Marmaduke William Pickthall (1875 – 1936)

Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall (1875–1936) was an English novelist, journalist, and Islamic scholar best known for his landmark translation of the Qur’an. A prominent convert to Islam, he became a key bridge between the Western and Islamic worlds during the early 20th century.

Quick Facts

Birth: April 7, 1875, in London (son of an Anglican clergyman).

• Education: Attended Harrow School, where he was a classmate of Winston Churchill.
• Conversion: Formally converted to Islam in 1917 after a long "protracted" journey of travel and study.
• Legacy: His translation of the Qur’an was the first by an Englishman who was also a Muslim to gain widespread acceptance in the Muslim world.

Major Achievements & Contributions

1. The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930)

This is Pickthall’s most enduring work. Unlike many earlier translations by Western "Orientalists," Pickthall’s version was written with the reverence of a believer.

• The "Untranslatable" Stance: Pickthall insisted that the Qur’an could not be truly "translated" because its original Arabic is divine and inimitable. Thus, he titled his work The Meaning of... rather than The Translation of...
• Style: He used an archaic, Jacobean English style (similar to the King James Bible) to maintain a sense of spiritual solemnity.
• Recognition: It remains one of the most widely used and respected English versions of the Qur'an globally.

2. Literary Career

Before his scholarly focus on Islam, Pickthall was a celebrated novelist admired by the likes of D.H. Lawrence and H.G. Wells. Many of his stories were set in the Middle East, reflecting his deep empathy for the region.

Key Novels: Saïd the Fisherman (1903), The Valley of the Kings (1909), and Oriental Encounters (1918).

3. Political & Social Advocacy

Pickthall was a vocal Turcophile (supporter of the Ottoman Empire). During World War I, this put him in a difficult position with the British government.

• India: He later moved to India (Hyderabad), where he served as the editor of the Bombay Chronicle and later the journal Islamic Culture under the patronage of the Nizam of Hyderabad.
• Lectures: His "Madras Lectures," later published as The Cultural Side of Islam, are still studied for their insights into Islamic civilization.

Key Works

Title	Year	Genre
Saïd the Fisherman	1903	Novel
With the Turk in Wartime	1914	Non-fiction/Journalism
Oriental Encounters	1918	Travel/Autobiographical
The Meaning of the Glorious Koran	1930	Religious Translation
The Cultural Side of Islam	1927	Lectures

"The Qur'an cannot be translated... That inimitable symphony, the very sounds of which move men to tears and ecstasy... It is only an attempt to present the meaning of the Qur'an." — Marmaduke Pickthall

Google Gemini AI
27 January 2026: 7.22 p.m