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Leadership

jui founder

Founder of Jamaat-e-Islami
Syed Abul Ala Maududi
(1903-1979)

Birth & Family

Syed Abul A‘la Maududi was born in 1903 (1321 AH) in Aurangabad, Deccan. He belonged to a noble Sayyid family originally settled near Herat in a place called Chisht. One of his famous ancestors was Khwaja Qutbuddin Maudood Chishti, the spiritual mentor of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Ajmeri. The family name “Maududi” is derived from Khwaja Maudood Chishti.

Maududi was raised in a deeply religious household. Both his parents led pious lives, and his father personally supervised his religious and moral training. He was educated at home in Urdu, Persian, Arabic, as well as in Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and Hadith, under private tutors.

Early Upbringing

His father avoided sending him to formal schools, preferring private education to protect him from harmful influences. His father would often narrate prophetic stories and historical Islamic events at night, fostering values of righteousness, sacrifice, and Islamic pride.

Formal Education

At age 11, Maududi was admitted directly into the eighth grade of Madrasa Furqania, Aurangabad. Though the youngest in his class, he was far ahead in knowledge. He later joined Darul Uloom Hyderabad under the presidency of Maulana Hamiduddin Farahi, but his education was interrupted due to his father’s stroke and eventual passing.

Livelihood

After his father’s death, financial hardship forced Maududi to seek a livelihood. With a God-given talent for writing, he chose journalism as a career. He worked as editor for several newspapers, including Medina (Bijnor), Taj (Jabalpur), and Al-Jam’iyyat (Delhi). Though invited by Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar to join Hamdard, he stayed with Al-Jam’iyyat due to longstanding relations, until political differences made him leave.

Journalism & Early Ideology

Deeply affected by British colonialism and the plight of Indian Muslims, Maududi wrote powerful pieces highlighting Muslim weaknesses and offering practical guidance for reform. He studied modern sciences and classical Islamic disciplines including Tafsir, Hadith, and philosophy.

First Major Book: "Al-Jihad fi al-Islam"

During rising attacks on Islam due to the Shuddhi movement, Maududi wrote his first landmark book Al-Jihad fi al-Islam at age 24, in defense of the Islamic concept of jihad. Allama Iqbal praised it as the best work on Islamic war and peace laws.

Commitment to Reform

Maududi relocated to Hyderabad Deccan and began publishing the journal Tarjuman al-Qur’an in 1932 to counter Western influences and reawaken Islamic thought. He argued Islam is a complete code of life and began systematically working to revive Islamic values.

His influential books like Parda, Tanqeehat, and Tafheemaat played a key role in breaking Western influence on the Muslim mindset and laying the foundation for Jamaat-e-Islami.