Investigating 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,

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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!es made 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;<= AH>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"

%Harvard& %/ondon& %.hio State& %$oronto& %/ibrary of #on!ress&

%Harvard& %/ondon& %.hio State& %$oronto& %/ibrary of #on!ress&

%Harvard& %/ondon& %.hio State& %$oronto& %/ibrary of #on!ress&

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 more substantial, changes than those in the translation and the commentaries. The reason being there was a greater need of general updating of information and clarification of certain explanations which were subject to misinterpretation. There were also a few instances in which certain portions of the material were deleted, either due 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 adopting the most accurate expression where needed, besides checking the notes vigilantly so as to clear any misconceptions regarding the articles of faith, varying juristic opinions and thoughts not in conformity with the sound 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 maAor 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 the Ahl al-Bayt, the 7amily of the 'rophet, and are respected by both the Ahl al6

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. $he fact that they were martyred is undisputed by those who have studied history. Abdullah Yusuf Ali !ives the e"ample of their martyrdom in the commentary to two different verses of the Qur'an. 8oth the revised editions have deleted this reference, #hapter E, Ferse 0;< !f a "ound hath tou#hed you$ %e sure a similar "ound hath tou#hed the others& Su#h days 'of (arying fortunes) *e gi(e to men and men %y turns: that Allah may +no" those that %elie(e$ and that He may ta+e to Himself from your ran+s Martyr-"itnesses 'to Truth)& And Allah lo(eth not those that do "rong& #ommentary footnote ;2G Original

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In this instance, the Amana edition failed to indicate that a revision had ta+en place with an @):*@ at the end of the passa!e.

Chapter 4, Verse 69 All "ho o%ey Allah and the messenger are in the #ompany of those on "hom is the Gra#e of Allah$- of the prophets '"ho tea#h)$ the sin#ere 'lo(ers of Truth)$ the "itnesses '"ho testify)$ and the ,ighteous '"ho do good): Ah- "hat a %eautiful fello"ship#ommentary footnote 2=D Original

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Chapter 37, Verse 107 And *e ransomed him "ith a momentous sa#rifi#e& #ommentary footnote ;0<E Original

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Abdullah Yusuf Ali was clearly very touched, li+e any !ood (uslim of any school of thou!ht would be, by the history and si!nificance of the martyrdom of Imam Husayn %a&. In the passa!e above he mentions a separate pamphlet by him that discussed this in detail. Althou!h the revised editions have ta+en out references to it, the pamphlet does e"ist in many libraries and has been made available on the web. It is called4

Imam Husain and His (artyrdom

It should be read by all those who wish to +now what Abdullah Yusuf Ali wished the readers of his Qur'an translation and commentary to +now about Imam Husayn, but which the publishers of the revised editions were not +een for them to discover, In this instance, the revised Amana edition itself seems to have been edited further and the last sentence @In this sense...@ is also deleted by the I7$A edition. $o find out more about Imams Hasan and Husayn %a&, their martyrdom, and their ran+ and importance in Islam, please see4

$he "cellences of Imam Husayn In Sunni Hadith $radition $he :evolution of Imam Husayn ?arbala, an endurin! paradi!m of Islamic revivalism

Imam Husayn's #oncepts of :eli!ion and /eadership

" he !"#hteous Imam"

Another area where revision was carried out was to delete references to the term 'ri!hteous Imam' althou!h the author, bein! Sunni, is clearly not usin! the term in the sense it is used by the Shi'ah. A couple of e"amples are !iven below4 Chapter $, Verse 191 And slay them "here(er ye #at#h them$ and turn them out from "here they ha(e turned you out. for tumult and oppression are "orse than slaughter. %ut fight them not at the Sa#red Mos/ue$ unless they 'first) fight you there. %ut if they fight you$ slay them& Su#h is the re"ard of those "ho suppress faith& #ommentary footnote 3<2 Original

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In this case, the Amana edition did not delete this reference to a ri!hteous Imam althou!h they removed the phrase @)a most important condition*@. $he I7$A edition removed the whole underlined section, In another place, both the Amana and I7$A editions deleted the reference4 Chapter $, Verse $16 0ighting is pres#ri%ed for you$ and ye disli+e it& But it is possi%le that ye disli+e a thing "hi#h is good for

you$ and that ye lo(e a thing "hi#h is %ad for you& But Allah +no"eth$ and ye +no" not& #ommentary footnote 3ED Original

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'erhaps it was felt that the term @ri!hteous Imam@ may lead readers to start thin+in! about how a (uslim leader may be ri!hteous or unri!hteous, and how to distin!uish between the two, which would lead to a re6appraisal of accepted history. $o understand the Shi'ah point of view on Imamate and ri!hteous leadership, please see the followin! resources4

Imamate4 Fice!erency of the 'rophet %s& Imamate and /eadership (aster and (astership

hose %ho &aused mu&h sorro% to the Ho'y (rophet [s]

Chapter 66, Verse 1 1 2rophet- *hy holdest thou to %e for%idden that "hi#h Allah has made la"ful to thee3 Thou see+est to please thy #onsorts& But Allah is 1ft-0orgi(ing$ Most Mer#iful& #ommentary footnote 2231 Original

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$he Amana edition is different from the ori!inal, and the I7$A edition has further deletion, $he chan!es can be analysed as follows4 The #riti#ism of A'ishah In order to tone down the criticism of A'ishah, dau!hter of Abu 8a+r b. Abi Quhafa, the Amana edition replaces the word 'imprudence' with 'behavior' and deletes the cross reference to footnote 31D3 which tal+s about an e"ample of such imprudence. I7$A deletes the whole comment about her which spanned several lines, The #riti#ism of Hafsa 8oth Amana and I7$A completely delete the reference to inappropriate behaviour by Hafsa, wife of the 'rophet %s& and dau!hter of 'Bmar b. al6?hattab. The #ause of sorro" for the 2rophet 4s5 $he fact, as stated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, that these two wives of the 'rophet %s& caused much sorrow to the Holy 'rophet %s& is now !one, Althou!h it may seem to some readers that Abdullah Yusuf Ali's Aud!ement on the two wives of the Holy 'rophet %s& was rather harsh, it is actually reflected in many commentaries and boo+s of hadith and is supported by solid historical evidence. 7or details see4

Shi'a ncyclopedia 6 Chapter 6a 'part i() and 'part () Al6(uraAa'at - '7etter 89)

he Ahl al-Bayt of the Ho'y (rophet [s]

#hapter EE, Ferse EE

And stay /uietly in your houses$ and ma+e not a da::ling display$ li+e that of the former Times of !gnoran#e. and esta%lish regular 2rayer$ and gi(e regular Charity. and o%ey Allah and His Messenger& And Allah only "ishes to remo(e all a%omination from you$ ye mem%ers of the 0amily$ and to ma+e you pure and spotless& #ommentary footnote EG02 Original

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Althou!h the Amana edition +ept the wordin! intact from the ori!inal commentary, the I7$A edition decided to re6 write a condensed passa!e. As in the other cases, the reader is !iven no clue that any chan!e has ta+en place. In fact, three chan!es of substance have ta+en place4 ;eletion of the grammati#al argument Abdullah Yusuf Ali believed that the wives of the Holy 'rophet %s&, by default, are members of the Ahl al-Bayt, in addition to Imam Ali %a&, /ady 7atimah %a&, and Imams Hasan and Husayn %a&. Althou!h most Sunnis either a!ree with this position or the Shi'a position that states that the wives were e"cluded from the Ahl al-Bayt, a !roup within the Ahl al6Sunnah believe that the Ahl al-Bayt were only restricted to the wives. $heir view would become indefensible on account of the !rammatical ar!ument that Abdullah Yusuf Ali mentioned, and which has now been deleted from the I7$A edition. !n#lusion of dou%t $he phrase included by the I7$A edition, @... !enerally in accordance with the narrative of Bmm Salama@ introduces an element of doubt in the mind of the reader by attributin! the inclusion of the four individuals solely to, what appears to be, a sin!le narrative by Bmm Salama, a very noble wife of the Holy 'rophet %s&. 9othin! could be further from the truth, $he inclusion of the Holy 'rophet %s& and the four, to the clear e"clusion of all the

wives, is reported not only by Bmm Salama throu!h reliable chains of narration, but also throu!h other wives of the 'rophet %s&. ;eletion of merit As if this was not enou!h, the I7$A edition also deletes the mention of Imams Hasan and Husayn %a& as the 'beloved' !randsons of the 'rophet %s&,