Tafhim al-Quran: An Analytical Study of Abu al-A la Mawdudis Approach to the Understanding of Ayat al-Ahkam

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to study the approach of AbË al-AÑlÉ al-MawdËdÊ to the understanding of ÓyÉt al- AÍkÉm based on his tremendous scholarly work i.e. TafhÊm al-Qur’Én. The research has relied on inductive, objective and analytic methods in order to accumulate and study various ÓyÉt al-AÍkÉm, and to evaluate objectively the position of TafhÊm. MawdËdÊ emphasizes IjtihÉd for extracting verdicts from ÓyÉt al-AÍkÉm. In his view, al- Qur'an is not against the juristic disagreements as long as they do not contradict with the principles of Islam, and nor do they lead to disputes. Furthermore, many a time he has compared and gave preponderance among the views of jurists while in some cases he presented the views only. In addition, his juristic views were free from any doctrinal bigotry and were strongly supported by convincing evidences including previously revealed scriptures. Sometimes he has criticized the Western lÉaws in order to establish the superiority of Qur’anic legislations and rejected the misinterpretation of the ÓyÉt al-AÍkÉm by indisputable strong evidences.