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

Jadeed ka Khaliq and Azmat-e Quran to name but a few. However, “Tajdid-e-Deen” always occupied a special place close to my heart. I think, ‘it was enough for Maulana to have written only “Tajdid-e-Deen” to get relieved of the responsibility of conveying the essence of the divine message to humanity in 20th century, and secure a place in Jannah’ (insha Allah)! ‘Revival of Islam’, according to Maulana is the return to the pure and pristine form of Islam that existed in the times of Prophet of Islam, purging it of the dust that has gathered over it, over the centuries. Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, a creative thinker, a philosophical and scientific theologian and a modernist reformer is of the opinion that there is a need for Muslims to take to primary Islamic texts for guidance to respond to modern challenges. He asserts that that will not only revive the original Islam but will also change their outlook to the modern world. He does not stop just here; in fact, he exhorts Muslims to exploit modern developments of science and technology, particularly the ways of communication, in favor of Islam for its peaceful propagation to the remotest corner of the globe. He argues that Science is the Ilm al kalam of the modern world, and it should be made full use of in Dawah work, and the avenues are open for Muslims to build a Dawah Empire instead of a political one. Maulana thus literally responding to Sir Sayyid’s desire for presenting Islamic teachings in the modern scientific format; has performed the job in a commendable way. Maulana through his presentation of Islam in modern format has relieved the ummah of a great obligatory duty (fardh