Editions of Yusuf Ali's Translation

There are many translations of the meanings of the Holy Quran. The one I usually refer to first is Yusuf Ali's translation. Specifically the following old edition:

Ali, Abdullah Yusuf, "The Holy Quran, Text, Translation and Commentary", Hafner Publishing Company, New York, 1946. (PDF Download - Over 1800 pages - Size: About 90 MB. I hope it is ok to offer a download link. I have not seen this edition sold anywhere. Please note that the whole preface has been moved to the end of the pdf file, most likely to keep the page numbers in sync between the printed pages and the pdf file pages.)

This edition came in two large volumes. It was part of father's book collection, and was the first English translation that I started to explore.

Later on, I bought a newer edition, that came in one volume with better paper quality and better printing. However, I was surprised to find that there were changes (in the translation of verses and the associated comments) compared to the original edition. In many cases, such changes would give a meaning of a verse that is different from the original.

Prophets Stating Their Certainty Of Knowing God - "إني على بينة من ربي"

The phrase "على بيّنة من ربي" appears several times in the Quran, specifically when different Prophets were arguing with nonbelievers.

In Surat Al-An'am (ch. 6), Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him is addressed as follows (Quran 6:57):

"قل إني على بينة من ربي"

Yusuf Ali's translation of (6:57): "Say: 'For me, I (work) on a clear Sign from my Lord'."

Pickthall's translation of (6:57) : "Say: I am (relying) on clear proof from my Lord".

Imam Al-Razi (in his exposition, Mafateeh Al-Gaib) interprets "على بيّنة من ربي" in his comment on (11:28), saying it means: "Knowing the Essence of God and His Qualities".

Sufi shiekh Ibn Ajeeba (in his exposition Al-Bahr Al-Madeed) interprets (6:57) as: "Say: I am on a clear Path that leads to Realization of Knowledge of God, and being exposed to the good pleasure of God "رضوان الله" (which is described in Yusuf Ali's translation of (9:72), as the greatest bliss and the supreme felicity), myself and those who follow me." A couple of paragraphs later, he adds about the same phrase, that it points to "having a penetrating insight which enables to clearly see/experience the secrets of the Lord".

 

Views About Religion In The Media

Notes about some views on Religion in the Media:

The Pilgrim and the WC - A Sufi Story

This story happened about a couple of generations back. It is about a Pilgrim in Makkah Grand Mosque who needed to go to a WC.

The Invisible Painter - A Sufi Story

A story about a young man and his experience with reading about Wars in History books.

Ibn Arabi's Al-Salat Al-Akbariah - Translation and Notes

This is an attempt to translate the text of Ibn Arabi's Al-Salat Al-Akbariah, which presents a summary of his view of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, and how that view relates to a view of the spiritual nature of Existence.

Please note that, regarding Sufism, I am an outsider both to Academic communities and Sufi fellowships.

Familiarity with concepts of Aqeedah (Elements of Faith) and Oneness of Being is expected.

 

Programming Languages Are Useful But Not Perfect

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A friend back in college enjoyed solving math problems. He once told me about a lengthy assignment his class was given. He solved all the problems and was certain that all the solutions were correct. He got the highest mark in class, but not the full mark. He quickly went through the pages and spotted the professor's remark on the side of one page. It said (translated): "It's not what you think". And there was a line under a phrase that my friend wrote, that said something like: "If so and so information about x is available, y can be measured with absolute precision". He did not ask the professor for an explanation. He understood that, in college, saying 'absolute precision' can get you less marks.

His fascination with math and logic was great. Even after college, in his spare time, he would read books about math and logic, including books about the philosophy of math. What caught my attention was that he said that, in his twenties, the biggest shock was losing a parent, and the next biggest shock was realizing that mathematics was not absolutely solid.

The shock was probably inevitable since my friend was like many people who would see math as the last solid ground that eventually can explain everything.

Late Teen Philosophy - A Sufi Story

This is a story about a 19 years old college student.

The Girl Who Married An Unsuitable Man - A Sufi Story

I recall a story that happened about two or three generations ago.

Al-Ghazali - Ehyaa - Outer and Inner Purity

In Ehya' Ulum Al-Deen, Imam Al-Ghazali says, while talking about Wadu' - Ablution :

ومهما فرغ من وضوئه وأقبل على الصلاة فينبغي أن يخطر بباله أنه طهر ظاهره، وهو موضع نظر الخلق، أن يستحي من مناجاة الله تعالى من غير تطهير قلبه وهو موضع نظر الرب سبحانه وليحقق طهارة القلب بالتوبة، والخلو عن الأخلاق المذمومة والتخلق بالأخلاق الحميدة أولى. وأن من يقتصر على طهارة الظاهر كمن يدعو ملكا إلى بيته فتركه مشحونا بالقاذورات واشتغل بتجصيص ظاهر الباب البراني من الدار.

As one finishes his ablution and goes to prayer, one would believe that his outer appearance is clean and pure, and that is what [the aspect that] other people see. But one should feel ashamed to have a discourse with Allah [Prayer is essentially and in its finest practice, a deep experience of having a kind of communication with God] without having cleaned and purified his Heart [one’s Essence], and that is what Allah SWT sees [probably pointing to the Hadith that “Allah does not look at your (physical) faces but at your hearts.”].

So, one should aspire to have a clean and pure heart by repentance [assuming that one might have behaved or said something that might have ‘stained the heart’, since the last prayer]. Although, not having bad/negative traits and having fine manners is better and should be one’s priority [in an attempt to reach a state of sustained purity of the heart].

Whoever is [going to prayer] content with having a clean outer appearance, is like someone inviting a king to his house, and he is busy with beautifying the outer part / the entrance to the house, while the house is full of garbage.

Notes :