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Sunday, 31 March 2024

Preface to Quranic Foundations And Structure Of Muslim Society

  Quranic Foundations And Structure Of Muslim Society


 

Preface

  

The basic purpose and function of this book is to state the Philosophy and the Code of Life as given in the Qur’an. That Code has developed, however, with morality as the central theme. And that should have been so. Because, the value-system which the Holy Qur’an has given establishes spirituality as the root, morality as the trunk, and all other aspects of life: economic, political, etc., as offshoots of morality; —whereby it ensures the emergence of the integrated and progressive individual and the integrated and progressive social order. 

The central importance for morality that has emerged thus should impress upon the Muslims the central importance of moral struggle.

Viewed in that perspective, the present book forms a basic contribution in respect of extricating Muslim society from the Crisis of Character which has overtaken all classes of Muslims, and which is the deadliest poison that has ever paralysed or killed any human community.  

The method of exposition adopted is simple and direct. Moreover, personal comments have been kept at the barest minimum, so that the Qur’an has stayed in its august position free to explain itself. In the dynamic orthodoxy that has thus emerged lies, in the belief of the present writer, the salvation of Muslims and of humanity at large.  

 

The typescript of the original draft of this book was read on June 30th, 1969, and was even handed over to brother Ghazi Nasir-ud-Din, Managing Director of Trade and Industry Publications Ltd., who had come forward with love and devotion to undertake the work of printing. But subsequently it was considered necessary to expound certain topics in detail; as a consequence of which very considerable additions were made, so that the work is being presented finally as a two-volume publication of more than nine hundred pages.

Certain technical discussions relating to philosophical, psychological, sociological, economic and political themes had to be kept out even during the course of the final effort, out of regard for keeping the book handy, lucid and easy of comprehension by the average-educated person. Separate volume or volumes are proposed to be presented on those problems.  

 

The author is conscious of the fact that, although he has availed the talent of the classical translators of the Holy Qur’an, there is scope for improvement in respect of the translation of a number of verses. That task is intended to be taken up in the second edition.

In his study of the Qur’an, the author had recourse to the classical Arabic Qur’anic commentaries and allied literature. But he has quoted mainly from the English commentaries by Abdul Majid Daryabadi and Abdullah Yusuf Ali, because they have projected the best—in fact, the very essence, of the knowledge enshrined in the Arabic classics. Moreover, these two orthodox scholars’ commentaries are accessible to the average English-educated Muslim for further study. 

 

 The author leads a life wherein he has to perform duties of multifarious types, especially as the President of the World Federation of Islamic Missions, which has several projects to be looked after. Besides that, he has touring duties as an international worker for Islam. It is, therefore, impossible for him to accomplish literary work leisurely and with the concentration which the research-work of the type that has been undertaken in the present book demands. As such, the present task has been accomplished piece-meal by snatching time forcibly from other duties over a period of time, and in consequence there is a possibility of the occurrence of oversights and shortcomings,—even though utmost care has been exercised. The author, who regards himself only as a humble pursuer of Truth and as a student of Islam, will, therefore, appreciate all genuine criticism and advice from the world of scholarship. He requests his readers, however, not to introduce implications into his statements beyond what has been categorically and clearly said.


 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

 

 While presenting this book, I consider it my privilege to express my deep debt of gratitude to my revered teachers: Prof. Dr. S.Z. Hasan, M.A., LL.B., D. Phil. (Erl.), D. Phil. (Oxon.), under whose guidance I learnt to understand the problems of Philosophy; Hadrat Maulana Saiyid Sulaiman Ashraf, from whom I acquired, at the level of my higher education, knowledge of the Holy Qur’an and of the Islamic theological sciences; and Hadrat Maulana Muhammad Abdul Aleem al-Siddiqi al-Qaderi, through whom I received the Qaderiyya Spiritual Discipline and the mission of serving the far-flung Muslim communities of the globe. 

 

The deepest debt of gratitude I owe, however, to my beloved parents of revered memory: Muhammad Khalil Ansari and Husn Ara Begum, who, through their noble character and fruitful teaching and loving concern for my well-being, built up the foundations of my personality and sponsored and guided my education at all stages, thereby enabling me to prepare myself for undertaking this work. I must also acknowledge my debt of gratitude to my wife, Begum Subhia, who, ever since our marriage, has stood by me with grace and fortitude in all the ordeals through which I had to pass in respect of my humble service to the cause of Islam, and without whose earnest co-operation and sincere encouragement the present laborious task could not have been accomplished.

 

I am grateful also to Mr. Muhammad Ja’fer Shaikh and Mr. Muhammad Ilyas Khan, Joint and Assistant Secretaries respectively of the World Federation of Islamic Missions, for the invaluable help rendered especially by the former in the preparation of the typescript; and to my dear pupils: Waffie Muhammad and Imran Nazar Hosein, both of Trinidad (West Indies), and Siddiq A. Nasir of Guyana (South America): to Waffie for assistance in reading the proofs, handling the problem of the Arabic calligraphy, and supervising the printing during the last stage; to Imran for preparing the list of Contents and checking the references; to Siddiq for compiling the Indexes. May Allah bless them all with His choicest Blessings.

 Muhammad Fazl-ur-Rahman Ansari

Source

to be continued . . . . .

Quranic Foundation & Structure Of Muslim Society In The End Times


 

Sunday, 24 March 2024

Contents of Quranic Foundations And Structure Of Muslim Society

  Quranic Foundations And Structure Of Muslim Society


 

CONTENTS

                                         

VOLUME ONE

FOREWORD

PREFACE    

                                    

INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS              

 

                   BOOK 1 - FUNDAMENTALS             

 

                                          PART 1                                         

HE TO WHOM THE QUR’AN WAS  REVEALED

Chapter 1                                                                                

THE CHRISTIAN-JEWISH CAMPAIGN OF VILIFICATION

Chapter 2                                                                                

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Chapter 3                                                                                

MUHAMMAD’S PERSONALITY AND CHARACTER AND SIDELIGHTS ON SOME REFORM

 

                                          PART 2                                         

THE NECESSITY OF DIVINE REVELATION

Chapter 1                                                                                

PROBLEMS

Chapter 2                                                                                

       SOURCE OF GUIDANCE—WHAT?                           

 

                                          PART 3                                         

THE QUR’ANIC REVELATION

Chapter 1                                                                                

THE QUR’AN: A REVEALED BOOK

Chapter 2

THE PROCESS OF COMPILATION

Chapter 3                                                                                

THE PROCESS OF PRESERVATION AND PROPAGATION

Chapter 4                                                                                

THE QUR’AN AS THE ONLY AUTHENTIC REVEALED BOOK IN THE WORLD

Chapter 5                                                                                

THE STYLE AND STRUCTURE OF THE QUR’AN

 

                                          PART 4                                         

ISLAM: THE RELIGION—IN TERMS OF THE

SCOPE AND NATURE OF QUR’ANIC GUIDANCE

Chapter 1                                                                                

ISLAM AMONG RELIGIONS

Chapter 2                                                                                

STRUCTURAL LOGIC, PRINCIPLE OF

INTEGRATION, SCOPE AND IDEALS OF

GUIDANCE

Chapter 3                                                                                

VIEW OF RELIGION AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS

EMPIRICAL KNOWLEDGE

Chapter 4                                                                                

STRUCTURE OF RELIGIOUS CREED AND

CONCEPT OF RELIGIOUS LEADERSHIP

Chapter 5                                                                                

VIEW OF RELIGIOUS QUEST

Chapter 6                                                                                

THE PHILOSOPHY OF UNITY

Chapter 7                                                                                

INTEGRALISTIC MORAL PHILOSOPHY AND

COMPREHENSIVE MORAL CODE

Chapter 8                                                                                

THE INTEGRATED INDIVIDUAL: BASIC

QUALITIES OF A MUSLIM

Chapter 9                                                                                

THE INTEGRALISTIC WELFARE SOCIETY

Chapter 10                                                                              

INTEGRALISTIC CULTURE AND

INTEGRALISTIC CIVILISATION

Chapter 11                                                                                     

GENUINE MORAL IDEALISM: A COMPARATIVE

STUDY IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF CHRISTIAN

ALLEGATIONS AND CHRISTIAN TESTIMONY 

 

                                          PART 5                                         

CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS

Chapter 1                                                                                 

THE IMMEDIATE ENVIRONMENT FOR THE

QUR’ANIC REVOLUTION

Chapter 2                                                                                

THE HOLY PROPHET’S DIVINE MISSION

                             

BOOK 2 – ETHICO-METAPHYSICAL  FOUNDATIONS

 

                                          PART 1                                         

THE CRITIQUE AND DYNAMICS OF MORALS

Chapter 1                                                                                

THEORY OF MORAL JUDGEMENT

Chapter 2                                                                                

THE MORAL LAW

Chapter 3                                                                                

ENDS TO WHICH THE MORAL LAW IS

DIRECTED

Chapter 4                                                                                

PENAL ETHICS

Chapter 5                                                                                

ETHICO-RELIGIOUS DYNAMICS

 

                                          PART 2                                         

THE METAPHYSICS OF MORALS

Chapter 1                                                                                

THE MAN

Chapter 2                                                                                

THE WORLD

Chapter 3                                                                                

GOD (ALLAH)

                                            

 


FOREWORD

 

Dr. Sir Mohammad Iqbal;

ON THE PREDICAMENT OF MODERN HUMANITY AND THE WAY OUT

 

The modern man with his philosophies of criticism and Scientific specialism finds himself in a strange predicament. His Naturalism has given him an unprecedented control over the forces of nature, but has robbed him of faith in his own future. It is strange how the same idea affects different cultures differently. The formulation of the theory of evolution in the world of Islam brought into being Rumi’s tremendous enthusiasm for the biological future of man. No cultured Muslim can read such passages as the following without a thrill of joy:

Low in the earth

I lived in realms of ore and stone;

And then I smiled wild and in many-tinted flowers;

Then roving with the wandering hours,

O’er earth and air and ocean’s zone,

In a new birth,

I dived and flew,

And crept and ran,

And all the secret of my essence drew

Within a form that brought them all to view— And lo, a Man!

And then my goal,

Beyond the clouds, beyond the sky,

In realms where none may change or die—

In angel form; and then away

Beyond the bounds of night and day,

And Life and Death, unseen or seen, Where all that is hath ever been, As One and Whole.

 

— Rumi: Thadani’s Translation.

 

On the other hand, the formulation of the same view of evolution with far greater precision in Europe has led to the belief that ‘there now appears to be no scientific basis for the idea that the present rich complexity of human endowment will ever be materially exceeded’. That is how the modern man’s secret despair hides itself behind the screen of scientific terminology …

Thus, wholly overshadowed by the results of his intellectual activity, the modern man has ceased to live soulfully, i.e., from within. In the domain of thought he is living in open conflict with himself; and in the domain of economic and political life he is living in open conflict with others. He finds himself unable to control his ruthless egoism and his infinite gold-hunger which is gradually killing all higher striving in him and bringing him nothing but life-weariness. Absorbed in the ‘fact’, that is to say, the optically present source of sensation, he is entirely cut off from the unplumbed depths of his own being. In the wake of his systematic materialism has at last come that paralysis of energy which Huxley apprehended and deplored. 

… Modern atheistic socialism, which possesses all the fervour of a new religion, has a broader outlook; but having received its philosophical basis from the Hegelians of the left wing, it rises in revolt against the very source which could have given it strength and purpose. Both nationalism and atheistic socialism, at least in the of present state of human adjustments, must draw upon the psychological forces of hate, suspicion, and resentment which tend to impoverish the soul of man and close up his hidden sources of spiritual energy. Neither the technique of medieval mysticism nor nationalism nor atheistic socialism can cure the ills of a despairing humanity. Surely the present moment is one of great crisis in the history of modern culture. The modern world stands in need of biological renewal. And religion, which in its higher manifestations, is neither dogma, nor priesthood, nor ritual, can alone ethically prepare the modern man for the burden of the great responsibility which the advancement of modern science necessarily involves, and restore to him that attitude of faith which makes him capable of winning a personality here and retaining it hereafter. It is only by rising to a fresh vision of his origin and future, his whence and whither, that man will eventually triumph over a society motivated by an inhuman competition, and a civilization which has lost its spiritual unity by its inner conflict of religious and political values. 

— Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam  Chapter ‘Is Religion Possible?’, pp. 186-189

Printed by Sh. Muhammad Ashraf, Lahore, 1962

 

Source

to be continued . . . . .


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sht0jhERkFE

Sunday, 17 March 2024

Author of Quranic Foundations And Structure Of Muslim Society

  Qur'anic Foundations And Structure Of Muslim Society



 

THE QUR’ãNIC FOUNDATIONS & STRUCTURE OF MUSLIM SOCIETY

By Dr. MUHAMMAD FAZL-UR-RAHMAN ANSARI

B. Th., M.A., Ph.D.

Founder President

WORLD FEDERATION OF ISLAMIC MISSIONS

Obtainable From:

THE WORLD FEDERATION OF ISLAMIC MISSIONS

ISLAMIC CENTRE

NORTH NAZIMABAD B BLOCK

KARACHI-74700 PAKISTAN

 

All rights reserved by the Author

 First Edition 1973

Second Impression 1977

Third Impression 1989

Fourth Impression 2008

 

Printed by

ELITE PUBLISHERS LTD.

D-118, S.I.T.E., Karachi Pakistan


INTRODUCING THE AUTHOR

 

Maulana Dr. Muhammad Fazl-ur-Rahman Ansari—with ‘al Qaderi’ also often affixed to his name, because he is a Shaykh of the Qaderiyya Order—is, through Shaykh al-Islam Abdullah al-Ansari of Herat (Afghanistan), a descendant of the Holy Prophet Muhammad’s Companion, Khalid Abu Ayyub Ansari, who attained martyrdom on the soil of Europe and was buried at Istanbul. He holds Doctorate in Philosophy, and is a Hafiz of the Qur’an (i.e., one who remembers the entire Qur’an by heart), an Islamic theologian, a scholar of Muslim and Modern Philosophy, and of Comparative Religion, Psychology and the Social Sciences.

As a versatile scholar and winner of high academic distinctions, he was officially hailed at his alma mater, the famous Aligarh Muslim University of India, as “the best product” and “a new refulgent star on the firmament of Islamic Learning.”

As an exponent of Islam, he has been the upholder of Dynamic Orthodoxy, as opposed to Conservatism and Modernism, with the slogan: “Return to the Qur’an, and return to Muhammad.”

As a professor, he taught Philosophy of Religion, Moral Philosophy, Comparative Religion and Islamics to the ‘Ulama at the Academy of Islamic Studies at Quetta, and to post-Graduate students at the University of Karachi. And at the unique educational institution that he founded at Karachi, i.e., the Aleemiyah Institute of Islamic Studies, he guided research in Comparative Religion, Psychology and Philosophy. At the same time, he was an honorary Director of Research at the University of Karachi,

As an author, he had to his credit a large number of publications, ranging from theology, comparative religion, sociology, education, biography and socio-economic ideologies, to philosophy.

As a missionary, he travelled round the earth five times—being the first missionary to have acquired that distinction in Islamic history, — worked for the spiritual and moral uplift of different Muslim communities in the Orient and the Occident, and gained a vast experience of human behaviour and of the merits and deficiencies of the present-day Muslim society. In the trail of his missionary labours emerged the World Federation of Islamic Missions, of which he was the founder.

All in all: he was a multi-dimensional scholar, orator, missionary, teacher, author, spiritual leader and a very widely-travelled servant of humanity. As such, his place among the leading Islamic personalities of the world is unique, and his exposition of the Message of the Qur’an in the present book, which may rightfully be claimed to be a unique attempt of its type in the literary history of Islam, deserves serious response.

                                                                Mohammed Ja’fer Shaikh

                                         

BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR

 

THE BEACON LIGHT

THE CHRISTIAN WORLD IN REVOLUTION

MUHAMMAD: THE GLORY OF THE AGES

ISLAM IN EUROPE AND AMERICA

MUSLIMS AND COMMUNISM

HUMANITY REBORN

ISLAM

TRENDS IN CHRISTIANITY

OUR FUTURE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMME

ETHICS OF THE QUR’ĂN

MEANING OF PRAYER

COMMUNIST CHALLENGE TO ISLAM

ISLAM VERSUS MARXISM

ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY IN THE MODERN WORLD

THROUGH SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY TO RELIGION

WHICH RELIGION

WHAT IS ISLAM

FOUNDATIONS OF FAITH

BEYOND DEATH

ISLAM AND SLAVERY

WOMAN UNDER ISLAM

PHILOSOPHY OF WORSHIP IN ISLAM

ISLAM AND WESTERN CIVILISATION

ETC: ETC: ETC:


 

PREFACE TO THE Second IMPRESSION

 

It is a happy augury that the Publication of the Second Impression of “The Qur’anic Foundations and Structure of Muslim Society” is being undertaken by the World Federation of Islamic Missions in the month of Rabi-ul-Awwal so closely and lovingly associated in our minds and hearts with the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him).

The book, it appears, is destined to dispel the cloud of misunderstanding about the true aims and ideals of Islam prevailing in the West and to illumine the hearts and souls of the Muslims with wisdom of Truth and purity of style.

There cannot be a more glowing tribute to its author than the fact that the first edition of the book was exhausted in a very short period and the demand for it continues to grow both from the scholars of repute and Muslims from many countries.

By the grace of God, and the assistance of friends and associates it has become possible for the organisation to reprint the book in a larger number. Their cooperation is most thankfully acknowledged.

 

Let us pray to God that our humble effort may be accepted and rewarded by Him here and the Hereafter and the entire humanity may be blessed with the True Knowledge and understanding of THE HOLY BOOK and the ONE to whom it was revealed.

 

                                                       Al-Haj Ikram Siddiqui

                                                                    President

                                            World Federation of Islamic Missions  

Karachi:

12th Rabi-ul-Awwal, 1397-A.H.

(March 3, 1977)

 


 

FOREWORD

 

“By this book (the Holy Qur’an) Allah will raise certain people to (the pinnacle of) glory and cast others down into (the abyss of) disgrace.”

 

The above is the translation of a saying of the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.). The truth and wisdom of this saying can be visualized by casting a cursory glance at the annals of our own history.

In his immortal composition, ‘Rise and Fall of Islam’, Allama Altaf Husain Hali, describes the Qur’an as a formula of alchemy. He says:

“He (the Holy Prophet, p.b.u.h.) descended from Hira and came to his people, bringing with him a formula of alchemy that turned the copper-ore into pure gold and separated the noble from the base. The land of Arabia that was immersed under ignorance since centuries was suddenly transformed (into a territory of Knowledge and Light). The fleet had no longer to fear the destructive waves, for the course of winds was entirely changed.”

 

The able author of this book, the renowned expounder and preacher of Islam, the late Dr. Maulana Muhammad Fazl-ur-Rahman Al-Ansari Al-Qaderi (R. A.) had devoted many precious years of his life to the study of the Holy Qur’an, the only Divine Scripture that has remained unaltered by man. He made the study not only for the sake of knowledge but also to find solutions for ever increasing problems of mankind both in the physical and spiritual realms. Along the course of his study new vistas were being opened before him ever and anon. Ultimately, he found in the Holy Qur’an the panacea for all human ailments. By this time, he had almost exhausted himself; his health was at its lowest and he was often heard saying: “How I wish, I was granted a few more years of life, to be able to produce, the fruit of my labour in the form of a book.

 

His prayers were granted and he was able to complete this memorable book in two volumes. Its first edition was published in 1973 a few months before his demise and the second in 1979. Now the third edition is under print. It was universally appreciated by scholars and was warmly greeted. The first two editions were sold out. This third edition, I am sure, will also be greeted likewise by scholars both Muslims and non-Muslims throughout the World, as this message is addressed to all mankind for all times.

May Allah guide us through this book and shower His choicest blessings on the soul of its noble author. Aameen:

             

                                                      MUHAMMED JA’FER

                                                            General Secretary

                                           World Federation of Islamic Missions.

 


                                         

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

Dedicated most respectfully and In the Name of Allah to

The Holy Prophet Muhammad

(allallahu ta`ala `alayhi wa sallam),

 the Refulgent Sun of Piety, Truth, Justice, Love, Selflessness, Wisdom and Beauty, who came as the Last Prophet and Messenger of Allah to entire Humanity for teaching the Way whereby to combat all  Spiritual, Moral, Intellectual, Economic and Political Evils and to achieve the Most Glorious and Comprehensive Success, and who accomplished what stands upto this day as the Noblest and the Most Profound Revolution in human history through the Impact of his Superbly-Dynamic and Humanly-Perfect Personality and through the Holy Qur’ân, which was revealed to him by Allah to function as the Basic Instrument of his Abiding Mission.  

 

Source

to be continued . . . . .