tahrif - against abdullah yusuf ali

8/12/2019 Tahrif - Against Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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T a h r i fInvestigating Distortions

in Islamic Texts

Abdullah Yusuf Ali's Qur'an commentary, the deletion of

the merits of Imams Hasan and Husayn [a, and other changes

Synopsis:

Abdullah Yusuf Ali was a renowned Sunni translator

and commentator of the Qur'an. His translation and

commentary has been very popular in the Islamic and

Western world, wherever n!lish is read and

understood.

A comparison of the e"planatory notes between the old

versions and the newer 'revised' versions of his

#ommentary reveals many discrepancies. $hese

'revisions' include the deletion of merits of Imams Hasan

and Husayn %a&, who were the !randchildren of the

rophet (uhammad %s&, members of his Household

)Ahl al-Bayt*, and the second and third Shi'a Imams. In

addition, certain other interestin! chan!es have ta+en

place

#lic+ on below to see full scanned ima!e of pa!e and lin+s to bio!raphical information about authorIn addition to the libraries indicated, try the -uide to nline /ibrariesto locate these te"ts elsewhere in the world

Source of the Alle!ation

[Miscellaneous Sources]

vidence, Analysis and #onclusion

Abdullah Yusuf Ali was a renowned n!lish translator and commentator of the Qur'an. He lived many years of his

life in n!land where he died in 0123. His translation and commentary has been published many times and is used

widely in the n!lish spea+in! world as well as in places where n!lish is read and understood.

A couple of 'revised' editions have appeared within the last fifteen years or so. An investi!ation into the chan!esmade in these new editions reveals a pattern which may be educational to the readers of this case study.

$hree editions of Abdullah Yusuf Ali's wor+ were used to research and document this case study. $he details of

these are4

Original

The Glorious Kur'an - Translation

and Commentary

)5ar al67i+r, 8eirut*

)n.d.*

Amana

The Meaning of The Holy Qur'an

9ew dition with :evised

$ranslation, #ommentary and 9ewly

#ompiled #omprehensive Inde"

Amana ublications

7irst edition, 0;01=1 A# by

Amana #orporation

IFTA

The Holy Qur'an - nglish Translation

of the Meanings and Commentary

:evised and dited by $he residency

of Islamic :esearches, I7$A, #all and

-uidance

?in! 7ahd Holy Qur'an rintin!

#omple"
http://al-islam.org/sources/libguide.htmhttp://al-islam.org/sources/libguide.htm


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8oth the revised editions ma+e it clear in their introductory pa!es that the ori!inal translation and commentary by

Abdullah Yusuf Ali has been modified. 7or e"ample the Amana edition, in its 'reface to the 9ew dition' )pa!e

i"*, states4

The explanatory footnotes and the appendices, however, were subject to more frequent, and occasionally moresubstantial, changes than those in the translation and the commentaries. The reason being there was a greaterneed of general updating of information and clarification of certain explanations which were subject tomisinterpretation. There were also a few instances in which certain portions of the material were deleted, eitherdue to its outdatedness or due to its proneness to misinterpretation.

$his edition also puts an @):*@ ne"t to the passa!e it modifies in most, but not all, cases.

$he I7$A edition, after ac+nowled!in! on pa!e vi that it was Abdullah Yusuf Ali's wor+ that was chosen for

revision, states on pa!e vii4

Finally, a fourth committee was formed to look into the findings of the second and third committees and to

implement the recommendations made by them. Furthermore, this committee had to finalise the text by adoptingthe most accurate expression where needed, besides checking the notes vigilantly so as to clear anymisconceptions regarding the articles of faith, varying juristic opinions and thoughts not in conformity with thesound Islamic point of view.

$his edition does not attempt to show where it has chan!ed the commentary from that of the ori!inal Abdullah

Yusuf Ali or even that of the already revised Amana edition, which it chan!es further in some places

$he chan!es selected for this case study are only some of the lar!e number of both minor and maor alterations

present in the revised editions. $hrou!hout this case study, a red line is used to indicate deleted or chan!ed te"t.

Martyrdom of Imams Hasan and Husayn [a]

$he two Imams were members of theAhl al-Bayt, the 7amily of the rophet, and are respected by both the Ahl al6
http://hollisweb.harvard.edu/http://195.195.181.2/search/a?Yusuf+Ali%2C+Abdullahhttp://felix.us.ohio-state.edu/search/a?Ali%2C+Abdullah+Yusuf%2C+1872-1952http://felix.us.ohio-state.edu/search/a?Ali%2C+Abdullah+Yusuf%2C+1872-1952http://www.library.utoronto.ca/http://catalog.loc.gov/http://catalog.loc.gov/http://hollisweb.harvard.edu/http://195.195.181.2/search/a?Yusuf+Ali%2C+Abdullahhttp://felix.us.ohio-state.edu/search/a?Ali%2C+Abdullah+Yusuf%2C+1872-1952http://www.library.utoronto.ca/http://catalog.loc.gov/http://hollisweb.harvard.edu/http://195.195.181.2/search/a?Yusuf+Ali%2C+Abdullahhttp://felix.us.ohio-state.edu/search/a?Ali%2C+Abdullah+Yusuf%2C+1872-1952http://www.library.utoronto.ca/http://catalog.loc.gov/http://hollisweb.harvard.edu/http://195.195.181.2/search/a?Yusuf+Ali%2C+Abdullahhttp://felix.us.ohio-state.edu/search/a?Ali%2C+Abdullah+Yusuf%2C+1872-1952http://www.library.utoronto.ca/http://catalog.loc.gov/http://hollisweb.harvard.edu/http://195.195.181.2/search/a?Yusuf+Ali%2C+Abdullahhttp://felix.us.ohio-state.edu/search/a?Ali%2C+Abdullah+Yusuf%2C+1872-1952http://www.library.utoronto.ca/http://catalog.loc.gov/http://hollisweb.harvard.edu/http://195.195.181.2/search/a?Yusuf+Ali%2C+Abdullahhttp://felix.us.ohio-state.edu/search/a?Ali%2C+Abdullah+Yusuf%2C+1872-1952http://www.library.utoronto.ca/http://catalog.loc.gov/


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Sunnah and the Shi'a with the latter believin! in their imamah)leadership* after Imam 'Ali %a&. Imam Hasan %a& was

poisoned on the insti!ation of (u'awiyah, the Bmayyad despot, in 2< AH and his son YaCid was responsible for the

massacre of Imam Husayn %a& and his family and friends in ?arbala in the year D0 AH. $he fact that they were

martyred is undisputed by those who have studied history.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali !ives the e"ample of their martyrdom in the commentary to two different verses of the Qur'an.

8oth the revised editions have deleted this reference

#hapter E, Ferse 0;

tahrif - against abdullah yusuf ali

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