Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

In - "A. Yusuf Ali Quran TranslationSurah Al-Baqara Ruku 6 Surah 2Madina (87) 286 Ayahs40 Rukus", you have mentioned - "see Exod. i. 14:". What is this? Is and a book and where will i get to read it? What is this - "Cf. xx. 37-40", you have mentioned and "(Num. xxv. 1-2, also 8-9)".

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Books of the bible

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Just as the Holy Quran is divided into or made up of several Surahs, the ‘Old Testament’ of the current Bible of our Christian brethren is divided into or made up of several ‘Books’, like the Book of Genesis, the Book of Exodus, the Book of Numbers, etc.

Your Question: "see Exod. i. 14:". What is this?

When the above is written, it simply means refer to the Old Testament of the Bible, Book of Exodus, section (i) one, verse 14.

Your Question: What is this - "Cf. xx. 37-40",

The term or abbreviation ‘Cf’ when used by the author simply means to ‘compare’; and ‘xx 37-20’ would mean Surah 20 of the Glorious Quran which is Surah Ta-Ha verses 37-40.

Your Question: you have mentioned and "(Num. xxv. 1-2, also 8-9)". 

It would mean refer to the Old Testament of the Bible, Book of Numbers, section 25, verses 1-2 and also verses 8-9.

Beloved brother in Islam, we would like to clarify here that the above are not abbreviations used by us, but are used by the translator of the Glorious Quran by the author Abdullah Yusuf Ali whose translation we have only posted in our web-site if one amongst our subscribers wishes to read or refer to the translation of the Holy Quran in the English language.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan