Amin Ahsan Islahi (; 1904 – 15 December 1997), was a Pakistani

Islamic scholar In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

best known for his

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

exegesis of the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

, ''

Tadabbur-i-Quran ''Tadabbur-i-Qur'an'' () is a exegeses (''tafsir'') of the Qur'an by Amin Ahsan Islahi based on the concept of thematic and structural coherence, which was originally inspired by Allama Hamiduddin Farahi. The tafsir is extended over nine volumes ...

'' ("Pondering on the Quran"), which he based on

Hamiduddin Farahi Hamiduddin Farahi (18 November 1863 – 11 November 1930) was an Indian Islamic scholar known for his work on the concept of ''nazm'', or coherence, in the Quran. The modernist Farahi school is named after him. He was instrumental in prod ...

's (1863 – 1930), idea of thematic and structural coherence in the Qur'an.Profile of Amin Ahsan Islahi on Oxford Islamic Studies Online website
Retrieved 5 April 2020

Early life

Islahi was born in 1904 at Bamhur village in

Azamgarh Azamgarh is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the headquarters of Azamgarh division, which consists of Ballia, Mau and Azamgarh districts. Azamgarh is situated on the bank of Tamsa River (Tons). It is located east of the ...

, United Provinces (now

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

(now

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

). After graduating from

Madrasatul Islah Madrasatul Islah is a traditional Islamic institution of learning and a renowned center of oriental and Islamic studies at Sarai Mir in the Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh. It was started by Mawlana Muhammad Shafi in 1908 along with particip ...

in Azamgarh in 1922, he entered the field of journalism. He was the son in law of

Chaudhry Abdul Rehman Khan Chaudhary Rana Muhammad Abdul Rehman Khan was the Rana of Rahon Jagir and Member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly. (3 January 1927, to 26 July 1930; 24 October 1930, to 10 November 1936; 5 April 1937, to 19 March 1945) Biography Chaudhary Ra ...

. First he worked as an associated editor in "Khoonch" a children magazine. Then he edited a newspaper ''Madinah'' at

Bijnor Bijnor () is a city and a municipal board in Bijnor district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.Abdul Majid Daryabadi Abdul Majid Daryabadi (16 March 1892 – 6 January 1977) was an influential Ulama, Islamic scholar, Philosophy, philosopher, writer, critic, researcher, journalist, and Quranic exegete active in the Indian subcontinent during the 20th century. ...

Inspiration from Hamiduddin Farahi

In 1925

invited Islahi to study the

Qur’an The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

with him and Islahi left his journalistic career to do so. He learned from Farahi the principles of direct deliberation on the Book of Allah. During this time, he also taught the Qur’an and Arabic literature at the Madrasah. After Farahi's death, Islahi studied Hadith from the scholar Abdu’l Rahman Muhaddith Mubarakpuri. In 1936, Islahi founded the "Daira-i-Hamidiyyah", a small institute to disseminate the Qur’anic thought of Farahi. Under the auspices of this institute, he brought out a monthly journal "Al-Islah" in which he translated many portions of Farahi's treatises written in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

. The journal was published until 1939, after which it was discontinued.

Association with Jamaat-e-Islami

Naeem Siddiqui Maulana Naeem Siddiqui (1916 – 25 September 2002) was a Pakistani Islamic scholar, writer and politician. He was among the founder-members of the Jamaat-e-Islami and a close associate of Abul A'la Maududi and Amin Ahsan Islahi. Early life an ...

Manzoor Nomani Muḥammad Manz̤oor Nomānī ( 15 December 1905 – 4 May 1997) was an Indian Islamic scholar. Prominent among his written works are ''Maariful Hadith'', ''Islam Kya Hai?'', and ''Khomeini and the Iranian Revolution''. He graduated from Darul ...

and

Abul Hasan Ali Hasani Nadwi Syed Abul Hasan Ali Hasani Nadwi (also known as Ali Miyan; 5 December 1913 – 31 December 1999) was a leading Indian Islamic scholar, thinker, writer, preacher, reformer and a Muslim public intellectual of 20th century India and the author of ...

, Islahi was among the founder members of the

Jamaat-e-Islami Jamaat-e-Islami is an Islamist fundamentalist movement founded in 1941 in British India by the Islamist author and theorist Syed Abul Ala Maududi, who was inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood. It is considered one of the most influential Isla ...

, a religious party founded by the eminent Islamic scholar

Abul A'la Maududi Abul A'la al-Maududi (; – ) was an Islamic scholar, Islamist ideologue, Muslim philosopher, jurist, historian, journalist, activist, and scholar active in British India and later, following the partition, in Pakistan. Described by Wilfred C ...

in 1941. During his seventeen-year stay in the party, he represented the intellectual element and remained a member of the central governing body, ''Majlis-i-Shura''. During this period, he did the groundwork needed to write a commentary of the Qur’an – an objective which he had set before him early in life. In 1956 the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

set up the Islamic Law Commission and Islahi – an expert on

Islamic law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, intan ...

– served as a member until the commission was abolished in 1958 by the martial law regime of

General Ayub Khan Mohammad Ayub Khan (14 May 1907 – 19 April 1974) was a Pakistani military dictator who served as the second president of Pakistan from 1958 until his resignation on 1969. He was the first native commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army, ser ...

. In 1958, he quit the party after serious differences arose between him and Mawdudi over some policy differences. Islahi considered participating in elections a useless exercise for the purposes of bringing about an Islamic change. His thinking simply was that politicians can not establish Islam. Many politicians' aim is to gain power by any means necessary. He thought that if some people use the name of Islam, they do so to achieve their own political objectives. In his view, those who would like to work for the cause of Islam and its revival should work among people selflessly, without any desire for gaining power. These workers should approach the people only to serve them, to educate them, and to help them reform their lives morally in the Islamic way of life.

Completion of Tadabbur-i-Qur’an

After leaving the

, he began writing a commentary of the Qur’an. He also launched a monthly journal ''Mithaq'' in which portions of this commentary, ''

Tadabbur-i-Qur’an ''Tadabbur-i-Qur'an'' () is a exegeses (''tafsir'') of the Qur'an by Amin Ahsan Islahi based on the concept of thematic and structural coherence, which was originally inspired by Allama Hamiduddin Farahi. The tafsir is extended over nine volumes ...

'' were published. In 1961 he established a small study circle, ''Halqa-i-Tadabbur-i- Qur’an'', for college students to whom he taught Arabic language and literature, the Qur’an and

Sahih Muslim () is the second hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. Compiled by Islamic scholar Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj () in the format, the work is valued by Sunnis, alongside , as the most important source for Islamic religion after the Q ...

. In 1965, an incident brought an end to both the journal and the study circle: Islahi's eldest son Abu Saleh died in a plane crash. However, work on the commentary continued. In 1970–71, Islahi fell severely ill and had to discontinue all his intellectual pursuits but he later recovered. In 1972, he moved to a country village near

Sheikhupura Sheikhupura (Punjabi language, Punjabi / ; ) also known as Qila Sheikhupura, is a city and district in the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. Founded by the Mughal Empire, Mughal Emperor Jahangir in 1607, Sheikhupura is the List of ...

where he continued to work on the commentary till 1979, when he returned to Lahore. On the 29th of Ramadan 1400 (August 12, 1980) he finished ''

'' after twenty-two years of work. In 1981 Islahi founded the ''Idara-i-Tadabbur-i Qur’an-o Hadith'' and appointed his close pupil

Khalid Masud Allama Khalid Masud (16 December 1935 – 1 October 2003), was a Muslim scholar of Pakistan. He spent the major part of his life with Moulana Amin Ahsan Islahi. He conveyed ideas and thoughts of his teacher and Imam Farhi to general public. He ...

as first Nazim of this Idara (institution), which later came under the supervision of Abdullah Ghulam Ahmed in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

, Pakistan. It remained the centre of all his intellectual activities until his death on 15 December 1997. A quarterly journal, Tadabbur, was taken out in 1981 as its organ. Khalid Masud was appointed its first editor and in charge till his death in Oct 2003. He gave weekly lectures on the text of the Qur’an. Later he took up deep study on the principles of Hadith and began teaching the

Al-Muwatta ''Al-Muwaṭṭaʾ'' (, 'the approved') or ''Muwatta Imam Malik'' () of Malik ibn Anas, Imam Malik (711–795) written in the 8th-century, is one of the earliest collections of hadith texts comprising the subjects of Sharia, Islamic law, compile ...

Imam Malik Malik ibn Anas (; –795) also known as Imam Malik was an Arab Islamic scholar and traditionalist who is the eponym of the Maliki school, one of the four schools of Islamic jurisprudence in Sunni Islam.Schacht, J., "Mālik b. Anas", in: ''En ...

in weekly sittings to a close circle of students and associates. After completing Al-Muwatta, he also taught some portions of

Imam Bukhari Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl ibn Ibrāhīm al-Juʿfī al-Bukhārī (; 21 July 810 – 1 September 870) was a 9th-century Persian Muslim ''muhaddith'' who is widely regarded as the most important ''hadith'' scholar in the history ...

Sahih Bukhari () is the first hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. Compiled by Islamic scholar al-Bukhari () in the format, the work is valued by Sunni Muslims, alongside , as the most authentic after the Qur'an. Al-Bukhari organized the bo ...

. Many of these lectures have been transcribed and published in the Tadabbur. Khalid Masud played a major role in converting Islahi's speeches and lectures into publication for benefits of the Islamic scholars and public.

Works

Besides the nine volume Urdu Tafsir ''

'' (''Pondering on the Qura'n''), which Islahi started writing in 1958 and finished in 1980, he wrote a number of articles and authored a number of books on various topics of Islam, including: #‘تزكيہ نفس’ (Tazkiyah-i-Nafs: Purification of the Soul) #‘حقيقت شرك’ (Haqiqat-i-Shirk: The Essence of

Polytheism Polytheism is the belief in or worship of more than one god. According to Oxford Reference, it is not easy to count gods, and so not always obvious whether an apparently polytheistic religion, such as Chinese folk religions, is really so, or whet ...

)Books by Amin Ahsan Islahi on goodreads.com website
Retrieved 5 April 2020 #‘حقيقت توحيد’ (Haqiqat-i-Tawhid: The Essence of

Monotheism Monotheism is the belief that one God is the only, or at least the dominant deity.F. L. Cross, Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. A ...

) # (Haqeeqat-e- Risalath: The Essence of Prophethood) #Haqeeqath-e- Ma-aad : The Essence of Hereafter #‘دعوت دين اور اس كا طريقہ كار’ (Da‘wat-i-Din awr us ka Tariqah-i-Kar: Islamic Message and the Mode of its Preaching) #‘اسلامى قانون كى تدوين’ (Islami Qanun ki Tadwin: Codification of

) #‘اسلامى رياست’ (Islami Riyasat
The Islamic state
#‘اسلامى معاشره ميں عورت كا مقام’ (Islami Mu‘asharay mayn ‘Awrat ka Muqam: The Status of Women in an Islamic Society) #‘حقيقت نماز’ (Haqiqat-i-Namaz: The Essence of the

Prayer File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

) #‘حقيقت تقوى’ (Haqiqat-i-Taqwah: The Essence of Piousness) #‘اسلامي رياست ميں فقہى اختلافات كا حل’ (Islami Riyasat mayn Fiqhi Ikhtilafat ka Hal: Solution of Juristic Differences in an Islamic State) #‘مبادي تدبر قرآن’ (Mabadi Tadabbur-i-Qur’an: Principles of Understanding the Qur’an) #‘مبادي تدبر حديث’ (Mabadi Tadabbur-i-Hadees: Principles of Understanding the Hadees) #‘تنقيدات’ (Tanqidat: A collection of critical essays) #‘توضيحات’ (Tawdihat: A collection of general explanatory essays) #‘مقالات اصلاحي’ (Maqalat-i-Islahi: A miscellaneous collection of articles) #‘قرآن ميں پرده كے احكامات’ (Qur’an mayn Parday kay Ahkamat: The Directives of

Hijab Hijab (, ) refers to head coverings worn by Women in Islam, Muslim women. Similar to the mitpaḥat/tichel or Snood (headgear), snood worn by religious married Jewish women, certain Christian head covering, headcoverings worn by some Christian w ...

in the Qur’an) #‘تفہيم دين’ (Tafhim-i-Din: Understanding Islam) #‘فلسفـے كے مسائل قرآن كى روشنى ميں’ (Falsafay kay Matha’il Qur’an ki Rawshani mayn: Philosophical Issues in the Light of the Qur’an) # Tadabbur -e- Hadeedh (Understanding the Hadees) Islahi also translated Farahi's commentary consisting of fourteen Surahs of the Qur’an, as well as his following books from Arabic: # (Majmua Tafathir Farahi) #‘في من هو الذبيح’ (Fi man huwa al-Dhabih: Which of

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

's son was Sacrificed?) #‘اقسام القرآن’ (Aqsamu’l-Qur’an: Oaths of the Qur’an)

Death and legacy

Amin Ahsan Islahi died in

, Pakistan on 15 December 1997 at age 93. His students in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

include

and

Javed Ahmad Ghamidi Javed Ahmad Ghamidi (born 7 April 1952) is a Pakistani Islamic scholar and philosopher who is the founder of Al-Mawrid Institute of Islamic Sciences and its sister organisation ''Danish Sara''. He is regarded as one of the most influential and ...

. Islahi was described by a former student as "very sensitive, courteous and caring, frank yet very reasonable, warm and loving" and that Islahi thought the most important thing in his life was to "explain and elucidate" the Quran. After his death,

succeeded him in charge of Idara Taddabur-e Quran-o-Hadith.

References

External links

* * Mir, Mustansir. ''Coherence in the Qur’an: A Study of Islahi's Concept of Nazm in Tadabbur-i Qur'an''. Indianapolis: American Trust Publications, 1986. . * Robinson, Neal. ''Discovering the Qur’an: A Contemporary Approach to a Veiled Text''. London: SCM Press, 1996. .
Khalid Masud: Amin Ahsan Islahi's Intellectual Heir (1935 — 2003)
(pdf),
The Mission Newsletter
', Volume 9, Issue 3-4, March–April 2004.
Amin Ahsan Islahi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Islahi, Amin Ahsan 1904 births 1997 deaths People from Azamgarh district Pakistani Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Farahis Translators of the Quran into Urdu Quranic exegesis scholars 20th-century Pakistani translators Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan politicians Political party founders Muhajir people