THE RELIGION OF ISLAM A COMPREHENSIVE DISCUSSION OF THE SOURCES, PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF ISLAM BY MAULANA MUHAMMAD ‘ALT 1990 www.aaiil.org THE AHMADIYYA ANJUMAN ISHA‘AT ISLAM LAHOREINTRODUCTIONPREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION This edition of Maulana Muhammad ‘Ali’s famous book, The Religion of Islam, is the first to appear after the author’s death. The first thought which comes to mind is to acknowledge the very great service which the Maulana has rendered to the cause of Islam. Born in 1876, he acquired three Univer- sity degrees in Literature and Law and, at a time when the prospects of a bright worldly career were wide open to him, he dedicated his life to the ser- vice of Islam. And what a dedication! He took up the pen in that cause in 1901, as a young man in his twenties, wielded it incessantly, untiringly and devotedly for half a century and did not lay it down until it was snatched from him by the hand of death.' His English Translation of the Holy Qur’an, a product of seven long years’ of laborious and original research, not only marked an epoch in the understanding of Islam by Muslim intelligentsia but also made an impact on Western scholarship, an impact which is noticeable in the changed outlook on Islam and the changed tone of literature about Islam which has since appeared. The popularity and widespread acclaim commanded by this English Translation — the first ever by a Muslim — was due not only to the tremendous research carried out by the Maulana, the tracing of the authentic meaning of words and verses, the detailed references to acknowledged works of lexicology and standard commentaries, the emphasis on the under- lying significance of Sections and Chapters and on the continuity of the theme linking them one with another; nor was it due solely to the scrupu- lously honest and faithful rendering, without literary flourishes and without any attempt to pander to preconceived or popular notions; nor yet was it entirely on account of the enlightened and rational approach and the answers toall criticism against the Qur’n; but was also the result of something much more which no scholarship can offer — the gift of inner purity. Maulana Muhammad ‘Ali wielded a scholar’s pen with a saint’s hand, and therein lay the secret of his Translation becoming a spiritual force for the seeker after the truth. His work was a pioneer venture, breaking altogether new ground, and the pattern set was followed by all subsequent translations of the Qur’an by Muslims. The Maulana’s Translation, which ran into several editions, was extensively revised by him in the closing years of his life.* Some of his other works are listed elsewhere. 1. 13 October, 1951. 2. 1909-1916. 3. 1946-1951The Religion of Islam, originally published in 1936 with only slight alterations by the author, contains over 2,500 quotations from original sources,most of them from the Qur’an. These quotations followed the trans- lation adopted in the 1917 edition of the author's English Translation of the Holy Qur'an. All of these have now been revised in accordance with the 1951 (fourth) edition of the Translation which, as already stated, had been extensively revised by the Maulana. In a few cases, explanatory foot- notes have been added or amended in accordance with the footnotes given in the revised edition of the English Translation. These changes represent the major revision carried out in this edition of The Religion of Islam. Certain other portions of the book have also been edited and brought up to date. The author intended to add two more chapters to the book on the Muslim State and the Ethics of Islam, but could not do so himself. Both subjects were, however, dealt with by him, though briefly, in two subse- quent works, The New World Order and Living Thoughts of the Prophet Muhammad, and the material from these sources, with necessary editing, has been included in the two additional chapters at the end of this book. The treatment of these subjects is, however, not as detailed as that of the other subjects which originally formed a part of this book. We are grateful to Mr. Muhammad Ahmad, M.A., son of the author, for having undertaken the revision of this book on the above lines, and for having gone through the proofs. — THE PUBLISHERS 1. 1946-1951. PREFACE TO THE SIXTH EDITION This edition goes to press with corrections in the Holy Qur’an and Hadith references. —THE PUBLISHERSPREFACE There could be no better comment on the prevalent Muslim lethargy towards Islam than the fact that non-Muslim contributions to Islamic reli- gious literature in English are by far in excess of the Muslim. It is true that much of this literature draws a distorted picture of Islam, but even here the Muslim is more to blame than the non-Muslim, for it is his duty to place the right kind of material before a world whose thirst for knowledge is insatiable. But whatever may be said as to the superficiality of one part of this literature and the prejudicial tenor of another, it cannot be denied that Europe has made a very valuable contribution to research on the religion of Islam and the history of the Muslims. The Muslims are also turning their attention to the producing of religious literature in English, but the attempt is, as yet, a very weak one, directed more to appealing to the mar- ket than to serious efforts based on hard work and critical acumen. “The Religion of Islam’ is the name of a book written by the Rev. F.A. Klein and published in 1906. It was through the courtesy of a friend that this book fell into my hands in the year 1928. He had read it with pain, he said, on account of the distorted picture of Islam that it contained, and he suggested that I should write a comprehensive work containing a true picture of Islam and dealing in detail with its teachings. More than twenty years before this, and just about the time when this book had been pub- lished in London, on the 13th of February 1907 to be exact, the Founder of the Anmadiyyah Movement, Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, had charged me with the writing of an English book which should contain all that was necessary for a Muslim, or a non-Muslim, to know about the religion of Islam, and to give a true picture of the religion which was largely misrepresented. The multifarious duties which I had to perform as Presi- dent of the Ahmadiyyah Anjuman Isha‘at Islam were a great hindrance, but the call of duty overcame these difficulties, and I set to work immedi- ately, after going through Klein’s book, and the work is now being pub- lished under the same name. Had I been able to devote myself entirely to this task, it should not have taken more than three years. But seven years have passed, and still I am not satisfied that the book is as complete a picture as I had wished it to be. It has been my good fortune, from one point of view, to contribute to the literary activities of Islam and to be the head of a society which aims at the propagation of Islam, as the two works are so closely associated, but from another point of view it is a misfortune, since each of these works requires entire devotion to itself, to the exclusion of the other. I turnedto the author’s work again and again, amidst the many duties which I was required to perform as the head of a newly established society, but always to be recalled to some other task which the urgency of the moment forced on my attention. An author's singleness of purpose was not vouchsafed to me, and I have to confess that the work may, perhaps, suffer somewhat from this handicap. There is yet another circumstance which may detract from the value of the book. I fell ill, rather seriously, in March 1935, and my medical ad- visers ordered complete rest for some time. Even after convalescence, I was advised to give up hard work, a direction which, to be candid, I have not been able to carry out, since the publication could not be delayed any longer. So I had to hurry the work; and, more than that, I had to relin- quish two chapters which I originally intended to include* Besides, the concluding chapters have not been dealt with as exhaustively as I had wished. I only hope that these and other deficiencies will be removed if I am spared to bring out a second edition. Islam, as I have pointed out in the Introduction to this book, is a religion which deals not only with the ways of devotion and the means which make man attain communion with God, but also with a vast variety of problems relating to the world around us and questions that pertain to the social and political life of man. In a treatise which aims at giving a true picture of Islam, it was necessary not only to discuss all the laws and regulations of the system but also to throw full light on the principles on which it is based, and even upon the sources from which its teachings, principles and laws are derived. I have, therefore divided this book into three parts. The first part deals with the sources from which the teachings of Islam are drawn, and which can serve the purpose of guiding the Muslim world in its present and future needs; the second describes the creed of Islam or the fundamental doctrines of the religion; while the third treats of the laws and regulations of Islam which govern not only a Muslim’s domestic, so- cial and international relations but also his relations with God, which are the mainspring of the development of his faculties. An introduction has been added dealing with some questions relating to religion in general and Islam in particular. A work of this nature would have carried little weight if it did not give full references to original authorities, and this had made the work labori- ous, for it contains over 2,500 references and quotations. The Holy Qur’an, being the original source on which all principles and laws of Islam are based, occupies the first place in this list, and next to it comes Bukhari,