The Essence of Islam: An Indian Modernist View

THE ESSENCE OF ISLAM: AN INDIAN MODERNIST VIEW A. A. A. Fyzee The essential teaching of a religion is often obscured by studies relating to its polemics, history, law, literary tendencies, and philosophical concepts. From time to time it becomes necessary to ask the question: what does Islam stand for? The answer to this question depends upon the time when it is asked, the country in which the answer is given, and the person who answers it. Many authors have attempted to answer this question in India, notable among whom in recent times are Ameer Ali, whose Spirit of Islam is considered a classic (London, 1922; repeatedly reprinted), and Iqbal, whose Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam was first published in Lahore in 1930, and republished later. Broadly speaking, these two authors stand for two different points of view. Ameer Ali writes a profoundly appreciative life of the Prophet, and tries to explain his greatness as a human being, and the manner in which he tried to cure the evils in the Arabia of his time. Ameer Ali does not seem to classify clearly the causes of the weaknesses that have since grown into the religious fabric of Islam. He is essentially an apologist saying that if one applies the true principles laid down by Muhammad , one will be able to solve all modern problems. Iqbal on the other hand was deeply versed in modern philosophy, particularly mysticism, and he put forward a definite view of "active" Islam, as distinguished from the pacifism of the Sm.s. He propounded a method of reform in Islam which was allied to the ancient principle of iimil(consensus), and also closely in conformity with the modern concept of legislation. Iqbal has a considerable following both in India and Pakistan, particularly because he is a great poet, and many of his principles are pithily expressed in striking verse, Urdu and Persian. There are many ways in which a solution of the problem can be 182 A.A.A. FYZEE attempted. One method is the historical. Islam can be considered in history, and its tendencies so analysed as to give some kind of result. Another is dogmatic, that is, to examine the main teaching of the Qurlan and the sacred law (shar/'at) and extract from it what in the estimation of the author are the basic principles. There may also be other methods, such as legal or philosophical, into which we need not enter. It is proposed in this paper to examine the work of a modern Indian author, Abul Kalam Azad, and give a brief summary of his teaching. Azad (1888- 1958) was one of the greatest of the Muslim leaders of Modern India. A writer, thinker, and statesman, he was recognized as one of the profoundest scholars of Islam that India has produced during the last two hundred years. His main work is the Tarjumiinu'/-QurJiin, a translation of the Qurliin, with brief commentary in Urdu. Unfortunately it is incomplete, and the two volumes take us to chapter 23 of the Qurlan, that is a little more than one half of the Holy Book. The first volume however is of great importance, for in it we find the UmmuJ/QurJiin (Mother of the Qurlan), namely, a detailed and extensive commentary on the first chapter, The Fiitiha, which seeks to state the essential principles of Islam in about two hundred pages. A brief account of his teaching is proposed to be given in this paper for the following reasons. First, Azad is by any standards a deep thinker, a profound scholar, and the creator of a new style in Urdu literature. Secondly, he is an eclectic, accepting and emphasizing the truth of all great religions. Thirdly, he is against any distinctions of race, caste, creed, or country. Fourthly, he shows a remarkable familiarity with modern thought and comparative religion. As his work is in Urdu, and European scholars are generally not familiar with it, it appears to me highly desirable that the main teaching of Azad may be placed before the Western world in a simple and methodical form.' Azad uses his commentary to the Fiitiha as an occasion for giving us a...