Читать книгу Towards Understanding the Qur'an - Sayyid Abul A'la Mawdudi - Страница 14

Foreword

ceaselessly to improve themselves, improve their fellow-beings and improve the order of things in which they are placed.

Sayyid Mawdudi’s magnum opus, Tafhim al-Qur’an, was published in Urdu in six volumes and is spread over several thousand pages. It was felt that it should reach the vast body of English-reading public spread across the globe. Hence we arranged for its English translation which is being published under the auspices of the Islamic Foundation, Leicester, UK. Seven volumes of it have already been published. Work on the remaining volumes is under way but its completion may take several years. Hence it was considered appropriate to publish a shorter, one-volume work about the Qur’an that would be of use to those who might not have the time or sustained interest and patience to study the voluminous work that Tafhim is.

As good luck would have it, after completing Tafhim Sayyid Mawdudi himself became aware of the same need and therefore produced a one-volume edition of his work to which he gave the title Tarjuma-’i Qur’an-i Majid ma[ Mukhtasar Hawashi. Sayyid Mawdudi added to his translation of the Qur’an, which in itself was a landmark achievement, short notes which he considered essential for a clear understanding of the Qur’an. These notes are by far and large an abridgement of the copious notes of his Tafhim.

Sayyid Mawdudi’s translation has certain unique features. It is an interpretative translation in direct, forceful and modern Urdu which has now been rendered into forceful and modern English. In the first place, this translation conveys the meaning of the Qur’an in a style that hopefully reflects something of the beauty, force and majesty of the Qur’an. This translation is supported by short notes and those too in a very limited number. They primarily aim at clarifying either the background of a particular verse or elaborating a point where the uninitiated reader might require some assistance in grasping the meaning and import of a Qur’anic verse. It is hoped that in its present form the translation with short notes accompanying it will provide a useful aid for an essential understanding of the Qur’an. The purpose of the work is to assist those who seek to have access

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