in size but large in content book Inter-Personal Relations is a pioneering effort in spelling out the foundation as well as the rules of conduct to build a society that approximates towards this ideal. Francis Bacon in his beautiful essay “Of Studies” says: “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.” I have no reservation in saying that Inter-Personal Relations is a book that deserved to be “chewed and digested”, to become a part of one’s being, and an aspect of one’s very identity. Whoever could imbibe its message and spirit would become a better Muslim and a better human being. That is the recipe for making a better society and a better humanity.
This book has a history behind it. It brings me back to our student days when in the Islāmī Jamī‘at-e-Ṭalabah Pakistan we, a group of youth dreaming of a glorious Islamic future, were trying to develop an elaborate training programme for ourselves and our colleagues. It was in the pursuit of this objective that brother Khurram whose devotion to the Qur’ān and Sunnah was the greatest in our group, was requested to develop course material for interpersonal relationships in an Islamic Movement. We tried to avail ourselves of all available sources, particularly the writings of Mawlānā Sayyid Abul A‘lā Mawdūdī, Mawlānā Amīn Aḥsan Iṣlāhī, Mawlānā Abul Ḥasan ‘Alī Nadvī along with the works of Imam Ḥasan al-Bannā Shahīd, Br. Sa‘id Ramādān and material used in Nizām al‘Usr. This blue-print was developed in 1953-55 and introduced in our training programme. It was a tremendous success. Br. Khurram was asked to write down the lectures he gave and this became part of our training manual. For wider benefit we thought to publish it in book-form and sent the manuscript to Mawlānā Mawdūdī, lest the young scholar might have missed some aspects or erred somewhere. We were waiting for a response when Khurram and all of us were wonder-struck to see that Mawlānā Mawdūdī had decided to print the manuscript in Tarjumān al-Qur’ān, his monthly magazine – an honour and recognition no one had ever dreamt. This is how this book was developed and saw the light of the day. Since then it has been published dozens of times and now al-hamdulillah its English translation is appearing almost fifty years after it was written. It is the truth of its content that makes the book as fresh as tomorrow morning. I had the honour of writing the Foreword to its publication in 1958. Br. Khurram is not with us now; but his love, his remembrances, and his words are the prize of one being even today. I regard myself lucky to contribute this Foreword which also assimilates most of what I wrote fifty years back.
History bears testimony to the fact that Allah’s Messengers have reorganised human society afresh on the basis of eternal values of goodness, virtue and justice. They invited mankind to the perennial teachings emanating from the Divine Call and organised those who responded positively to that call under a new, unifying banner. Those who had once been divided into groups, tribes and other partisan camps and who were after each other’s blood, life and honour, turned into the best and most trusted of friends, thanks to that unifying message. Their union culminated in the emergence of a new, powerful community, whose members, men and women, were kind and affectionate towards each other. They created history afresh and laid the foundation for a new civilisation. The Qur’ān underscores this truth in its characteristically beautiful style: “And remember with gratitude Allah’s favour unto you; for you were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His grace you became brethren; and you were on the brink of the pit of fire, and He saved you from it.” (Āl-‘Imrān 3:103) The Messengers of Allah also exhorted their followers: “And hold fast, all together, by the rope which Allah (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves.” (Āl-‘Imrān 3:103) The real and lasting unifying force is holding to the rope of Allah, the Creator, and keeping up the covenant with Him.
This ideal of collective life in Islam is not merely some outward manifestation of unity. It seeks to weld the hearts of believers into unison. Islam transcends any legalistic notion of unity. The fact is that it infuses unity and fraternity into the very fabric of all believers. For it places a premium on the unity of faith and ideology, of sharing values and vision of man, society and destiny. It unites believers on the plank of their aspirations, their objectives and their innermost feelings and emotions. Of course, it unites them outwardly as well. However, more importantly, it unites them intrinsically as part of a single, unified community and fraternity. It goes without saying that real unity can be achieved only if people are united both outwardly and inwardly. Any artificial device cannot hold people together for long. For hearts reeking with hostility and rancour cannot come close. Symbolic gestures of unity cannot produce any genuine cohesion or singleness of purpose. Rather, a coalition prompted by selfish ends ultimately leads to chaos and disintegration. Legal ties alone cannot ensure genuine, abiding companionship. This explains why Islam bases the collective life of believers on the principles of faith, love and self-sacrifice. Relations based on these values have a rock-solid foundation, capable of weathering all storms.
Thus, society established on these ideals promotes mutual cooperation as against a life of social conflict and survival of the fittest. Every member of society helps and assists others. No one is allowed to fend for himself as is the case in a society based on the premise of “each one for himself and the devil takes the hindmost.” On the contrary, a vision of a society based on Islamic values is characterised by a commonality of interest and mutual help, support and succour for one another. Those lagging behind are encouraged to move forward. It trains the members of such a community to face problems together.
It is imperative for believers to assimilate thoroughly these fundamental values and principles, which lie at the core of social relations in Islam. Indeed, they should utilise their energies for strengthening such cordial relations.
As I have explained earlier, our very dear and respectable colleague and brother, Khurram Murad, has written this treatise so as to meet this basic requirement for those particularly associated with the Islamic movement. Notwithstanding his thorough grounding in Western education, Khurram Murad holds the enviable distinction of possessing ample Islamic religious knowledge and deep communion with the ethos of the Qur’ān. His work is permeated with this blend of the traditional and the modern, both in its thought content and style of presentation.
The main issues under discussion in this work have the following three dimensions.
i. Islam aims at inculcating certain qualities in the character and conduct of believers with a view to constructing Islamic society, community and polity. As such a true understanding of the message of Islam demands a clear exposition of these essential values so as to have a true vision of the Islamic model-individual life as well as cohesion of society.
ii. It is a natural corollary of the objectives detailed above that there should also be a clear appreciation of those weaknesses and failings that weaken the foundation of an Islamic society, of course with a view to avoiding them.
iii. It is also a requisite of mankind’s development of such a society that is charged with protecting it from negative forces which generates the character traits that they should also be identified and prevented so as to strengthen its foundation.
The learned author has brought out in full these dimensions. We are sure, if those associated with Islamic movement study this work attentively and endeavour to assimilate the desired qualities, both individually and collectively, their lives would be filled with bliss and contentment. This would also make their social life a perfection of love, mutual support and solidarity. This will enable all of them to taste the true flavour of faith and brotherhood, that makes life meaningful and worthy of divine blessings and grace.
Let me also clarify for the benefit of readers that all the qualities identified in this book cannot be gained by them overnight. Instead, we should first grasp the overall scheme of building excellent conduct and then seek to develop these qualities step by step. It is only through sustained efforts that this vision of life can be translated into reality.
It is reported that it took ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar almost eight years to study Sūrah al-Baqarah, the second Sūrah of
