Yusuf Ali, Abdullah (1872-1952)
Yusuf Ali, Abdullah was born in Bombay, India (in 1872) to
a wealthy merchant family. As a child, Yusuf Ali received
a religious education and, eventually, could recite the entire
Qur'an from memory. He learned Arabic and English, and could
speak both languages fluently. Yusuf Ali studied English
literature and visited several European countries as a student.
He concentrated his efforts on the Qur'an and studied the Qur'anic
commentaries beginning with those written in early days of Islamic
history. Yusuf Ali's most important work was his book
The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary,
published in 1934.
Yusuf Ali was an outspoken supporter of the Indian contribution
to the Allied effort in World War I. He was a respected intellectual
in India and Sir Muhammed Iqbal recruited him to be the principal
of Islamia College, Lahore. Later in life, he went to England and
is buried in the Muslim cemetery at Brookwood, Surrey,
near Woking, near another translator of the Qur'an,
Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall.
For more information on, and comparison of, Yusuf Ali's
translation of the Qur'an, see the section
Qur'an Versions
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