Thomas Ballantyne Irving (1914–2002), also known as Al-Hajj Ta'lim Ali Abu Nasr, was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

- American Muslim author, professor, activist and scholar who produced the first American 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.: , sing. ...

Early life and education

Irving was born in

Preston, Ontario Preston is a community in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario. Prior to 1973 it was an independent town, incorporated in 1915, but amalgamation with the town of Hespeler, Ontario, the city of Galt, Ontario ...

(now

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

) 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 The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, and went on to obtain a master's degree from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

, and a PhD in Near Eastern Studies from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

in 1940.

Career

An accomplished scholar of

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

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 Translations of the Qurʻan are considered interpretations of the scripture of Islam in languages other than Arabic. The Qurʻan was originally written in the Arabic language and has been translated into most major African, Asian and Europea ...

, ''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 McGill is a surname of Scottish and Irish origin, from which the names of many places and organizations are derived. It may refer to: People * McGill (surname) (including a list of individuals with the surname) * McGill family (Monrovia), a promin ...

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

, the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

, and the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

. 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 Dawah ( ar, دعوة, lit=invitation, ) is the act of inviting or calling people to embrace Islam. The plural is ''da‘wāt'' (دَعْوات) or ''da‘awāt'' (دَعَوات). Etymology The English term ''Dawah'' derives from the Arabic ...

. He had presented many lectures to Latino Muslims about the history of Islam in Spain. From 1981 to 1986, Irving served as the

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the

American Islamic College American Islamic College (AIC) is a private Islamic university in Chicago, Illinois. It accepts students from all backgrounds and claims to prepare students for "leadership and policy making roles in American society; and for management and staff ...

in Chicago. He was recognized for his service to Islam by the government of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

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