Abul Ala Maududi [Abū 'l-Alā Mawdūdī][1] (Urdu: ابو العلا مودودی – alternative spellings of last name Maudoodi, Mawdudi, and Modudi) (September 25, 1903 – September 22, 1979) was a journalist, theologian, Muslim revivalist leader and political philosopher, and a 20th-century Islamist thinker in India, and later Pakistan.[2] He was also a political figure in Pakistan and was the first recipient of King Faisal International Award for his services 1979. He was also the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami, the Islamic revivalist party
Background
Maududi was born in Aurangabad, India, then part of the princely state enclave of Hyderabad, until it returned to India in 1948. He was born to Maulana Ahmad Hasan, a lawyer by profession. He was the youngest of his three brothers.[4] His father was the descendant of the Chishti line of saints; in fact his last name was derived from the first member of the Chishti Silsilah i.e. Khawajah Syed Qutb ul-Din Maudood Chishti (d. 527 AH)[5]
Childhood
At an early age, Maududi was given home education, he "received religious nurture at the hands of his father and from a variety of teachers employed by him."[5] 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 (India). His undergraduate studies, however, were disrupted by the illness and death of his father, and he did not graduate from the Darul Uloom.[4] His instruction included very little of the subject matter of a modern school, such as European languages, like English.[5] He reportedly translated Qasim Amin's The New Woman into Urdu at the age of 14[6] and about 3,500 pages from Asfar, a work of mystical Persian thinker Mulla Sadra.[7]
Education
For formal education, Syed Maududi was admitted to eight class directly in Madrassa Furqania, Aurangabad. Where he excelled his class mates, in all respects, despite being the youngest of the all. It was the time when Maududi was attracted to Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, and he studied the fundamentals concepts in Physics and Mathematics in depth. Meanwhile his father shifted to Bhopal where he suffered a severe paralysis attack and died leaving no property or Bank Balance, as he belonged to a middle-class family. Therefore, Young Maududi had to sever his education due to financial hardship.
Personal aspects
His father’s death brought young Maududi to reckon with the economic realities of life. As he was a gifted penman, he chose Journalism as his profession, and edited the papers ‘ the Madeena’ Bajnour, the ‘Taj’ Jabal Pur and organ of Jamiat Ulma Hind—Al Jamiat from Dehli. During his Editorship of Al jamia Dehli, he penned down honest, threadbare, incisive, analytical and visionary editorials and analysis, which speak of his worth as a top Journalist. Maulana Muhammad Ali Johar had also proffered him to work for his Daily Hamdrad, but Syed Maududi declined the offer.
Iqbal’s poetry had impressed Syed Maududi from his early childhood. His father had also taught him the history of India. This background helped him allot in his journalistic career. His hatred for the foreign rulers, more specifically the English, his larger interests of the Muslims of India, prompted his participation in the Khelafat Movement,Emigration from India Movement and the Satya Gera Movement. Syed Mududi also tried to purge the Muslim Society of its moral evils, and at the same time, warned them of their political mistakes, suggesting various corrective measures. In his opinion malady of the Indian Muslims was the deviation from Islamic teachings writing that the Muslims could gain might only if they followed Islam in letter and spirit. When Jamiat Ulma-e-Hind entered into alliance, with Congress in 1925, Syed Maududi resigned in protest as editor of the Al Jamiat, for he opposed the concept of one nation theory for both Hindus and Muslims.[8].[3]
0 Comments