KULIM, Oct 10 — Ahmad Shauqi, the son of academic and social activist Kassim Ahmad who died today, expressed regret that his father was not able to complete the translation of the Quran into Malay.

“He had, in fact, completed translating one third of the Quran. He felt he had to do it because the current translations used flowery language.

“He wanted to translate it into language that is easier for the public to understand,” he told reporters at his father’s home here.

Ahmad Shauqi, 50, said that in the later stage of his life, his father was actively writing and his last work was an auto-biography.

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However, he said, the auto-biography was still being finalised and would be published soon.

“All his life, he fought for the people and made sacrifices for the family. He wrote about it all in his auto-biography.

“He did not leave any last messages to us, his children, except that he wanted us all to return to the Quran,” Ahmad Shauqi said.

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Kassim died at the Kulim Hospital at 10 am today of lung-related problems after a 36-hour coma. He was 84. His wife, Sharifah Fauziah Syed Yusuff, and two of his three children were with him when he breathed his last.

His remains will be brought home after the Maghrib prayers and buried after the Isyak prayers at the Kulim Mosque cemetery here.

Kassim was known for his book “Hadith: A Re-evaluation” which was a critical study of the hadith (sayings of Prophet Muhammad) as a credible source of Islamic teachings. The book was banned by the government in 1986. — Bernama