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.: , s ...

, called '' The Meaning of the Glorious Koran''. 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 pop ...

to Islam, Pickthall was a novelist, esteemed by D. H. Lawrence,

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

E. M. Forster Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author, best known for his novels, particularly ''A Room with a View'' (1908), ''Howards End'' (1910), and ''A Passage to India'' (1924). He also wrote numerous short stori ...

, as well as a journalists, political and religious

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 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 ...

, West London.

Biography

Marmaduke William Pickthall was born in

Cambridge Terrace Cambridge Terrace is a row of consecutive terraced mansions overlooking Regent's Park in the London Borough of Camden, London, England. The terrace has been Grade I listed since 1974. History The terrace was designed by John Nash, and complete ...

, near

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 Charles Grayson Pickthall (1822–1881) and his second wife, Mary Hale, ''née'' O'Brien (1836–1904). Charles was an Anglican clergyman, the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

Chillesford Chillesford is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district, in the English county of Suffolk. It is located on the B1084 road which runs east to west. Chillesford is 3 miles northwest of the small town of Orford. It is 5 miles sou ...

, a village near

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 House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

, Sir Roger de Poictu, from whom their surname derives. Mary, of the Irish

Inchiquin Inchiquin ( ga, Inse Uí Chuinn) is a barony in County Clare, Ireland.Placenames Database of ...

clan, was the widow of William Hale and the daughter of Admiral

Donat Henchy O'Brien Rear-Admiral Donat Henchy O'Brien (March 178513 May 1857) was an officer of the Royal Navy. He was the son of a Royal Navy captain who claimed descent from an ancient Irish king. O'Brien served as a midshipman during the French Revolutionary Wars ...

, 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 Fren ...

. 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 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 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, and published articles and novels on the subject. While in the service of the Nizam of Hyderabad, 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.: , s ...

with the title '' The Meaning of the Glorious Koran''. The translation was authorized by the Al-Azhar University 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 one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

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. 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 Muslim Mission with the support of

Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din (1870 – December 28, 1932) was a prominent figure of the early Ahmadiyya movement and the author of numerous works about Islam. Life Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din was born in Punjab, India in 1870. His grandfather, Abdur Rashid, a p ...

. 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 disagr ...

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 aft ...

school", was active as "a natural leader" within a number of Islamic organizations. He preached Friday sermons in both the Woking 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 traditi ...

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 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 Regist ...

in Surrey, England, where

Abdullah Yusuf Ali Abdullah Yusuf Ali, CBE, MA, LL.M, FRSA, FRSL (; ur, عبداللہ یوسف علی‎; 14 April 1872 – 10 December 1953) was an Indian-British barrister who wrote a number of books about Islam including an exegesis of the Qur'an. A support ...

was later buried.

Written works

*''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 Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north 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: An Explanatory Translation'' (1930)

As editor

*''Folklore of the Holy Land – Muslim, Christian, and Jewish'' (1907) (E H Hanauer) *''Islamic Culture'' (1927) (Magazine)

External links

Marmaduke Pickthall: a brief biography by Sheikh Abdal Hakim MuradQuran Archive
The Meaning of The Glorious Koran; An Explanatory Translation, ''Alfred A. Knopf'', New York, First Edition (1930).
Online Quran Project
includes the

translation by Marmaduke Pickthall.
Web based Quran Search application
Based on the translation from Marmaduke Pickthall.

* * * *
Pickthall, the Woking Muslim Mission, and his views about Lahore Ahmadiyya leaders
*

ODNB The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

article by Mohammad Shaheen, 'Pickthall, Marmaduke William (1875–1936)', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 200
accessed 21 Oct 2010
* "Marmaduke Pickthall: A forgotten English novelist" by Md. Mahmudul Hasan, available at {{DEFAULTSORT:Pickthall, Marmaduke 1875 births 1936 deaths English Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Converts to Islam from Protestantism English former Christians British Army personnel of World War I People educated at Harrow School People from Harrow, London Translators of the Quran into English Burials at Brookwood Cemetery 20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Converts from Anglicanism English orientalists British scholars of Islam Islamic scholars in the United Kingdom

Biography

Written works

As editor

See also

External links