Third Phase: Formal Correspondence

I have no suggestion regarding the form of your response. You may respond yourself or consult the Shura Council or scholars of the Jamaat and then inform me. In any case, whatever response I receive from you, I will consider it the Jamaat’s official reply and, based on it, decide the course of action I should take.” Two weeks later, the Shura Council’s annual meeting began in Delhi. During the meeting, the Amir distributed copies of my written work to the members of the Shura for review. On April 19, they held two sessions throughout the day, devoting several hours to its examination. Since I was asked to step out of these sessions, I do not know what was discussed. However, at the end, the Amir called me into the meeting and informed me, “We all agree that your work needs to be considered with full seriousness, but a response cannot be provided hastily; it will require ample time.” Consequently, Maulana Sadruddin Islahi (1917–1998), a prominent scholarly figure of the Jamaat and one of its early members, was appointed to prepare a detailed response, and later, a four-month deadline was set, with Maulana Sadruddin expected to submit his written response by the end of August. Additionally, the Amir and the Shura members expressed the wish to send a copy of my work to Maulana Abul A’la Maududi and Maulana Jalil Ahsan