PREFACE TO THE FIRST (URDU) EDITION
Mujaddid is one of the commonly used words of the Islamic terminology. Its general meanings are well-known: a mujaddid is one who revives and restores Islam. But as regards its technical meaning most people do not fully appreciate it. Few people, for instance, understand fully what Tajdid really is, what kind of work it implies, what is its scope and sphere, and what is total and what is partial Tajdid. Mainly due to this ignorance people do not fully comprehend the nature of the achievements of the great men of Islamic History who have been recognised as mujaddids. They only seem to know this much that each one among ‘Umar bin ‘Abdul ‘Aziz, Imam Ghazali, Imam Ibn-i-Taimiyyah, Shaikh Ahmad of Sirhind and Shah Waliullah of Delhi, was a mujaddid, but they do not seem to realise in what particular aspect each one was a mujaddid, and what was the nature and extent of the actual work accomplished by each one of them. One main reason for this ignorance is that names which bear high sounding titles like Hadrat, Imam, Hujjat-ul-Islam, Quthb-ul-‘Arifeen, Zubdat-ul-Salikeen, etc., begin weighing in so heavily on the minds as to deprive them of all freedom of thinking. This does not leave them with the ability to examine thoroughly the works and achievements of these revered people and judge precisely the nature and extent of their services to the cause of reviving Islam. Then the language adopted to describe their achievements is generally more poetic than scientific. This gives the reader an impression, which is perhaps harboured by the writer too, that the one being described was a paragon of virtue and whatever he did was by all means the most perfect and nothing beyond that was humanly possible. Such blind faith and careless estimation, however, can in no way help us in our efforts to revive and restore Islam. We shall have to understand fully the process of Tajdid, and looking back upon our history determine to what extent and in what ways have the different leaders accomplished this work during the past centuries, how far we can benefit from their achievements, and how we can make up for any possible failings in their work.
This subject demands a whole book for its proper treatment. That is, however, not possible at present. Luckily the suggestion to write on Shah Waliullah furnished me with the opportunity for dealing briefly with this subject. It is hoped that this brief discussion may provide someone with the necessary incentive to compile a comprehensive History of the Revivalist Movement in Islam.
This essay which is being issued in the book form now was originally written for the Shah Waliullah number of the Al-Furqan, Breilly. Naturally the revivalist work of Shah Waliullah has received comparatively greater attention in it than the works of the other mujaddids which have just been touched upon to serve as necessary background. The reader while going through the following pages should bear in mind that this book is not intended to encompass the works of all the mujaddids, but it treats of the more important mujaddids only, who have left a lasting imprint on the History of Islam. It should also be remembered that Tajdid has been undertaken by many people in the past in every age, but a few among them have really deserved the title of mujaddid.
Abul A’ala Maududi
February, 1940
