Mawlana Thanawi and Politics

Mawlana Thanawi was not a politician, Mufti Muhammad Taqi ‘Uthmani explains, “nor was politics his subject of interest” (Hakim al-Ummat ke siyasi afkar 22). However, Islam is a lifestyle that encompasses all human activities and provides clear and complete guidelines for all aspects of life. Thus, at appropriate places in his speeches and writings, Mawlana Thanawi does comment on politics and provides his useful explanation in that field. While battling secularism, many contemporary Muslims perceived Islam as a branch of government and politics. Mawlana Thanawi proved, mainly using Qur’anic verses, that political rule is only a means of instituting Islam in our lives and not the purpose of life itself. All modern political notions in contradiction with the Qur’an and Hadith would have to be forsaken, and the pure, untainted political thought reflected in the Qur’an and Hadith should guide the Muslims in organizing and structuring their governments (see Hakim al-Ummat ke siyasi afkar).