FOREWORD TO THE THIRD EDITION

This edition of Maulānā Muḥammad ‘Alī’s famous book, The Religion of Islām, is the first to appear after the author’s death. The first thought which comes to mind is to acknowledge the very great service which the Maulānā has rendered to the cause of Islām. Born in 1876, he acquired three University degrees in Literature and Law and, at a time when the prospects of a bright worldly career were wide open to him, he dedicated his life to the service of Islām. And what a dedication! He took up the pen in that cause in 1901, as a young man in his twenties, wielded it incessantly, untiringly and devotedly for half a century and did not lay it down until it was snatched from him by the hand of death.1

His English Translation of the Holy Qur’ān, a product of seven long years2 of laborious and original research, not only marked an epoch in the understanding of Islām by Muslim intelligentsia but also made an impact on Western scholarship, an impact which is noticeable in the changed outlook on Islām and the changed tone of literature about Islām which has since appeared. The popularity and widespread acclaim commanded by this English Translation — the first ever by a Muslim — was due not only to the tremendous research carried out by the Maulānā, the tracing of the authentic meaning of words and verses, the detailed references to acknowledged works of lexicology and standard commentaries, the emphasis on the underlying significance of Sections and Chapters and on the continuity of the theme linking them one with another; nor was it due solely to the scrupulously honest and faithful rendering, without literary flourishes and without any attempt to pander to preconceived or popular notions; nor yet was it entirely on account of the enlightened and rational approach and the answers to all criticism against the Holy Qur’ān; but also to something much more which no scholarship can offer—the gift of inner purity. Maulānā Muḥammad ‘Alī wielded a scholar’s pen with a saint’s hand, and therein lay the secret of his Translation becoming a spiritual force for the seeker after the truth. His work was a pioneer venture, breaking