Towards Understanding Islam

by Sayyid Abul A'la Maududi
Translated and Edited by Khurshid Ahmed

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Table of Contents

• FOREWORD

• EDITOR’S PREFACE

• I. THE MEANING OF ISLAM

  • Islam: What does it mean? 

  • The Nature of Kufr

  • The Blessings of Islam.

• II. FAITH AND OBDIENCE

  • Faith: what does it mean?

  • How to acquire the Knowledge of God?

  • Faith in the Unknown.

• III. THE PROPHETHOOD

  • Prophethood: Its Nature and Necessity

  • Brief History of Prophethood 

    • The Prophethood of Muhammad

  • Muhammad's Prophethood A Rational Vindication

    • ARABIA-the Abyss of Darkness

    • The Saviour is Born

    • Diamond in a Heap of Stones

    • A Revolution Comes

    • Why all that Enmity?

    • A Changed Man at Forty-Why?

    • His All-embracing Message

    • His Contribution to Human Thought

    • The Greatest Revolutionary

    • The Final Testimony

  • The Finality of Prophethood

• IV. THE ARTICLES OF FAITH

  • Tawheed: Faith in the Unity of Allah

    • The Meaning of the ‘Kalima’

    • The Effects of Tawheed on Human Life

  • Faith in Prophets

  • Belief in Life after Death

    • The Need of this Belief

    • Life After Death : A Rational Vindication

• V. PRAYER AND WORSHIP

  • The Spirit of "Ibadat" or Worship

    • Salat

    • Fasting

    • Zakat

    • Hajj or Pilgrimage

    • Defence of Islam

    • Jihad

• VI. DIN AND SHARI’AH

  • Distinction Between Din and Shari'ah

  • The Sources of the Shari'ah

  • Fiqh

  • Tasawwuf

• VII. THE PRINCIPLES OF THE SHARI’AH

  • The Shari'ah Its Nature and Purport

  • The Shari’ah Rights and Obligations

  • The Rights of God

  • The Rights of the Self

  • The Rights of other Man

  • The Rights of all Creatures

  • Shari'ah The Universal and Eternal Law

The present edition of TOWARDS UNDER STANDING ISLAM is not only a new translation of my book Risala-e-Diniyat but is also an entirely new and revised edition of it. The first edition of the book which was revised edition of it. The first edition of the book which was rendered into English by the late Dr. Abdul Guhani (Director of public instruction, Afghanistan), was very brief and sketchy. Unfortunately), was very brief sketchy. Unfortunately Dr. Abdul Ghani passed away immediately after the completion of the translation and thus he did not live to improve and revise it. Later on I revised the original book and made substantial additions to it. Now Mr. Khurshid Ahmad has very ably and skillfully rendered a new translation of the revised edition of Risala-e-Diniyat and my heartfelt thanks are due to him for this labour of love. I am confident that in this new form the book will be much more useful for the purpose for which it has been written.

My purpose in writing this book has been to provide all those persons -Muslims non-Muslims-who have no access to the original sources of Islam with a brief treatise giving a lucid, comprehensive and all-embracing view of Islam. That is why I have avoided discussion over the minute details and have endeavored to portray the entire picture of Islam in one perspective. Moreover, I have not confined myself to stating what we Muslims believe in and stand for, but have also tried to explain the rational bases of our beliefs. Similarly I have not only presented the Islamic modes of worship and the outlines of the Islamic way of life but have also tried to unveil the wisdom behind them. I hope this small treatise will go a long way to satisfy the intellectual cravings of the Muslim youth and will help the non-Muslims in understanding our real position.

 Lahore
11^th September, 1960
ABUL A'LA MAWDUDI

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