūj (The Zodiacal Signs)
• 86 Al-Ṭāriq (The Night-Visitant)
• 87 Al-A‘lā (The Most High)
• 88 Al-Ghāshiyah (The Overwhelming Event)
• 89 Al-Fajr (The Break of Day)
• 90 Al-Balad (The City)
• 91 Al-Shams (The Sun)
• 92 Al-Layl (The Night)
• 93 Al-Ḍuḥā (The Glorious Morning Light)
• 94 Al-Sharḥ (The Expansion)
• 95 Al-Tīn (The Fig)
• 96 Al-‘Alaq (The Clinging Clot) or Iqra’ (Read!)
• 97 Al-Qadr (The Night of Power or Honour)
• 98 Al-Bayyinah (The Clear Evidence)
• 99 Al-Zilzal (The Convulsion)
• 100 Al-‘Ādiyāt (Those That Run)
• 101 Al-Qāri’ah (The Day of Noise and Clamour)
• 102 Al-Takāthur (The Piling Up)
• 103 Al-‘Aṣr (Time Through the Ages)
• 104 Al-Humazah (The Scandalmonger)
• 105 Al-Fīl (The Elephant)
• 106 Quraysh (The Tribe of Quraysh)
• 107 Al-Mā‘ūn (The Neighbourly Needs)
• 108 Al-Kawthar (The Abundance)
• 109 Al-Kāfirūn (Those Who Reject Faith)
• 110 Al-Naṣr (The Help)
• 111 Al-Lahab (The Flame) or Al-Masad (The Plaited Rope)
• 112 Al-Ikhlāṣ (The Purity of Faith)
• 113 Al-Falaq (The Daybreak)
• 114 Al-Nās (Mankind)
• Index