Thursday, January 12, 2023

2023: Maududi - Mawdudi

 Maududi

Maududi (Maulana Abu’l Ala Maududi) (Abu al-Ala Maududi) (Syed Abul A'ala Maududi) (Maudoodi) (Modudi) (Mawdudi) (Molana) (Sayyid Abu’l-A‘la’ Mawdudi) (Shaikh Syed Abul A'ala Mawdudi) (September 25, 1903 - September 22, 1979).  Pakistani writer, orator, and politician who was born in India.  He began his public career when he was only 24 years old.  He published a collection of essays entitled Al-Jihad fi al-Islam (“Jihad in Islam”) that caused a stir among Islamic scholars.  In 1933, he took over as editor of a monthly magazine, Tarjuman al-Quran.  The magazine offered an interpretation of the Qur’an that emphasized that Islam as revealed to Muhammad, its prophet, did not draw a distinction between the spiritual and the temporal worlds.  In 1941, Maududi decided to enter politics by establishing the Jamaat-e-Islami (the Party of Islam).  For six years, however, from 1941 to 1947, Maududi and the Jamaat-e Islami opposed Muhammad Ali Jinnah, his All-India Muslim League, and their demand for the creation of Pakistan, a homeland for the Muslim population of British India.

Maududi’s opposition to the idea of Pakistan was based on the belief that nation states could not be reconciled with the concept of the Muslim umma (community) that included all Muslims.  The umma could not be divided by borders that separated nation states.  Once Pakistan was born, Maududi decided to move to the new country and established himself and the Jamaat-e-Islami in Lahore.  Once in Pakistan, he turned his attention to creating an Islamic state in the country created by Jinnah and the Muslim League.  Maududi’s program consisted of two parts.  First, he wished to define strictly the meaning of being a Muslim, excluding all those who deviated even slightly from subscribing to what he defined as the basic tenets of Islam.  Second, he wanted Pakistan to adopt an Islamic political system rather than the systems borrowed from the West.  

Maududi’s first serious confrontation with the state of Pakistan came in 1953 when he led a movement against the Ahmadiyya community.  The movement turned violent and martial law had to be imposed before law and order was restored in the country.  A military court sentenced Maududi to death but the sentence was later reduced.  Maududi had to wait more than 20 years before the Ahmadiyyas were declared to be non-Muslims.  This action was taken in 1974 by the administration of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.  It was during the early years of the regime of President Zia ul-Haq that Maududi’s views had the greatest impact on Pakistan.  Zia made several attempts to introduce Islam into the country’s political and economic structures. Although Zia was not successful in the area of politics, he introduced a number of Islamic financial instruments.  These included the imposition of taxes such as zakat and ushr.

Maududi’s influence was not limited to Pakistan.  He influenced the radical Egyptian Islamist Sayyid Qutb, who in turn influenced such ideological heirs as Osama Bin Laden; Omar Abdel Rahman, the blind sheik who was convicted of bombing the World Trade Center in 1993; and Ayman al-Zawahiri, head of the radical Egypt-based movement, Islamic Jihad.  Maududi’s core concept is based on the traditional idea of Islam as a comprehensive way of life -- the total obedience of society and government to the authority of traditional Islamic law.

Maududi envisioned a theocratic state in which God is recognized as the supreme civil ruler and in which religious authorities rule as God’s representatives.  This idea stands in direct opposition to a basic tenet of the United States system of government: the separation of church and state and it is this idea which stands as a source of conflict between the United States and Islamic fundamentalists around the world.

Maududi’s writings also stressed the evils created by imperialism and international capitalism.  He argued that the universal acceptance of Islam would eliminate poverty, injustice, and the oppression of the masses.  His admirers consider him the most systematic thinker of modern Islam, while his critics dismiss him as an impractical romantic.  Nonetheless, he has an international reputation in the Muslim world, and revivalists have a particular respect for his thought.


Maulana Abu’l Ala Maududi see Maududi
Abu al-Ala Maududi see Maududi
Syed Abul A'ala Maududi see Maududi
Maudoodi see Maududi
Modudi see Maududi
Mawdudi see Maududi


Mawardi, Abu al-Hasan al-
Mawardi, Abu al-Hasan al- (Abu al-Hasan al-Mawardi) (Alboacen) (Abu al-Hasan Ali Ibn Muhammad Ibn Habib al-Mawardi) (972-1058).  One of the most famous thinkers in political science in the Middle Ages.  He was also a great sociologist, jurist and mohaddith.  He served as Chief Justice at Baghdad and as an ambassador of the Abbasid Caliph to several important and powerful Muslim states.  Al-Mawardi is most famous for his book Al-Havi on jurisprudence.  His full name was Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Habib al-Mawardi.  

Al-Mawardi was born in 972 at Basra.  He received his early education in fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) from the famous jurist Abu al-Wahid al-Simari.  Subsequently, he went to Baghdad for advanced studies and studied under Sheikh Abd Al-Hamid and Sheikh Abdallah al-Baqi.  He was an exceptional student and became proficient in ethics, political science, jurisprudence, and literature.

He began his career as a qadi -- a judge.  He quickly moved up due to his exceptional abilities and served as the Chief Justice of Abbasid Caliphate at Baghdad.  Caliph al-Qasim bi AmrAllah appointed him as an ambassador to Buwahid and Seljuk Sultanates.  He was well liked in this capacity and received rich gifts and tributes by most Sultans.  He was highly respected and valued even after Buwahids took over Baghdad.  Al-Mawardi died in 1058.

Al-Mawardi made original contributions in political science and sociology.  In these fields, he wrote three monumental works: Kitab al-Ahkam al-Sultania, Qanun al-Wazarah, and Kitab Nasihat al-Mulk.  Al-Mawardi formulated the principles of political science.  His books deal with duties of the Caliphs, the chief minister, the cabinet, and the responsibility of and relationship between the government and citizens.  He has discussed the affairs of state in both peace and war.

Al-Mawardi elaborated on guidelines for the election of the Caliph and qualities of voters, including the requirement of purity of character and intellectual capability.  Al-Mawardi is the author and supporter of the Doctrine of Necessity.  He was against unlimited power delegated to provincial governors.  His books Al-Ahkam al-Sultania and Qanun al-Wazarah have been translated into several languages.

Kitab Aadab al-Dunya wa al-Din was al-Mawardi’s masterpiece in ethics.  It is still a very popular book in some Islamic countries.  

Al-Mawardi’s contribution to the science of sociology has been monumental.  His work formed the foundation which was further developed by Ibn Khaldun.

The works of al-Mawardi include:

    * Al-Ahkam al-Sultania w'al-Wilayat al-Diniyya (The Ordinances of Government)
    * Qanun al-Wazarah (Laws regarding the Ministers)
    * Kitab Nasihat al-Mulk (The Book of Sincere Advice to Rulers)
    * Kitab Aadab al-Dunya w'al-Din (The Ethics of Religion and of this World)



Abu al-Hasan al-Mawardi see Mawardi, Abu al-Hasan al-
Alboacen see Mawardi, Abu al-Hasan al-


Mawdud ibn ‘Imad al-Din Zangi, Qutb al-Din
Mawdud ibn ‘Imad al-Din Zangi, Qutb al-Din (Qutb al-Din Mawdud ibn ‘Imad al-Din Zangi) (Izz ad-Din Mas'ud I bin Mawdud) (1130-1193).  Atabeg of Mosul (1149-1169) and youngest brother of Nur al-Din Mahmud Zangi of Damascus and Aleppo.  In the writings of western chroniclers of the Crusades the name of Mawdud is transcribed as Malducus, Maldutus or Manduit.

Izz ad-Din Mas'ud I bin Mawdud was a Zangi emir of Mosul. He was the brother of emir Saif ad-Din Ghazi II, and the leader of his armies. When his brother died 1180 he became the governor of Aleppo. When As-Salih Ismail al-Malik got sick, he indicated in his will that Izz ad-Din Mas'ud should succeed him. When he died in 1181, Izz ad-Din rushed to Aleppo, fearing that Salahu'd-Din would try to conquer it.

When he arrived to Aleppo, he got into its Castle, took over all the money and the gold and married the mother of As-Salih Ismail al-Malik. He knew he could not keep Aleppo and Mosul under his governance, as the eyes of Salahu'd-Din were on Aleppo, so he reached an agreement with his brother Imad ad-Din Zengi II the governor of Sinjar to exchange Sinjar with Aleppo. In 1182, Izz ad-Din became the governor of Sinjar. In 1193, he went back to Mosul where he got sick and died. He was succeeded by his son Nur ad-Din Arslan Shah I.

Qutb al-Din Mawdud ibn ‘Imad al-Din Zangi see Mawdud ibn ‘Imad al-Din Zangi, Qutb al-Din
Izz ad-Din Mas'ud I bin Mawdud see Mawdud ibn ‘Imad al-Din Zangi, Qutb al-Din


Mawdud ibn Mas‘ud, Shihab al-Din wa’l-Dawla
Mawdud ibn Mas‘ud, Shihab al-Din wa’l-Dawla (Shihab al-Din wa’l-Dawla Mawdud ibn Mas‘ud) (b. c. 1010).  Ruler of the Ghaznavid dynasty (r.1041-1050).  He had to combat the Saljuqs in eastern Khurasan and Sistan.
Shihab al-Din wa’l-Dawla Mawdud ibn Mas‘ud see Mawdud ibn Mas‘ud, Shihab al-Din wa’l-Dawla


Mawdudi, Sayyid Abu’l-A‘la’
Mawdudi, Sayyid Abu’l-A‘la’.  See Maududi.


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