(almost) Hundred year old copy of Maulana Muhammad Ali’s translation of the Quran found in belongings of Englishman, who may have been British soldier of First World War
Please see this link on website of the Surrey History Centre in UK. The page is actually about Muslim soldier Mahrup Shah, who died in September 1915 and whose grave is in Brookwood cemetery, near Woking. Some material relating to him was purchased at an auction by Mr Kevin Smith of Woking, a keen military enthusiast. Along with that material, but obviously not belonging to this Muslim soldier (since he died in 1915), was found a copy of the 1917, first edition of Maulana Muhammad Ali's English translation of the Quran, belonging to an Englishman whose name is inscribed in it (B.W. Addison).
From Abdul Momin:
While reading the above article, I came across this interesting paragraph:
"This was the first English translation of the Qur’an by a Muslim to become generally available to the public anywhere in the world and the first by a Muslim to be published and distributed in the West. There had been little known ones before in India, and some translations by non-Muslims were already available in Britain (George Sale 1734, Rev. J M Rodwell 1861, Edward Palmer 1880) but these versions contained notes by the authors with the purpose of discrediting Islam."
The lines that I have highlighted in bold print clearly exclude Maulana Muhammad Ali from those who tried to discredit Islam. So where is the "fitna" that Hamza Yousuf saw in the Ahmadiyya movement?
From Zahid Aziz:
Well, this quoted text is based on what was drafted by me for the Exploring Surrey's Past website. Originally on this page they had little information about this translation. So I offered them some more detail and also accurate information. As they regard me as a reliable and trusted advisor who has provided them with much material and answered their questions on many occasions, their editor added these lines based on what I wrote.