Wellness Curated

Why the Quran Still Inspires Millions

• Anshu Bahanda • Episode 2

Share episode

More than 1,400 years ago, a man sat in quiet reflection in a cave in Mecca. What he experienced changed the course of history. The words revealed to him became the Quran—a book that continues to shape lives, inspire reflection, and spark debate. But how does a text from so long ago remain relevant today?

In this episode, we speak with Dr Zafarul Islam Khan—scholar, journalist, and translator—who spent over a decade working on a new English translation of the Quran. He takes us through the deeper messages of the text, its themes, and the responsibility that comes with understanding it.

What does the Quran say about justice and accountability? How does it guide personal and societal choices? And why do so many people, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, continue to turn to it for answers?

Join us for a conversation that looks beyond religion into the core messages of this book—its impact, its preservation, and its place in the modern world.

For a transcript of this show, go to https://wellnesscurated.life/why-the-quran-still-inspires-millions-2/

If you liked our episode, you can subscribe to our podcast on any of the major podcasting platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts. Please leave us a review on Apple iTunes and help others discover this podcast. You can visit wellnesscurated.life and follow us on Twitter @WellnessCurated,
On Instagram @wellnesscurated.life,
On Facebook @Wellness Curated by Anshu Bahanda,
On LinkedIn @Wellness Curated by Anshu Bahanda,
And on YouTube @wellnesscuratedbyanshubahanda.

for more wellness tips to help you live your best life.

Anshu Bahanda: Over 1400 years ago, in the solitude of the cave of Hira in Mecca, a man was meditating and going into the cave. Time and again, he was moving away from the strife and the inequality that was there outside. And he would go in, and he would meditate. And then, something really magical happened. Archangel Gabriel appeared before him one day and said to him, "Read." Now, the man was trembling, overwhelmed, and he said, "I'm not learned." Then Archangel Gabriel embraced him and said, "Read." What happened next changed the course of history. Archangel Gabriel said to him, "Read, in the name of your Lord, who created—created man from a drop of congealed blood. Read." 

And your Lord is the most generous, who taught by the pen, taught man what he knew not. This is the Surah Al-Alaq. Now, this was the beginning of the Quran. The Quran has changed people's lives. It's provided comfort, and it's guided over a billion people. And even today, it's highly relevant. So even after the Prophet Muhammad had passed, there was effort made to present the Quran as it is today.

So the third caliph, Uthman ibn Affan, commanded Zayd ibn Thabit, who was a close companion of the Prophet, along with a committee of people, to compile it into a single manuscript. And again, this is something that added to its relevance in our lives today.

My question is, why is the Quran relevant today? Something that was written so long ago—how does it continue to inspire people?

Welcome to Wellness Curated. This is your host, Anshu Bahanda. And as you know, we're talking about ancient wisdom for modern living—sacred texts, timeless wisdom. Today, we have with us a very special guest. We have Dr. Zafarul Islam Khan. He's authored and translated 50 books, he's a journalist, and he's a leader of the Muslim community. He has studied in India, the UK, and Egypt, and he spent 11 years translating the Quran into English. We are very, very delighted to have you here with us today. Thank you for joining us. I want you to start by introducing the Quran to us. Talk to us about the theme, the structure, and what it's all about. I know that's a tall order.

Dr Zafarul Islam Khan: Yes. The Quran, as Islam tells us, as the Prophet told us, and as we understand, is the last message of our Creator, God. When He sent humans to this world, to Earth, the first, as we call them—Adam and Eve—He sent them with the knowledge required for how to lead their lives. And after that, He kept sending prophets to every country, to every people, in every part of the world until the last prophet came. Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, was the last prophet in the same chain. He is not something new; he is a continuation—from Adam to Nuh to Moses to Jesus and so many other prophets, many of whom are mentioned in the Quran, while many others are not. But as Muslims, we believe in all of them—we have to. Otherwise, I wouldn't be a Muslim. If I don't believe in all these prophets, I will not be. So this is the last message of God to humankind—how to lead their lives on Earth. 

God, when He created man, gave him the choice to be good or bad, to follow Allah’s or God’s instructions or not. But He did not give the same right to others. All the creations in this whole universe don’t have any choice—they live by the law of the Lord. The moon, the galaxies, the trees, the creatures, all these animals—they don’t have any choice. Only man has the choice. The human being has been given a choice: either you be good or you be bad, either you follow Allah’s instructions or not.

And at the end, after our deaths, we will be brought to life again, and then we will be judged according to what we did—because we had the choice. Others who don’t have the choice—lions, elephants, and all these—they will not be judged by God. But He will judge human beings: how you lived while you were on Earth, whether you were good, whether you were nice, whether you were generous, whether you were taking care of the poor, whether you were following Allah’s or God’s instructions, orders, or commands—or not.

And also, Allah tells us in the Quran that He is recording every act of ours—every single act, He is recording it. And on the Day of Judgment, He will give us this film: Look at this, look at what you (did). He will not ask us—He will just show us: This is what you were doing. So according to that, if our good acts outweigh our bad acts, then we will go to Paradise.

And if our bad acts outweigh our good acts, then we will go to Hell. And that life—we are told—is very small: 70 years, 80 years, 90 years, and at most 125 years. They say that no human can live beyond 125. So this is very small, yes. But that life after death—that will be eternal. Our life, either in Paradise or in Hell, will be eternal.

So human beings are sent here to live according to the laws of Allah, to the commands of Allah, to the commands of God. And if they fail, they (have) severe punishment waiting for them in the Hereafter.

And we have been warned again and again and again through a chain of prophets, and then through this last Prophet. And this is the book that that Prophet brought—meaning, this was revealed to him over 23 years. As you said, it was compiled into a (book) but earlier, it was compiled in people’s hearts. So many people had memorised it. 

And at one point, when 70 such persons were killed in a battle, the Caliph at that time, Uthman ibn Affan, became alarmed. He realised that if these people were getting killed, who would memorise the Quran? Who would tell us what is in the Quran?

So he set up and commissioned a committee that compiled a standard copy. He then made copies of that standard copy and sent them to all places, because by that time, the Islamic empire had expanded so much. Persia, Egypt, even Tunisia, and all these places were part of the Islamic empire, along with the whole of Arabia, Yemen, and all that were part of this empire.

So he sent copies of this standard Quran to all these cities and destroyed the other ones because people used to write on bones, on skins, and even hides. So all that was destroyed so that there would be no confusion later. This is how this standard copy came into being. And this is the same thing. I mean, today, Arabic has evolved so much, like any other language, but the way we write here and the way the Quran is printed is the same as it was at that time.

The only new additions are some phonetic signs and some stoppage signs—where to stop, where not to stop, and the phonetic signs. Otherwise, the writing itself is the same. And today, if I write something in Arabic, it might be different from what is written there, but there, they don’t change.

Everything is like that, and there are thousands of copies from the earliest ages still extant in museums and other places. And these are the same—the same thing that you find in any copy printed in Indonesia, Holland, or Egypt. It is the same.

AB: And what is the theme and what is the structure of the Quran?

Dr ZIK: The structure is that the longer surahs—surah means chapters—are placed first. Not necessarily that they were revealed first, but the long ones are arranged at the beginning. The longest one is Surah Al-Baqarah, which means "cow" because a cow is mentioned somewhere in it. That is the longest one.

I mean, in the beginning, first is, of course, Surah Al-Fatihah, which is the beginning chapter or the opening chapter.

It is very small, and a Muslim reads it in every prayer. We start the prayer and read that every day—five prayers, five-time prayers. Every time we start, we read that and then something from the other parts.

So this is how it is.

AB: And there's 114 surahs?

Dr ZIK: 114

AB: Yes, okay. And tell me something, And tell me something. You know, there's so many translations of the Quran in English. Why did you decide to dedicate 11 years of your life into doing another one?

Dr ZIK: Yes, you are correct. There are, in fact, thousands of translations—into Persian, Urdu, Indonesian, Hausa, and into every possible European language, even into Sanskrit, even into Jodhpuri.

This is because there is a demand. People want to know—what is this book that is believed by every fourth person on this earth now? So this is why. And also, because the majority of Muslims today are not Arabs—maybe 70% of Muslims today are not Arabs. The largest Muslim community or country is Indonesia, and they are not Arabs. Then you have Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India—very large, with 200 million in all these three states.

They are not Arabs. They don’t know Arabic. So this is why people started. First, they started translating into Persian because Persian at that time was very widespread. I mean, not only in Persia but also in very large tracts, even in India, up to Arakan and Burma.

Persian was the official language of the kingdoms. So first, they started translating into Persian, and after that, especially in Europe, they first translated into Latin. After that, into other languages—French, English, German, and all that. 

Spanish, and even smaller languages like Castilian and all that. In every language, you will find translations—into Turkish, Urdu. We might even have hundreds of translations into Urdu. 

AB: So why another English one?

Dr ZIK: The most common and popular translation is by an Indian, Yusuf Ali. He was an ICS officer and also a learned person. Somehow, he started translating, and he completed the translation. But the problem is that he was not a great scholar of Arabic. It is very important that you know the language from which you are translating.

And you should be knowledgeable—you should know even the smallest issues in a word or in a verb. 

So he did it, and for a very peculiar reason, it became very popular that Saudi Arabia adopted it. So he did it, and for a very peculiar reason, it became very popular. Saudi Arabia adopted it, and they started printing copies and distributing (them) all over the world—millions of copies. Saudi Arabia, at some time, maybe from the 40s to maybe until the last ten years ago.

After that, they stopped. So this is how this translation got available everywhere for those who read Arab English.

You know, at that time, I was working in London in the Muslim Institute in London, and I was a research fellow there. And we used to hold conferences, print papers, books, and all that. And it was my job to get verses, Quranic verses, translated into these reports or into these books.

And the obvious choice was to look at Abdullah Yusuf Ali. But every time I looked at it, I was not pleased with the translation. I think it is not a correct translation, not a very good translation. My own background is that after studying here in India in Madrassas, I went to Egypt to Al Azhar University, which is a foremost institution of Islamic learning.

So I can claim that I know Arabic very well, like the Arabs. I mean, they themselves say that he is like an Arab. So this is how, whenever I opened that translation, I was, you know, not pleased. So I kept thinking that someday I am going to correct this translation.

But somehow, I did not find time. In 2010, I performed (the) Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca with my wife. And there, in the house of Kaaba, in the sacred mosque there, I decided that when I go back, then I will start this.

So this is how I came back in 2011, and I started this work. But at that time, I was busy with other work. I was a correspondent of some newspapers, and also, I had my own newspaper, The Milli Gazette. So I did not have full time, you know, to devote my full attention to it, but I kept doing it.

Then during COVID time, this about three years, over three years, I did not do anything else. I stopped even reading newspapers, totally devoted from morning to midnight—I did it.

So this is how this got (published), you know, although it started in 2011, but actually, the last three years before this was published, I devoted my time fully to this, and this is how it was published. Otherwise, if I had been doing it at that pace, it might still be an idea.

AB: So, is this what is used now by the Saudi government?

Dr ZIK: No, no, no. You see, that is an official thing. I mean, I have not even asked them to do it. If I do ask, then they will form a committee, and this committee will look into everything, especially into my footnotes. "Oh, what is this?" Because sometimes I differ—because times have changed, sometimes I differ. Like the question of hijab, for instance, like the question of…

AB: But even Saudi is changing in the question of what.

Dr ZIK: Now they are changing. But their sheikhs, their religious scholars, are not changing. They are still very rigid. The question of women's role in society and in a family…

Also, I have my own peculiarities because times are changing.

AB:  So that's very interesting. I would love you to talk to me about this. What do you feel is now a woman's role, and how do you think it's changed? Because, like you said, a lot depends on the re-interpretation. The same thing can be interpreted in innumerable different ways.

Dr ZIK: The Quran says, and people misunderstand it. It's not about men or males.

It is about husbands. It says about the husband that they have a superiority over their wives because they spend. This is the text—because they spend, they spend on the family.

Because they earn, they spend. They're the people who earn, the bread earners. They earn and they spend. So I've said there in a footnote that this is changing now. Now women are also earning. Women are also spending. They're earning and spending. 

So the roles have changed accordingly. In a family or in society, the position of women will change because that equation—that males or husbands only used to earn and spend—now it is either that a woman is participating in the expenditure of the family or extended family, or she is the sole breadwinner.

This is also happening. So this will change. This is one of the views that I have. I mean, that equation will change. Now, women will have the right to say and guide the family on how it should be run and how to go about it. 

I have also differed with the opinion about riba, which is usually translated as usury or interest. I have said that times have changed. The currency has changed. Now, there is no gold standard.

AB: What is riba? Will you explain riba to us? 

Dr ZIK: Riba in Islam is is usury or interest. You cannot give money to somebody and take an excess amount, including the capital.

I mean, if you give somebody £100 and you demand him to pay you £110 at the end of the year, it's wrong, it's not allowed. This is the normal procedure. But I have shown that in a very, I mean, in a summary—because otherwise, it would have been very, very large—that times have changed and the gold standard has changed.

Now there is inflation. Earlier, there was no inflation. And we have got evidence that over centuries, the prices used to be static. In the earlier (times), I mean the Middle Ages and before the Middle Ages, the prices were the same in terms of gold and silver.

Now, it is changing every year. If you buy something for $100 or pounds today, after a year, you will be paying 120 or maybe 130 or even more than that. So, times have changed. And this is why we must look at this issue again.

So, I have not delved too much into that, because otherwise, there will be a very big problem about it. But I have mentioned that this is an issue that scholars should sit and solve. Okay?

AB: Zayd ibn Thabit compiled it into one manuscript. How has that inspired your work? The fact that it's one manuscript and the things that he did—because, you know, we hear so much about Prophet Muhammad, but we hear much less about him.

Dr ZIK: No, Zayd ibn Thabit was not a very important person. He was a companion and he was a memorizer, and I should think that he would have been a very good memorizer. But there were many others, as I just mentioned. In a certain battle, 70 such people were martyred or killed. So there was a fear that if all these people got martyred—because wars at that time were very frequent—a committee was formed. And what he did, he got whatever was written, especially from one of the wives of the Prophet, Hafsa. She had a very standard kind of copy. He got it and then also got this committee of people, and they agreed on a certain text, a master copy, and then destroyed all other copies—very small copies, parts of chapters, a chapter, two chapters, then three chapters on hide, on skin, and all that.

So that was a great service actually. Otherwise, there would be so much dissension and so much problem in the Muslim world. The caliph, the third caliph—that was just only about 15, 20 years after the Prophet’s death—got a master copy made and sent to all places. Now we have that only, only that copy. And fortunately, one of these copies still exists today in a Russian museum. Yes, in Kazan, it is still preserved. And it has the drop of blood on it because he was reading—the last caliph, sorry, the third caliph, Uthman ibn Affan—he was reading it while he was killed by rebels.

AB: So Dr Khan, in today's world with everything that's going on, what would you say is the fundamental message of the Quran?

Dr ZIK: The fundamental message of the Quran is that you are responsible and answerable for whatever you do and will be judged accordingly. If you are really engrossed in it and have really learned what it is, then you will be a very responsible person, a very peaceful person. You will not harm anyone—not even animals, not even an ant, not even anything. Not even the environment, not even, I mean, these rivers, oceans, and all that. I mean, you will live as a very responsible person, taking out of it only what you need. I mean, a Muslim is not allowed to even slaughter an animal if he is not going to eat its meat. Not allowed. But people are doing anything. I'm not saying that every Muslim is conscious, but if you are really conscious, you will lead a very, very responsible life. I mean, good to yourself, good to your family, good to your society, good to your country, good to humanity. That is the real spirit of Islam. Be a responsible person.

AB: So what you're telling me about—be a responsible person and you'll be judged for everything that you do, good or bad—yes, that's making me think of the Hindu law of karma. Yes. Of the cause and effect. Yes. That every action has a reaction. Yes. And that's amazing. If we all just follow that basic principle of doing the right thing, you wouldn't need laws, you wouldn't need government, you'd need nothing. There'd be no wars.

Dr ZIK: That is true, that is true. If they are really following this, they're following the spirit of Islam or any other religion. I'm not saying that only Islam is the correct one. What you said is okay. Yes. If we really follow it, we will be very responsible people. In Islam, we don't believe in karma in that sense—that you will get born and born and reborn and reborn and reborn again. It is just one birth, this birth, and then the next birth will be after death. That is called resurrection, the Day of Resurrection, or called the Day of Judgment, when we will be judged according to our actions here, good or bad. And if we have done enough good works, then God will send us to paradise, and if we have done enough bad works, bad actions, or injustices and all that, then we will be sent to hell.

And so this is how it works if it's really a real, good Islamic society. But usually, it is not. It usually is not. People have forgotten that there will be another world. As I just told you about King Babur, he said, "Eat and make merry. There is no other world." So there are also people like this. And unfortunately, we call them Muslims. They are born Muslim. They were born in Muslim families, nothing more than that.

AB: So also tell me, Dr. Khan, there's lots of claims that Prophet Muhammad was influenced by the Old and New Testament. What is your view from the work that you've done about the Quran?

Dr ZIK: You see, this is a claim by Orientalists, by the old school of Orientalists, that Muhammad received no revelation, no angel came to him. He only learned these things because there were some Christians living in Mecca. And the Prophet himself, he was a trader. He used to go to Syria, what is now Syria, including Palestine and Syria. And there he met Christians, and they told him about what is in the Old Testament and New Testament. And he came here, and he wrote his stories. But this is unbelievable.

AB:  And in terms of the relevance of the Quran today, can you give me some examples of, you know, how is it relevant? Something that was written, recited 1400 years ago, how is it relevant today?

Dr ZIK: See, the basic message of the Quran, as I also said earlier, is that there should be peace on earth, peace within myself, peace in society, and peace in the earth. And this is when a real Islamic society comes into being. I'm not saying that these 58 countries which say they are Islamic, they are not Islamic. They are just like any other, like Bhutan or like, you know, Burma or like anything. They are just by chance, the majority of the inhabitants are Muslim; otherwise, they are not Islamic. So if a real Islamic society comes into being, there will be peace inside, peace within myself, within a Hindu, peace in the family, peace in the society, peace in the world. Because nobody will do injustice. This is very important because he will know whether you are a commoner or you are a king, you will know that you are going to be judged for this, whatever you are doing. And if you are doing wrong, then you will be judged there.

AB: And you spent 11 years on the translation, so you’ve obviously gone into it very very deep. What were some of the revelations and insights that you had that maybe you didn’t have before about the Quran and its relevance today?

Dr ZIK: This is correct because earlier I used to read the Quran as usually, almost all Muslims today, they read it for what they call sawab. I mean, this is recompense, I mean, get some reward from God for reading. But now I understand, after spending all this time, that it is a joke. With the Quran, we are not reading it for the reward, we are reading it for inspiration. We get our inspiration. If we don't get our inspiration, it tells me don't steal. It tells me don't do injustice. It tells me that you can take your revenge, but only to the extent that you have been caused some damage or something, not more than that. And it tells me at the same time, in the same verse, that to forgive is better. You can take revenge only up to what has been done to you, but if you forgive, it's better. So this is what we have to inculcate. I mean, if I read, or any other person, Muslim or non-Muslim reads, if you don't get this message, it is a waste of time. Actually, the majority of Muslims are wasting their time. They are reading the Quran for recompense.

AB: What a lovely message. Don't do it with a benefit in mind, just do it to inspire yourself to be.

Dr ZIK: How to live your life here, how to live a life of justice here. The Quran says that the poor and indigent have a right in your wealth. This is the Quran. It is not something like charity. The poor and needy have a right in your wealth, and it has made a system that you have to pay the zakat. Zakat is a certain amount of payment, a charity made every—actually, charity is not a good word. This is a kind of duty that you have to do for the poor. Yes, yes. And the Quran said that the wealthy should not keep revolving within the wealthy, within the rich. It should reach the poor. This is the bronze age. The Quran says that people are asking you, the Prophet, what they should spend. It tells (you) very significantly, whatever is in excess of your need that is what you should spend. For example, if I spend on my need 10%, 90% should go to the poor, 80% should go to the poor. This is the message, if I get this kind of message our life will be different, our society will be different. And this kind of injustice and poverty and need that you find today (will not exist). At one time after the Prophet died it was said that people would go out to search for and find someone who would accept Zakat. And they would not find (them) because all the people were above a certain level. So that is the society. Mecca and Medina. It is said in the books that, people used to search for people who would accept zakat. You cannot accept zakat if you’re rich, only poor people can accept zakat. So this is a society that Islam wants to bring (forth). Sadly, muslims have been influenced by life, modern ages and this capitalist system and all that. They don’t care about the poor, they think it’s the state’s job to do it. It is every person’s job to look around. You are responsible for your neighbours. Islam says that 40 houses in every direction—this side, that side—are your neighbors, and you are responsible for them. You should not fill your stomach if they are hungry. This is what Islam says. 

AB: That’s amazing, so thank you for this lovely chat and for this profound message of forgiveness, peace of generosity. That was amazing. And to the listeners, there is so much power in the scriptures. There's so much. I mean, the Quran is an incredible book, and it starts with—and I believe every surah starts with—"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful."

So this message of compassion, mercy, forgiveness, and generosity—that's what I'm taking back from my chat with Dr. Khan today. And I hope you'll all take the time to delve a little bit into this and learn a little from this beautiful book. Thank you.

People on this episode

Head Shot

Anshu Bahanda

Host