By Hafiz Muhammad Idrees
The last man fighting for Islam in the subcontinent was Tipu Sultan. Allama Iqbal paid him a rich tribute in his book “Javednama”. Aurangzeb Alamgir could also be dubbed as the last man who guarded Islam in the region. Alamgir has a glorious record of victories until his death at the age of 90. He was buried in the city of Aurangabad, Hyderabad Deccan. Then the British defeated the Mughal Empire. Alamgir was an invincible swordsman.
Then followed an era of intellect. Allah bestowed the Islamic world with a gifted personality who was born in this same city of Aurangabad, 200 years after the death of Alamgir. Syed Abul A’La Maududi emerged as an Islamic reformer of the modern age. Born in September 1903, he passed away in the same month at the age of 76 in 1979.
Life is a brief sojourn. Some of the travellers are not even aware that they are just sojourners and awareness of destination is far beyond their comprehension. Some travellers are aware of the journey but they don’t know about the destination. Some of them are aware of both ie the journey and the destination but they leave empty-handed. They reach their destination but there is nothing for them.
Yet there are travellers who are aware of the journey, destination, required preparation, itinerary. They also fulfil the requirements accordingly. They are lucky but only limited to themselves. But then there are those , though small in number, who think beyond their journey as they take others along with them. They not only provide for themselves but also take steps and provide for others. Such people are destined to be lucky. Syed Maududi was also one of such fortunate travellers.
Syed Maududi, or Maulana, was born to a noble Syed family. Allah blessed him numerous personal and individual gifts. His personality qualified for the standards of integrity in every aspect. He proved himself in almost every field i.e. knowledge, patience, intellect and activism. Aspects of his life will take several books to describe.
Students who are penning a thesis on his life in this modern age know that Maulana authored such a remarkable book at a young age which is one of the best documents on that topic as seen by the experts. Jihad is a central point of discussion in the current period. It is misrepresented to every level possible. If someone wants to know the reality of jihad, his book titled “Al-Jihad fil Islam” (Jihad in Islam) would provide the answers very well. Rich and exhaustive, his literature encompasses all the problems by humanity and an individual and collective level and provides a solution in both theory and practice.
The Holy Qur’an, the last divine book and the only word of God which is free from any form of corruption or amendments, is the only and real book for code of conduct for life. Syed Maududi has explained the Holy Qur’an in an absorbing way in his famous tafsir or exegesis titled “Tafhim-ul-Quran”. This book is simple in its approach while meeting literary standards at the same time.
“Tafhim-ul-Quran” has received a lot attention and has acquired a name among other commentaries on the Holy Quran amongst experts. His book titled “Tafhim-ul-Ahadith” consists of eight lengthy volumes and it is a brilliant source of guidance for students and teachers of hadith.
The brilliance of Syed Maududi is that he is not only a prominent name in the literary world but he has made unforgettable feats in the political field.
Though he never joined Muslim League in the struggle for freedom nor was he satisfied with the method of the Muslim League for an independent state, but the Two-Nation Theory which was the foundation for the creation of Pakistan was highlighted through the compelling writings of Syed Maududi and his book titled “Freedom movement of India and Muslims”.
His articles were published in the form of booklets and distributed en masse by the media cell of the Muslim League. After the death of Quaid-i-Azam, he was arrested and jailed by successive governments.
Maulana went through hardships while struggling against autocratic regimes. He played a key role in the formation of an organisation by the name of “Civil Liberties” while struggling against atrocities. People from all schools of thought including communists. Even non-Muslims joined this alliance. Basic human rights formed the main objective of this organisation.
Gathering people of contesting schools of thoughts under is evident of his farsightedness. At the same time, such an approach argues for developing a practical perspective of opening the closed doors for struggle in this field.
He was arrested for authoring a booklet against Qadyanis in 1953 and later sentenced to death by a military court. However, the government was compelled to release him after immense pressure from the people and the Muslim world leaders. Syed Maududi remained firm against this cruel and unjust decision undertaken by the then special military court.
The political stance of Syed Maududi was very clear in that the rulers bear no right to devoid the people of their fundamental rights. If the rulers don’t afford rights to the people, the struggle for the rights should begin within the boundaries of democratic, constitutional and legal norms. He never approved off nor justified any violent and non-constitutional activities. He made this thought an integral part of the constitution of Jamaat-e-Islami and also inscribed it in the minds of activists of Jamaat-e-Islami via intellectual training.
Jamaat-e-Islami has confronted several dictatorships. While Its activists and leaders have been imprisoned over forged cases, Jamaat-e-Islami never opted for any unconstitutional methods and it will never do so in the future In Sha Allah.
While studying the life of Syed Maududi, we find that he had been struggling against evil his entire life. He refused to bow before it and demonstrated the dimensions of his struggle while remaining within the boundaries of the law.
Jamaat-e-Islami has a manifesto that makes it cleat to this today that its activists shall never compromise with the vice, never kneel before it and never choose any illegal or unconstitutional way to respond to provocation. We, the activists of Jamaat-e-Islami are the flagbearers of the truth and righteousness. We have a strong foundation. Then why should we adopt unconstitutional means to make ourselves heard?
