THE LIFE AND WORK OF MAULANA WAHIDUDDIN KHAN

According to Dr Anjum, “The revelation of the Quran, as embodied in the figure of the Prophet, intervened to mend, resolve, and reform that disorder which was prevalent in the society” and “the concept of reform in Islam therefore means that reform in the sense of application of Islam in society, revitalizing the Muslim community and making an endeavour to return into the path of Islam afresh”. Chapter 2: “Islamic Thought in India in Early 20th Century” In this chapter the author has detailed the background of Islamic political and intellectual thought of the early 20th century and the approaches and efforts of Indian Muslim scholars like Sir Syed, Mohammad Iqbal, Shibli Nomani, Maulana Maududi, Ali Miyan Nadwi, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan and others. A number of reformist movements emerged in these times to cope with the challenges, especially those coming from outsiders. The majority of the reformists advocated a policy of isolation and noncooperation, especially with western educational institutions, western language, ideas and values, to preserve Islamic culture and heritage under nonMuslim rule. The ‘Call for return to Quran’ by Maulana Azad made Muslims more comfortable in a pluralistic society. On the other hand, Muslim modernists like Sir Syed advocated for Ijtihad to seek ways to respond to the situation. They advocated for internal reform and selective adaptation of western education, ideas and technology. However, the general condition at the time was that “Muslims had lost their ground in polity, services and education which made them powerless and demoralized”, the author writes. Chapter 3: “Biographical Survey of Maulana Wahiduddin Khan” This chapter deals with the life, literary career, and the contributions of Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. The author has highlighted the Maulana’s affiliations with different movements and his presentation of Islam in a modern scientific idiom as a response to contemporary issues faced by Indian Muslims. The Maulana highly regarded the contribution of Muslims to the development of education and educational institutions. According to the author, the Maulana believed that “The credit of democratising education goes to Islam” and “It was Islam that delivered the knowledge from restricted spheres and gave a concept of mass education to the world history”. The author has further presented a detailed sketch of the Maulana’s works, which are almost 200 in number, including his commentary on the Quran. Among his notable works are