The Truth about the Alleged Punishment for Apostasy in Islam — Page 22
22 Muslims. They have neither adopted the truth after recognizing it as the truth, nor have they abandoned false doctrines as a result of recognizing those to be false. After placing the reigns of power in the hands of such people, if someone entertains the hope that the caravan will traverse on the path of Islam then the naivety of his perception should be commendable. " 11 What happened in 1974 and consequently what definition was adopted then was in fact made possible only because the reigns of Islam were given in the hands of the people described above by Maud u d i Sahib. But one might interpret the above excerpt in a different way and say that Maududi Sahib was only expressing the opinion that if common people alone made any decision by consensus, then it would not carry any weight; and perhaps Maud u d i Sahib had it in mind that it was the prerogative of the leading ulema of high rank to pass judgement on such important matters, because—on account of their possessing Islamic perception and because of their understanding of Islam—their judgment on such matters has authenticity. Moreover, since ulema of this calibre 11 Musalm a n aur Mauj u dah Siy a s i Kashmakash [Muslims and the Contemporary Political Strife], vol. 3, Page 130, Published by, Maktaba Jam a ‘ati Islam i , Darul Islam, Jam a lpur, Pathankot (India). [Publisher]