Islam A Comprehensive Introduction

Javed Ahmad Ghamidi (b. 1951) is a well-known Islamic scholar of Pakistan. He is the founder and the current president of al-Mawrid, A Foundation for Islamic Research and Education (www.al-mawrid.org). He is also the chief editor of the Urdu Monthly “Ishraq” (www.ghamidi.net) and the English Monthly “Renaissance” (www.monthly-renaissance.com). He has written and lectured widely on Islam. Besides making some original contributions to the Islamic thought, he has drawn heavily on the Qur’anic thought of his two illustrious predecessors, Hamid al-Din Farahi (1862-1930) and Amin Ahsan Islahi (1904-1997).

Islam: A Comprehensive Introduction (Urdu title: Mizan) is an extensive study of the contents of Islam by the author. It is an effort which spans almost two decades of both creative and critical thinking. The entire endeavour is a fresh interpretation of Islam from its original sources. In his own opinion, the reason that he has undertaken it is that interpretation of sacred texts is a human endeavour and since this can never remain fault free, the process should never discontinue. It is as a result of this principle that the author has continued to evaluate and re-evaluate even his own findings.