Al-Bayan: Epilogue

This annotated translation began some time in 1985. However, while authoring Mīzān, work on it was restricted to what was necessary to provide instalments to the monthly journal Ishrāq. It was in April 2007 when work on it formally began with exclusive devotion once Mīzān was completed. Gratitude to God will always fall short once by His grace this annotated translation by the name of Al-Bayān reached its culmination on September 15, 2014 at 2 am. Since its last two chapters had been written first, work on it ended with the completion of Sūrah al-Ḥujurāt (49), which is the last sūrah of the fifth chapter.

The style of the Qur'ān is that it states the cause of something but many a time does not use any word that signifies causation; it brings forth parables but suppresses some of its components on the basis of parallelism and does not express them in words; like a divine orator, it at times addresses one group and at times another, yet many a time nothing except the occasion and nature of the discourse signifies this shift; it cites answers one after the other but does not cite the questions, objections and doubts that it answers or if it all it does, it does so very concisely so that they can only be understood merely through the answers. It continues to state one thing after the other by linking a group of verses to the next in the form of principal statements, corollaries, objection statements, culmination clauses, contrast, comparison, qualifying statements and ending statements which bring up the same topic as the opening statements. However, while connecting verses through these linkages, it does not state them in words whether before or after. This is the pinnacle of the style of literary discourse adopted by the orators of the ancient period. The people of Arabia were conversant with it and knew full well that through it the effectiveness and eloquence of words reached their zenith. The coherence in the Qur'ān to which Imām Ḥamīd al-Dīn Farāhī (1863-1930), the celebrated scholar and researcher of the subcontinent, introduced the world is the consequence of appreciating this style. These subtleties of the discourse have been fully explained by my mentor Imām Amīn Aḥsan Iṣlāḥī (1904-1997) in his exegesis Tadabbur-i Qur'ān, yet the way he has translated the verses is very similar to how our exegetes have generally being doing. Since the time of my student years, I did think that we cannot convey the elegance of words, rhythm of sentences and splendour and perfection of constructions into a translation but when we also leave aside these linkages while translating the Qur'ān, we deprive the reader of a greater part of its meaning, in fact, at times the real meaning.

It was in order to fulfil this need that I undertook this translation and have attempted to unfold these linkages within the translation in a manner that I have not even inserted parenthesis to indicate the essential parts of words and sentences that have been suppressed in accordance with linguistic considerations of the Arabic language. These suppressions are in fact obvious and understood components of the discourse. It is thus expected that readers will be able to appreciate the meaning, coherence and splendour of style of the Qur'ān which generally remain elusive to them. They will see that with the expression of these linkages how a sūrah manifests itself as an elegant unit, the possibility of differences in interpretation is almost done away with, the grandeur in the sequence of the Qur'ān becomes evident, the meaning of verses comes to the fore with clarity and certainty and their eloquence is unveiled with brilliance.

I will also say the same thing about this work which I have already mentioned in the epilogue of Mīzān: the opinions presented are not done so on the basis of some past or present personality or personalities; on the contrary, they have been formed on the basis of natural principles that relate to language and hermeneutics and are universally acknowledged in their import. Thus it is because of precisely this reason that at many instances my interpretation is different from that of my celebrated mentor Imām Amīn Aḥsan Iṣlāḥī. However, this work is the work of a human being that can never be fault-free. I have kept on reviewing it and making changes and additions in it. In the last few years, Rizwanullah, a very dear and adept student of mine, has painstakingly read and reviewed it twice and suggested some apt emendations, most of which I accepted. Even after this, there will always remain room for change and correction and as long as I live, God willing, I will continue to do it. I seek refuge with God from deliberately making a mistake in this book or remaining adamant on it.

I have been living away from my homeland for the last five years and going through all those phases which a person undergoes after migrating from his country. Yet I am grateful to God that Sheikh Afzaal Ahmad, who is like a brother to me, has continued to provide for my needs and has relieved me of earning my livelihood. My companions and associates, especially my wife supported me in these testing times the very way they did in the times of writing Mīzān. I have mentioned the names of all these individuals in the epilogue of that book. Two prominent additions to them are of Mian Amir Mahmood and Mir Ibrahim Rahman. I pray to God Almighty that if I have been able to serve the cause of His Book through this annotated translation to accept it and make it a means of my forgiveness and that of these companions and associates of mine.

Jawad Ahmad is overseeing the printing of this translation under the auspices of the Media and Marketing department of Al-Mawrid. Here I must express my gratitude to him and his team, in particular, Shahid Raza, Azhar Ameer, Muhammad Farooq Zameer, Naeem Ahmad, Muhammad Azeem Ayub, Muhammad Javed Ashraf and Muhammad Mushtaq. The hard work and responsibility with which they are undertaking this task is extremely commendable in every respect.

God Almighty! With the completion of this book I have reached the age in which this world is left afar and the next world is nearer. I know that if today I am called back, I have nothing to present to you. Yet I plead to you to pardon the mistakes and shortcomings of this humble and frail servant of yours because only you have absolute power and your compassion has no bounds:

“ My sins are boundless and so is the mercy of my Lord ”