MAULANA DR. MUHAMMAD FAZL-UR-RAHMAN AL-ANSAR1 AL-QADERI
A UNIQUE MISSIONARY OF ISLAM
11th Jamadi-ul-Awwal, 1421 A.H. is the 27th death anniversary of Maulana Dr. Muhammad Fazl-ur-Rahman Al-Ansari Al-Qaderi is being commemorated, perhaps a brief look at his outlook and life will not be
out of place in the context of our own efforts, to further the cause of Islam.
Allama Iqbal had stressed that the task before the modern Muslim is, therefore, immense. He has to rethink
the whole system of Islam
without completely breaking with the past (Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam,
P-97). This outlook of applying the
fundamental principles of Islam to the
contemporary socio-cultural situation
in an orthodox manner was the one
adopted by Dr. Ansari. He termed this approach "dynamic orthodoxy" to
contrast with the conservative
outlook of trying to transplant
completely the system of Islam as
worked out by jurists in a different
age and clime into our own
environment.
Recognising the dire need for presenting the principles of Islam as a
coherent code of life
relevant to our own age, this eminent
scholar brought out his two-volume
masterpiece, 'The Qura'nic Foundations and
Structure of Muslim Society', a work
which has received wide acclaim from
Muslim thinkers and scholars.
One of the questions facing us today is why, in spite of our
possessing a code of life eminently
superior to all others, we are in such a backward condition. Dr. Ansari put his finger on the core of the problem when he wrote, "As matters stand in the Muslim world today, it is the decline of religious leadership from the Islamic standard in a serious measure, that constitutes a major cause of its inability with
regard to its emergence from the abyss into which it has been descending for some time".
What type of leadership do we need? He stressed that each and
every Muslim religious leader
has to be a miniature representative of the Holy Prophet's (ﷺ) personality and, as such, has to be
a morally and intellectually — illumined person.
It is unfortunate that, contemporary religious leadership comes nowhere near this ideal. What is given more emphasis is acquiring at best mere scholastic information to be regulated at the appropriate time.
And even this scholastic
information belongs to a superficial
level and nowhere is one encouraged
to acquire knowledge in depth.
In the context of
appropriate religious leadership, the
life of Maulana Dr. Ansari should act as
an eye-opener. For he was a multi-dimensional scholar, orator, missionary,
teacher, author and spiritual leader.
It was precisely because he
integrated in, himself these diverse qualities, that he
exercised such a strong influence on the minds and hearts of Muslims and
non-Muslims in many parts of the world, including Prime Ministers, scholars,
thinkers, professors, journalists, administrators, political leaders, Ulama
and Sufis, etc. etc.
This
brings us to another point. We generally ignore nowadays in our endeavours to
bring about a reformation of our society. History bears ample testimony to the
fact that it was the Sufis who actually spread Islam and encountered un-Islamic
influences and practices when they crept into the body-politic of the Muslims,
Now
today we lose no opportunity to condemn Tasawwuf as being a later in — essential accretion to
Islam which has to be discarded. This point of view, born of ignorance and nurtured
by misunderstanding and prejudice, is inimical to any lasting improvement in
our conditions as Muslims.
Maulana
Dr. Ansari as a practical exponent of Tasawwuf has clearly established, that
for each and every Islamic leader, Tasawwuf is an essential part of his
practical training, without which all efforts at providing proper leadership
are committed to failure. This is evident from even the briefest superficial
examination of our contemporary situation.
Hence,
one of the most eloquent messages to be found in the outlook and life of this
eminent son of Islam is that the type of training being provided to
prospective Islamic leaders needs multidimensional overhauling, to endea-vour
to create spiritual enlightenment, intellectual illumination and moral
refinement.
As
Muslims, today, we tend to confine ourselves to mere theory, being satisfied
to rest on the laurels won by our predecessors. However, Islam demands of us a
veritable life-long struggle in all dimensions of our personality for the
upliftment and progress of mankind as a whole — a life-long Jihad. Maulana Dr. Ansari not
only taught this, but exemplified it to the extent that even on his deathbed
he often repeated that there is so much work left to do. Should we not pause a
while and reconsider our position vis-a-vis Islam and its demands on us, and
our commitment thereto?
A
theologian of rare caliber, a missionary of unique distinction, a scholar of
multi-dimensional capabi-lities, a spiritual leader of recognised eminence,
Maulana Dr. Ansari not only set a personal example for the Muslim Community but
has also bequeathed to posterity his magnum opus "The Qur'anic Foundations
and Structure -of Muslim Society" which being the out-come of his
life-long labours, deserves serious study by each and every Muslim.
Finally
it was on Monday 11th Jama-di-ul-oola 1395, A.H. (corresponding to
3rd June 1974) that this illustrious son of Islam returned to his Lord, after
spending his life working for the spiritual and moral upliftment of different
Muslim comm.-unities in the Orient and the Occident. May the Mercy of Allah be
on him!
اَللّهُمَّ اغْفِرْلَهٗ وَارْحَمهٗ رَحْمَةً وَّاسَعَة
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