Let Us Be Muslims. Sayyid Abul A'la Mawdudi

Let Us Be Muslims

Let Us Be Muslims - Sayyid Abul A'la Mawdudi

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the readability, to accentuate the power, to deliver the message as forcefully and effectively as does the original. This is not therefore a literal translation, but nor is it liberal. It is as faithful as one could be, while balancing the tension between the conflicting demands of remaining faithful to the original as well as retaining its power and charm. Some minor deletions there are, but only where it was necessary to take out what in English looked cumbersomely repetitive. And some words which would have been totally incomprehensible to an English reader have been either substituted or omitted.

      Every temptation to ‘modernize’ the text, to bring it into conformity with the life and experience of the present-day readers of the English version, has been resisted. For even the most advanced, rational and technological ‘man’ shares a large and deep world with the most primitive, of which he himself may not be very aware. Hence the simple logic and examples of this book should strike as deep a chord within him as they do among its ordinary readers.

      This is something important we must keep in mind. The minds of farmers or servicemen that Sayyid Mawdudi was addressing were not burdened with complex and subtle concepts like state, society, and sovereignty, nor were they well versed in theological debates. Hence his language must be understood in the context of his audience, though its larger implications should not be missed.

      For example, for his audience the only reality that ruled was the ‘government’. They would have had no idea of the complex differences between concepts like sovereignty, state and government, state and society, individual and collectivity, small and big government. Hence we find Sayyid Mawdudi using, without any reservation, the word ‘government’ to convey many important and complex messages. Similarly, he unhesitatingly uses the vocabulary of a farmer or a serviceman. For example, the Adhan is likened to ‘divine bugle’; the Ummah to ‘army of God’. Therefore, let there be no effort to read any more than what is intended in the light of the reader’s own difficulties with concepts like regimentation, totalitarianism, or spirituality. Many who have tried to read Sayyid Mawdudi in this perspective have been misled to ascribe to him what he never intended and said. To understand him fully one should read all of his writings.

      As the book is addressed primarily to Muslims, the original Islamic terminology in Arabic is retained and is used freely and frequently in the English text, without italicization or accents. A word of explanation is here necessary. I personally feel no hesitation in using ‘God’ for Allah, both to achieve communication with those who do not know ‘Allah’ as well as to ‘Islamize’ the word God. The only way to do so, in my view, is to use such words interchangeably with their Arabic counterparts, so that both vocabularies may finally come to be used without the reader even noticing the change from one to the other. Like ‘Allah’ and ‘Khuda’ are used in Urdu.

      The same principle has been followed with respect to other key terms like Iman, Disbelief, Kalimah, Mumin, Unbeliever, Din, Shari‘ah, ‘Ibadah, Salah, Zakah, Sawm, Hajj. I think they need to be made part of the English language, if English is to become, one day, a Muslim language as well. They should attain the same status as Islam, Muslim, Jihad. At the same time, words like Prayer, Fasting, Pilgrimage should also begin conveying the Islamic meanings.

      A new title has also been given: Let Us Be Muslims. Nothing less than such a direct summons could have done some justice to the spirit of this book. This title at least expresses its basic purpose. For the purpose of the book is to call Muslims to Islam, to be Muslims as God desires them to be. New chapter headings have also been given. Each, too, I feel, reflects the spirit and content better.

      This new English version, I hope, now reads much better. I must take this opportunity to thank Mr. Paul Moorman whose editorial help has been invaluable in preparing this edited translation.

      After all the labour I am still not satisfied that the English does full justice to the original. Being unequal to the task, I must confess my inadequacy. But, if it can give the readers some sense of the life and power that fill Sayyid Mawdudi’s original words, if it can too, in some degree, touch some lives, by the leave of God, then my labour will be more than rewarded. Despite all my failings, I hope and trust that Allah will, by His mercy, make many hearts awaken through it. May He also make it a source of forgiveness and mercy for me in the present life and the life to come, and for all those who contributed something in making me a little better than what my fraility would have allowed, chief among them being Sayyid Mawdudi himself.

       Khurram Murad

      Leicester

      29 Ramadan, 1405

      18 June, 1985

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