Selections from Akram Khan’s Tafsirul Qur’an 1 2 Selections from Akram Khan’s Tafsirul Qur’an Selections from Akram Khan’s Tafsirul Qur’an By an Editorial Board Selections from Akram Khan’s ISBN Tafsirul Qur’an 984-70103-0016-0 ©Bangladesh Institute of Islamic Thought (BIIT) First Published July 2009 Razab 1430 Ashar 1416 Publisher Bangaladesh Institute of Islamic Thought (BIIT) House # 04, Road # 02, Sector # 09, Uttara Model Town, Dhaka – 1230 Phone/Fax : 8950227, 8924256, 06662684755, 01554357066 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.iiitbd.org Price Tk. 175 US$ : 15 Printed by Al-Falah Printing Press 423 Bara Maghbazar, Dhaka – 1217 Phone: 9345741, 9358432 ‘Selections from Akram Khan’s Tafsirul Qur’an’ published by Bangladesh Institute of Islamic Thought (BIIT). House # 04, Road # 02, Sector # 09, Uttara Model Town, Dhaka-1230, Phone/Fax: 8950227, 8924256, 06662684755, Bangladesh Institute of Islamic Thought 01554357066, E-mail: [email protected], Web: www.iiitbd.org, Price: Tk. 175 US$: 15 Selections from Akram Khan’s Tafsirul Qur’an 3 4 Selections from Akram Khan’s Tafsirul Qur’an CONTENTS Publisher’s Note 9 Translation and Editorial Notes 11 Foreword 12 Introduction 17 Selections from Tafsirul Qur’an 31 o Adam and Paradise 31 o Adam’s Jannah 33 EDITORIAL BOARD o Shajara : the forbidden tree 35 o Release of the Jews 36 - Answer to the first question 40 - Answer to the second question 41 Chief Editor - Answer to the third Question 42 Shah Abdul Hannan o Twelve springs 43 o Lifting Tur (Mount Sinai) 47 o Be you apes, despised and rejected 48 Editor o Lesson from this Verse 50 Md. Mahmudul Hasan o Rules of exemption from fasting 53 o Relationship (sexual contact) between husband and wife 54 o It is prohibited to take mahr back 58 Members of the Editorial Board o Subsequent state of divorce 59 Iftekhar Iqbal o Iddat of the widow 60 M. Abdul Aziz o Miraculous deeds of Isa 62 o Death and the rise of Isa 63 o Lexicographical evidences 65 o Raf’un 67 o Arguments of the other party 69 o Two other pledges 71 o Isa and Adam 72 o Protest of the Jews 73 o Help by the angels 75 o The right of the right hand 76 o Adultery and women 79 Selections from Akram Khan’s Tafsirul Qur’an 5 6 Selections from Akram Khan’s Tafsirul Qur’an o Penalty for adulterous couple 83 o Provision for taubah (repentance) 134 o Reduction of punishment for adultery 85 o Becoming monkey and swine 135 o Marrying a female slave is undesirable 87 o Adam and his creation 139 o Jibt and taghut 87 o Pride of high birth 139 o Rules regarding women 90 o Respite of Iblis 139 o Hostility of husband towards wife 92 o Deception of Satan 140 o Polygamy 92 o Jannat of Adam 140 o Divorce 93 o The forbidden tree 142 o Allah’s universal decree 93 o Disobedience of Adam 143 o Ultimate message of Allah 94 o The Muslim mind and the Satanic mind 143 o Slander of Maryam 95 o Shaitan (satan) and his nature 143 o Visual illusion 96 o Six periods 147 o Debate on Jesus 99 a. Khalqun 147 b. Ayyam 147 o The death and rise of Jesus 99 o Arsh of Allah 150 o Faith in Jesus by the people of Book 99 o Physical structure of the 'Aad community' 152 o Appendix 101 - General View 101 o Evil Omen 153 o Word meanings and their significance 103 o Having the sight of Allah 153 o Evidence of the Qur’an 105 o Creation and regeneration 156 - First category 105 o Complaints of the elders 159 - Second category 110 o The elders brought three accusations against Nuh: 159 o What is Sulala? 113 o The main objective of prophethood is to rescue the o Protoplasm 114 downtrodden and the underdog of society. 160 o Discussion of hadiths 115 o Noah’s Flood 160 o Analysis of these hadiths 116 o Women’s plot 162 o Punishment for theft 120 o Encounter with the king 163 o Problems about the Verse 121 o Good news 164 o Principles of the Penal Code 122 o Daughter, “unworthy daughter” 166 o Precedents of the application of these principles 123 o Eternal property 167 o Meqdar or amount 126 o The Mi’raj (Ascension) of Prophet Muhammad 168 o Definition of theft 128 o Infanticide (murder of one’s children) 169 o Exceptions 129 o Allah’s encompassment 171 o Amicable settlement 130 o Ru’a or dream 171 Selections from Akram Khan’s Tafsirul Qur’an 7 8 Selections from Akram Khan’s Tafsirul Qur’an o Veil on their ears 172 o First permission for combat battle 205 o Awake and asleep 174 o Security of Houses of Worship 206 - First problem 174 o Forecast for change 207 - Second problem 175 o The name Muslim 208 - Third Problem 177 o Taraeq or ways 208 - Fourth Problem 177 o The succession of the prophets 209 o Aiqaz and Rukud 178 o Prophets 211 o Taqleeb or turning upon one side 180 o Division of religion 212 o Kalb and Oseed 181 o A traveller of the way to success 212 o End of sufferings 182 o In the way to wellbeing 212 o A day or part of it 183 o Creation of human is not without a reason 213 o 300-year stay 184 o Social responsibility 214 o Sineen or few years 186 o Sovereignty belongs to Allah 214 o Zul-Qarnain 187 o o The glad tiding of pregnancy and childbirth 189 The future of the polytheists 215 o o Allah’s message to Maryam 193 Complaints of the Prophet 216 o Translation of verse 18 194 o The condition of the poets 217 o Imaginations and suppositions of the narrators 194 o Hint to Jihad 217 o Maryam’s question 194 o The Last Prophet 218 o Birth of Yahya and Isa 195 o Shihabun Thaqeb 220 o Ayat or Sign 195 o The story of cutting horses 221 o Maryam’s conception 196 o The message of monotheism 222 o Maryam’s lamentation 196 o Two Observers 223 o Consoling Maryam 196 o Etiquette with the Qur’an 225 o Yusuf Najjar 197 o Women’s allegiance 226 o After that 197 o Note One: Introductory words 227 o Disclosure of truth by Isa 198 o Summary of the verses 230 o Musa’s viewing of a flash of light 199 o The issue of sea/ocean/reservoir 201 o The actual occurrence 231 o Pharaoh’s failing to ascertain the right path 202 o Reading the Qur’an in prayer 233 o Manna and Salwa 202 o The only Lord worthy of worship 234 - Manna 203 o Temptation of Khannas 234 - Salwa 204 Glossary 239 Selections from Akram Khan’s Tafsirul Qur’an 9 10 Selections from Akram Khan’s Tafsirul Qur’an After the selection from five volumes, the translation was started by Md. Khairul Alam and Rowshan Zannat, Research Fellow of BIIT. It was indeed a difficult task to transfer the technical meanings from Bangla to English and they did this in the best possible manner. We are thankful for this to them. After completion of their work it was sent to Md. Mahmudul Hasan, for English editing of the book for it to become of international standard and attractive for sophisticated readers.While editing, he thought that language required improvement and as such he re- translated the whole work. We expressed our gratitude to him for his painstaking work. PUBLISHERS NOTE We acknowledge the co-operation of Jubaer Mohammad Ehsanul Haque, Assistant Professor, Department of Arabic, Dhaka University This great and noble project started after an article on Life and Tafsir who helped the Editor regarding few expressions of Arabic texts. We of Maulana Akram Khan written by Shah Abdul Hannan was posted also acknowledge the role of Raudah Mohd Yunus who helped the on the Internet. He was then the President of the Bangladesh Institute project in various ways especially preparing the glossary. of Islamic Thought (BIIT). Ahmad Totonji, an international figure We are also thankful to Iftekhar Iqbal of Dhaka University, Mir and Vice President of the International Institute of Islamic Thought Kamal Chowdhury, faculty of International Islamic University (IIIT), USA, became interested in this article and asked Shah Abdul Chittagong (IIUC), and Shakil Abdullah, faculty of Manarat Hannan whether Maulana Akram Khan’s tafsir can be fully translated International University, for their work in this noble project at the into English. At that point Shah Abdul Hannan advised him that full initial stage. We also thank Mohammad Abdul Alim who kindly translation was not needed, and what was needed was to publish a composed all the Arabic texts in the book. work in English where the speciality of Moulana Akram Khan’s tafsir would be presented, particularly the points where he differed from We are grateful to Md. Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Executive Director of the majority and agreed with the minority or where he gave his BIIT, for his immense patience and organizing capability that he unique ideas. showed while managing this work. Ahmad Totonji agreed with this and asked to proceed. Accordingly a We believe that this work has become representative of the great team was formed headed by Shah Abdul Hannan, on which initially work of Maulana Akram Khan. We hope that this book will be very there were Md.