Akram Khan's Tafsirul Quran : A Major work in Bangla
*Shah Abdul HannanMoulana Muhammad Akram Khan was among the four or five topmost scholars of former Bengal in the last few hundred years.
He was the president of Bengal Muslim league, a remarkable Islamic scholar, and an eminent journalist. Above all, he was a writer and researcher of the biography of the prophet (peace be upon him), the Quran, and Muslim history and literature.
His 'Mustafa Charit', a biography of the prophet Muhammad (pbuh), clearly demonstrates the profundity of his ability as a researcher. He analysed the life of the Prophet in the light of authentic historical materials and accepted only those facts that have been verified. He excluded those materials which appeared contrary to reason. Western scholarly critiques of the Prophet's life and practices have been firmly rebutted. In this context, he considered some traditions attributed to the prophet and examined the texts of those traditions. Based on the principles of examining texts of Hadith (Matn), laid down by the jurisprudents (Usuliun), he concluded some of them as unacceptable. Everyone may not agree with him. But his work is good to think with and significantly furthers our ability to analyse.
His book 'The Social history of Muslim Bengal' is an unparalleled contribution.
Another extraordinary work of Akram Khan is his translation and interpretation of the Holy Quran, 'The Tafsirul Quran'. Although he used the older style of Bengali language used generally by all past major writers (but obsolete at present), the translation is lucid and a sheer pleasure to read. I find the language of his translation of the Quran to be the best among all Bengali translations of our Divine Scripture. He adopts a very cautious approach and shows his great acumen in choosing his words very carefully and astutely. Some examples are as follows:
(1) He has translated the word 'taqwa' in several ways, one of them is restraint (Shangzom in Bangla), for instance in Sura Al-Bakara, Ayat - 21.
(2) He has translated the word 'fasiq' as evil doers( Duskarmaparayan in Bangla). I find it to be a very suitable translation of the word (Ref: translation of Sura Bakara, V:22; Tafsirul Quran, Zhinuk Publication, Dhaka, Bangladesh,volume 1, page 38)
(3) He has translated the word 'Asma'a' as knowledge of essence of al things or matter (Bostutottoguli in Bangla), which is very exceptional.
In his insightful treatment of issues related to women, he does not hesitate to clearly indicate where God privileges women. For example he translates the 36th verse of Sura Al Imran "Laisal zakaru kal unsa" as "whereas men are not equal (shomotulla in Bangla) to women" (Ref: ibid, page 395). I would suggest that those who enthusiastically and constantly refer to the 34th ayat of Sura Nisa, should also take this verse into account.
In his tafsir, he offers very logical explanations for various events. He had faith in the miraculous abilities of prophets but he did not accept fabricated and irrational stories. The account of the prophet Musa fleeing from Egypt with Bani Israel was proffered a very logical explanation. His main argument is that Musa along with his followers crossed the Nile rather than the Red Sea. Earlier Tafsirs were mainly based on Exodus of the Bible and other legends. His arguments about this issue are as follows:
"In the first part of the verse under discussion (Sura Bakara, Ayat 50), the word 'Al Bahr' has been used. .In the dictionary, the word Bahr has been defined as:
(1) Large quantity of water, usually saline water (Kamus).
(2) All streams are Bahr (Zawhari).
(3) Word opposite to land -- saline water, a big stream, any wide substance.(Mawared).
It is therefore clearly established that the Israelites lived somewhere on the bank of the Nile, not far away from the royal palace. From that place they were moving to their ancestors' land...Their destination was Palestine and Jerusalem. After crossing the Egyptian border, they reached the Sinai Peninsula and Tih area. There are many proofs in the Quran in support of this fact."
Then Akram Khan argued that it was rather illogical to reach Arabia by crossing 500 miles of sea route and travel from there to Palestine. The irrationality lies in the fact that they were many in number and did not have any means of transportation. So it was very difficult for them to cover such large distances on foot. Instead the easier way for them to reach Sinai was to cross a lake or coastland from Egypt. He further argued that to describe the place where Pharaoh died, the words Bahr and Yam were used. Both of these words can be interpreted as a stream or any form of water body. It's merely a description narrated in Exodus of Old Testament that Pharaoh died drowning in the Red Sea. But there is no evidence for this in the Quran or authentic Hadith. Akram Khan stated in the conclusion:
"The area stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to the Suez city was filled with many lakes and various types of marshes before the Suez Canal was dug. The water of this area naturally decreased during low tide. Then the relatively higher lands would rise above the water level and nearby shallow lands became drier. During high tide the water entered and submerged those places.
According to Allah's command Prophet Musa began on the journey from Egypt at an appropriate time. He was also directed to the right path by Allah.
That is why the Bani Israelites were saved but the pharoah died drowning in the sea. In my opinion this is the most important miracle in the life of the prophet Musa" (Ref: Tafsirul Quran, Zhinuk publication, volume 1, page 79 - 87).
In his exegetical work, he supported the view that there is no abrogated (Mansukh) verse in the Quran. In the commentary of Sura Bakara, verses 184 and 185, he wrote about this issue: "The word 'yutikunahu' is used in this verse. I interpreted it as those who can fast with great difficulty. I think it is the proper interpretation. Imam Razi supported this view and Imam Rageb also defined it in the same way in his dictionary. It is a matter of regret that most of the narrators of Tafsir interpreted it as 'those who don't fast in spite of being capable of fasting'.
Because of this inappropriate translation, a group of present-day modernist scholars are saying that one may break one's fast by paying fidya (feeding the indigent) even if there is no difficulty. On the other hand, a group of narrators and muffassirin are suggesting that ayat 185 was revealed just after revelation of ayat 184 abrogating the provision(of ayat 184). But we must remember that this is the speech(Qalam) of Allah. He cannot be so capricious that He would reveal an ayah and abrogate it immediately thereafter. In fact there is no Mansukh (abrogated) ayat in the Quran" (Tafsirul Quran, commentary under Sura Bakara, Ayat 184,185, page 224,225). He offers a very rational interpretation of verse 228 of Sura Al- Bakara.
He writes, "It has been further said that the husband has the same right over his wife as the wife has over her husband. If both fulfill their duties, family life will be full of happiness. Man has a degree over woman means that a man's responsibilities are a degree greater. In Sura Nisa, ayat 34, man has been said to be a kawwam or maintainer" (Tafsirul Quran, note no. 181, Sura Bakara).
He expresses the view that it was not lawful to have sexual relations with female slaves except through marriage. He writes, "A section of Ulama think that in this ayat no instruction has been given to marry female slaves. They think that female slaves can be used in any manner on the basis of ownership, no marriage is necessary for this. I declare emphatically that this opinion is against the general principles of Islam and the principles laid down in the Quran. This is nothing but an extremely bad opinion." (Ref: Tafsirul Quran, Sura Nisa, note no.7, page - 580). Then Moulana Akram Khan elaborated his opinion in the next two pages where he also gives a long quotation of Imam Razi (Ahkamul Quran, vol-2 ,page-56).
This tafsir authored by Maulana Muhammad Akram Khan is an excellent Tafsir in every respect. It bears similarities with the tafsir titled The Message of the Qura'n by Muhammad Asad. Maulana Akram Khan can be said to be the Asad of South Asia in the field of tafsir though they probably did not meet each other. Some might not approve of his rationalist style of exegesis.
However, the reader of his commentary is compelled to acknowledge that every opinion in his tafsir is buttressed by superb reasoning. This tafsir should be reprinted, translated into other languages especially those prevalent in the subcontinent such as Urdu and Hindi, and circulated widely for the benefit of researchers and lay educated people alike.
*Former Secretary , Govt. of Bangladesh.