Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) integrated Arabia and transformed it into a world power of reform and liberation without assuming the reins of a dictator. His way of governance was based upon consultation. He secured loyalty and obedience by his personal charm and charisma. His power did not proceed from the sword. Today, we need to live the true spirit of Islam. If the Prophet’s teachings are implemented in the right earnest, then the world peace will cease to be an unreal idea.

Amin Valliani

...Holy Prophet’s spiritual message increases the radiance of the heart of the believer. Before the Prophet’s appearance in Arabian society, there were some who were engaged in looting the trade caravans, killing their newborn daughters and other unethical practices. But the Holy Prophet transformed their lives and made them into exemplary individuals. In this connection, the example of his companion Hazrat Abuzar Ghaffari can be cited.

Louay Fatoohi

Rejecting the love of the Prophet (ṣalla Allah ‘alaihi wa sallam): Celebrating birthdays is an established and well-known practice. People celebrate the birthdays of their sons, daughters, siblings, parents, friends, and indeed others they admire for one reason or another. Those who argue that they are uncompromisingly against marking any birthday still have other occasions to celebrate. …

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

There is none other than Abul Kalam Azad in the Indo Pak history who was par excellence in wisdom, erudition and clarity of thought. The nation aspire for such leaders and wait for centuries to have one like Abul Kalam Azad. He was an esteemed literary figure, poet, religious scholar and a unique statesman.

Hasher Nisar

Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub (c. 1138-1193), popularly known in the West as Saladin, is a rare figure in Middle Eastern history that earned the respect of Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike. He is primarily known for defeating the Crusaders at the Battle of Hattin and recapturing Jerusalem in 1187. Like anybody, he had flaws, but history upholds him as a paragon of chivalry, compassion, and generosity. ...

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

Through his fiery eloquence and revolutionary writings first in Al-Hilal and later in Al-Balagh in Calcutta during 1912 and 1916, Maulana Azad roused the Indians from their stupor and political apathy. Although he started his career as an aalim (religious leader), his faith in nationalism, as Mahatama Gandhi described it, was as robust as his faith in Islam.

India is a land of contradictions and nothing typifies this so starkly as the legend of Ghazi Miyan. There is a lot of talk of magical realism in literature but the legend of Ghazi Miyan introduces it in history – past as well as present......

Hazrat Inayat Khan

"What has brought you here?" said he, and Inayat replied: "I have heard that the home of Manek Prabhu is not only a religious temple but a centre of music also and as I have taken this tour to pay homage to the holy men living on the soil of India, I first chose to visit this place." "But I am very surprised that you have chosen our place, instead of choosing the place of some Muslim Saint," remarked the astonished youth. To this Inayat replied: "Muslim or Hindu is only outward distinctions, the Truth is one, God is one, and life is one. To me there is no such thing as two. Two is only one plus one."….

Qasim A. Moini

SO many centuries after Karbala, Imam Husain continues to inspire people across the world in many different ways. In fact, his magnetism seems to go beyond ritual and devotion; it speaks to the deepest parts of the human soul and tends to bring out the best in mankind.

Asif Merchant, New Age Islam

An example of his independent thinking is his theory of vision. The earlier greats like Pythagoras, Euclid, Ptolemy, etc. believed that some rays are emitted from the eye, which bounce back from the object into the eye, enabling a person to see the object. Al-Haytham rejected this and explained vision as due to rays of light being reflected from the object into the eye. His experiments in dissection enabled him to understand the structure of the eye, and were able to identify and name the lens, cornea and retina. This led him to correct defective vision by the use of eye glasses. The pin-hole camera, or camera obscurais also his invention. By this he was able to prove that light travels in straight lines…..

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan

Born on October 17th, 1817 Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, founder of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) was not just an ordinary educationist, historian, author and jurist but an extra-ordinary reformer, secular nationalist and one of the most important architects of modern India….

Dr. Mike Mohamed Ghouse

Dr. Ghouse is a proud, unapologetic Moderate Muslim and a passionate advocate of Pluralism in religion, society, politics, race, dining, clothing, dancing, sports and every aspect of life. He is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator who is considered an authority on Pluralism and Interfaith relations in America, and he offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. What is Pluralism? It is simply, he says, “respecting the otherness of others, and accepting the God-given uniqueness of each one of the 7 billion of us. When we do that, conflicts fade and solutions emerge.”....

Naseer Ahmed, New Age Islam

Where the practice of Jiziya can be faulted, is that it continued even after centuries of peace when it should have been abolished, after the state had introduced other taxes on land and produce and on commerce. Jiziya has no religious sanctity as proved by the fact that the Prophet himself did not implement it in the form it appears in 9:29. Verse 9:29 only proved to be an enabling mechanism for the Prophet to make the People of the Book in the territory in which he had become a political leader, agree to become willing subjects and pay tax for services rendered by the state. This was something he had failed to achieve as the political leader in Medina. ….

Asif Merchant, New Age Islam

When the Prophet began his Mission, in Mecca, he was bitterly opposed by the vested interests who realized that if he succeeded, their powers would be diminished. So powerful was their opposition that the Prophet had to leave Mecca and relocate himself in Medina, which was not so prosperous, and did not have a powerful aristocracy. The number of dedicated followers increased, and in time, the Meccans had to come to terms with him. At the time of his death, the Prophet had a considerable spiritual following, but, in addition, he also had considerable political power. Most of the Arabian sub-continent was under his rule. The tragedy is that none of his close companions were anywhere near his spiritual stature….

Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi

Maulana Rumi commented that whenever righteous people fall to the mercy of incompetent people, the latter try to convert them to their bad habits. If they refuse, they are subjected to ill treatment. And when the innocent weep, the angels collect their tears and rub them on their bodies and those tears become as valuable as the blood of a martyr.....

Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi

While the Masnavi contains old stories retold in a simple way, these have been illuminated with instructions and guidance. Here follows one such story: A companion of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) became seriously ill. The Prophet (pbuh) went to enquire after his health. He found him to be extremely sick and weak, almost dead. The Prophet (pbuh) showed great concern and affection, which made the patient relaxed and happy. He praised his sickness, saying that it was because of it that the Prophet (pbuh) had come to see him. ....

Bulleh Shah, a Muslim Sufi poet

Like other Indian and Iranian Sufis, Bulleh Shah too believed in the philosophy of Wahdat ul Wujud. Notwithstanding this, due to the influence of his mentor Shah Enayat, Bulleh did not believe this universe to be a whim or fancy (Maya). He believed that the world and all the phenomenon of this universe had a real existence. Though his philosophy is influenced by Vaishno Math, Nath Panth, Sikhism and Buddhism, as all these religious philosophies believe in the existence of one, formless God, he does not leave his Islamic foundation and remains a disciplined Sufi all his life…..

Renee Montagne

"Some soldiers were in tears, some shop owners were in tears. Some people were confused," Wasfi remembers. "I was connecting everything: death, spirits, bodies, life. People were supportive. They were appreciating the fact that someone can still at least lead their emotions and spirits towards something beautiful, to rise above the intimidation of improvised death....

Probably, Khushhal was the first poet in the Indian subcontinent to use the word Khudi in his poetry. Wali Dakani, the first Urdu poet with his collection of poetry used the word but in the context of Wahdatul Wujud and while speaking of annihilating the ego. Khushhal Khan was his predecessor. Khushhal Khan died in 1689 while Wali was born in 1667. Therefore, it can rightly be said that Khushhal Khan used the word Khudi in the 17th century in the same context Iqbal used it in the twentieth century….

Islam has replaced communism in the global political paradigm — terrifying, brutal, ruthless and alien. This image has been propagated by the state and media alike to the extent that the notion of a peace-loving Muslim has become oxymoronic, while peace-loving Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and Jews abound....

Pepe Escobar

It’s fascinating to watch the vast, well-rewarded western army of Saudi lobbyists/stenographers singing the praises of a “traditional and conservative institution”, a.k.a. the House of Saud, now embarking on a new, “assertive foreign policy.”As this concerns the ideological matrix of all Salafi-jihadi variations in the demented galaxy of Wahhabi extremism, I’d rather call it a Mob rule update.....

Yasmina Blackburn

Khadija, the mother of Islam, was the first person on earth to accept Muhammad as the final prophet of God and accept the revelations that culminated into the Holy Qur'an. She was greeted with "Salam" (peace) by God himself as well as the Angel Gabriel. She bequeathed her worldly goods and put herself in the face of danger to stand by the Prophet Muhammad as Islam became established in the land....

Ghualm Rasool Dehlvi, New Age Islam

Today radical Islamists and clerics of South Asia especially in Pakistan refer to Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi’s religious thoughts in an attempt to justify their intolerant ideology. Even in this day and age, Shaikh Sirhindi’s opposition to Akbar's policies which he declared inconsistent with Islamic Shariah, is used as a stimulus for radical and extremist movements of the sub-continent. Therefore, it would be quite interesting to objectively discuss the religious thoughts and reformation works of Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi who is viewed as an ‘Islamic reformist’ as well as a ‘Sufi’ among Muslims in Indo-Pak……

Naseer Ahmed, New Age Islam

Carefully consider the 12 translators who apparently think that the Prophet was fighting against “disbelief”. It includes scholars of every sect and some of them are major influencers such as Thanvi, Tahir ul Qadri and Raza Khan Barelvi. If according to them the Prophet was fighting against “disbelief”, then how can they or their followers refute the ideology of the “Jihadists”?  And how do they reconcile 2:256 “Let there be no compulsion in religion” and 109:6 “To you (peaceful Kafir) be your way and to me mine” with what they think the Prophet was fighting against? The fact is that the Prophet and Quran are far above what these people attribute to the Quran and the Prophet (pbuh)…..

Naseer Ahmed, New Age Islam

In the case of Prophet Yunus (pbuh), there was stiff opposition to begin with and Prophet Yunus left in anger without the permission from Allah for which he was punished. He returned to his people and everyone (some hundred thousand) believed....