Reviewed by M. Marmaduke Pickthall:
Probably no man living has done longer or more valuable service for the cause of Islamic Revival than Maulana Muḥammad Ali of Lahore. His literary works, with those of the late Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din have given fame and distinction to the Ahmadiyya movement. In our opinion the present volume is his finest work. It is a description of Al-Islam by one well-versed in the Sunnah who has on his mind the shame of the Muslim decadence of the past five centuries and in his heart the hope of the revival, of which signs can now be seen on every side. Without moving a hair’s breadth from the traditional position with regard to worship and religious duties, the author shows a wide field in which changes are lawful and may be desirable because here the rules and practice are not based on an ordinance of the Qur’ān or on an edict of the Prophet (peace be on him), and should be altered when they cease to meet the needs of the community. Such a book is greatly needed at the present day when in many Muslim countries we see persons eager for the reformation and revival of Islām, making mistakes through lack of just this knowledge.
The work is well-printed and handsomely got up, a credit to the Lahore publishers.
We recommend it as a stimulus to Islamic thought. To use an old-fashioned word it is an edifying book.
The name of Maulana Muḥammad Ali is well known to the English-speaking world of religion and even beyond. His English Translation of the Holy Qur’ān with commentary was the first translation of the Holy Book in a European language by a Muslim. Since then he has been incessantly wielding his pen in expounding the religion of Islām for the benefit of the modern world of science and reasoning.