
Towards Understanding The Qur'an Abridged Version of Tafhim Al-Qur'an by Zafar Ishaq Ansari
Author: Syed Abul A'la Mawdudi
Translated by : Zafar Ishaq Ansari
Publisher: Kube Publishing Ltd
Year Published: 2016
Language: English
Genre: Al-Quran
ISBN: 9780860375104
Pages: 1408
Format: Paperback
Towards Understanding The Qur’an Abridged version is a fresh English rendering of Tafhim al-Qur’an, Sayyid Mawdudi’s monumental and masterly Urdu translation of the Qur’an and a selection of his commentary.
Here is a work with a difference, by a scholar of an entirely different sort. An immense wealth of profound understanding of the Qur’an is here, a vast treasure of knowledge and deep insight, and a valuable exposition of some social, political, economic and legal teachings of the Qur’an. But what makes this work unique is that it presents the Qur’an as a book to be lived by, a mission to be lived for, and a duty that the reader can no longer evade or postpone.
This rare quality is imparted not only by the depth of his scholarship and style of exposition but also because Sayyid Mawdudi lived by what he expounded as his life abundantly proves. Despite being an abridged version it endeavors to answer many contemporary questions and makes the Qur’an fully relevant to the concerns of our day, yet it loses nothing of its timelessness nor sacrifices any of the traditional understanding. It demonstrates the unity and coherence of the Qur’an by centering everything in it on its message, like pearls hung upon a single thread.
A Glossary, Biographical Notes, and General and Subject Indexes add to the understanding of the Qur’an. To sum up: in this work, Sayyid Mawdudi is offering us what we need most to understand and live by the Qur’an.
1. The book is ONLY in English. Iman should have clearly stated that this version is ONLY in English. It's not really a concern for me but it might be for those to needed the Arabic-English version (usually priced at $120, no wonder other bookstore sells it higher in price). 2. The English wording selected for this book is quite high and too hard to be understood (SAT level) by the layman. 3. Gotta love the paper quality, but it's only a paperback version.