Wednesday 24 January 2018

Role of Syed Abul A’ala-Maududi in Convergence of Muslim Ummah




Mohd Usama
(Guest Lecturer)
Department of Islamic Studies
Jamia Millia Islamia-New Delhi-25
Contact No. +91-9911319959
Email: usama9911@gmail.com


Introduction
Unity is a prerequisite for development of a community or nation. Consensus of ideas and opinion is vital for achieving the targets and goals for any planning.
Muslim community does know and often discuss about the value and importance of unity among Muslims around the world. Islam also declares all believers as brothers, as Allah SWT says:
إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَ أَخَوَيْكُمْ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ1.
“The believers are but brothers, so make reconciliation between your brothers and fear Allah that you may receive mercy”.
The word “brotherhood,” means “a faith-based community that includes both men and women as brothers and sisters in religion”. Allah said in the Quran:
وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ بَعْضٍ ۚ يَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ وَيُطِيعُونَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ سَيَرْحَمُهُمُ اللَّهُ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ2.
“The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and establish prayer and give charity and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah will have mercy upon them, for Allah is Almighty and Wise.
Quran is full of teachings about unity of Ummah, the Muslim community. There are many verses in the Holy Quran which give the lessons of unity i.e.
وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا وَاذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ كُنتُمْ أَعْدَاءً فَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُم بِنِعْمَتِهِ إِخْوَانًا3.
“And hold fast all together by the rope which Allah (stretches out for you) and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude Allah’s favor on you; for ye were enemies and He joined your hearts in love so that by His grace ye became brethren; and ye were on the brink of the pit of fire and He saved you from it. Thus, doth Allah make his signs clear to you: that ye may be guided”.
Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) always strived for the unity of Ummah and described Muslims as brothers for one another. Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said:
الْمُسْلِمُونَ كَرَجُلٍ وَاحِدٍ إِنْ اشْتَكَى عَيْنُهُ اشْتَكَى كُلُّهُ وَإِنْ اشْتَكَى رَأْسُهُ اشْتَكَى كُلُّهُ4.
“The Muslims are like a single man. If the eye is afflicted, then the whole body is afflicted. If the head is afflicted, then the whole body is afflicted”.
These above verses and Hadith are sufficient to explain the Importance of unity of the Ummah. But unfortunately, Muslim Ummah has been divided into groups since the assassination of Hazrat Usman RA and until now the division of Ummah into various religious and political group is continuing. This split and division in the community has caused a rift and resulted in decline of Ummah in all fields.
Today the situation is more serious than ever. Infighting among Muslims is a major and undeniable problem. Today Muslims are facing problems on all fronts, religious, economical, also political. The basic reasons for their plight are problems like sectarian hatred, prejudices of caste and creed, lust for power, intolerance and many other materialistic interests. All of these issues have resulted in serious damage to the Muslim community, which has deprived them of their honor, dignity and power.
Therefore, this issue has always been a matter of discussion and many Muslim scholars and leaders have tried to highlight the problem and proposed strategies to get the Ummah its golden days back. Syed Abul A’ala Maududi is one of them who paid a serious attention to this problem and wrote extensively on this topic.
Brief introduction of Syed Abul A’ala Maududi (1903-1979)
Syed Abul A’ala Maududi was born in 1903 AD at Aurangabad, Deccan, India. He was tutored at home by his father himself instead of attending a formal School. Syed Maududi was taught Quran, Hadith, Islamic Jurisprudence, Urdu, Persian and Arabic by a private tutor at home. His education at home spans over 11 years. Maududi’s father paid special attention to his character building and brought him up, in line with principles of Quran and Sunnah. For formal education Syed Maududi was admitted to class VIII directly in Madrasa Furqania, Aurangabad. He also passed the examination of Molvi (Metric), and got admission in Molvi Alim (Intermediate).
After his father’s death brought young Maududi to reckon with the Economic realities of life. As he was a gifted penman, in 1918 he chose Journalism as his profession, and edited the papers “Madeena” (Bijnour, Uttar Pradesh), “Taj” (Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh) and mouthpiece of Jamiat Ulma Hind— “Al-Jamiah” from Dehli.
Syed Maududi, worried with the worsening condition of Muslim Ummah decided to setup Jamaat-e-Islami. On his call Islamists from all over the country gathered on 26th August 1941 at Lahore and Jamaat-e-Islami was founded. Total 75 participants of the founding congregation, elected Syed Maududi as first Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind unanimously.
Syed Maududi died on 22 September 1979 at the age of 74, in a US Hospital. His funeral prayers were led by Allama Yusaf Al Qaradawi, ex Vice Chancellor of Qatar University, at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan. His funeral was attended by Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, former President of Pakistan, and other dignitaries besides thousands of mourners.5
Syed Abul A’ala Maudui was a great scholar and has written more than hundred books on various topics. Among his work, few internationally renowned books are:
·         Al Jihad Fil Islam
·         The Veil (Purdha)
·         The Understandings(Tafhimaat)
·         Tafheemul Quran
·         Towards Understanding Islam
·         Purdah & the Status of Women in Islam
·         The Islamic Law and Constitution
·         Let us be Muslims
·         The Islamic Way of Life
·         The Meaning of The Qur'an
·         A Short History of the Revivalist Movement in Islam
·         Human Rights in Islam
·         Four Basic Qur'anic Terms
·         The Process of Islamic Revolution
·         Unity of the Muslim World
·         The Moral Foundations of the Islamic Movement
·         Economic system of Islam
·         The Road to Peace and Salvation
·         The Qadiani Problem
·         The Question of Dress
·         The Rights of Non-Muslims in Islamic State

Thoughts of Maududi on Muslim Unity
Syed Abul A’ala Maududi was very enthusiastic and optimistic to see all the Muslims united. He was against sectarianism and the culture of Takfiriat among Muslims. He highlighted the teachings of Islam on unity and Muslim brotherhood. His struggle for unity continued till his last breath. Opposition from intellectuals, misconceptions and allegations from near and dear ones and hostile social environment never stopped him from his dream of unity of ummah. He continued to hold the flag of unity and call Muslims to gather under the shadow of it.
Syed Maududi has laid much emphasis on the topic of unity in his writings, such as basics of Muslim unity, necessity, problems, obstacles, ideology, standards and essential principles of Muslim unity. He was very much focused on this verse of Holy Quran:
يَآ اَيُّـهَا النَّاسُ اِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ مِّنْ ذَكَرٍ وَّاُنْثٰى وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ شُعُوْبًا وَّقَبَآئِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوْا ۚ اِنَّ اَكْـرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللّـٰهِ اَتْقَاكُمْ ۚ اِنَّ اللّـٰهَ عَلِيْـمٌ خَبِيْـرٌ 6.
“Human beings, we created you all from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another. Verily the noblest of you in the sight of Allah is the most God fearing of you. Surely Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.”
He explained three basic principles of unity in the light of this verse:
1.      All human beings have the same origin i.e. all of us belong to the same father and mother i.e. Adam and Eve SAW Thus, ethnic and racial entities that exist today are branches of the same family, their ultimate parents being the same.

2.      That it was natural for mankind to become divided, despite their common origin, into diverse national and tribal entities. While this diversity is quite natural, it does not provide any justification for a certain group to claim any inherent superiority over others; to consider some on these grounds as superior and others as inferior, some as noble and other as ignoble. Considerations of color, race, or nationality do not warrant people to regard themselves as superior to others. God created such diversities to foster greater cooperation and to enable these different entities to become mutually introduced.

3.      There is only one basis for considering one as better than the other and that is on account of their moral excellence.7
There would be no unity if some common points have not been decided. This rule is also applied for the unity of Muslim Ummah. The question is that, what would be those common points for uniting Ummah. Maulana Maududi discussed those points in his writings.
Without establishing a common platform for Muslim societies, the idea of Muslim unity cannot be practical. The common basis that possibly can unite the Muslims together are the common values and thought, shared belief of monotheism, common culture, the idea of universal brotherhood.
He is reported to have said: “What binds the Islamic countries and all the Muslims of the world together is the common belief, principles, traits of culture and morality8. Moreover, religion is not the only common factor among them but they are also attached together in their common culture and civilization.9 He was of opinion that the concept of the one Ummah must remain intact for Muslims to progress maintain their own identity.10 He also maintained that the concept of universal brotherhood of Muslims that Islam had created among them must always remain a living force.11


Maududi also discussed the reasons for divergence of Muslim Ummah.
Professor Mohammad Amanullah has quoted him saying in his article about disunity of Muslim Ummah:
The reasons he identifies for Muslims disunity are doctrine of nationalism, interference of the super powers, intellectual and cultural influence of the West, oblivion of Muslim brotherhood, racial and ethnic pride and prejudice, demise of absolute loyalty to Islam, division between religious and political leadership, conflicts among various religious camps, and absence of concerted efforts and collective strategy to save the Ummah.” 12
There is a golden saying of Maududi about unity that the unity of Islamic world cannot be conceived of without Islamic Culture. He has further discussed this in Tafheem-ul-Quran in relation to the explanation of Surah Ruum: 14 in Tafhim:
“Islam says that the real thing which joins men together or divides them is the belief and morality. Those who believe and build the system of life on divine guidance are one community, whether they belong to any race, any country and any region.”13
Conclusion
Syed Abul A’ala Maududi lived for about 76 years and devoted his life for the cause and promotion of Islam and its revival in the present-day-world. The Muslims of the 20th century lost their noble identity, self-respect, dignity and unity. He played an active role in cultivating the feeling of unity and dignity among the Muslims by his work and speeches. It is high time that some action is taken for unity of Muslim Ummah. We Muslims need to further work on the path enlightened by him and adopt these principles in our lives.
May Allah change the situation of this Ummah for better and we get our respect, dignity and strength back.









References:
1.      Al Quran, Al-Hujurat 49:10
2.      Al Quran, Al-Tawbah 9:71
3.      Al Quran, Al-i-Imran 3:103
4.      Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim:2586
6.      الحجرات:13
7.      Maududi, Syed Abul A’ala, towards understanding the Quran, Abridged version of Tafhim al-Quran, (India, New Delhi, MMI Publisher, 1st published, 2011), P.P 1065-1066
8.      Maududi, Selected Speeches, p. 51.
9.      Maududi, Unity of the Muslim World, p. 21.
10.  Maududi, Unity of the Muslim World, p. 14.
11.  Maududi, Unity of the Muslim World, p. 14.
12.  Muhammad Amanullah, “Understanding the Problems and Prospects of the Muslim Unityan Analysis of Mawdūdī’s Views”, Journal of Islam In Asia, Spl. Issue, No.2, June 2011, pp.422-423.