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Sayyid Abul A'la Maududi was one of the most influential Muslim theologians of the 20th century and the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami (?Party of Islam?), an Islamist political party in Pakistan. Shaikh Maududi?s philosophy, literary productivity and tireless activism contributed immensely to the development of Islamic political and social movements around the world. Shaikh Maududi?s ideas profoundly influenced Sayyid Qutb of Egypt?s Jamiat al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun (?Muslim Brotherhood?) another leading Muslim philosopher of the 20th century. Together, Shaikh Maududi and Shaikh Qutb are considered the founding fathers of the global Islamic revival movement.
Shaikh Maududi, born on Rajab 3, 1321 AH (September 25, 1903 AD) in Aurangabad city of Hyderabad (now Maharashtra) state, India, traced his lineage to the Prophet Muhammad. Among his ancestors were many other spiritual leaders, including a prominent cleric of the Chishti Sufi Order, Khawajah Qutb al-Din Maudud. Shaikh Maududi?s forefathers moved to India from Chisht, near Herat in Afghanistan, near the end of the 15th century AD. Shaikh Maududi?s father, Ahmad Hasan, born in 1855 AD, was a lawyer. Shaikh Maududi was the youngest of his three sons.
Shaikh Maududi was home-schooled before attending Madrasah Furqaniyah, a high school that combined Western education with traditional Islamic education. He attended college at Darul Uloom in Hyderabad but withdrew when his father became terminally ill. He knew enough Arabic, Farsi, English, and his native tongue Urdu to continue his studies independently.
In 1918, at the age of 15, he began working as a journalist for a leading Urdu newspaper to support himself, and in 1920, he was appointed editor of Taj, published in Jabalpore city in what is now Madhya Pradesh state, India. By 1921, Shaikh Maududi moved to Delhi to work as editor for the Muslim newspaper (1921-1923), and later for al-Jam?iyat (1925-1928), publications by the Jam?iyat-i ?Ulama-i Hind, a Muslim religious academy. Under Shaikh Maududi?s editorial leadership, al-Jam?iyat became the leading newspaper for India's Muslims.
Shaikh Maududi participated in the Khilafat Movement and Tahrik-e Hijrat, Indian Muslim organizations opposed to British colonial occupation. He urged India's Muslims to migrate en masse to Afghanistan to escape the yoke of British rule. During this period, Shaikh Maududi began translating books from Arabic and English to Urdu. He also authored his first major book, al-Jihad fi al-Islam (?Jihad in Islam?) published serially in al-Jam?iyat in 1927 and as a book in 1930. al-Jihad fi al-Islam is still considered one of Shaikh Maududi?s literary masterpieces.
In 1933, Shaikh Maududi became editor of the monthly Tarjuman al-Qur?an. He wrote extensively about Islam and, in particular, the conflict between Islam and external forces of imperialism and modernization. He interpreted Islamic solutions and presented an Islamic perspective to the everyday problems faced by Muslims under British rule, on the problems of Western military domination over South Asia and on the corrupting influences of Western culture on Islamic society.
Together with the philosopher-poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal, Shaikh Maududi established an academic center named Darul-Islam in Pathankot city of Punjab State. The goal of the academy was to train scholars in the political philosophy of Islam. Shaikh Maududi developed a highly critical perspective of Western concepts, such as nationalism, pluralism and feminism, which he viewed as imperialist tools to undermine non-Western societies and enforce Western domination over the lives of Muslims. He proposed that the Muslim world should purge itself of foreign elements and wage jihad (?struggle?) until all of humanity was united under Islamic rule. He translated the Qu?ran into Urdu and wrote prolifically on numerous aspects of Islamic law and culture.
By 1941, Sheikh Maududi founded Jamaat-e-Islami (?Party of Islam?) to promote an Islamist agenda in India, and later Pakistan. Shaikh Maududi was elected as Jamaat?s first Ameer (President) and he was re-elected every year until 1972 when he resigned for health reasons.
After the Partition of India in 1947, Shaikh Maududi migrated to Pakistan and began working in earnest to build a true Islamic state and society. He relentlessly criticized the secular policies of the nascent state and berated Pakistani leaders for failing to create an Islamic political order. Shaikh Maududi was persecuted, arrested and imprisoned for for advocating his political beliefs through his writing and speeches. In 1953, Shaikh Maududi?s pamphlet criticizing the Qadiyani sect as un-Islamic resulted in widespread rioting and violence in Pakistan. A military court sentenced Shaikh Maududi to death for sedition. He refused to apologize for his actions or to request clemency from the government. He demanded his freedom to speak and accepted the punishment of death as the will of God. His fierce commitment to his ideals caused his supporters worldwide to rally for his release and the government acceded, commuting his death sentence to a term of life imprisonment. Eventually the military government pardoned Shaikh Maududi completely.
Shaikh Maududi?s goal was to make Islam the supreme organizing principle for the social and political life of the Muslim ummah (?family? or ?community?). The primary concept Shaikh Maududi?s propounded was iqamat-i-deen, literally "the establishment of religion." According to this principle, society and the state are totally subordinate to the authority of Islamic law as revealed in the Qur'an and practiced by Muhammad.
Shaikh Maududi interpreted religion to be the central frame of reference for all human activity. He did not believe that religion was simply a private choice, as it is viewed in secular societies. He believed that religion must be manifest in all social, economic and political spheres of society. In Islamic societies, this meant that Shari'a should be the law of the land for all citizens, replacing non-Islamic civil and criminal law.
Shaikh Maududi traveled extensively between 1956 and 1974 spread his message to Muslims throughout the world. He delivered inspirational lectures to Muslim communities in Cairo, Damascus, Amman, Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Kuwait, Rabat, Istanbul, London, New York, Toronto and many other cities. He made a pilgrimage and research expedition through Saudi Arabia, Jordan (including Jerusalem), Syria and Egypt in 1959-1960 to the locales mentioned in the Qur?an.
On September 22, 1979, Shaikh Maududi died at age 76 following surgery in Buffalo, New York. He had suffered from kidney and heart disease in his final years. His funeral was held in Buffalo, but he was buried in an unmarked grave at his residence (Ichra) in Lahore after a procession thronged by teeming multitudes of followers and respectful admirers.
Shaikh Maududi?s goal was to make Islam the supreme organizing principle for the social and political life of the Muslim ummah. The primary concept Shaikh Maududi?s propounded was iqamat-i-deen, literally "the establishment of religion." According to this principle, society and the state are totally subordinate to the authority of Islamic law as revealed in the Qur'an and practiced by Muhammad.
Shaikh Maududi believed that every answer to every problem could be found in the Qur?an and Hadith an answer to every conceivable problem. The complete system of law exists in the Shari'a. Many of the principles propounded by Shaikh Maududi were derived from the great Muslim scholar of another era; Ibn Taymiyyah.
Shaikh Maududi believed that the entire course of Islamic history was a continuous struggle between Islam and different brands of ignorance. Islam was not guaranteed victory in every battle, but Shaikh Maududi believed that if Muslims were true to their religion, Islam would eventually triumph over ignorance. In his incrementalist vision, the construction of an Islamic state originates from within pious individuals who transform society from within. First, Islam spurs individual transformation. Pious Muslims develop communities of faith. These communities, in turn, mass into ideological movements that generate peaceful social change. The end result is an Islamic society and true Islamic state based on the will of the people.
Shaikh Maududi wrote more than 120 books and pamphlets and gave over 1000 speeches (700 were recorded for wider distribution.). His main subject matter was Qur?anic exegesis (Tafsir), ethics, social studies and the problems facing the Islamic revival movement. His monumental Urdu analysis of the Qur?an, Tafhim al-Qur?an (?Chapter Introductions to the Qur?an?), took 30 years to complete. The tome explicates the relevance of the Qur?an as a guide to solving the mundane problems in life at the level of the individual and society. The book has been translated into Arabic, English, Turkish, Farsi, Hindi, French, German, Swahili, Tamil, and Bengali and is continuously being translated into a wider variety of languages.
Shaikh Maududi raised a revolutionary clarion call for freedom and Islamic revival during a period of malaise and subjugation. The Ottoman Empire had imploded, self-serving European and American interpretations of civilization colonized and exploited the people and resources of the Muslim world. Shaikh Maududi called on Muslims to look inward to find strength in Islam and to struggle for a more just society built on Islamic principles.
Shaikh Maududi invigorated the Muslim world with his interpretation of Islam?s potential to change individuals and society. His prolific writings, life of piety and absolute belief in the righteousness of Islamic society catalyzed social and political change through national and global Islamist movements. The impact of Shaikh Maududi?s life work continues to be felt throughout the Islamic and non-Islamic world today.
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