Abul A’la was born on Rajab 3, 1321 AH
(September 25, 1903 AD) in Aurangabad, a well-known town in the former princely
state of Hyderabad (Deccan), presently Maharashtra, India. Born in a respectable
family, his ancestry on the paternal side is traced back to the Holy Prophet
Muhammad (peace and blessing of Allah be on him).
The family had a long-standing tradition of
spiritual leadership and a number of Maududi’s ancestors were outstanding
leaders of Sufi Orders. One of the luminaries among them, the one from whom he derived his family
name, was Khawajah Qutb al-Din Maudud (d. 527 AH), a renowned leader of the
Chishti Sufi Order. Maududi’s forefathers had moved to the Subcontinent
from Chisht towards the end of the 9th century of the Islamic calendar (15th
century of the Christian calendar). The first one to arrive was Maududi’s
namesake, Abul A’la Maududi (d. 935 AH).Maududi’s father, Ahmad Hasan, born in
1855 AD, a lawyer by profession, was a highly religious and devout person. Abul
A’la was the youngest of his three sons.
Educational & Intellectual Growth:
After acquiring early education at home,
Abul A’la was admitted in Madrasah Furqaniyah, a high school which attempted to
combine the modern Western with the traditional Islamic education. After
successfully completing his secondary education, young Abul A’la was at the
stage of undergraduate studies at Darul Uloom, Hyderabad, when his formal
education was disrupted by the illness and eventual death of his father. This
did not deter Maududi from continuing his studies though these had to be
outside of the regular educational institutions. By the early 1920s, Abul A’la
knew enough Arabic, Persian and English, besides his mother-tongue, Urdu, to
study the subjects of his interest independently. Thus, most of what he learned
was self-acquired though for short spells of time he also received systematic
instruction and guidance from some competent scholars. Thus, Maududi’s
intellectual growth was largely a result of his own effort and the stimulation
he received from his teachers. Moreover, his uprightness, his profound regard
for propriety and righteousness largely reflect the religious piety of his
parents and their concern for his proper moral upbringing.
Involvement in Journalism:
After the interruption of his formal
education, Maududi turned to journalism in order to make his living. In 1918,
he was already contributing to a leading Urdu newspaper, and in 1920, at the
age of 17, he was appointed editor of Taj, which was being published from
Jabalpore, a city in the province now called Madhya Pradesh, India. Late in
1920, Maududi came to Delhi and first assumed the editorship of the newspaper
Muslim (1921-23), and later of al-Jam’iyat (1925-28), both of which were the
organs of the Jam’iyat-i ‘Ulama-i Hind, an organisation of Muslim religious
scholars. Under his editorship, al-Jam’iyat became the leading newspaper of the
Muslims of India.
Interest in Politics:
Around the year 1920, Maududi also began to
take some interest in politics. He participated in the Khilafat Movement, and
became associated with the Tahrik-e Hijrat, which was a movement in opposition
to the British rule over India and urged the Muslims of that country to migrate
en masse to Afghanistan. However, he fell foul of the leadership of the
movement because of his insistence that the aims and strategy of the movement
should be realistic and well-planned. Maududi withdrew more and more into
academic and journalistic pursuits.
First Book:
During 1920-28, Maulana Maududi also
translated four different books, one from Arabic and the rest from English. He
also made his mark on the academic life of the Subcontinent by writing his
first major book, al-Jihad fi al-Islam. This is a masterly treatise on the
Islamic law of war and peace. It was first serialised in al-Jam’iyat in 1927
and was formally published in 1930. It was highly acclaimed both by the famous
poet-philosopher Muhammad Iqbal (d. 1938) and Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar (d.
1931), the famous leader of the Khilafat Movement. Though written during his
’20s, it is one of his major and most highly regarded works.
Research & Writings:
After his resignation from al-Jam’iyat in
1928, Maududi moved to Hyderabad and devoted himself to research and writing.
It was in this connection that he took up the editorship of the monthly
Tarjuman al-Qur’an in 1933, which since then has been the main vehicle for the
dissemination of Maududi’s ideas. He proved to be a highly prolific writer,
turning out several scores of pages every month. Initially, he concentrated on
the exposition of ideas, values and basic principles of Islam. He paid special
attention to the questions arising out of the conflict between the Islamic and
the contemporary Western whorl. He also attempted to discuss some of the major
problems of the modern age and sought to present Islamic solutions to those
problems. He also developed a new methodology to study those problems in the
context of the experience of the West and the Muslim world, judging them on the
theoretical criterion of their intrinsic soundness and viability and conformity
with the teachings of the Qur’an and the Sunnah. His writings revealed his
erudition and scholarship, a deep perception of the significance of the teachings
of the Qur’an and the Sunnah and a critical awareness of the mainstream of
Western thought and history. All this brought a freshness to Muslim approach to
these problems and lent a wider appeal to his message.
In the mid ’30s, Maududi started writing on
major political and cultural issues confronting the Muslims of India at that
time and tried to examine them from the Islamic perspective rather than merely
from the viewpoint of short-term political and economic interests. He
relentlessly criticised the newfangled ideologies which had begun to cast a
spell over the minds and hearts of his brethren-in-faith and attempted to show
the hollowness of those ideologies. In this connection, the idea of nationalism
received concerted attention from Maududi when he forcefully explained its
dangerous potentialities as well as its incompatibility with the teachings of
Islam. Maududi also emphasised that nationalism in the context of India meant
the utter destruction of the separate identity of Muslims. In the meantime, an
invitation from the philosopher-poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal persuaded him to
leave Hyderabad and settle down at a place in the Eastern part of Punjab, in
the district of Pathankot. Maududi established what was essentially an academic
and research centre called Darul-Islam where, in collaboration with Allama
Iqbal, he planned to train competent scholars in Islamics to produce works of
outstanding quality on Islam, and above all, to carry out the reconstruction of
Islamic Thought.
Founding the Party:
Around the year 1940, Maududi developed
ideas regarding the founding of a more comprehensive and ambitious movement and
this led him to launch a new organisation under the name of the
Jamaat-e-Islami. Maududi was elected Jamaat’s first Ameer and remained so till
1972 when he withdrew from the responsibility for reasons of health.
Struggle & Persecution:
After migrating to Pakistan in August 1947,
Maududi concentrated his efforts on establishing a truly Islamic state and
society in the country. Consistent with this objective, he wrote profusely to
explain the different aspects of the Islamic way of life, especially the
socio-political aspects. This concern for the implementation of the Islamic way
of life led Maududi to criticise and oppose the policies pursued by the
successive governments of Pakistan and to blame those in power for failing to
transform Pakistan into a truly Islamic state. The rulers reacted with severe
reprisal measures. Maududi was often arrested and had to face long spells in
prison.
During these years of struggle and
persecution, Maududi impressed all, including his critics and opponents, by the
firmness and tenacity of his will and other outstanding qualities. In 1953,
when he was sentenced to death by the martial law authorities on the charge of
writing a seditious pamphlet on the Qadyani problem, he resolutely turned down
the opportunity to file a petition for mercy. He cheerfully expressed his
preference for death to seeking clemency from those who wanted, altogether
unjustly, to hang him for upholding the right. With unshakeable faith that life
and death lie solely in the hands of Allah, he told his son as well as his
colleagues: "If the time of my death has come, no one can keep me from it;
and if it has not come, they cannot send me to the gallows even if they hang
themselves upside down in trying to do so." His family also declined to
make any appeal for mercy. His firmness astonished the government which was
forced, under strong public pressure both from within and without, to commute the
death sentence to life imprisonment and then to cancel it.
Intellectual Contribution:
Maulana Maududi has written over 120 books
and pamphlets and made over a 1000 speeches and press statements of which about
700 are available on record.
Maududi’s pen was simultaneously prolific,
forceful and versatile. The range of subjects he covered is unusually wide.
Disciplines such as Tafsir, Hadith, law, philosophy and history, all have
received the due share of his attention. He discussed a wide variety of problems
C political, economic, cultural, social, theological etc. C and attempted to
state how the teachings of Islam were related to those problems. Maududi has
not delved into the technical world of the specialist, but has expounded the
essentials of the Islamic approach in most of the fields of learning and
inquiry. His main contribution, however, has been in the fields of the Qur’anic
exegesis (Tafsir), ethics, social studies and the problems facing the movement
of Islamic revival. His greatest work is his monumental tafsir in Urdu of the
Qur’an, Tafhim al-Qur’an, a work he took 30 years to complete. Its chief
characteristic lies in presenting the meaning and message of the Qur’an in a
language and style that penetrates the hearts and minds of the men and women of
today and shows the relevance of the Qur’an to their everyday problems, both on
the individual and societal planes. He translated the Qur’an in direct and
forceful modern Urdu idiom. His translation is much more readable and eloquent
than ordinary literal translations of the Qur’an. He presented the Qur’an as a
book of guidance for human life and as a guide-book for the movement to
implement and enforce that guidance in human life. He attempted to explain the
verses of the Qur’an in the context of its total message. This tafsir has made
a far-reaching impact on contemporary Islamic thinking in the Subcontinent, and
through its translations, even abroad.
The influence of Maulana Maududi is not
confined to those associated with the Jamaat-e-Islami. His influence transcends
the boundaries of parties and organisations. Maududi is very much like a
father-figure for Muslims all over the world. As a scholar and writer, he is
the most widely read Muslim writer of our time. His books have been translated
into most of the major languages of the world C Arabic, English, Turkish,
Persian, Hindi, French, German, Swahili, Tamil, Bengali, etc. C and are now
increasingly becoming available in many more of the Asian, African and European
languages.
Travels & Journeys Abroad:
The several journeys which Maududi
undertook during the years 1956-74 enabled Muslims in many parts of the world
to become acquainted with him personally and appreciate many of his qualities.
At the same time, these journeys were educative for Maududi himself as well as
they provided to him the opportunity to gain a great deal of first-hand
knowledge of the facts of life and to get acquainted with a large number of
persons in different parts of the world. During these numerous tours, he
lectured in Cairo, Damascus, Amman, Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah, Kuwait, Rabat,
Istanbul, London, New York, Toronto and at a host of international centres.
During these years, he also participated in some 10 international conferences.
He also made a study tour of Saudi Arabia, Jordan (including Jerusalem), Syria
and Egypt in 1959-60 in order to study the geographical aspects of the places
mentioned in the Qur’an. He was also invited to serve on the Advisory Committee
which prepared the scheme for the establishment of the Islamic University of
Madinah and was on its Academic Council ever since the inception of the
University in 1962.
He was also a member of the Foundation
Committee of the Rabitah al-Alam al-Islami, Makkah, and of the Academy of
Research on Islamic Law, Madinah. In short, he was a tower of inspiration for
Muslims the world over and influenced the climate and pattern of thought of
Muslims, as the Himalayas or the Alps influence the climate in Asia or Europe
without themselves moving about.
His Last Days:
In April 1979, Maududi’s long-time kidney
ailment worsened and by then he also had heart problems. He went to the United
States for treatment and was hospitalised in Buffalo, New York, where his
second son worked as a physician. Even at Buffalo, his time was intellectually
productive. He spent many hours reviewing Western works on the life of the
Prophet and meeting with Muslim leaders, their followers and well-wishers.
Following a few surgical operations, he
died on September 22, 1979 at the age of 76. His funeral was held in Buffalo,
but he was buried in an unmarked grave at his residence (Ichra) in Lahore after
a very large funeral procession through the city.
May Allah bless him with His mercy for his
efforts and reward him amply for the good that he has rendered for the nation
of Islam (Ummah).
Courtesy: Islam101.com & LatheefFarook
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