Ma’arif ul Quran - Volume 1 - Surah Fatiha - Surah Bakarah

by Mufti Muhammad Shafi Usmani

Ma'ariful Qur'an (Urdu: معارف القرآن‎; Ma‘ārifu’l-Qur’ān) is an eight-volume tafsir (exegesis) of the Quran written by Pakistani Sunni Islamic scholar Mufti Muhammad Shafi (1897–1976). Originally written in Urdu, it is the most prominent work of its author.
This is the 1st volume of the 8 volume set, covering Surah Fatiha and Surah Bakarah.
‘The origin of Ma'ariful Qur'an refers back to the third of Shawwal 1373 A.H. (corresponding to the 2nd of July 1954) when the author was invited to give weekly lectures on the Radio Pakistan to explain selected verses of the Holy Qur'an to the general audience. This invitation was accepted by the author on the condition that he would not accept any remuneration for this service and that his lectures would be broadcast without any interference by the editing authorities. The permanent title of this weekly programme was "Ma'ariful-Qur'an" (The Wisdom of the Holy Qur'an) and it was broadcast every Friday morning on the network of Radio Pakistan.

‘This series of lectures continued for ten years upto the month of June 1964 whereby the new authorities stopped the programme for reasons best known to them. This series of lectures contained a detailed commentary on selected verses from the beginning of the Holy Qur'an upto the Surah Ibrahim (Surah no. 14).
‘This weekly programme of Radio Pakistan was warmly welcomed by the Muslims throughout the globe and used to be listened to by thousands of Muslims, not only in Pakistan and India but also in Western and African countries.
‘After the programme was discontinued, there was a flood of requests from all over the world to transfer this series in a book-form and to complete the remaining part of the Holy Qur'an in the shape of a regular commentary.
‘These requests persuaded the esteemed author to revise these lectures and to add those verses which were not included in the original lectures. He started this project in 1383 A.H. (1964) and completed the commentary of Surah al-Fatihah in its revised form and started the revision of Surah al-Baqarah. However, due to his numerous involvements he had to discontinue this task, and it remained unattended during the next five years.
‘In Shawwal 1388 (1969) the esteemed author suffered from a number of diseases which made him restricted to his bed. It was during this ailment that he restarted this work while on bed and completed Surah al-Baqarah in the same condition. Since then he devoted himself to the "Ma'ariful-Qur'an". Despite a large number of obstacles in his way, he never surrendered to any of them and continued his work with a miraculous speed until he accomplished the work in eight volumes (comprising about seven thousand pages) within five years only’.

700 pages, Hardcover

Published December 1, 2000

About the author

Mufti Muhammad Shafi Usmani (1897–1976) was a distinguished Islamic scholar, jurist, and author, widely respected in both pre- and post-partition South Asia. Born in Deoband, India, he studied at the prestigious Darul Uloom Deoband under eminent scholars such as Allama Anwar Shah Kashmiri and Hakim al-Ummah Ashraf Ali Thanwi. A gifted student, he became one of the youngest teachers at Deoband and eventually served as the Grand Mufti, issuing over 26,000 fatwas during his tenure.

Following the partition of India in 1947, Mufti Shafi migrated to Pakistan, sacrificing his position and personal comfort for the sake of Islamic work in the newly formed Muslim state. In Karachi, he founded Darul Uloom Karachi, which grew into one of the largest and most respected Islamic seminaries in the world. He was also a key figure in Pakistan’s early constitutional development, contributing significantly to the Objectives Resolution of 1949, a foundational document affirming the Islamic identity of the state.

Mufti Shafi’s most celebrated literary contribution is Ma’ariful Qur’an, an eight-volume Urdu tafsir (exegesis) of the Qur’an, which combines classical interpretation with contemporary relevance. His writings cover a wide range of subjects including hadith, fiqh (Islamic law), and tasawwuf (spirituality), reflecting his deep scholarship and balanced approach.

He passed away in 1976 in Karachi. His legacy continues through his students and children, most notably Mufti Taqi Usmani, who is himself a globally respected Islamic scholar.