Murder in the Name of Allah — Page 25
A Rebuttal of Maududian Philosophy. To suggest that these fierce and warlike people - who would sound the battle cry at the drop of a hat - could have been converted by force is to contradict history. Moreover, it demeans the faith of those pioneers who put their lives at stake to defend Islam at the battle of Badr. . Usayd b. Hudayr, Sad b. Khaythamah, Asd b. Zurahah, Abdullah b. . Rawahah, Sad b. Ubadah, Mundhirb. Amir, Bara b. Marur, Ubadah b. as-Sami, Rafi b. Malik and many other Helpers travelled all the way from. Medina to Mecca to embrace Islam. Even to hint that the sword played a part in their conversion is also to deny historical fact. . While in Christian history it is religion which converts swords into ploughshares, Maulana Maududi's interpretation of Islamic history asks us to believe it is the sword which prepares the soil of the soul to receive religion's seed. 10 Was it the Holy Prophet's sword or a few verses of the. Holy Quran which turned Umar b. Khattab - a sworn enemy of Islam into Islam's devoted servant?. In the early days of the Prophet's persecution, Umar, a headstrong young man of 26, decided to kill the Prophets, thus wiping out the main cause of division among the Quraysh. On his way to the Prophet's sa house, he met Nuaim b. Abdullah, who sensed his evil intentions and said: 'O Umar! Go back to the people of thy house! Thy sister, Fatima, and thy brother-in-law, Saeed, have embraced the religion of Muhammad. ' And, without a single word, Umar went straight to his sister's house, where a Companion, Khabbab, was reciting the opening verses of the Surah, Ta-Ha (XX). As soon as Umar went in, Khabbab hid in a corner and Fatima hid the pages of the Quran in her clothing. But Umar had overheard Khabbab's recital and attacked both Saeed and Fatima. . When Fatima was covered in blood, he softened and asked to see the verses. He read them and exclaimed: 'How beautiful and how noble these words are!' And he went straight to Arqam's house, where the Prophetsa was sitting with his Companions. He cried out: 'O Messenger of Allah!. I have come to thee that I may declare my faith in Allah and His. Messenger and in what he hath brought from Allah. '. Why is Maulana Maududi so determined to paint a violent picture of. Islam? Why are there contradictions in his theory of jihad? A glance at the Maulana's background and the conditions under which he wrote his book, Al-Jihad fil Islam, can help us answer these questions. . Syed Abul Ala-Maududi spent his childhood and early youth in. Hyderabad (Deccan) where the Nizam still ruled in the style of the great. Mughal and where his Hindu prime minister sang the praises of the Holy 25