- published: 12 Aug 2014
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Abdullah Yusuf Ali, CBE, FRSL (14 April 1872 – 10 December 1953) was an Indian Islamic scholar who translated the Qur'an into English. His translation of the Qur'an is one of the most widely-known and used in the English-speaking world.
Ali was born in Bombay, India in British India to a wealthy merchant family with a Siddiqui Bohera father. As a child, Ali received a religious education and, eventually, could recite the entire Qur'an from memory. He spoke both Arabic and English fluently. He studied English literature and studied at several European universities, including the University of Leeds. He concentrated his efforts on the Qur'an and studied the Qur'anic commentaries beginning with those written in the early days of Islamic history. Yusuf Ali's best-known work is his book The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary, begun in 1934 and published in 1938 by Sh. Muhammad Ashraf Publishers in Lahore, India (later Pakistan). While on tour to promote his translation, Ali helped to open the Al-Rashid Mosque, the third mosque in North America, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, in December 1938.
Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib (Arabic: علي بن أﺑﻲ طالب, Transliteration: ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, [ʕaliː ibn ʔæbiː t̪ˤɑːlib]; 13thRajab, 24 BH–21stRamaḍān, 40 AH; approximately October 23, 598 or 600 or March 17, 599 – January 27, 661). The son of Abu Talib, Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of Islamic prophet Muhammad, ruling over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661, and was the first male convert to Islam.Sunnis consider Ali the fourth and final of the Rashidun (rightly guided Caliphs), while Shias regard Ali as the first Imam and consider him and his descendants the rightful successors to Muhammad, all of which are members of the Ahl al-Bayt, the household of Muhammad. This disagreement split the Ummah (Muslim community) into the Sunni and Shia branches.
Muslim sources, especially Shia ones, state that since Muhammad's time, Ali was the only person born in the Kaaba sanctuary in Mecca, the holiest place in Islam. His father was Abu Talib and his mother was Fatima bint Asad, but he was raised in the household of Muhammad, who himself was raised by Abu Talib, Muhammad's uncle, and Ali's father. When Muhammad reported receiving a divine revelation, Ali was the first male to accept his message, dedicating his life to the cause of Islam.
Sheikh Ali Jaber, (Arabic:علي جابر), born Ali ibn Abdullah ibn Ali Jabber (Arabic: علي بن عبدالله بن علي جابر), was born in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 1951 or 1952. He was Imam at the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and considered as one the best reciters in the world. He also has the honor of first ever Ph.D. Imam of Masjid Al Haraam.
In 1956, when Jaber was 5, he moved to Medina, where he memorized the Qur'an, finishing in 1971, at the age of 14 or 15. In 1976, Jaber joined the Sharia Faculty of the Islamic University and graduated in 1986.
He enrolled in the High Institute of Magistracy and prepared a thesis he supported in 1980. His research was carried out on the topic "Abullah Ibn Omar's fiqh and its impact on the Medina School". He graduated with honors, and was proposed to be judge in Mayssane, but he preferred the position of Administrative Inspector. He soon became an Arabic language teacher and professor of Islamic studies in the Education Faculty of Medina, affiliated with King Abdulaziz University.