Islam's Reformers .pdf

performance of nikâh. Mahr-i mu’ajjal was paid by the man tothe woman before the wedding. Mahr-i muejjel was the moneyhe was obliged to pay in case of divorce. If he did not pay it orthe alimony for his children to her every month, either an equalamount was allotted from his salary and paid to her or he wasimprisoned. Because of the fear of this high compensation, ofmisery of remaining a bachelor or of failure to marry again,nobody would divorce his wife. In fact, nobody would marry hisdaughter to the man who had divorced his wife unfairly. Tilldeath, every Muslim led a happy, prosperous life together withhis wife and children in mutual love and in peace which formedout of the karâma inherent in nikâh. He was an honourableperson among his circle and acquaintances and was given highesteem and credit by everybody.42 - Abul A’alâ Mawdûdî, one of the religion reformers of thepresent time, introduces Imâm al-Ghazâlî as a reformer in hisbook The Revivalist Movement in Islam. He writes:“Imâm al-Ghazâlî extirpated the Greek thoughts so as toremove their effects from Muslims’ minds. He corrected themistakes of those who attempted to defend Islam againstphilosophers and scholasticism according to their own thoughts.He revealed the rational effects of the principles of belief,reopened the spirit of ijtihâd, arranged the programs ofeducation, introduced the moral principles of Islam and invitedthe government and officials to follow Islam. Yet he wasinefficient in the knowledge of the Hadîth, and he dwelt toomuch on rational knowledge and inclined to tasawwuf morethan necessary.”He attributes defects to this great scholar, who has been oneof the greatest Ahl as-Sunna scholars. He calls these imaginarydefects “dangerous attitude”. He extravagantly goes on:“Ibn Taimiyya removed these dangers, revived Islam’s spiritof ideations and morals and accomplished the explorations ofrenewal. A short while before him, no one had dared to invitethe people to Islam for fear of calumniation; the narrow-mindedscholars had cooperated with the cruel rulers, and it was his lotto unfurl the banner of renewal against them. He was profoundin interpretation of the Qur’ân and a leader in the Hadîth and hetook Islam from where al-Ghazâlî had left it. He defendedIslamic faith and found more beautiful proofs for Islamic spiritthan al-Ghazâlî had. Al-Ghazâlî’s judgement had remained- 127 -