What is happening in Islam is of concern to more than Muslims. The Qur’an is the prime possession of Muslims: how then, are they reading and understanding their sacred Book today? This volume, originally published in 1985, examines eight writers from India, Egypt, Iran and Senegal. Their way with the Qur’an indicates how some in Islam respond to the pressures in life and thought, associated in the West with thinkers such as Kierkegaard, Marx, Camus, Kafka, Jung, Fanon and De Chardin.

In this book, author Hayat Alvi’s purpose and focus are to illustrate the legal basis for Islamic nonviolent activism, as Maulana Abul Kalam Azad promoted and exemplified. Maulana Azad’s endorsement of nonviolent civil disobedience as a means to expel British colonial rule from India poses a strong counterargument against Islamist extremism, and a legal precedent for nonviolent activism in Islam. Millions of Indian Muslims participated under Maulana Azad and Mahatma Gandhi’s leadership in nonviolent civil disobedience against the British Raj. These facts indicate that there is such a thing as nonviolent activism in Islam. Abul Kalam Azad introduced “nonviolent Jihad” in the form of civil disobedience. As a legitimate religious authority, trained as an Islamic jurist and scholar, he endorsed Mahatma Gandhi’s nonviolent civil disobedience and activism to free India from British colonial rule. A highly respected Islamic scholar and jurist, Maulana Azad’s endorsement of nonviolent civil disobedience provides the legal precedent for nonviolent activism in Islam. Contemporary Muslim leaders and activists can learn lessons from Maulana Azad’s example, and as Alvi’s thoroughly researched book shows, can be an argument against blind dogma, extremism, and militancy in the modern era.

The object of the series is to record for the present and future generations, the story of the struggle and achievements of the eminent sons and daughters of India, who have been mainly instrumental in our national renaissance and the attainment of independence. This book tells life-history of Maulana Abu'l Kalam Azad who was a man of great learning, who had mastered the old classics and yet was blessed with modern scienfic temper. Himself s prolific writer, Azad has been written upon extensively, both in India and abroad.