Hakeem Noor-ud-Deen – Khalifatul Masih I – The Way of the Righteous — Page 124
Hakeem Noor-ud-Deen The Way of the Righteous 124 English Translation of the Holy Qur'an A number of Ahmadis drew the attention of the Sadr Anjuman-i-Ahmadiyya about the urgent need of an authentic and standard English translation of the Holy Qur'an, as the English translations that were available at that time, were mainly those of orientalists, and none of them could be regarded as authentic. Therefore, Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih I ra relieved Maulavi Muhammad Ali from the editorship of the Review of Religions in June 1909, and appointed him as an in charge of the translation of the Holy Qur'an directly under his own supervision. The author of Silsila Aaliya Ahmadiyya writing about this project says, "There was a great need for an authentic translation and commentary of the Holy Qur'an in the English language. " There was a crying need for an authentic English translation of the Holy Qur'an so that the dissemination of the Word of God could be undertaken in countries where English was spoken or understood. Hence, the light of the Holy Qur ’ an could also brighten this part of the world, especially when the scripture was revealed for the benefit of the whole world. Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih I ra was keenly aware of this need, and it was for this purpose that Maulavi Muhammad Ali was assigned this work. He used to dictate notes in Urdu and, later, he would piece by piece translate them into English and this work was completed three days before the demise of Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih I ra. He worked even in the face of medical advice and would tell the physicians that the translation work of the Holy Qur'an was the spiritual food of Noor-ud-Deen and it was not possible for Noor-ud-Deen to stop the work. Later, Maulavi Muhammad Ali took away the notes of Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih I ra to Lahore. He broke away from the main body of the Jama ‘ at, and he made changes to suit his own ideas and published the translation under his own name. This represented a misappropriation of work done under the direct supervision of Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih I ra.