|
|
|
Sayyid Abul A'la Mawdudi (1903-1979) was one of the most influential and prolific of contemporary Muslim thinkers. His interpretive reading of Islam has contributed greatly to the articulation of Islamic revivalist thought and has influenced Muslim thinkers and activists from Morocco to Indonesia. In South Asia where Mawdudi's ideas took shape, his influence has been more pronounced. Jamaat Islami (the Islamic Party), the organization that has embodied his ideology over the course of the past five decades, has played a significant role in the history and politics of Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the south Asian communities of the Persian Gulf, Great Britain and North America. Mawdudi was born in Deccan (Maharashtra), India, on September 25, 1903 into a notable family. He was educated at home in Arabic, Urdu, and religious texts for a number of years. Mawdudi's mastery of Arabic was such that at the age of fourteen he translated the Egyptian thinker Qasim Amin's work Al mar'ah Al jadidah from Arabic into Urdu. In 1918 he joined his brother Abulkair to begin a career in Journalism. In 1921 Mawdudi became acquainted with the senior leaders of the Jamiyatul Ulama I Hind, Mawlanas Mufti Ahmad Kifayatullah and Ahmad Saeed. The Ulama recognized Mawdudi's talent and invited him to edit the Jamiyat official newspaper, Muslim, and later its successor Al Jamiyat. In 1926 he received his certificate in religious training (ijazah) thus becoming an Alim (scholar). In 1932 Mawdudi purchased the journal Turjuman Al Qur'an, which became the forum for his views. In 1938 he agreed to head Darul Islam, a religious education project conceived by the Muslim thinker Muhammad Iqbal. In 1941 Mawdudi with a number of young scholars formed the Islamic Party (Jamaat Islami). Although his political responsibilities in subsequent years, Mawdudi dedicated most of his time to writing. He died in Buffalo, New York, on September 22, 1979. His oeuvre has not only made him the foremost revivalist thinker of his time, but has also confirmed him as a notorious Muslim scholar. His Qur'anic translation and commentary, Tafhim al Qur'an (understanding the Qur'an), begun in1942 and completed in 1972, is one of the most widely read Qur'anic commentaries today. In his numerous works Mawdudi elaborated his views on religion, society, economy, and politics. 
|