An immense understanding of the Qur'an is offered 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. With notes, an introduction and comprehensive index.

ZAFAR ISHAQ ANSARI (d. 2016), the translator and editor of Sayyid Mawdudi's monumental Tafsir was Vice President, Higher Studies and Research at the International Islamic University, Islamabad.He had an M.A. in Economics from the University of Karachi, and M.A. and Ph.D. in Islamic Studiesfrom McGill University, Montreal, Canada. Prior to his long period of service at the International Islamic University in Islamabad (1986-) he was associated with the University of Karachi, Pakistan; Universities of Princeton and Chicago, USA; King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; Melbourne university, Australia; and McGill University, Montreal, Canada. He had published a host of research papers in journals of international repute, contributed chapters to books and articles to Encyclopaedia Britannica and Encyclopaedia of Religion. He had co-edited with John 1. Esposito, Muslims and the West: Encounter and Dialogue (Islamabad and Washington DC, 2001). He was also a member of UNESCO's International Scientific Committee responsible for preparing a 6-volume series on Various Aspects of Islamic culture as well as one of the two Editors of its first volume, The Foundations of Islam. TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING THE QUR'AN is a fresh and highly readable English rendering of Tafhim al-Qur'an, Sayyid Mawdūdi's monumental and masterly Urdu translation and commentary. Here is a Tafsir with a difference, by a scholar of an entirely different sort. An immense wealth of profound understanding of the Qur'an is here, so is a vast treasure of knowledge and deep insights, illuminating historical accounts and philological discussions, and a highly systematic exposition of social, political, economic and legal teachings. But what makes this Tafsir unique is that it translates the Qur'an into a book to be lived by, a mission to be lived for, and a duty that a 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 Mawdūdi lived by what he expounded, as his life abundantly proves.

This Tafsir answers 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 centreing everything in it on its message, like gems hung on a single string. Each Surah is prefaced by an account of its background and teachings. Maps and indexes add greatly to the understanding.

To sum up: in this Tafsir, Sayyid Mawdūdi is offering us what we need most to understand and live by the Qur'an.

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