Socio-Economic Rulings in the Context of Selected Urdū Interpretations

سماجی ومعاشی احکام منتخب اردو تفاسیر کے تناظر میں

Abstract

The Holy Qur'an is in the ‘Arabī language, and the Prophet's language was also ‘Arabī. When the borders of Islām spread far and wide and non-‘Arab and non-Muslim entered the religion of Islām, they inevitably needed the interpretation, translation, and meaning of the Qur’ān. Translations and interpretations can be written in the same language for the people of our language. In the Hind-Pāk subcontinent, with the help of the Ṣūfī scholars and their preaching, the inhabitants of this place entered Islām. Urdū became the most spoken and developed language of the Hind-Pāk subcontinent as it progressed. Since the majority of Muslim population here needed to understand their religion Islām, there was a dire need for translations and interpretations of the Qur’ān in their own language.

In view of the socio-economic importance, expert Urdū commentators, keeping in mind the social and economic aspects, highlighted in their interpretations the issues that improve the society morally. They presented the rules and regulations of the economy in relation to tijārat (commercial Islāmī affairs) and zarā‘at (agricultural transactions) in their interpretations in Urdū. Among them, Maulānā Sayyid Abū al-A‘lā Maudūdī, a renowned commentator of the modern era, influenced the minds of the new generation. After him, the most famous commentator of the present age, whose tafsīr has been widely accepted, is Pīr Karam Shāh Aẓharī. He explained the interpretation of Qur’ānic verses from a social and economic perspective. After him, Maulānā Amīn Aḥsan Iṣlāḥī, another distinguished mufassir, further elaborated on the socio-economic aspects of society, making significant contributions to tafsīr literature.