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Famous
Personalities of the Global Islamic Movement Throughout History
Sayyid Abul Ala
Maududi (Urdu: ابو الاعلى مودودی, Arabic: أبو الأعلى
المودودي; alternative spellings of last name Maudoodi,
and Mawdudi) (September 25, 1903(1903-09-25) - September
22, 1979), also known as Mawlana (Maulana) or Sheikh
Sayyid Abul A'la Mawdudi, is considered an influential
Islamic thinker of the 20th century. He was also a
political figure in his home country, Pakistan, where he
founded the Jamaat-e-Islami Islamic political party.
Among other works, Maududi is known for his
Urdu-language tafsir of the Qur’an, The Meaning of the
Qur'an.
Abul Ala Maududi was born on September 25, 1903 (Rajab
3, 1321 AH) in Aurangabad, then part of the princely
state of Hyderabad (presently Maharashtra), India.
Maududi was born to Ahmad Hasan, a lawyer by profession,
and was the youngest of the three sons.
Maududi at an early age, was given home education. He
soon moved on to formal education, however, and
completed his secondary education from Madrasah
Furqaniyah. For his undergraduate studies he joined
Darul Uloom, Hyderabad. His undergraduate studies,
however, were disrupted by the illness and death of his
father, and he completed his studies outside of the
regular educational institutions.
In 1941, Maududi founded Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) in British
India as a religious political movement to promote
Islamic values and practices. After the Partition of
India, JI was redefined in 1947 to support an Islamic
State in Pakistan. JI is currently the oldest religious
party in Pakistan.
With the Partition of India, JI split into several
groups. The organisation headed by Maududi is now known
as Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan. Also existing are
Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, and
autonomous groups in the Indian held Kashmir, also in
Sri Lanka.
Maududi was elected Jamaat’s first Ameer (President) and
remained so until 1972 when he withdrew from the
responsibility for reasons of health.
In 1953, JI and other religious organizations demanded
that Ahmadiyya Muslims officially be declared
non-Muslims.
Sayyid Abul A'la Maududi (September 25, 1903 – September
22, 1979) is one of the most influential Islamic Lawyers
of the 20th century and the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami
(The Islamic Party). Maududi's philosophy, literature,
and activism contributed to the development of Islamic
revivalist movements around the world. Maududi was born
in Aurangabad city of Hyderabad (now Maharashtra) state,
India as the youngest of three sons of the lawyer Ahmad
Hasan Maududi. The family had a long-standing tradition
of spiritual leadership and a number of Maududi’s
ancestors were leaders of Sufi Orders, including
Khawajah Qutb al-Din Maudud, renowned leader of the
Chishti Sufi Order in the 12th century CE.
Maududi was home-schooled before attending Madrasah
Furqaniyah, a famous high school in Hyderabad. He
attended college at Darul Uloom in Hyderabad but
withdrew when his father became terminally ill. He knew
enough Arabic, Persian, English, and his native tongue
Urdu to continue his studies independently. He became a
renowned writer, orator and journalist for various
associations. Together with Muhammad Iqbal, Maududi
established an academic center named Darul-Islam in
Pathankot city of Punjab province. He translated the
Qur'an into Urdu and wrote prolifically on numerous
aspects of Islamic law and culture. During numerous
international tours, he was 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,
Mecca, and of the Academy of Research on Islamic Law,
Medina.
Maududi wrote extensively on issues related to Islamic
finance, consumption, production, and exchange, but he
never employed economic methodology. His work on
economics was strictly within the epistemic traditions
of Kalam (argumentation) and Fiqh (jurisprudence).
Maududi wrote more than 120 books and pamphlets and
delivered over 1000 speeches, of which 700 were recorded
for wider distribution. He is most well-known for his
Qur'anic exegesis (Tafsir); his treatment of ethics,
sociology, and politics in an Islamic context; and his
discussion of the Islamic revivalist movement. His
monumental Urdu analysis of the Qur'an, Tafhīm al-Qur’ān
("Towards Understanding the Qur'an"), took 30 years to
complete and is considered to be one of the prime
contemporary explanations of the Qur'an. Maududi was
awarded the first King Faisal Foundation Prize in 1979
for his services to Islam. He is the first person to be
awarded such a prize.
Islam and politics
Maududi formulated a concept of a "theo-democracy," in
which three principles: tawhid (unity of God), risala (prophethood)
and khilafa (caliphate) underlie the Islamic political
system.
Mawdudi asserts that Islamic democracy is the antithesis
of secular Western democracy which bases hakmiya
(sovereignty) on the people. In an Islamic democracy the
sovereignty of God and sovereignty of the people are
mutually exclusive.
Maududi maintains that an Islamic government must accept
the supremacy of Islamic law over all aspects of
political and religious life.
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 hospitalized
in Buffalo, New York, where his second son worked as a
physician. 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.
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