Moral and Spiritual Transformation in Islam, Muhammad Fazlur Rahman Ansari’ Lectures in South Africa

In the second volume of Dr Ansari Series, Moral and Spiritual Transformation in Islam (Muhammad Fazlur Rahman Ansari’s Lectures in South Africa: Reflections), Abdul Kader Choughley, an independent South African scholar, offers deeply original insights into the seminal lectures of Fazlur Rahman Ansari (1914-1974), one the brilliant South Asian Muslim scholars of the last century, delivered in various cities in South Africa during his visits in 1970 and 1972. Ansari’s South Africa lectures, though delivered over half a century ago, are both timely and timeless, as they offer us illuminating perspectives on crucially important Islamic topics such as the meaning of  Tawhīd (the principle of unity), the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) life and the meaning of his Sunnah, the true significance of Shari’ah, the meaning of Tasawwuf, the remembrance of God (Dhikr) and the role of women in Islam. In addition to these topics, the lectures also offer us Ansari’s analytical meditations on Islam’s relations with the West, Christianity, Communism, Capitalism and Secularism. As Muslim presence in the West and many other issues related to interfaith and cross-cultural relations are currently debated, very passionately, in today’s public space, Choughley’s analysis of Ansari’s lectures assumes a very special significance, contributing immensely to the better understanding of our pluralistic world.  Abdul Kader Choughley has contributed enormously to the revival of South Asian Muslim scholarship, during the past decade or so, with several valuable studies on Islam in South Asia, focusing on Islamic revivalism. And he deserves accolades for his insightful work, Fazlur Rahman Ansari Aligarh Years: 1933-1947 (Tawasul International Publishing, Rome, 2024), that focuses on Ansari’s formative years, especially his intellectual development as a student of philosophy at the Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India. One of Ansari’s works, Islam: An Introduction (2019), edited by Choughley, has been recently translated into Portuguese. An upcoming work, The Qur’ānic Revelation, is an overview of Dr Ansari’s comprehensive study in the genre of Quranic studies. Mr Choughley’s some other works include Islamic Resurgence: Sayyid Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi and His Contemporaries (2011), Sayyid Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi: Life and Legacy (Rome, 2024), Abdul Aleem Siddiqui and His Mission (2013) and the edited version of Sayyid Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi’s two classics: Rise and Fall of Muslims and Its Impact on the World and Towards Salvaging Humanity (Rome, 2024).