Tolu-e-Islam (organisation)

Tolu-e-Islam ( ), also known as Bazm-e-Tolu-e-Islam, is a branch of Quranism .¹ Muslims who follow this branch believes that Quran is reflected in natural laws and only agnostic rationalism must be the primary source of guidance for the mankind and deny the authority of the hadiths . Tolu-e-Islam ("Resurgence of Islam") is a non-profit organization based in Pakistan. The movement was initiated by one of the most influential philosophers in Islamic history, Muhammad Iqbal , and later spearheaded by Ghulam Ahmed Pervez . The fundamental aim of Iqbal's thesis was to initiate the full-implementation of Quranic Law, interpreted inline with the Western rational philosophy and the naturalist scientific approach, divorcing it from the orthodox Islamic religious dogma. Iqbal argued that Islam can not be complete without a state, and within such a state, no man has the right to rule, as the Quran is the only source of Law. Iqbal (and later Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Ghulam Ahmed Pervez ) argued that this concept is the essence of "Taqwa", which is the basic premise of Islam. Their argument states that bringing faith on God implies submitting to a state governed by Quranic laws and therefore all other sources of authority are logically invalid and empirically destructive. Hence, Iqbal argued that the Muslims of South Asia required an independent state (at the time Iqbal was referring to a provincial State within a Federated India) to be able to truly practice Islam, where the Quran could be implemented in its entirety. This was the vision, carried forward by Jinnah, that ultimately led to the creation of a separate homeland for South Asian Muslims which became Pakistan, once it was clear that Congress would not allow such independence within a Federated India. That original vision is yet to be realized, as the laws of Pakistan have not been harmonized with the Quran (remaining a mix of secular and clergy controlled fiqh based rulings). In his writings and speeches Ghulam Ahmed Pervez , who succeeded Iqbal as Tolu-e-Islam's lead scholar, has deductively analyzed Quranic verses with little or no emphasis on hadith. He also provided a new commentary on the Quran based on a re-translation of key verses, based on applying proper rules of classical Arabic and its conventions, which have been overlooked by the mainstream sects. As well as releasing a Quranic Dictionary (Lughat-ul-Quran) which properly translated many of the key words used in the Quran, many of which have been mistranslated in standard translations and commentaries. Tolu-e-Islam followers do not reject all hadiths; however, they only accept hadiths which "are in accordance with the Quran or do not stain the character of the Prophet or his companions". The organization publishes and distributes books, pamphlets, and recordings of Pervez's teachings. There are multiple projects currently underway to translate books and audio lectures from Urdu to English, and release them for free online on their website. The organization is loosely controlled, although it publishes books, pamphlets, recordings of Pervez's speeches, and since 1935, a magazine, Tolu-e-Islam . The current chairman of Idara Tolu-e-Islam is Dr. Bazm-e-Tolu-e-Islam is working to bring a Qurani soft revolution. Bazm has branches in all the major cities of Pakistan and uses their offices to deliver lectures and promote discussion. The leading Pakistani religious party, Jamaat-e-Islami accuses Tolu-e-Islam of serving Western interests by distorting the true and simple message of Islam. Ghulam Pervez worked closely with Mohammad Ali Jinnah (Qauid-e-Azam) for 10 years before Pakistan became an independent country, and was one of the few people who could have a face to face interaction with Mr. Jinnah without a prior appointment. He was also one of the only prominent Pakistani scholars who argued with the government of Pakistan not to accept Objectives Resolution as part of the constitution, because he feared that this step would ultimately lead to sectarian violence and bloodshed in the country and would not let Pakistan become a progressive state. Pervez's best known works include Lughaat-ul-Quran (Quranic Dictionary with Arabic references from oldest research), Mafhoom-ul-Quran, Tabweeb-ul-Quran, and many research papers.²