ABOUT THE BOOK
This book is a translation of one of the papers of Maulana Maududi, titled
‘Islam Aur Adl-e-Ijtimai’, that was read at the gathering of the Motamir Aalam
Islami1 in Makkah on the occasion of Hajj of 1962AD.
About the translation
The original translation of this paper from Urdu to English was done by Br.
Hassaan Siddiqui. It was then reviewed and proofread by Br. Muhammad Nabeel Musharraf. The translation of certain passages was updated as a result of the review. While doing this translation, we have tried our best to ensure that the intended meaning of the author is represented as closely as possible. However, we seek forgiveness from Allah swt for when we, indeliberately, could not achieve this objective.
About the headings
Certain headings included in the Urdu print have been re-worded during the translation. Several additional headings have been included as considered appropriate for enhancing the clarity of contents, facilitating a quick review of the paper, and enabling ease of revision.
About the topic
By the end of the first half of the 19th century, the West had already bade
farewell to the religion and, in their opinion, set themselves free from any need for divine guidance. The main source of knowledge for them now was ‘mechanical materialism’. This was the era of the triumph of the philosophies
of Darwin, Marx, and Fried. This trio aimed to demolish, in the minds of people, the fact that the human being has been made the Ashraf-ul- Makhlooqat (the best of the creations) and that his existence has a purpose. In these times, Maulana Maududi not only challenged these western philosophers and proved the shallowness of their ideas; but also questioned
those so-called Muslim thinkers who blindly followed whatever came from
the west. Through the superior power of his reasoning, he explained the very
many shortcomings of the prevalent philosophies of the time and proved the
supremacy of Islam as a complete code of life. The current book is one of the
testimonials to his services; in this, Maulana has elaborated the topic of
‘Social Justice’ and explained it beautifully by means of comparison.
About the organization of contents
The contents of this book have been divided into four chapters.
Chapter 1: In Chapter 1, Maulana Maududi has explained the various tactic
of Satan through which it deceives humanity. In this regard, Maulana has presented a few examples in terms of modern systems and philosophies. He has also objected to ‘the intellectual inferiority’ and ‘the awe for whatever
comes from the west’ that some Muslims are suffering from. ‘Social justice
cannot be established except through the implementation of Islam’ is the
statement he elaborated on while ending this section.
Chapter 2: Chapter 2 explains the two fundamental concepts related to social
justice: ‘Individual freedom’ and ‘the power of institutions and collective
bodies’. He explains the need and limits of each of them and highlights the
importance of balancing between the two in order to establish social justice.
Chapter 3: Building upon the two key concepts explained in chapter 2, this
chapter explains how these two factors remain out of balance in capitalism,
liberalism, and communism. Maulana Maududi has highlighted the reasons
why these systems are far away from justice.
Chapter 4: After demolishing the man-made systems, Maulana Maududi
presents Islam as a perfect system to establish social justice. This is covered
in chapter 4. He explains its various tenants and essential features that ensure the balance between the two key conceptions described in chapter 2.
He concludes the topic with a call to action to the readers: If Islam provides
this just system, why are they then not working towards implementing it in
the Muslim lands and formulating their constitutions in accordance with it? This is the question that you and I have to prepare to answer on the day when we will be standing in the court of Allah swt and explaining our actions and inactions.
May Allah swt reward Maulana Maududi for his outstanding services to the ummah; and may He (swt) make this publication a source of great Sadaqa
Jariyyah for him as well as the translators and publisher.
iCAN Sama-O-Basr
Perth – 8th Jan 2023
