islam

Allama Ghulam Ahmed Pervez (1903-1985) was a well-known Islamic scholar. He was born and brought up in an orthodox Muslim family - A follower of sunni-cum-hanafi sect of Islam. God has blessed him with an open heart and mind. Like any other Muslim he, too, cherished the past glory of Islam and earnestly craved for its revival. He had an inquisitive mind and never let the things to go unquestioned. He often questioned, if our beliefs and practices are true then why these are not yielding the desired results? The Quran claims that the Muslims are the best people on earth [3:110] but we find them on the contrary. Excluding the years of the Prophet (pbuh) and the righteous caliphs, the rest of Islamic history is full of ZILLAT AND MASKANAT (degeneration and inertness). Furthermore, it says: “If you (Muslims) are the true believers you will be dominant." And, in an another verse it says: "God will never let the unbelievers to subdue the believers." [4:141.
However, the ground reality is different. The Muslims, are nowhere free. They are, either politically enslaved or suffer economic domination of non believers. Why the promises and predictions of the Quran are not coming true? Why the Muslims are humiliated and downtrodden everywhere in the world? Such questions haunted Pervez often and over a long period of time.

As a staunch believer, he never doubted the authenticity of Quran and Sunnah. He believed in the absolute value system and universality of the Quran. According to him, Quran gives a plain, practical and very dynamic values system for the functioning and development of human society and for achieving international peace and justice. In this regard, the Life of the Prophet (pbuh), as mentioned in Quran, is the best model for Muslims. He did not simply received and delivered the message but, in a short span of 23 years, established a mighty State in Medina based on the Value System of Quran and had turned the wild Arabia into an highly civilized society and a cradle of peace and justice.

The Quran is intact and the life of the Prophet is a well-recorded historical document. Then what is wrong with the Muslims that they are not coming up to the mark ? Why they are not achieving their goals ? Is something wrong with the Message or the Muslims failed to get the true understanding of Quran and Sunnah ? Is it possible to find the real problem ?

These and many other such questions lead Pervez to find out the reality. He broke the cocoon of simple beliefs and practices and stepped into the vast expanse of free inquiry. Henceforth, he never accepted any belief or practice without a critical test. He revisited all the traditional beliefs and practices of Islam in the light of Quran, because it is the only criterion for judging right and wrong.

Pervez's journey in the vale of Quran is spread over 50-years.He was a prolific writer and has written
volumes of books and delivered lectures on Quranic topics which are recorded on audio-video cassettes. If the definition of a scholar is: " a person possessing or manifesting wide and deep knowledge then I have no doubts in the scholarship of Pervez. He got to his credit more than 60 voluminous books, hundreds of pamphlets, recorded lectures on more than 500 audio and 70 video cassettes and numerous articles on various topics published since 1935 in monthly Toluislam. His highly acclaimed work is the compilation of Lughat-ul-Quran (Dictionary of the Quran), which is unique in style and outstanding in knowledge. Apparently, it is an Arabic lexicon but in truth it is more than that. It makes the maximum use of morphological system of Arabic in a limited space. It is like a fountainhead of pure and pristine meanings of Arabic words used in the Quran. No one can understand Pervez unless he has studied Lughat-ul-Quran. Any criticism or comment about his work without referring to Lughat-ul-Quran would be unqualified and biased.
During his journey in search of truth he came to the conclusion that the primary cause of Muslims' degeneration and inertia is misunderstanding of the concepts of the Quran. No doubt, they revere Quran like a sacred religious book. They read and recite Quran abundantly but, unfortunately, majority of them do not understand or seek knowledge. They follow the Quran individually to earn Thawab and seek salvation in the hereafter. They do not follow its permanent values collectively and do not struggle to establish a just and peaceful society. Consequently, despite of high respect and sincere devotion to Quran and Sunnah they are deprived of God’s blessings and bounties which are enumerated in the Quran in these words: A life full of contentment [13:28]; A civil society free of social injustices and economic exploitations [20:112]; and an honourable and dignified status among the comity of nations [3:139].
Pervez's Insight of The Quran
Pervez, as we have seen above, was a famous scholar known nationally and internationally for his deep, trustworthy and unpolluted study of Islam. In recognition of the services rendered by him to the cause of Islam, he was granted a Gold Medal by the Government of Punjab (Pakistan). This fact is published along with a note in recognition of his services in the official publication 'Tehreek-e-Pakistan Gold Medal 1989'. It was also recognized in the said official publication that Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah placed great confidence in him and he was at one time the personal consultant of Quiad-e-Azam in regard to the religious foundation of Pakistan.

Allama G.A. Pervez work on Quran remains unprecedented as a rational gloss in Islamic scholarship. It is not an attempt to duplicate what has already been achieved, nor is it intended to be a substitute for other translations. Its genius lies in its rigorous attempt to go beyond the traditional “word-for-word” concept of translation to bring out the richness of the Arabic language and pristine purity of the Quranic concepts. Its purpose is to help masses achieve to the greatest possible clarity and understanding in their reading of the text of Quran and comprehend what the Arab listener in Prophet's time understood, instantly. Learning of Quran is an un-ending and un-restrictive process. It is like a stream with great potentialities unfolding itself as the human knowledge expand – and shall remain so till dawn: ëhiya hatta mutleh al fajjerí- [97:5]

Pervez has faithfully attempted to present Quran through creative use of amplification in contemporary language. As long as he lived he never claimed infallibility of views. He held some views with great vigour because he saw them clearly as edicts of the Holy Quran. Other interpretive views were always presented with the caveat that he was not beyond making mistakes. The rise of militant fundamentalism and the traditionalist clergy in Pakistan has obscured his message: the seminarian authority overcame, as always, the struggle of the non-seminarian mind.

Perveziyat is today synonymous with heresy. But his encyclopaedic work will always live because of its usefulness to the fundamentalist and modernist alike.

The basic problem with Pervez thoughts is that his critics made no mental distinction between writing critically on the subject of Islam and intending to deliberately bring about the malicious disputes. You may find in his work the meaning of many words and verses different than the traditional translations. In this respect, two things are important to know.

Firstly, one should know that he did not translate 'word-for-word '. Rather, he gave comprehension of the Quranic passages. The difference between translation and comprehension is obvious. Secondly, it should be remember that even the traditional translations are not all the same. These differ at many places among themselves. For example, take these two translations: one by Shah Abdul Qadir and the other by Maulana Abu-al-Kalam Azad (both were eminent scholars). Former is so important that Shaikh-ul-Hind Maulana Mahmood-ul-Hassan revised it and Maulana Shabeer Ahmed Usmani wrote its footnotes. In other words, this translation has the approval of three great scholars of the sub-continent. It gives the translation of verse 2:102 (wa ma unzila a'lalmalakaine bebabila haruta wa maruta) as follow: "(and they followed) such things as came down at Babylon to the angel Harut and Marut". According to this translation, the reader comes to understand that God has sent something to the angels at Babylon. Now, compare it with this translation by Maulana Abu al-Kalam Azad: "It is also not true that something came down at Babylon to the angel Harut and Marut". According to this translation God has sent nothing to the angles.
These translations not only differ but also negate each other. Nevertheless, these are popular among the masses and no Scholar or Mullah ever raised a voice against them. It shows the true mentality of those who bash Pervez for distortions and twists in the Quran.
They criticize Pervez not because he ignored the principles of Arabic or objectivity of the Quran; Not at all! No one can blame him on this ground. His major fault is that he did not become a holy sheep, which never leave the herd. Instead, he left the traditional path immediately when he felt that it is leading towards the wrong direction. No doubt he adopted a different style than the traditionalist but it is not new one. In fact, it was the original style of understanding the Quran. Unfortunately, it was lost in the dust of history. Pervez has simply removed that dust and revived it in its pristine purity. Actually, the criterion for testing right and wrong has become the ancestral sanctity instead of intellectual honesty. That is why when they listen to Pervez they turn their face saying: ìma samehna behaza fi abainal awaleenî - " never did we hear such a thing (as he says) among our ancestors of old ". (23:24).

I request the honourable readers, in order to know the truth about Pervez, you must visit the following websites.

www.tolueislam.com, www.toluislam.com,
www.IslamicDawn.com

On these sites, you will find lot of literature on Pervez and by Pervez. Also, on these sites, you can listen to his audio-video lectures. I am sure you will like it.

I found this article in an archive so I have put it up here for your readers. Thanks