Key to Al 'Imran. Abdur Rashid Siddiqui

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       Preface

      IN THE LAST year of his life (1996) our respected Brother Khurram Murad (may Allah have Mercy on him) published a booklet giving an overview of Sūrah al-Baqarah as well as its major themes. In his own words his sole aim was, “to make the message of the Qur’an, and its summons to live by it, reach the hearts and minds of readers” (p. 6.) His death so soon after its publication, deprived us of his so many talents and not least his ability to expound the message of the Glorious Qur’ān so as to penetrate the hearts of his listeners and readers.

Efforts are afoot to edit and publish his very many unpublished manuscripts. So far the Islamic Foundation has published his trilogy on the Qur’ān and the life and message of the Prophet Muḥammad ṣallallāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam¹ entitled: The Quranic Treasures, Gifts from Muhammad and Who is Muhammad. His two other works in English both recently published are: In the Early Hours: Reflections on Spiritual and Self Development and Dying and Living for Allah. His works in Urdu are also being published in Pakistan posthumously. Thus, we are fortunate to benefit from his scholarship and advice even after his death. I have no doubt this Ṣadaqah Jārīyah will continue and may Allah in His infinite mercy forgive his shortcomings and elevate him to Jannat al-Firdaws. (Āmīn)

      Still there is a need to continue the work to which he had devoted his life. One very important area was his love for and devotion to the Book of Allah. Although in his modest way he used to disclaim any pretence of deep knowledge and scholarship in this field, those who knew him and had the privilege of listening to his Dars-e-Qur’ān knew his erudite scholarship and deep insight into Qur’ānic knowledge. His book Way to the Qur’ān is immensely popular and has guided a great many young people to undertake Qur’ānic studies.

      I must admit that I am a novice in the field of Qur’ānic sciences. I am conscious of my lack of competence to undertake this task. Yet last year when I made a brief presentation, following the pattern of Brother Khurram Murad on Sūrah Āl ‘Imrān, I was persuaded by many well-wishers and friends to compile this booklet so as to continue the work of our learned friend and mentor.

      I have tried to follow Brother Khurram Murad’s methodology and pattern and attempted to present an overview of Sūrah Āl ‘Imrān. In this, I have tried to cover areas which were so dear to him. His purpose was to make the Holy Qur’ān accessible to the masses and facilitate its understanding. Thus making the Qur’ān relevant to our lives and the life of the Ummah so that we may receive guidance from this Divine source. For a proper understanding of the Qur’ān studying reliable tafāsīr (commentaries) and self-reflection are essential. Yet there is also a need to have clear perspectives of the sūrahs as well. Of course, some tafāsīr also provide this information. Usually, however, these are not expounded in great detail. Although there are voluminous Qur’ānic literatures available in the Arabic and Urdu languages, there is a paucity of reliable tafāsīr (commentaries) in English. Unfortunately, there are also only a few commentaries in English dealing with the aspect of the naẓm (internal arrangement) of the sūrahs. I have given a selection of commentaries that can be consulted for further study in the Bibliography. This compilation is for young men and women who ardently desire to understand the Qur’ān and want to live by it.

I would like to thank Professor Khurshid Ahmad, Professor Salman Nadvi, Dr. Abdur Raheem Kidwai and Adil Salahi for meticulously reading the entire manuscript and offering many valuable comments. I am also grateful to Maulana Sohaib Hasan, Dr. Ataullah Siddiqui, Farooq Murad and Zahid Parvez for their constructive suggestions for improving the work. Whatever errors there are, I alone am responsible for them. May Allah Subḥānu wa ta‘ālā² forgive me. I am very grateful to Dr. Manazir Ahsan, the Director General of the Islamic Foundation for publishing this book and writing a Foreword to it. He also kindly checked the diacritical marks for the Arabic words. I am also grateful to Mrs Susanne Thackray for her editorial suggestions. Not least, my thanks are due to Naiem Qaddoura for typesetting the manuscript and Nasir Cadir for the cover design.

      I hope and pray that Allah (swt) may bless this humble effort and that it may inspire and stimulate interest in the study of the Holy Qur’ān in our younger generation.

1 It is customary to recite the salutation after the names of prophets. It means, “May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him”. In the rest of the book it is abbreviated as “saws”.

2 This phrase praises Allah and will subsequently be abbreviated as (swt).