Sayyid Abul Ala Mawdudi (1903-1979)

1. Sayyid Abul Ala Mawdudi(1903-1979) Presented by Ku Nur Amelia Ku Doris AiniAmirahMohdZin QamariahKamaruzaman Edited by Dr. Md. MahmudulHasan International Islamic University Malaysia 2010

2. MaryamJameelah in her book describes how 3 years before the birth of Mawdudi, his father Ahmad Hassan had a dream where a man wearing all white clothes (Maryam regards this as an angel) came to him to explain that he would get a child who would become one of the most renown reformists of the twentieth century.

3. Life of Sayyid Mawdudi • He was born in  Aurangabad (presently in Andhra Pradesh, India) on 25 September 1903. • He is widely regarded as a Mujaddid(Daud, 1989) for his role in reforming religious practices, initiating intellectual revolution, establishing the pre-eminence of Shariah, and setting the agenda against godless politics. • A Mujaddid has the gift to think independently of the contemporary and centuries old social and other prejudices. He has the inherent ability to undertake the work of Ijtihad and of reconstruction. • Mawdudi’s ancestors were outstanding leaders of Sufi orders. One of them is KhawajahQutb who founded the Chisti Sufi order in India.

4. Received early education at home before he went to Madrasah Furqaniyah. • Then he was an undergraduate at Darul Uloom, Hyderabad. • By early 1920, Mawdudi knew enough Arabic, Persian and Urdu. • However, he was a self-educated scholar.

5. Mawdudi’s writings • Mawdudi’s early works concentrate on the exposition of ideas, values and basic principles of Islam. They attempt to discuss some of the major problems of the modern age and provide Islamic solutions. His writings reveal his erudition and scholarship, a deep perception of the significance of the teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah and a critical awareness of mainstream Western thought and history. • In the mid 1930s, Mawdudi started to write on major political and cultural issues confronting the Muslims of British India at that time.

6. Journalistic Career After his father died he needed to earn a living. So in 1918 he started his journalistic career by contributing to a leading Urdu newspaper. In 1920, he was appointed the Editor of Taj. In 1921-1923, he was the Editor of Muslim. In 1925-1928, he was the Editor of Al-Jam’iyat. Muslim and Al-Jam’iyat were organs of Jam’iyat-i Ulama-i Hind, an organization of Muslim religious scholars.

7. Mawdudi’s Major Works • Mawdudi authored more than 120 books and pamphlets. • Most of his works are on: • Qur’anic exegesis (or tafseer) • Ethics • Social issues • Problems facing the Islamic revival movement.

8. Jihad fi al-Islam (1930) • This book expounds the concept of war in Islam. • He wrote it in his 20s. • In this book, Mawdudi counteracts the wrong notion that “Islam supports terrorism and was spread by the sword”.

9. Tafhim al-Qur’an(1942-1972) • It took Mawdudi 30 years to complete this extraordinary work. • It explains the relevance of the Qur’an to our every day individual and social life. • Originally, it was intended for modern educated people with little or no knowledge of Arabic. • Mawdudi presents the Qur’an as a Book of eternal guidance. • For every surah (chapter of the Qur’an), Mawdudi provides: • Introduction to the surah • Explanation of the name of the surah • Period of revelation of the surah • Historical background of the time when the surah was revealed.

10. Surah Al-Fatihah • Name: This Surah is named AL-FATIHAH because of its subject-matter. Fatihah is that which opens a subject or a book or any other thing. In other words, Al-Fatihah is a sort of preface to the Qur’an. • Period of Revelation: It is one of the very earliest Revelations to the Holy Prophet. As a matter of fact, we learn from authentic Traditions that it was the first complete surah revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (Allah's peace be upon him). Before this, only a few miscellaneous verses were revealed which form parts of surahs `ALAQ, MUZ-ZAMMIL, MUD-DATH-THIR, etc. • Theme: This surah seeks to create a strong desire in the heart of the reader to seek guidance from Allah. If one wants to sincerely benefit from the Qur’an, s/he should offer this prayer to Allah.

11. Towards Understanding Islam • This book was originally written in Urdu in 1932. It was written in 15 days. • It was meant to be the textbook for students of higher classes and for the general public. It provides Muslims and non-Muslims with a brief but comprehensive view of Islam. • This book has been translated into 13 languages such as English, French and Japanese. • Mawdudi presents the Islamic modes of worship and outlines of the Islamic way of life. Most importantly, he unveils the wisdom behind them.

12. "Islam is not a 'religion' in the sense the term ‘religion’ is commonly understood. It is a system encompassing all fields of human life. Islamic teachings cover politics, economics, legislation, science, health, psychology, sociology and so on and so forth. It is a system which makes no discrimination on the basis of race, color, language or other external categories. Its appeal is to all humankind. It wants to reach the heart of every human being.” - Mawdudi argues that Islam is much more than daily rituals or habits passed down from one generation to another. It is to be regarded as a dynamic system for the whole of life.

13. Political Ideas Muslims should establish an Islamic state that adheres to Shariah law and promotes Islamic values and practices. The underlying principles of such a state are: tawhid (oneness of God), risala (prophethood) and khilafa (caliphate). It follows complete Shariah law covering every sphere of human life.

14. Non Muslims in an Islamic country are: - Free to practice their faith, ideology, rituals of worship or social customs. - Still bound to accept Muslim rule. Jizya tax should be collected from all able non Muslim adults, and not from the elderly and women. Those who serve in military are exempted from paying jizya.

15. Pakistan - Went against the separation of India, as he hoped that the entire South Asian continent would be Islamicized. - After the partition, he moved to Pakistan to turn it into an Islamic state. - He was captured, received death sentence, which was annulled because of strong public pressure. - Cobbled a grand alliance of political groups and launched a “civil disobedience campaign” in 1977 which caused him to be arrested, but intervention from the Saudi Arabian government secured his release.

16. Mawdudi influenced the thoughts and understanding of ‘Islamic Revival’. Hassan al Banna who established Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwan Muslimin) in Egypt was clearly influenced by him. He founded Jamaat-e-Islami which is the largest Islamic party in the South Asian subcontinent, spanning over Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

17. Jamaat-e-Islami Mawdudi founded it in Lahore on 26 August 1941. - Regroup: JI Pakistan, JI India, JI Bangladesh, JI Sri Lanka. Its main aim is to establish a pure Islamic state where Islam will be followed as a complete way of life. Its message: Humankind will find peace and growth only when it accepts and practices true teachings of Allah in all spheres of life – individual, national and international. Its strategies: It does not adopt illegal or underground means to come to power. It educates people in Islamic values, and participates in election.

18. Started a movement in 1948 to convince the Pakistan government to initiate Islamic Constitution. Thus, the Constitution Preamble known as Qaraardad I Maqasid was approved by the national assembly, which in principle accepts that all laws and amendments will be Islamic or made Islamic. Currently, in Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami is a member of MuttahidaMajlis-i-Amal, a coalition between religious-political parties in Pakistan.

19. Some of Mawdudi’s views - War and violence are results of man’s lack of complete allegiance to God. - Jihad, on the other hand, is a form of allegiance to God. - Islam guarantees universal fundamental rights for humanity: “It is not permissible to oppress women, children, old people, the sick or wounded. Women’s honor and chastity must be respected, the hungry must be fed, the naked must be clad and the wounded must be treated regardless where they come from, either Islamic community or not.” - Muslim women are accorded full spiritual and intellectual equality with men. - Men and women have separate but equal duties and rights. - Women have the right to own property.

20. - The life, property and honor of a non-Muslim is to be respected in exactly the same way as that of a Muslim citizen. The Islamic government may not intefere with the personal right of a non muslim. They have full freedom of conscience and belief and are at liberty to perform their religious rites and ceremonies.