About the Author
Syed Abul A'ala Maududi (Urdu: سید ابو الاعلىٰ مودودی ) (September 25, 1903 - September 22, 1979):
Syed Abul A'ala Maududi also known as Molana or Shaikh Syed Abul A'ala Mawdudi, was a Sunni Pakistani journalist, theologian, Muslim revivalist Leader and political philosopher, and a major 20th century Islamist thinker. He was also a prominent political figure in his home country; Pakistan. He was also the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami the Islamic revivalist party.
Maududi was born in Aurangabad, India then part of the princely state enclave of Hyderabad, until it returned to India in 1948. He was born to Maulana Ahmad Hasan, a lawyer by profession. He was the youngest of his three brothers.[4]His father was the descendant of the Chishti line of saints; in fact his last name was derived from the first member of the Chishti Silsilah i.e. Khawajah Syed Qutb ul-Din Maudood Chishti.
At an early age, Maududi was given home education, he "received religious nurture at the hands of his father and from a variety of teachers employed by him."[5] He soon moved on to formal education, however, and completed his secondary education from Madrasah Furqaniyah. For his undergraduate studies he joined Darul Uloom, Hyderabad (India). His undergraduate studies, however, were disrupted by the illness and death of his father, and he did not graduate from the Darul Uloom.[4] His instruction included very little of the subject matter of a modern school, such as European languages, like English.[5] He reportedly translated Qasim Amin's The New Woman into Urdu at the age of 14[6] and about 3,500 pages from Asfar, a work of mystical Persian thinker Mulla Sadra.
Madudi was inquisitive about Islam since his early childhood and further pursued former education of the religion at various madras (religious institutes) in India. Madudi has been known in the Islamic world for his devotion towards the Islam and tafheem (explanation of religious text).
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abul_A'la_Maududi#cite_note-Adams.2C_p.100-101-5
Syed Abul A'ala Maududi (Urdu: سید ابو الاعلىٰ مودودی ) (September 25, 1903 - September 22, 1979):
Syed Abul A'ala Maududi also known as Molana or Shaikh Syed Abul A'ala Mawdudi, was a Sunni Pakistani journalist, theologian, Muslim revivalist Leader and political philosopher, and a major 20th century Islamist thinker. He was also a prominent political figure in his home country; Pakistan. He was also the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami the Islamic revivalist party.
Maududi was born in Aurangabad, India then part of the princely state enclave of Hyderabad, until it returned to India in 1948. He was born to Maulana Ahmad Hasan, a lawyer by profession. He was the youngest of his three brothers.[4]His father was the descendant of the Chishti line of saints; in fact his last name was derived from the first member of the Chishti Silsilah i.e. Khawajah Syed Qutb ul-Din Maudood Chishti.
At an early age, Maududi was given home education, he "received religious nurture at the hands of his father and from a variety of teachers employed by him."[5] He soon moved on to formal education, however, and completed his secondary education from Madrasah Furqaniyah. For his undergraduate studies he joined Darul Uloom, Hyderabad (India). His undergraduate studies, however, were disrupted by the illness and death of his father, and he did not graduate from the Darul Uloom.[4] His instruction included very little of the subject matter of a modern school, such as European languages, like English.[5] He reportedly translated Qasim Amin's The New Woman into Urdu at the age of 14[6] and about 3,500 pages from Asfar, a work of mystical Persian thinker Mulla Sadra.
Madudi was inquisitive about Islam since his early childhood and further pursued former education of the religion at various madras (religious institutes) in India. Madudi has been known in the Islamic world for his devotion towards the Islam and tafheem (explanation of religious text).
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abul_A'la_Maududi#cite_note-Adams.2C_p.100-101-5
Surah Al-Infitar's theme is the Hereafter. In his book, Tafheem-ul-Quran, Madudi states that according to a tradition related in Musnad Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Ibn al-Mundhir, Tabarani, Hakim and Ibn Marduyah, on the authority of Hadrat Abdullah bin Umar, the Holy Messenger (upon whom be peace) said: "The one who wants that he should see the Resurrection Day as one would see it with one's eyes, should read Surah At-Takwir, Surah Al-Infitar and Surah Al-Inshiqaq."
Madudi further argues that in this Surah first the Resurrection Day has been described and it is said that when it occurs, every person will see whatever he has done in the world. After this, man has been asked to ponder the question: "O man, what has deluded you into thinking that the God, Who brought you into being and by Whose favor and bounty you possess the finest body, limbs and features among all creatures, is only bountiful and not just? His being bountiful and generous does not mean that you should become fearless of His justice."Then, man has been warned, so as to say: "Do not remain involved in any misunderstanding. Your complete record is being prepared. There are trustworthy writers who are writing down whatever you do." In conclusion, it has been forcefully stated that the Day of Resurrection will surely take place when the righteous shall enjoy every kind of bliss in Paradise and the wicked shall be punished in Hell. On that day no one shall avail anyone anything. All powers of judgment shall be with Allah. Source: Tafhim-ul-Quran (Syed Abul A'ala Maududi, 1942-1972); http://www.englishtafsir.com/Quran/82/index.html Maududi vs Sells: Maududi like Sells provides an explanation of the Surah. Maududi’s approach could be seen as much more elaborate yet simple than Sells’. After carefully reading Maududi’s translation, one can argue that Sells’ translation of the Surah lacks the poetic or lyrical flow. Maududi’s approach has a better flow which can be easily identified by the reader. This criticism primarily rises because of Sells’ approach to capitalize in English as compared to Maududi’s approach in Urdu. Maududi’s explanation of the Surah is much more elaborate as compared to Sells’. One can see the essence of an orientalist or western approach in Sells explanation after comparing it with the Urdu explanation. Both writers primarily outline the same idea when it comes to the context of the Surah, but Sells’ approach is much more ‘western’, whereas Maududi focuses on the primary Islamic values to elaborate on the idea discussed in the Surah. Maududi focuses on establishing the supremacy of Allah to explain the message in Surah Al-Infitar, where as Sells builds on a very basic literary approach. Sells questions the usage of words; ‘humankind’ and ‘man’, and how they address two different audiences. On the other hand, the flow of Maududi’s translation does not simply lead a reader to think of such differences; it makes sense how it is. A fair comparison in terms of simplicity could be identified in verse number 5. Where Sells translation of the verse sounds a bit ambiguous, Maududi’s translation directly pinpoints the idea of humans and how their deeds are accountable in front of God. Further in verse 10-12, both translations clearly hint towards the angels who are given the duty of overseeing and noting down our deeds; good or bad. Maududi in his explanation talks about the idea in detail whereas Sells simply ignores the idea. Both the translations primarily address the same idea. Sells approach lacks a bit of flow in the text, which Maududi accomplished successfully. Despite the similarities in the two translations, one can recognize the differences after reading the explanations from the two writers. |