Pickthall’s Islamic Politics 125
Pickthall endorsed this socio-political function of religion, but provided a
sense of the sacred absent in Saïd Halim’s writings. For example, in his reflec-
tion on the responsibilities of the head of state, Pickthall observed,
In relation to the people he is an absolute monarch, but in relation to the
Shari‘ah he is on a level with his poorest subject, he is merely a Muslim
among Muslims, looking forward to the Day of Judgement when he will
have to render an account of all his works.67The lecture “The City of Islam” listed twenty examples of the “basic principles
of the Shari‘ah” that would form a basis for the framing of new laws, encom-
passing civil and gender rights, public morality, military aspects and foreign
affairs. For those living in the charmed world of Hyderabad, a kingdom the
size of France, with its own currency and railway system, and a Muslim ruler
doing much for religious causes, the project of a society founded on Islamic
principles perhaps seemed within grasp. The Nizam himself would describe
his dominion as “the largest Islamic state”.68
Pickthall was directly responsible for bringing Halim Pasha to an Urdu-
reading public. The essay in the opening issue of Islamic Culture in January
1927, “The Reform of Muslim Society, by the late Prince Saïd Halim Pasha”, was
translated by the Darul Ta’leef wa Tarjuma and published in 1928 as “Khudah ki
badshahat” – the Kingdom of God, with a foreword by Pickthall.69 The transla-
tion to Urdu was undertaken by Syed Hashmi Fareedabadi, Pickthall’s “close
personal friend”.70 Iqbal – who was invited to deliver the Madras lectures after
Pickthall – referred to Saïd Halim Pasha in his famous epic poem in Persian,
Javid Nama published in 1932, though whether this was a result of Pickthall’s
earlier lecture is not known.
The press reportage and word-of-mouth communications of the time may
well have inspired other Muslim activists of the period to retain the vision of
an Islamic polity and Islamic state. For example, also associated with Darul
Ta’leef was Maulana Abu Muhammad Musleh, founder of the journal Tarjuman
67 Pickthall, Cultural Side of Islam, 133.
68 ior, R/1/1/2781; Political Resident to the Political Secretary, Government of India, 19
December 1935.
69 Islamic Culture, ii ( January 1928), 159–60. This was originally “Les Institutions politiques
dans la société musulman” – see Wasti, “Saïd Halim Pasha – Philosopher Prince”, 97. It is
likely that the translation from French to English was by Pickthall. The Islamic Culture’s
review commended the publication, “every educated Muslim ought to have a copy of it”.
70 Archives of the East London Mosque Trust (elmt), CR/0002; see letter from Pickthall to
A.S.M. Anik, 17 February 1931.