After that, I received a letter dated January 17, 1963, from the respected Maulana’s personal aide, Mr. Ghulam Ali, in which—while referring to the articles already received—he requested that I send the remaining parts of my writing as well, “so that all the articles may be before us at the same time. Then, Insha’Allah, the Maulana will share his thoughts on them.”

In response, I wrote:

Azamgarh, January 30, 1963

Respected Maulana Syed Abul Ala Maududi,

Greetings of peace,

I received your kind letter dated January 17. The articles I sent you include three papers with the following titles:

1.        Interpretation of the Islamic Mission

2.        Commentary on Quran Ki Chaar Buniyadi Istlahein

3.        The Correct Understanding of Religion

In these three articles, I have shared my thoughts both positively and negatively from a theoretical perspective, and these form the basis of my intellectual concerns. Besides these, I have also discussed the ‘Outcomes’—that is, in my view, the errors in interpreting religion have led to certain practical consequences that could be expected from this mindset. However, these results are not the core of my concern. Even if they are accepted as facts, they carry weight only when the underlying way of thinking is first shown to be mistaken. Otherwise, they could result from other causes and would be addressed differently.

Additionally, this piece regarding ‘Outcomes’ was primarily written with the individuals in India in mind. For these reasons, I do not find it necessary to send the remaining part of my writing to you currently. For now, please respond to my concerns from a theoretical perspective. After that, we can proceed as needed. ^[1]

This is my view, but if you insist, I have no objection to sending the remaining parts.

Sincerely,

Wahiduddin