Islamic Literature in the Modern Idiom

It was in 1970 that I met Professor Mujeeb on the campus of Jamia Millia. Professor Anwar Ali Khan Soz (1987) was with me at that time. In the course of the conversation Professor Mujeeb said in his inimitable style: “Maulvi Sahab, do you know that in this day and age Islam is being represented by Jewish scholars?” What he wanted to point out was that in modern times a new style or idiom had been created. But that Muslim scholars had failed to produce Islamic literature in this new style and this task had been performed by educated Jews. They wrote books on various aspects of Islam in the modern idiom, although in many of these books Islamic teachings have been presented in a distorted form. But because in style they are in the modern idiom, educated people who wanted to study Islam in the English language often studied these books written by Jewish scholars. I listened intently to Professor Mujeeb. I did not answer him but on hearing what he had to say a tempest was stirred up in my mind. I came home silently and began to pray day and night saying, “O God grant me the ability to present to the world Your religion in the modern idiom. Help me to prepare literature on Islam in the modern idiom.” I often pray with specific reference to some incident. In this matter, too, I did likewise. After India’s independence the Zamindari abolition act was implemented in Uttar Pradesh. Under the national government the new law was based on the principle, that whoever tilled the land, owned the land.