The Holy Qur-An, Containing the Arabic Text with English Translation and Commentary

Surrey: The "Islamic Review" Office, 1917. 8vo, 1275 p., bound in publisher's olive green cloth stamped in gilt and ruled in blind. First edition of the first English translation of the Quran. Ali (1874-1951) was a Pakistani Islamic scholar and a leading figure of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement. His acclaimed translation of the Quran was the first to be made widely available to the Western world, complete with Arabic text in parallel. The work was notable for containing detailed commentary, together with extensive references to standard classical and modern Islamic authorities and an extensive Index. The commentary provided by Ali sought to address contemporary Western criticisms of Islam, and relied heavily on classical Arabic lexicons and the Hadith. This translation would serve as the foundational translation for later variants of the Quran into English, including those by Marmaduke Pickthall and Abdullah Yusuf. A VG-, shaken copy, with front hinge and rear hinges gently cracked; lower corner of text block bumped and buckled; light foxing to endpapers and pastedowns; some light tanning to textblock; lower corners of last 20 or so pages dogeared and fragile but clean internally. Significant rubbing and chafing to board edges, with small section of pitting to upper front board and to small sections of board edges. Julius Seelye Bixler's copy, with his bookplate to fpep, and his signature on fep. OCLC locates just 18 copies. A rare survival of a landmark work in the history of religious literature. …