On April 4, 1872, �Abdullah Yusuf �Ali was born in a family of the Bohra community in Surat, India. His father, a merchant, was a very religious man who made sure that his son learned Qura'n before anything else. Upon the completion of young �Abdullah�s committing the entire Qur�an to memory, his father celebrated the occasion with a grand banquet, thus showing to his son the importance of his achievement and the importance of the Qur�an. In addition to studying contemporary knowledge at school, �Abdullah continued to receive lessons in Arabic language and never ceased in his studies of the Qur�an. He was a superior student who excelled in academic achievement and won the much coveted Indian Civil Service Award, a prestigious honor resulting from the extremely competitive entrance examinations for high positions in the Indian Civil Service which wealthy families would aspire for their sons to receive. �Abdullah was easily able to absorb English literature and was considered to be among the best of his fellow countrymen in writing English. Many of the most well-known scholarly magazines in India published his works and expressed their appreciation for his beautiful literary style. Later, �Abdullah Yusuf Ali left India for Europe and visited many European capitals and eventually resided in London for a considerable period of time.