In the name of God the Merciful, the Almighty



Abul A'la Mawdudi

Understanding Islam



AUTHOR'S PREFACE



UNDERSTANDING ISLAM is the French version of my book urdu

Risala-i-dîniyât, originally drafted in 1932, but has been well

revised for this translation. Urdu, it was Mr. Khurshid

Ahmad that made in English, and his work has undergone several

editions, entitled Towards Understanding Islam. The version

French is based on the English translation, but I hope

despite the second-hand work, the original thought will not

betrayed.

My purpose in preparing this little book was to provide to everyone,

Muslims or non-Muslims, who wish to know the real

Islam but do not have access to basic sources of

Islam in Arabic, a brief but clear statement of all of Islam.

That is why I have avoided discussing the minutiae, and I wanted

paint a complete picture of Islam's perspective

modern. Also, I have not limited myself to expose what we,

Muslims believe and what we want, but I tried

also to explain briefly the intellectual bases and

our spiritual beliefs. Similarly, I not only

presented the cultural patterns and the general lines of the

Islamic conception of life, but I have seen fit to take

consider the rational aspect. I hope that this manual will

largely satisfy the needs of youth

Muslim of our time, and also help non-Muslims

understand the Islamic faith and religion.

Abul A'la Mawdudi

Lahore, January 1973