On April 14, 1872 Abdullah Yusuf Ali was born in Bombay, India to wealthy merchant parents. He received a religious education and could recite the Qur’an from memory. He completed an English translation and commentary of the Qur’an in 1938.
He was well respected by both his peers and the British government of India. Yusuf Ali was even asked to be principal of Islamia College in Peshawar, Pakistan.
Yusuf Ali supported Indian participation, fighting on the side of the Allies in World War I. He was a world traveler and married an English woman. However, the marriage didn’t last, though they had four children. He died in England on December 10, 1953.
Wikipedia Bio of Abdullah Yusuf Ali
The Holy Qur’an – Online Text
Books by Abdullah Yusuf Ali on Al-Islam.org
A blurb of a very unflattering bio of Abdullah Yusuf Ali that I include in the interest of fairness.
Another page linking to the biography referenced above (this is the source of my picture.)
PS: When I chose this subject, I thought there would be a lot on Yusuf Ali floating around the internet. I was wrong. Read the links for more information, but definitely read the translation he’s famous for. Even if, as is suggested in the unflattering blurb and biography, Yusuf Ali was deluded in believing as he did about the British government and his religion, his acclaimed translation of one of the Holy Books of this world merits him honors.