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Critical Study On Emergence Of Islam

By Dr. Hameed Ullah
Foreword

[Publisher's preamble and discussion of this book]

Zafar Ishaq Ansari
The Emergence of Islam is an attempt to present, in clear and
simple English, the contents of a series of twelve lectures
delivered by Dr. Muhammad Hamidullah in March 1980 at
Islands University, Bahawalpur. The lectures, which were
delivered without even the help of notes, are the result of a
life-long study of, and reflections on, the early period of
Islam by one of the best-known Muslim scholars of our time.
In these lectures the learned author attempts o highlight the
basic thrust of Islamic teachings and to outline the formative
period of Islam's intellectual and institutional history.
Drawing upon his vast reservoir of knowledge, Dr.
Muhammad Hamidullah attempts to explain, in a manner that
would make even a lay audience appreciate, the genesis and
growth of Islamic thought, society and state, and of the
institutions which were developed o translate Islamic norms
into terms of practice.

Delivered in an easy-to-understand Urdu, and a style that is

inimitably simple, informal and lucid, the lectures are
strikingly free of academic jargon and pedantry. The author
successfully attempts to convey a synthetic picture of Islam as
it unfolded itself in the early period of its history - as a
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religion, as a community, as a state, as an intellectual

tradition, and as a set of institutions which evolved under
Islamic inspiration. Luckily, the lectures, which had a large
audience who found the presentations very illuminating, were
tape-recorded. This made it possible to have them transcribed
and subsequently to publish them, presumably without the
least editing, under the title Khutbat-i Bahawalpur
("Bahawalpur Lectures"). A slightly revised edition of the
Lectures was published in 1985 by the Islamic Research
Institute. Since then, the Lectures have gone into several
prints. The interest they generated and the appreciation they
evoked are an index of the esteem in which Dr. Hamidullah's
scholarship is held, especially in the South Asian
Sub-continent.

With a view to make this scholarly work available to a larger

body of international readership, the Islamic Research
Institute decided to prepare and publish its English version.
That the Institute should have taken up this task was in the
fitness of things for a variety of reasons. The Lectures are, in
the first place, a work of redoubtable academic value and that
in itself is reason enough for their publication in a language of
international importance such as English. At the same time,
in addition to its being an honor to the Institute, the
publication of this work also constitutes a token of the our
appreciation for, and gratitude to, Dr. Hamidullah. For, apart
from having an unmatched record of dedicated scholarship,
he has also constantly supported and patronized this
Institute. To mention merely one act of his generosity and
support, about a decade ago Dr. Hamidullah graciously
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donated the entire amount of the Award which he received

from the Government of Pakistan for his distinguished
scholarly contribution to Strah studies.

The Institute was singularly fortunate in having been able to

persuade a person of such an established caliber and standing
as Dr. Afzal Iqbal to prepare the English version of the work.
The task which he undertook was simply stupendous. For,
quite evidently, the readers of the English version were bound
w be different from those of the original Urdu work. They
were bound to differ in their intellectual background, in their
taste, and in their sensibilities. All this is in addition to the
fact that lectures delivered without having been committed to
writing usually do not make a readable book. Thus some
change in style and a degree of editing was considered
necessary while preparing the English version because the
expectations of readers of a book differ from those of the
audience of a lecture, even more so when the book would be in
a language other than the one in which the lectures were
delivered. The task was rendered even more difficult because
the lectures were followed by questions and answers which
form part of the Khutbat. The answers of the author
doubtlessly provide very useful material for reading and
reflection. However, as would seem natural. Not every
question was of equal interest and value, nor of equal
relevance to the theme of the work.

It was decided, therefore, with the kind permission of the

author, to bring out a version that would attempt to render
the Khutbat into English without necessarily trying to
produce its literal translation. Thus, a good deal of discretion
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was exercised; or to put it differently, a degree of liberty was

taken with the Urdu text. Among other things, it appeared
desirable to reduce the size of the book so as to make it more
readable. The draft, therefore, was tightened up at several
places. At places some details were omitted. Some of the
questions and answers were also omitted, and on one
occasion or more, the answers given by the author were
merged with the main body of the lectures, As one who has
remained closely in touch with Dr. Afzal Igbal during the
course of this demanding work, I am a first-hand witness to
the painstaking effort that he has made so as to make a
valuable piece of scholarly work available to the readers of
English. There can be no doubt that he deserves to be
wholeheartedly applauded both for the skill and the speed
with which he accomplished the task.

It seems necessary to place on record the debt of gratitude this

institute roves to several institutions and individuals in
connection with this work. First of all, we would like to
express our gratitude to Dr. Afzal Iqbal who worked extremely
hard and did, in our view, a fine job of rendering this work
into English. We also owe profound thanks so the
International Islamic Association of Hong Kong and the
International Institute of Islamic Thought, Islamabad who
made substantial financial grants towards the preparation of
the English version. The International Institute of Islamic
Thought also provided their computer and printer facilities as
well as the services of their technical staff which enabled us to
have the manuscript composed for printing at a time when the
Institute Press was under heavy pressure. Their assistance is
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gratefully acknowledged. We are also grateful to the Da'wah

Academy of the International Islamic University who have
joined hands with us in the publication of this work, and who
have generously undertaken to have this work distributed
across the world. To the Director General of the Dawah
Academy, Dr. Mahmood Ahmed Ghazi, we are exceedingly
thankful for his constant encouragement and his readiness to
assist us in a variety of ways. specially for his enthusiastic
willingness to promote this work.

Thanks are also due to Mr. Muhammad Naeem, Assistant

Editor of Islamic Studies, who took great pains in editing and
proof-reading this work. Mr. Amjad Mahmood assiduously
fed the manuscript into the computer and, with remarkable
patience, carried out editorial changes time and again. At the
final stages, he was assisted by Mr. Ruth Khan, and, finally, by
Mr. Tahir Farkhan Ahmad. The latter's experience in
book-composing proved to be of great value. Mr. Zafar Ali, the
Manager of Islamic Research Institute Press, took keen
personal interest in producing an elegant book. Dr.
Muhammad Tufail, Assistant Professor in the Islamic
Research Institute, kindly prepared the index of the book. Dr.
M. Khalid Mas'ud, Professor in the Institute, like ever,
provided much valuable help. To all of them we owe our
sincere thanks. Dr. M. Idris Zubair, Assistant Professor,
International Islamic University, Islamabad also rendered
valuable service in the stages of the publication of the work.

The last, but not the least is the author, Dr. M. Hamidullah, to
whom we are immensely grateful. He allowed us to bring out
this English version. Moreover, as ever before, he showed
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absolute unwillingness to accept any material benefit in

return for his generous permission to publish this work. He
seems more than content - as would only a selfless and pious
Muslim scholar of his standing - with the valuable
contribution that he has made to the dissemination of the
truth and with the reward which he expects from God in the
Hereafter. May God bless him.
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Preface

[Commentary by the translator]

Afzal Iqbal
I am no translator. The only translation I ever attempted was from
French into Urdu. It took me years to translate Albert Camus' slim
novel L'Etranger. I do not know why Dr. Zafar Ishaq Ansari of [the]
Islamic Research Institute asked me to translate a bulky volume in
Urdu into English and set me a time limit of three months. It was a
mad assignment. I undertook it in a weak moment in the Ramadan
of 1992. The result was daily work from four in the morning to one
o'clock in the afternoon. The first draft was delivered on time. But
meeting the deadline was merely a beginning. The manuscript has
since been revised twice and the coming months will hopefully see
the culmination of a work which was entrusted to a novice whose
main qualification was enthusiasm.

Dr. Muhammad Hamidullah delivered twelve lectures in Urdu at

the Islamia University, Babawalpur in 1980. The extempore
discourses were published verbatim in Urdu together with
questions and answers after every lecture. The second edition of
the Lectures came out in 1985. The work has made a mark of its
own on Urdu readers who are indeed indebted to the author for his
erudition and lucid exposition of a subject which is of universal
interest. Its rendering into English is designed to make the result
of profound scholarship available to a much larger audience which
should be able now to avail itself of the significant contribution
made by an eminent scholar to modern Islamic studies.

The Urdu work was simply called Bahawalpur Lectures. We have

summed up the subject in the title of the book which we have
chosen to call The Emergence of Islam. The work has been divided
into two parts comprising six chapters each. Part I basically deals
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with the historical perspective while Part II is concerned with the

society set up by the Prophet (peace be upon him) and gives a
glimpse of the institutions created to deal with the new order.

In trying to strengthen the thematic unity of the work, we have

taken the liberty of eliminating questions considered not centrally
relevant to the subjects of different lectures. Dr. Hamidullah was
gracious enough to give a reply to every question, but all queries
were not equally relevant or significant. In view of their
significance, some of the replies have been incorporated in the
main lectures while a few others have been omitted. We realise
that we have gone beyond the province of a translator. In
assuming the added function of an editor, however, we believe we
have been able to make the presentation a little more coherent. All
our trespasses will hopefully be forgiven if only we have been able
to produce a readable book. Considering that this is our first
attempt at translating a major Urdu work into English, we hope
the reader will be indulgent and the author not too angry at our
maiden effort in communicating the core of his message to
mankind. The author inspired us to undertake a difficult task. We
have tried, in our own humble way, to convey his ideas to the
English reading public which needs a lucid and authentic
introduction to Islam, a polity that has been subjected to
deliberate distortion and misrepresentation.

This work could not have been completed without the help of Dr.
Zafar Ishaq Ansari, Director General, Islamic Research Institute,
International Islamic University, who gave us guidance,
cooperation and all possible secretarial assistance. We are indeed
grateful to him and his staff, particularly Mr. Amjad Mahmood, his
Private Secretary, who produced a number of typescripts