Sample Article Review On A Reflection Paper On Maududi’s Political Theory Of Islam

Maududi’s Political Theory of Islam is based on the assumption that men are evil and the only way to attain peace is to submit men to one god, which is Allah, therefore creating a country following the rules of one God as an Islamic state.
The article used historical data from the Holy Quran to prove the point that disparity originated from the evil ways of men dominating over other men. Maududi explained how the prophets back then like Noah and Moses warned the people not to worship pagan gods, priests, statues, deities, nature, idols, pharaohs and kings, but rather worship the one true God which is Allah. Man is only his ‘abd’ or his slave so therefore, all men were created equal and no man should rule over the other. He further explained that the history in the Holy Quran correlates with our World history stating that countries have been built, destroyed and rebuilt by dominating political parties, rulers or rich magnates who think they are gods. He further stated that this mentality is the cause of huge inequality, classes, wars and conflicts. The only solution that Maududi posed is to establish an Islamic State ruled by one God which is Allah.
The article opened my eyes to see Islam in a new point of view. Being propagandized by popular media as a warmongering religion or a terrorist religion, I have little knowledge of the subject matter. But after reading the article, the system proposed by Maududi seems like what everybody wants – peace.
However, one thing that kept me thinking was the fact that, in the excerpts of the principles of political theory included in the article, the third one indicates that “God is the true law-giver” and the law will be implemented through His prophets – which by the way are people. How can God execute the law without using humans? Humans that are bound to turn evil and use God- given powers to dominate other men. Unless God personally do his job to execute his own laws, as the executive, then, there could really be a true religious state. Maybe other chapters of Maudadi’s book might be able to explain the intricacies of building a religious government. It would be interesting to know about it.

Works Cited

Sayyid [Syed] Abul A’la Maududi. Political Theory of Islam. Lahore: Islamic Publications Limited, 1976, pp. 4-22.