ME AND MAULANA: A PERSONAL RECOLLECTION OF WAHIDUDDIN KHAN - John M. Butt

Maulana appeared on the intellectual scene of the subcontinent, strictly speaking in the post-partition era. The history of Islamic reformist thought in the latter half of twentieth and early 21st century cannot be complete without a comprehensive account of Maulana’s ideas and endeavours. Reading inadequacies in the response of his contemporaries to modern developments, he dedicated his life to formulate his own response suited to new situations; based on positive thinking and scientific temperament. He has focused on areas such as scientific theology, peaceful jihad, Dawah, Spirituality and a change of paradigm from emotional reactions to a reasoned response in his writings. He will always be remembered for his emphasis on Aakhirat oriented life in the modern materialistic life. I developed my first love with Maulana’s writings when I was in my teens; an age well known for intense love. It was, probably because of my curious nature and some underlying knowledge of both Urdu literature and Islam since childhood, fortified with having a school education in science. Since then I have never divorced from this interest, although I encountered many distractions on the way. Thus, the relation kept on growing stronger with each passing year. I have gone through most of the writings of Maulana and what I learnt in all these years, could be put as, ‘Just be realistic and fair in Analysis’. Probably this is the reason I opted for ‘Religious Thought of Maulana Wahiduddin Khan’ as the subject of my second doctorate at the University of Kashmir, Srinagar. Some of his must-read books include, Mazhab aur Jadeed Challenge, Al-Islam; Islam: Daur-e-