Playing God

"All rights of this book are reserved for the publisher and the author. This copy is for reading purpose only. This copy cannot be uploaded on any website except those of the publisher and the author." Appendix: Brief Biographical Notes 74 monthly journal, al-Isl ā h , in which he translated many portions of al-Far ā h ī ’s treatises written in Arabic. Isl ā h ī was among the founder members of the Jam ā ‘at-i Isl ā m ī , a religious party founded by the eminent Islamic scholar, Ab ū al-A‘l ā Mawd ū d ī (d. 1979), in 1941. In 1958, he abandoned the Jam ā ‘at , after serious diffe rence s arose between him and Mawd ū d ī on the nature o f the con stitution of the Jam ā ‘at . After leaving the Jam ā ‘at , he finally got the chance to fulfil his cherished goal of writing a commentary on the Qur’ ā n . He also launc hed a monthly journal Mith ā q in which portions o f this co mmentary, Tadabbur-i Qur’ ā n , were published. In 1961, he established a small study circle Halqah Tadabbur-i Qur’ ā n for college students to whom he taught Arabic language and literature, the Holy Qur’ ā n and the al-J ā mi‘ al-sah ī h of Im ā m Muslim. He also taught Sh ā h Wal ī Ull ā h’s Hujjatull ā h al-b ā lighah and Ibn Khald ū n’s Muqaddimah to some pupils. It was on the 29 th of Ramad ā n 1400/ 12 th August 1980 when the great day arrived – the day when a monumental effort reached its culmination: the Tadabbur-i Qur’ ā n had taken twenty-two long years to complete. In the Tadabbur-i Qur’ ā n , he produced a masterpiece of tafs ī r which does not simply reflect the principles of his illustrious mentor, al-Far ā h ī : it also bears the stamp of originality. It is indeed a unique work that has ushered in a new era in the field of scriptural interpretation. Isl ā h ī proved from a Qur’ ā nic verse that the Almighty has divided the Qur’ ā n in seven discrete groups keeping in view the preaching mission of the Prophet Muhammad (sws). Each of these groups has a theme and s ū rahs are www.javedahmadghamidi.com www.al-mawrid.org