Maulana Wahiduddin Khan: Dawah, Scientific Approach To Issues And Peace Building Efforts Are Central To His Understanding Of Islam
By S. Arshad, New Age
Islam
25 April
2021
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan Was An Islamic Scholar
With A Scientific Insight
Main Points:
1. Maulana Wahiduddin Khan wrote more than 200
hundred books and a 2-volume commentary of the Quran.
2. He was an advocate of the spirit of Sulah Hudaybiyyah.
3. He had advised Muslims to relinquish claim
over the historical Babri mosque as a friendly gesture.
4. His knowledge of science and scientific
theories was enviable for general Islamic scholars.
5. He was awarded Padma Vibhushan and was
honoured with numerous national and international awards for his outstanding
contribution to world peace and learning.
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Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
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Maulana
Wahiduddin Khan was one of the greatest Islamic scholars of the 20th and 21st
century. He was among the 500 most influential Muslims of the contemporary
world. He shot to prominence with his monthly Urdu magazine Al Risala in 1976
with his 'Islamic literature in contemporary style'.
Before the
emergence of Al Risala, Islam and Quran were discussed in the old traditional
way which did not offer new insight into Islamic religious discourse. Topics and
issues used to be discussed in the same old style year after year despite the
fact that the world had changed a lot socially, scientifically and
industrially. Therefore, the Quran had to be interpreted in the light of modern
discoveries, modern social needs and new challenges facing the world,
especially the Muslims.
Maulana
Wahiduddin Khan's Al Risala filled the vacuum and at once the Muslims realised
with astonishment that Islam could be discussed in a modern diction and a
contemporary style. The Al Risala discussed issues related to the Muslims in
the modern context. In his magazine Mr Khan wrote short and crisp pieces in
easy and simple language which were comprehensible even to the layman.
To drive
home his point, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan would sometimes narrate incidents from
the Islamic history, sometimes from the world history and sometimes from some
scientific phenomenon. Most interestingly, in one issue of Al Risala, he even
narrates an incident relating to the occasion of conferment of Dada Saheb
Phalke Award to the legendary filmmaker Raj Kapoor by the then President Venkat
Raman. Actually, Raj Kapoor was so weak at that time that when he tried to
stand up and go to the stage to receive the award from the President of India,
he could not stand up. When the President saw that Raj Kapoor could not stand
up, he came down from the stage and presented the award to him. By narrating
this incident, Maulana wanted to underline the humility of the President of
India. This was a new approach unexpected from an Islamic magazine before. This
made his magazine popular among the Muslim masses.
Al Risala
discussed burning new issues and presented Islam's point of view on them. For
example, hijacking aeroplanes by terrorist organisations was a matter of grave
concern for the governments in the 80s. It was a modern phenomenon which did
not have precedence in Islamic history. Maulana Wahiduddin Khan wrote an
article titled "Hijacking a crime" and presented his views from
Islamic perspective.
Terrorism
was another phenomenon that reared its ugly head in the 80s. Kashmir and Punjab
witnessed the worst situation arising out of terrorism while Sri Lanka was
severely hit by terrorism of LTTE. Maulana Wahiduddin Khan was deeply agonised
by the terrorism perpetrated by Muslims as well non-Muslims. He tried to
understand the issue from social as well as Islamic point of view. He wrote in
an article titled 'What is terrorism' in Al Risala issue June 2002:
"I
have tried to understand this issue in the light of Islamic teachings and have
come to the conclusion that armed struggle by non-governmental organisations is
terrorism"
He further
elaborates:
"Islam
recognises the right to freedom according to Islamic teachings. Any individual
or organisation has the right to run a movement for communal or political
purposes and they will be entitled to this right until they commit aggression
directly or indirectly. In Islam, the right to use weapons or to conduct armed
action lies only with a recognised government. Non-governmental organisations
have no right to take up arms under any pretext."
Unfortunately,
this broad definition of terrorism presented by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan was
ignored by many Islamic scholars who defended the ISIS with the help of
arguments not supported by the Quran or Sunnah.
Maulana
Wahiduddin Khan was also critical of the role of madrasas in the backwardness
of Muslims, especially in India. He was of the opinion that madrasas had lost
their purpose and were teaching subjects that were not relevant to the modern
society. For this he holds Islamic religious scholars of Abbasid caliphate and
those belonging to the later period responsible who included irrelevant
subjects in madrasa curriculum. In his article titled "Our Madrasas"
in Al Risala May 1985, he writes:
"The holy
companions paid attention to the basics of Deen but under the influence of
other religions during the Abbasid caliphate Muslims got involved in
superficial issues and ignored the basics of Deen. They got involved in the
discussion of new issues as a result of their interaction with non-Arab
communities. These discussions were not based on matters clearly mentioned in
the Quran but mostly were based on the issues they had created with their
unnecessary curiosity. Debates were started on jurisprudential minutes, and
linguistic hair-splitting in matters of faith became the centre of
attention."
He further
writes, "The result of this phenomenon was that the educational system
that came into existence in that period gave the most of the space to these
jurisprudential and faith-based debates so much so that even the Quran and
hadith were now taught in the light of these controversial debates. This system
of education which was initially in vogue in the Abbasid caliphate assumed
sanctity and became an essential part of Islamic education."
Maulana
Wahiduddin Khan also redefined Jihad and presented the true meaning of jihad in
the light of Quran and Hadith. During the 80s, the term jihad was being used by
terrorist organisations in India and in other parts of Muslim world to wage war
against popular governments. Muslim youth were attracted by the terrorist
organisations and their romanticised religious propaganda that made them
believe that by carrying out suicide bombing or by killing innocent people whom
they declared Kafir, they would directly go to heaven and meet 72 Houris there.
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan defined jihad in the light of the Quran. He wrote:
"In
fact jihad means struggling in the path of Allah and inviting towards Allah is
the real work done for the sake of Allah. It is incumbent upon all the
believers to use all their energies and abilities to call the people towards
Allah. They should guide other communities towards Allah's path. This is the
real jihad of the believers. Muslims do not understand the meaning of real
jihad. If they understand this, they will abstain from indulging in petty
issues because by getting involved in irrelevant and petty disputes, an
atmosphere of proselytisation can not be built and the work of Dawah cannot be
accomplished without a conducive atmosphere."(Al Risala October 1983)
If we study
the entire literature produced by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, we shall realise that
he puts the greatest emphasis on the work of Dawah and for this work he
stresses on pluralist and tolerant spirit of Islam. To him, tolerance and Dawah
go hand in hand. In Al Risala or in his book Dawat-e-Islam he again and again
stresses on the work of Dawah. For example he writes:
"After
the end of prophetic chain, Muslims have assumed the place of Prophethood.
Muslims have to carry out the same task under the guidance of the prophet pbuh
that the prophet pbuh carried out directly in his own life. All the promises of
divine intervention depend on the accomplishment of the work of Dawah. In it lies the secret of the
success of the worldly life and the life in the Hereafter of the Muslim
community."(Preface: Dawat-e-Islam 1997)
He further
says that Muslims should convey the message of Islam to other communities in an
organised way. They should become an ambassador of Islam in the truest sense.
In his book
Dawat-e-Islam, under the sub-title Quran ka Tarjuma (Translation of the Quran)
he laments the lack of interest of Muslims in the work of Dawah. He writes:
"Today
many people in the world want to study the holy Quran through its original
sources but such books are scarcely available to them. It is especially
necessary to translate the Quran in all the major and minor languages and
distribute them in the entire world. But Muslims have scant interest in this
work.".
In this
regard he narrates an incident. One of his educated Muslim friend once told him
that one of his Christian friends bought an English translation of the Quran.
On a meeting the Christian friend told him that Muslims could not compete with
Christians. He had to pay for a copy of the Quran and he had to search for it.
But if he just made a phone call to a Christian organisation and tell them he wanted
to distribute copies of the Bible, five thousand copies will arrive at his
office in no time.
He
repeatedly stresses on the need to reach out to more and more people with the
message of Islam and laments the Muslims' lack of interest in this field. He
further writes:
"Muslims
are the custodians of the true religion. It is their first duty to take the
Deen of Allah to all His slaves. But Muslims are running away from this
responsibility."
He also
says, "Though Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries have made great
efforts to publish translations of the Quran in huge number and distribute them
in the world but their efforts do not meet the real needs. Moreover, their
translation is also not fully trustworthy."
Maulana
Wahiduddin Khan was a modern scholar of Islam in the sense that apart from
spiritual and moral aspects of the Quran, its scientific aspect was equally in
his study. Unlike other Islamic scholars, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan's knowledge
of science, scientists, scientific theories and discoveries was enviable. His
book Mazhab aur Science ( Religion and Science) bears testimony to this. An
excerpt from the book speaks volumes about his scientific knowledge and
insight.
"The
truth is that after reaching the 20th century, science has lost its previous
ground. Today when Einstein has taken place of Newton and Planck and Heisenberg
have abrogated the theories of Laplace, the opponents of religion have no
option left to make such claims based on knowledge. Theory of Relativity and
Quantum Theory have compelled scientists themselves to acknowledge that it is
impossible to separate observation from observer. It means that we can only see
the outer countenance of things, we cannot observe its truth in totality. The
revolution that came in science has proved the importance of religion from a
scientific point of view."
From this
angle, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan claims to be the real Islamic scholar of the
modern times.
Apart from
his knowledge of Quran, Fiqh and his
views on modern challenges, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan was a staunch advocate of
peaceful coexistence and he wanted to see Muslims as a big brother and a more
responsible member of the society. He preached tolerance to Muslims and
promoted among the Muslims the spirit of Sulah-e-Hudaibiya. Therefore, on the
issue of Babri mosque, he advised Muslims to relinquish their claims on the
historical mosque and hand it over to the Hindus as their Astha (belief) was
associated with it. He was criticised for this advice by Muslims then but three
decades later Muslims had to do the same under a court judgment.
Maulana
Wahiduddin Khan's ideas and views influenced the collective thought of Muslims
because of his rational and scientific approach. He wrote more than two hundred
books and a two volume commentary of the Quran apart from thousands of articles
on social and Islamic topics and issues which will guide generations of Muslims
the world over and contribute to the world peace and harmony.
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S.
Arshad is a columnist with NewAgeIslam.com