Thomas Ballantyne Irving (1914–2002), also known as Al-Hajj Ta'lim Ali Abu Nasr, was a Canadian- American Muslim author, professor, activist and scholar who produced the first American English translation of the Qur'an.

Early life and education

Irving was born in Preston, Ontario (now Cambridge) in 1914, the son of William Irving and Jessica McIntyre. He embraced

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

in the early 1950s and took the name Al-Hajj Ta'lim Ali Abu Nasr. He earned a B.A. in Modern Languages from the University of Toronto, and went on to obtain a master's degree from McGill University, and a PhD in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University in 1940.

Career

An accomplished scholar of linguistics and a writer, Irving was responsible for the first

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lan ...

translation of the Qur'an, ''The Qur'an: First American Version'', published in 1985. The work is an attempt to make the English translation of the Quran more readable to an audience not used to the old style of English common in most translations. Irving was particularly concerned about making the Quran accessible to Muslim youth in North America. As a scholar, Irving taught and studied at a number of leading universities in the U.S. and Canada, including McGill, Princeton, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Tennessee. As an author, Irving wrote numerous books on Islam, including "Had You Been Born A Muslim", "Islam and Its Essence", "Islam Resurgent", and "Growing up in Islam". He also penned a small number of books in Spanish, including "Nacido como Musulman" and " Cautiverio Babilonico en Andalusia". He is the author of "Falcon of Spain." T.B. Irving is considered a pioneer in Latino Dawah. He had presented many lectures to Latino Muslims about the history of Islam in Spain. From 1981 to 1986, Irving served as the dean of the American Islamic College in Chicago. He was recognized for his service to Islam by the government of Pakistan in 1983 when he was awarded the Star of Excellence. Dr. Irving's last years Dr. Irving's son, Nicholas, moved from

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

to take care of his father. He died on September 24, 2002, after a long struggle with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

Notes

External links

The Qur’an: The First American Version; Translated and Commentary (first edition 1985)
Amana Books, Brattleboro, Vermont.
Obituary for T.B. Irving
from Soundvision.com

Tribute to Irving

article by Irving {{DEFAULTSORT:Irving, T. B. American Muslims Canadian Muslims Canadian emigrants to the United States Neurological disease deaths in Mississippi Deaths from Alzheimer's disease 1914 births 2002 deaths University of Toronto alumni Princeton University alumni McGill University alumni Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz Converts to Islam