Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall (born Marmaduke William Pickthall; 7 April 187519 May 1936) was an English
Islamic scholar
In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...
noted for his 1930 English translation of the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , ...
, called ''
The Meaning of the Glorious Koran
''The Meaning of the Glorious Koran'' (1930) is an English Language translation of the Quran with brief introductions to the Surahs by Marmaduke Pickthall. In 1928, Pickthall took a two-year sabbatical to complete his translation of the meaning ...
''. His translation of the Qur'an is one of the most widely known and used in the English-speaking world. A convert from
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...
to
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
, Pickthall was a novelist, esteemed by
D. H. Lawrence
David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...
leaders
Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets view ...
. He declared his conversion to Islam in dramatic fashion after delivering a talk on 'Islam and Progress' on 29 November 1917, to the
Muslim Literary Society The Muslim Literary Society was founded in 1916 and was based in Notting Hill, West London, with Koranic translator Abdullah Yusuf Ali as its president.
It is not to be confused with the American Muslim Literary Society or the Bengali Muslim Litera ...
in
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road Ma ...
Regent's Park
Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...
in London, on 7 April 1875, the elder of the two sons of the
Reverend
The Reverend is an honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. ''The Reverend'' is correctly ...
Charles Grayson Pickthall (1822–1881) and his second wife, Mary Hale, ''née'' O'Brien (1836–1904). Charles was an
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...
Woodbridge, Suffolk
Woodbridge is a port and market town in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It is up the River Deben from the sea. It lies north-east of Ipswich and forms part of the wider Ipswich built-up area. The town is close to some major a ...
. The Pickthalls traced their ancestry to a knight of
William the Conqueror
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...
, Sir Roger de Poictu, from whom their surname derives. Mary, of the Irish Inchiquin clan, was the widow of William Hale and the daughter of Admiral Donat Henchy O'Brien, who served in the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...
. Pickthall spent the first few years of his life in the countryside, living with several older half-siblings and a younger brother in his father's
rectory
A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage.
Function
A clergy house is typically o ...
in rural Suffolk. He was a sickly child. When about six months old, he fell very ill of measles complicated by bronchitis. On the death of his father in 1881 the family moved to London. He attended
Harrow School
Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (sc ...
but left after six terms. As a schoolboy at Harrow, Pickthall was a classmate and friend of
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...
.
Pickthall travelled across many Eastern countries, gaining a reputation as a Middle-Eastern scholar, at a time when the institution of the Caliphate had collapsed with the Muslim world failing to find consensus on appointing a successor. Before declaring his faith as a Muslim, Pickthall was a strong ally of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
. He studied the
Orient
The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of '' Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the ...
, and published articles and novels on the subject. While in the service of the
Nizam of Hyderabad
The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...
, Pickthall published his English translation of the
Qur'an
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...
with the title ''
The Meaning of the Glorious Koran
''The Meaning of the Glorious Koran'' (1930) is an English Language translation of the Quran with brief introductions to the Surahs by Marmaduke Pickthall. In 1928, Pickthall took a two-year sabbatical to complete his translation of the meaning ...
''. The translation was authorized by the
Al-Azhar University
, image = جامعة_الأزهر_بالقاهرة.jpg
, image_size = 250
, caption = Al-Azhar University portal
, motto =
, established =
*970/972 first foundat ...
and the ''
Times Literary Supplement
''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp.
History
The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to '' The Times'' but became a separate publication ...
'' praised his efforts by writing "noted translator of the glorious Quran into English language, a great literary achievement." Pickthall was conscripted in the last months of the
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
and became corporal in charge of an influenza isolation hospital.
In June 1917, Pickthall gave a speech defending the rights of Palestinian Arabs, in the context of the debate over the
Balfour Declaration
The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British government in 1917 during the First World War announcing its support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman regio ...
. In November 1917, Pickthall publicly took
shahada
The ''Shahada'' ( Arabic: ٱلشَّهَادَةُ , "the testimony"), also transliterated as ''Shahadah'', is an Islamic oath and creed, and one of the Five Pillars of Islam and part of the Adhan. It reads: "I bear witness that there i ...
at the
Woking
Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...
Muslim Mission with the support of Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din. He followed this with a speech contrasting the Christian and Muslim approaches to religious law, arguing that Islam was better equipped than Christianity to handle the post-World War world.
Pickthall, who now identified himself as a "
Sunni
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a dis ...
Muslim of the
Hanafi
The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named a ...
school", was active as "a natural leader" within a number of Islamic organizations. He preached Friday sermons in both the
Woking Mosque
The Shah Jahan Mosque (also known as ''Woking Mosque'') in Oriental Road, Woking, England, is the first purpose-built mosque in the United Kingdom. Built in 1889, it is located southwest of London. It is a Grade I listed building.
The Mosque ...
and in London. Some of his
khutba
''Khutbah'' ( ar, خطبة ''khuṭbah'', tr, hutbe) serves as the primary formal occasion for public preaching in the Islamic tradition.
Such sermons occur regularly, as prescribed by the teachings of all legal schools. The Islamic tradition ...
s (sermons) were subsequently published. For a year he ran the Islamic Information Bureau in London, which issued a weekly paper, ''The Muslim Outlook''. Pickthall and Quran translator Yusuf Ali were trustees of both the Shah Jehan Mosque in
Woking
Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...
and the
East London Mosque
The East London Mosque (ELM) is situated in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets between Whitechapel and Aldgate East. Combined with the adjoining London Muslim Centre and Maryam Centre, it is one of the largest mosques in Europe accommodating ...
.
In 1920 he went to India with his wife to serve as editor of the ''Bombay Chronicle'', returning to England only in 1935, a year before his death at St Ives, Cornwall. It was in India that he completed his translation, ''The Meaning of the Glorious Koran''.
Pickthall was buried in the Muslim section at
Brookwood Cemetery
Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Regi ...
*''All Fools – being the Story of Some Very Young Men and a Girl'' (1900) ''Saïd the Fisherman'' (1903)
*''Enid'' (1904)
*''Brendle'' (1905) ''The House of Islam'' (1906) ''The Myopes'' (1907)
*''Children of the Nile'' (short story collection) (1908) ''The Valley of the Kings'' (1909) ''Pot au Feu'' (1911)
*''Larkmeadow'' (1912)
*''The House of War'' (1913) ''Veiled Women'' (1913)
*''With the Turk in Wartime'' (1914)
*''Tales from Five Chimneys'' (1915)
*''Knights of Araby'' - the story of
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and ...
in the 5th Islamic Century (1917)
*''Oriental Encounters – Palestine and Syria'' (1918)
*''Sir Limpidus'' (1919)
*'' The Early Hours'' (1921) *''As others See us'' (1922)
*''The Cultural Side of Islam'' (1927)
*''
The Meaning of the Glorious Koran
''The Meaning of the Glorious Koran'' (1930) is an English Language translation of the Quran with brief introductions to the Surahs by Marmaduke Pickthall. In 1928, Pickthall took a two-year sabbatical to complete his translation of the meaning ...
: An Explanatory Translation'' (1930)
As editor
*''Folklore of the Holy Land – Muslim, Christian, and Jewish'' (1907) (E H Hanauer)
*''Islamic Culture'' (1927) (Magazine)
Henry Stanley, 3rd Baron Stanley of Alderley
Henry Edward John Stanley, 3rd Baron Stanley of Alderley and 2nd Baron Eddisbury or Abdul Rahman Stanley, (11 July 1827 – 11 December 1903), was a British historian who translated ''The first voyage round the world by Magellan'' and other works ...
William Abdullah Quilliam
William Henry Quilliam (10 April 1856 – 23 April 1932), who changed his name to Abdullah Quilliam and later Henri Marcel Leon or Haroun Mustapha Leon, was a 19th-century convert from Christianity to Islam, noted for founding England's first m ...
Islam in the United Kingdom
Islam is the second largest religion in the United Kingdom, with results from the 2011 Census giving the total population as 2,786,635, or 4.4% of the total UK population,Marmaduke Pickthall: British Muslim 1986
* Obituary in ''The Times'', Wednesday 20 May 1936, Page 18, Issue 47379.
Qur'an
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...