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.
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
(ṣallallahu 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.
to be continued . . . . .
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