Abu al-Ala al-Mawdudi

Abu al-Ala al-Mawdudi (1321–1399 AH / 1903–1979 CE) was an Indian-Pakistani Islamic scholar, journalist, and political thinker who founded the Jamaat-e-Islami movement and authored the multivolume Quranic commentary Tafhim al-Quran (Understanding the Quran) Tatimmat al-Aalam - Muham…+1.

Lineage and Early Life

He was Abu al-Ala ibn Ahmad Hasan ibn Qutb al-Din ibn Mawdud Chishti al-Mawdudi al-Mawsua al-Muyassara fi…. His family traced its lineage back to Husayni Arab roots that migrated to Chisht near Herat, and claimed descent from Shaykh Qutb al-Din Mawdud Chishti (d. 527 AH), the eponym of the Chishti Sufi order in India Takmilat Mujam al-Muallif…+2.

He was born on 3 Rajab 1321 AH (25 September 1903 CE; other reports give 15 September or 25 December) in Aurangabad, in the Deccan region of Hyderabad State Tatimmat al-Aalam - Muham…+2. His father, Sayyid Ahmad Hasan (b. 1266 AH / 1850 CE), studied at Aligarh and worked as a teacher and lawyer before adopting an ascetic lifestyle al-Mujam al-Jami fi Taraj…. To shield him from Western influences, his father educated him at home in Arabic, Persian, the Quran, hadith, and Islamic jurisprudence before enrolling him in a government school around the age of eleven, where he studied through secondary school al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru…+2.

Journalism and Movement Founding

Following his father's death around 1920, he supported himself as a journalist, writing for and editing publications such as the weekly al-Madinah in Bijnor, the daily Taj in Jabalpur, and Muslim and al-Jam'iyyah in Delhi Tatimmat al-Aalam - Muham…+1. In 1928, he published al-Jihad fi al-Islam (Jihad in Islam), an influential treatise clarifying Islamic doctrine on war and governance al-Mawsua al-Muyassara fi…+1. In 1932 (or 1933; another report gives 1923), he established the monthly periodical Tarjuman al-Quran in Hyderabad, which served as his primary platform for intellectual outreach Tatimmat al-Aalam - Muham…+2.

In 1937–1938, at the invitation of the philosopher-poet Muhammad Iqbal, he moved to Punjab and established an educational center called Dar al-Islam in Pathankot Fatawa al-Shabaka al-Isla…+2. On 3 Sha'ban 1360 AH (26 August 1941 CE), he convened a gathering of 75 delegates in Lahore to establish Jamaat-e-Islami, and was elected as its first amir al-Mujam al-Jami fi Taraj…+1.

Political Career and Trials

Following the partition of India in 1947, he relocated to Pakistan, establishing the headquarters of Jamaat-e-Islami in Lahore al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru…+1. He led public campaigns demanding that the Pakistani state adopt Islamic law as its constitutional foundation al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru…+1.

His political opposition resulted in multiple arrests. In May 1953, during unrest related to the Ahmadiyya movement, a military tribunal sentenced him to death al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru…+2. The sentence sparked widespread domestic and international protests, prompting the government to commute the sentence to life imprisonment; he was subsequently released in 1954 (or 1955) following a Supreme Court ruling al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru…+2. He was detained again during government bans on his party in 1964 and 1967 al-Mujam al-Jami fi Taraj…+2.

In Ramadan 1392 AH (November 1972 CE), he stepped down from his leadership position in Jamaat-e-Islami due to declining health to dedicate himself to scholarship, completing Tafhim al-Quran Fatawa al-Shabaka al-Isla…+1. In 1399 AH (1979 CE), he became the first recipient of the King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam Takmilat Mujam al-Muallif…+1.

Scholarly Standing and Reception

Contemporary scholars recognized him as a prominent reformer and political thinker across the Islamic world who advocated the comprehensive application of Islamic governance Athar al-Imam Muhammad al…+2. He was noted for his adherence to the Hanafi madhhab in practice while strongly criticizing rigid partisan imitation (taqlid) among Hanafi traditionalists and repudiating ungrounded Sufi deviations Majallat al-Jami'a al-Isl…+1.

Critics among traditionalists noted reservations regarding his hadith methodology, charging him with prioritizing rational and thematic scrutiny (dirayah) over classical chains of transmission (riwayah), which led him to reject certain narrations recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari al-Mawsua al-Muyassara fi….

Death

He died on 22 September 1979 CE (1399 AH) in a hospital in New York following a surgical operation Fatawa al-Shabaka al-Isla…+1. His body was transported back to Pakistan, where large funeral prayers were held in Karachi and Islamabad before his burial in Lahore Fatawa al-Shabaka al-Isla…+1.