Translation of Quran by Shaykh Mufti Taqi Usmani

https://www.rizqankareem.com/development-of-literary-tradition-in-early-islam/origin-of-the-hijri-calendar-the-meaning-of-hijrah
Origin of the Hijri Calendar
Sometime in 638 CE, Abu Musa Ashari (r.a), the Governor of Basra wrote: "Amir-ul-Mominin, we receive instructions from you every now and then, but as the letters are undated, and some times the contents of the letters differ, it becomes difficult to ascertain as to which instructions are to be followed." That set Hazrat Umar (r.a) thinking. In the meantime, he received from Yemen a draft for some money which was encashable in Shaban. Hazrat Umar (r.a) thought that the practice of merely mentioning the month in such cases was defective for one could not be sure whether the month referred to was of the current or the following year. Hazrat Umar (r.a) convened an assembly to discuss the introduction of calendar.Someone suggested that the Roman calendar should be adopted but the Roman calendar dated from too remote a year and was difficult. Some suggested the Persian calendar called ‘Mahroz’, that too was rejected. The general opinion was that instead of adopting foreign calendar, the Muslims should have a calendar of their own. This was agreed to, and the point next considered was from when should such year begin? Someone suggested that the year should begin from the date of birth of the Holy Prophet ﷺ. Some suggested that it should begin from the death of the Holy Prophet ﷺ. Hazrat Ali (r.a) suggested that it should begin from the date the Muslims did hijrah (migrated) from Makkah to Madinah. After discussion, Ali's suggestion was agreed to. The Holy Prophet ﷺ had done hijrah (migrated) in the month of Rabi-ul Awwal, when the pre-Islamic Arabic year had already passed two months and eight days. Next the question arose from which month should the new Islamic year start. Some suggested the sacred month of Rajab, others suggested sacred Ramadaan, yet others suggested Dhul Hijjah. Hazrat Usman (r.a) suggested that as in Arabia the year started with Muharram the new Islamic year should also start with Muharram. This suggestion was accepted. The date was accordingly pushed back by two months and eight days, and the new Hijri calendar began with the first day of Muharram in the year of migration rather than from the actual date of migration.
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The Significance of Hijrah
(Al Quran 2:218) ​إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَٱلَّذِينَ هَاجَرُواْ وَجَٰهَدُواْ فِي سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ أُوْلَـٰٓئِكَ يَرۡجُونَ رَحۡمَتَ ٱللَّهِۚ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورٞ رَّحِيمٞ - As for those who believed and those who migrated and carried out struggle in the way of Allah, they hope for Allah’s mercy: and Allah is Forgiving, Very-Merciful.
In this ayah (verse) the term walladheena hajaru means "and those who migrated" in which the term hijrah means "migration for the sake of Allah", refers to the early Muslims, known as muhajirun or "emigrants", who left their homes in Makkah to seek refuge in Madinah (then called Yathrib) to escape persecution and be able to live according to the teachings of Islam. Despite the fact that hijrah was a physical journey undertaken by Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and his companions, yet it does not deprive the term of its wider, spiritual meaning which is to abandon and leave everything that is contrary to what Allah has said and turn your heart towards Him with the intention to live a life of obedience to His commandments. ​As we begin the new Islamic Hijri year of 1442 A.H. the beginning of each new year reminds us of the wider meaning of hijrah or "migration" i.e. our opportunity to turn towards Allah ﷻ and submit to His guidance in the Quran and the Prophetic teachings, so that we can hope for His mercy and forgiveness in this world and the hereafter.
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References:

1. The Noble Quran Al Kareem website - English Translation Mufti Taqi Usmani
2. Muhammad Asad - Message of the Quran - Surah Al Baqara, Ayah (verse) 218, Note 203​
3. Khalifa Umar bin al-Khattab - Islamic Actions and Social Mandates, Professor Masud-ul-Hasan - Islamic Publications, Lahore, Pakistan - Alim, Islamic Software for Quran and Hadith

Introduction
This hadith is typically used to assert that Islam promotes a corporeal concept of God and that there were giant humans throughout history. The hadith cited is as follows:

Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah created Adam in His picture, sixty cubits (about 30 meters) in height. When He created him, He said (to him), "Go and greet that group of angels sitting there, and listen what they will say in reply to you, for that will be your greeting and the greeting of your offspring." Adam (went and) said, 'As-Salamu alaikum (Peace be upon you).' They replied, 'As Salamu-'Alaika wa Rahmatullah (Peace and Allah's Mercy be on you) So they increased 'Wa Rahmatullah' The Prophet (ﷺ) added 'So whoever will enter Paradise, will be of the shape and picture of Adam Since then the creation of Adam's (offspring) (i.e. stature of human beings is being diminished continuously) to the present time."
Sahih Bukhari 6227

Both assertions are debunked below.
Discussion
Corporeality
Question:
I have heard a hadith mentioned several times but not sure about its authenticity and meaning. The hadith mentions that Allah (swt) created Man in his image (or in the image of his face). Can you please explain this?
Answer:
Walaikum assalam
I pray you are well and in the best of health.
The hadith “Allah created Adam in His/his image (`ala suratihi)” was narrated from Abu Hurayrah by both Bukhari and Muslim. To understand this narration, one must first recall a fundamental aspect of Islamic belief, namely the transcendence of Allah Most High and His complete dissimilitude from created things. This is decisively conveyed within the Qur’an itself when it states, “There is nothing whatsoever like Him,” (42: 11) and also by the foremost theological texts of our tradition.
Therefore, the scholars looked at the Qur’anic verses and prophetic traditions that outwardly indicated similitude between Allah and created things in the backdrop of this principle. In respect to the narrative in question, as well as similar narratives, the scholars had two approaches:

1. Confining the meaning to Allah Most High,
2. Interpreting the outwardly problematic part of the text in a suitable and methodologically sound manner.

Among the interpretations that the scholars gave for this narrative were:

1. That the word “image” here refers to “attributes”, such as hearing, seeing, knowledge, and so forth. Thus, Adam (Allah bless him) was created possessing attributes that Allah has also described Himself with, although the attributes of the former, as is evident, are contingent and relative while the attributes of Allah are eternal and absolute.
   
2. That the word “image” is understood based on another variant of this narration, narrated by Imam Muslim, whereby the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “When one of you attacks [or “strikes” as per another narration] his brother then avoid his face for Allah created Adam in his image.” The attached particle “his” is interpreted as referring back to “brother” and not to “Allah”.
   
3. That what is meant by Adam (Allah bless him) being created in “his image” is a direct creation that did not take place through the passage of embryological stages. Further, it indicates that Adam (Allah bless him) was characterized by the same “image” or form on earth as he was in paradise, without any change until his death.
   

[Bajuri, Tuhfat al-Murid; Bayhaqi, Kitab al-Asma’ wa’l Sifat]
Source: SeekersGuidance
Its important to add here that the Darussalam translation of Sahih al-Bukhari may very well just be incredibly wrong here as they are capitalizing the h on "his" thereby rendering it as "His" before the term "picture" (or "image" as is mentioned in the question above) which is also incorrectly translated and should be rendered as "form". In other words, the translation should be rendered as, "Allah created Adam in his (meaning Adam's) form" which is referring to a finished adult form which did not develop as humans usually do (e.g. embryo, infant, childhood, teens, etc).
Dr. Mohamed Ghilan writes regarding Quran 42:11 which is cited above:

The Arabic word in the verse ka’mithlihi (كمثله) uses two tools used in the Arabic science of balagha (بلاغة) for describing likeness. The letter kaf (ك) is used for likening something to another to a great degree. The use of mithl (مثل) is used for likening something to another to a small degree. So linguistically, what God is saying in the above verse is that nothing is like Him in either a small or a great degree, i.e. nothing can be compared to Him in any way whatsoever. This verse alone makes the approach of anyone towards verses in the Quran or Prophetic narrations to be a conceding approach of the meaning to God while acknowledging that it can’t mean anything anthropomorphic.
Dr. Mohamed Ghilan

Here is a report which helps demonstrate the transcendent nature of God in Islamic theology:

O Allāh, You are the first: there is nothing before You; and You are the last: there is nothing after You. You are the Manifest (al-Zāhir): there is nothing above You. You are the Hidden (al-Bātin): there is nothing below You.
Sahih Muslim 7064

The famous Hadith scholar Imam at-Tahawi (d. 933 CE) transmits the views of the founders of the Hanafi school in his famous book of creed. He writes:

The following is an exposition of the creed of the People of the Prophetic Way and the Majority of Scholars (ahl al-sunnah wa al-jama’ah) in accordance with the understanding of Muslim jurists such as Imam Abu Hanifah al-Nu’man b. Thabit al-Kufi [d. 767 CE], Abu Yusuf Ya’qub b. Ibrahim al-Ansari [d. 798 CE], and Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Shaybani [d. 805 CE] (may God be pleased with them). It includes their beliefs about the theological foundations of the religion upon which they base their worship of the Lord of the worlds.
The Creed of Imam al-Tahawi tr. Hamza Yusuf. p. 48.

Here are several important points:

8 Imaginations cannot attain Him; comprehensions cannot perceive Him.
9 Creatures do not bear any similarity to Him...
16 He possesses the quality of sovereignty with or without fief, and the quality of creativity with or without creation.
17 And while He is the Resurrector of the Dead after He resurrects them, He merits the same name before their actual resurrection. Likewise, He merits the name the Creator before their actual creation.
18 That is because He is omnipotent. Everything is dependent upon Him, and every affair is effortless for Him. He needs nothing, and There is nothing like Him, yet He is the Hearing, the Seeing (Qur’an 42:11)…
38 Whoever ascribes any human qualities to God has blasphemed. (41) So whoever perceives this takes heed and refrains from such statements of the disbelievers and knows that God, the Sublime and Exalted, in all of His attributes is utterly unlike humanity...
45 Whoever does not guard against denying [God’s attributes] and against anthropomorphism has erred and failed to acquire understanding of divine transcendence.
46 For undoubtedly, our Lord, the Sublime and Exalted, is described with the attributes of unity and uniqueness. No one in creation is in any way like Him.
47 He is transcendent beyond limits, ends, supports, components, or instruments. The six directions do not contain Him as they do created things.
The Creed of Imam al-Tahawi tr. Hamza Yusuf. pp. 50, 54, 58.

Giant Humans
1 Height of Adam:
The height of Adam was sixty cubits according to this hadith but other hadith reports clarify that it was so in the heavens.

عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه، قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: «إن أول زمرة يدخلون الجنة على صورة القمر ليلة البدر، ثم الذين يلونهم على أشد كوكب دري في السماء إضاءة، لا يبولون ولا يتغوطون، ولا يتفلون ولا يمتخطون، أمشاطهم الذهب، ورشحهم المسك، ومجامرهم الألوة الأنجوج، عود الطيب وأزواجهم الحور العين، على خلق رجل واحد، على صورة أبيهم آدم، ستون ذراعا في السماء
Allah's Apostle said, "The first group of people who will enter Paradise, will be glittering like the full moon and those who will follow them, will glitter like the most brilliant star in the sky. They will not urinate, relieve nature, spit, or have any nasal secretions. Their combs will be of gold, and their sweat will smell like musk. The aloes-wood will be used in their centers. Their wives will be houris. All of them will look alike and will resemble their father Adam (in statute), sixty cubits tall in the heavens.

(Sahih Bukhari, Book 55 Hadith 544) Commonly used translation misses the translation of the last two words in the original- highlighted in red in Arabic above.
Scholars like Imam Abu al-‘Abbas al-Qurtubi[1] and lately Shaykh Anwar Shah al-Kashmiri[2] have said that it means the inmates of Paradise will have the height of their father Adam who was sixty cubits in the heavens.
This clarifies the first point that Adam’s height was 60 cubits in the Paradise according to this hadith and it does not say anything about his height after he landed on this planet. More on it follows under the next point.
2 Relation between the heights of successive human generations
The hadith also has the following statement towards its end;

فكل من يدخل الجنة على صورة آدم، فلم يزل الخلق ينقص حتى الآن

Normally it is translated as;

Any person who will enter Paradise will resemble Adam (in appearance and figure). People have been decreasing in stature since Adam's creation.

It is said that “ancient records or the fossil beds” do not support any such assertion. While that may be true we need to see if the hadith has been understood the right way in the first place?
Some scholars actually contend that it does not even mean this in the first place. Commenting on the highlighted phrase, one of the greatest scholars of our day, Mufti Taqi Usmani states:

ليس معناه أن قامات الناس لم تزل تنقص في كل قرن، بل المراد أن الجسم الإنسان لم يزل ناقصاً بعده. ويؤخذ هذا مما قدمناه عن شيخ مشايخنا الكشميري رحمه الله أن ستين ذراعاً إنما كانت مقدار قامة آدم عليه السلام في الجنّة، فلما نزل عنها عاد إلى القصر، ولم يزل أبناؤه يولدون بقرب من هذه القامة إلى يومنا الآن، وإنما يرجعون إلى أصل قامتهم حينما يعودون إلى الجنّة. فقوله عليه السلام: "لم يزل ينقص": معناه: أنه لم يزل يولد ناقصاً، والله سبحانه وتعالى أعلم
It does not mean the height of people has not ceased decreasing with every generation, rather it means the human body has not ceased to be imperfect thereafter. This is taken from what has reached us from the teacher of our teachers (Anwar Shah) al-Kashmiri, may Allah have mercy on him, that sixty hands was the height of Adam in the Paradise and when he fell from it he became short and to this day of ours his children have not ceased to be on almost the same (short) height. And they will return to their original height when they go back to Paradise. So the saying of Prophet (May peace be upon him), "they have not stopped being short" means that have they not stopped being born imperfect i.e. on the same short height. Allah the Perfect and Almighty knows best![3]

Simply put in the Paradise Adam’s height was 60 cubits however on Earth it was reduced from its original perfect height and it continues that way to this day. However, when humans will eventually return to Paradise they will attain the same height.
This not only gives the plain and unproblematic interpretation of the last phrase it also tells us that Adam’s height seized to be 60 cubits after his landing on the Earth.
Indeed Allah knows the best!
-- by Waqar Akbar Cheema
[1] Al-Qurtubi, Abu al-Abbas, al-Mufhim lima Ashkala fi Talkhis Kitab Muslim, 23/45
[2] Al-Kashmiri, Anwar Shah, Fayd al-Bari, Vol.6 p.5
[3] Usmani, Muhammad Taqi, Takmila Fath al-Mulhim, Vol.6, p.158
Source: Let Me Turn The Tables (There was some slight editing)
Many Jews and Christians cite this hadith because they believe it to falsify Islam, though this is clearly not the case as demonstrated above, on such a methodology, they should, however, reject their religions:

4 The Nephilim[a] were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.
Genesis 6:4 (English Standard Version)

The Bible website Biblegateway provides the following footnote clarifying what Nephilim means:

Footnotes:
Genesis 6:4 Or giants

So, according to this verse:

1. There were giants on earth.
   
2. God has sons.
   
3. Those sons had intercourse with the children of human beings.
   
4. God had grandchildren.
   

Conclusion
To use this hadith so as to assert that Islam permits anthropomorphism and the notion that there were giant humans throughout history is baseless.

Assalamu Alaikum
When I was looking for a new translation of the Quran (after finishing my previous one) I realized that all of these translations have different characteristics and different perspectives from the translators. And when I put six of the best translations side to side and read them (with commentary for some) I found out that they have a uniqueness to themselves and the way the words are chosen. So here's my opinion of the characteristics of the translations.

1. The meaning of the Noble Quran by Mufti Taqi Usmani. The reason this is first on the list is because it was the first translation I had read and the only one that I had read completely. This translation has a perfect balance between the Arabic script, the English translation, and the explanatory notes. The commentary was just the perfect amount. Not too much , not too less. And the translation was clear and easy to read yet at the same time very spiritual. This translation was leaning to right and the left which made it very appealing to read.
2. The message of the Quran by Muhammad Asad. The translator is a genius with words. The commentary is extensive so it helps with to thoroughly understand the verse. The author is biased in his interpretation as he brings his liberal views to justify what verse means and has couple of wrong interpretations regarding some verses( like Jesus dying a normal life on earth). His leaning is certainly left and he has defiantly showed it. It deviates from an Orthodox Interpretation.
3. Translation of the meanings of the Noble Quran in the English language by Mushing khan and Al Hilali. This translation is way too conservative and literal in Its translation. Its so conservative that Saudi Arabia has made it available in all of their embassies and also print it. The translation is pretty good but I have heard a lot of criticism regarding the crammer. The Leaning is very right.
4. Sahib international Qur'an. This is one of the least biased translation that I have found. It is very amazingly written, the English used is modern but still eloquent. The commentary is very minimal, a bit too minimal as the drawback of this is that we have a marvelous translation but no commentary to explain it. The leaning is neither left nor right as far as I have scene. The translator has maintained an unbiased interpretation (though no translation is truly unbiased).
5. The Quran with annotated interpretation in modern English by Ali Unal. This translation is by far the most eloquent of all the translations I have read I would call this the "Yusuf Ali" translation of the 21st century. It truly shows the beauty of the Quran as much as the English language is capable of. The commentary is extensive, some might consider it a a small Tafsir. I am not sure of the leaning of this Translation, but have noticed a little leaning to the center-left.