Islamic Society
“If you observe fasting, then it should be that you are fasting from
hearing and seeing evils and telling lies, besides not doing any harm to your
servant. As for fasting, it has some manners, respect and dignity, and that
should be adhered to and maintained while staying away from everything that
comes in the purview of falsehood.”...
Fasting has been a tradition of prophets and mystics, holding timeless
wisdom. Rumi writes, “Hunger is God’s food for which he quickens the bodies of
the upright.” Shaqiq Balkhi, a ninth century mystic, taught that 40 days of
constant hunger could transform the darkness of the heart into light. Sahl
Tustari, another early mystic, fasted perpetually and earned the title of
Shaykh ul Arifin, master of the knowers. He said, “Hunger is God’s secret on
the earth.” Ramzan is an extraordinary time to cleanse one’s heart of spiritual
maladies and to get closer to God.....
From Iraq and Syria to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Muslims are being
killed at the hands of lunatics who call themselves Muslims. These terror
attacks in Europe, in Iraq and Afghanistan ostensibly carried out by an
extremist fringe bring nothing but shame to the believers and help the agenda
of their enemies. While we enjoy the blessings of the holy month in the
comforting safety of our homes with our families and look forward to Eid, there
are thousands for whom life is a daily struggle....
Why does Saudi Arabia mean so much to us, when we mean so little to
them? What would it take for Saudi Arabia to reciprocate the support and
respect we’ve been granting it unconditionally, for many generations? How long
would it take for the Muslim world to address the elephant in the room, and
acknowledge this great betrayal...
Saudi Arabia has been working for decades to pull Indonesia away from
moderate Islam and toward the austere Wahhabi form that is state religion in
Saudi Arabia. The Saudis’ campaign has been patient, multi-faceted, and
lavishly financed. It mirrors others they have waged in Muslim countries across
Asia and Africa....
Wahhabi Movement was a 17th century reform movement that began in
Persia with a view to see the basic tenets of Islam were followed strictly and
with sincerity. The movement was started by one Wahhab in the 18th century and
therefore it was named after him. Wahhabi movement was popularised in India by
the Islamic religious leader, Shah Waliullah....
Such a mass movement must originate from the most prestigious centres
of Sunni and Shia Islam, such as the holy cities of Mecca and Medina and
Karbala, and from intellectual centres such as the Al-Azhar in Egypt. Every
available media device and pulpits in the mosques must be used to send the
message of disapproval in the most unambiguous language.....
Some Saudis still can’t stand it. Cinemas and concerts are “a
depravity”, said the kingdom’s grand mufti, Abdulaziz al-Sheikh, in January.
But what really set off the conservatives was a Comic-Con event in Jeddah a
month later. Young geeks dressed up as comic-book superheroes, boys and girls
mingled and some even danced together. Imams accused the attendees of idolatry
and debauchery....
All the important stations
of spiritual path including Tauba, Wara', Zuhd, Faqr, Sabr, Tawakkul, and Riza,
of which Sufis are said to be specialists, are necessarily to be tasted by a
pilgrim – they constitute God’s offer/ choicest dishes to his guests in special
five days of Zilhajj. A pilgrim is required to journey within to the sanctum
sanctorum (heart) – and a thorough knowledge of symbolism of rites and sites in
hajj is important here. Pilgrimage is a marriage that is to be consummated in
new birth....
Zaigham Khan
Zaigham Khan
The website of Darul Uloom Haqqania states five objectives of the
institution. While its first objective is to produce religious scholars, its
second stated goal is to produce “men of action who can wage jihad against infidels
for greatness of the word of God”. The fifth is to produce “such political
activists/politicians who could confront oppressive rulers and save the nation
from slavery of Jews and Christians.”...
The Prophet said, “Verily, the bankrupt of my
nation are those who come on the Day of Resurrection with prayers, fasting, and
charity, but also with insults, slander, consuming wealth, shedding blood, and beating
others. The oppressed will each be given from his good deeds. If his good deeds
run out before justice is fulfilled, then their sins will be cast upon him and
he will be thrown into the Hellfire.”…
Before his Prophethood, Muhammad
used to spend the entirety of the sacred month of Ramadan in solitude,
at Cave Hira, escaping the corruption of the mercantile class in Makkah while
contemplating Divine Truth. Today, when Muslims observe Ramadan, we echo our
Prophet's solitude, fasting by day and praying at night, yet we do not fully
seclude ourselves from the secular. We
have to balance our quotidian tasks without allowing our conscience to be
sullied by the dross of materialism….
Fasting may sound strenuous, and it is, but it’s also an act of
devotion during a month filled with immense joy, culminating in the feasts of
Eid al-Fitr. There’s an emphasis on community and charity, self-reflection and
kindness. The absence of food can deepen its meaning: After pushing through
long stretches of hunger and thirst, there is a heightened sense of gratitude
and delight that comes with breaking the fast while surrounded by family and
friends....
Dear diary,
this afternoon at university an acquaintance approached me and said: 'I want to
have a debate with you. I heard you're an atheist.' It was an expression of
disbelief, as if to ask: 'How do you function?' She wanted to know where I get
my morals from. For her, morality comes from religion and without faith you
can't be expected to have morals. Later that afternoon I text all my friends.
'Stop telling people I'm an atheist. I don't want to die.' I must learn that
discretion is a good thing."....
The fatwa, whose contents are though not new to the scholars of the
field, has nine points which can be summarized as follows: a) there is no room
for religious extremism and terrorism in the name of Islam, b) those who commit
(suicide) terrorism are rebels, c) Fasad-fil-Ard (persecution) is un-Islamic
and the Islamic state (of Pakistan) has the right to curb it with military
means, d) only the Islamic state (of Pakistan) has the constitutional
prerogative to enact Islamic injunctions, and not any (armed) individual or
group....
In the age of Isis, we should remember Nasr Abu Zeid. He was a hero of
his time, who would, had he lived – now that the Salafist cult has been let
loose in the Europe of his exile as well as the Egypt that was his home – have
long ago been murdered. Before I telephoned him for the first time in Cairo, I
wondered if he’d be still alive to talk to me by the time I reached his
home.....
The centuries-old Dars-e-Nizami curriculum taught at religious madrasa
originally comprised both religious and non-religious subjects such as
philosophy, geography, mathematics, and astronomy etc. Resultantly, in their
more than 15-years of education, the graduate of these Madaris (religious
scholar) acquired a more holistic view about the world around them with
reasonable critical thinking skills....
Shantanu Mukharji
Shantanu Mukharji
Against this backdrop, fresh Saudi plans to inject 1 billion US dollars
worth monetary help to construct mosques do not surprise Saudi watchers but its
imperative for the right thinking forces to alert the world against the perils
of fanning Wahhabism which poses a threat to the remaining peace loving Islamic
nations.....
Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam and marks the month that
the Quran was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammed. For many Muslims it means
a month of fasting from sunrise to sunset, forgoing food and water, smoking and
sexual activity during daylight. When fasting, Muslims will have one meal
before sunrise, called Suhoor, and share another meal with friends and family
after sunset, called Iftar.....
While a tiny minority perpetrates these heinous acts, it is the
narrative stoked by a sizable mass of Muslims that pushes those at the cusp to
engage in the unthinkable. Even a scholar who rejects mob lynching and capital
punishment leaves "room for lighter sentences." This narrative
affects not just atheists but also progressive believers with viewpoints
disdained by the mob majority....
We are often times told that it is not the quantity but the quality of
our worship that matters. So if you are able to memorize one ayah in a day (and
are able to fully understand its meaning and context), then maybe in some ways
you are better off than the individual who can memorize ten Ayaat in a day
without understanding what (s)he has memorized. The same principle of quality
over quantity can be applied to other things like Salat (prayer), Sawm
(fasting), and Sadaqah (charity)....
Unquestionably,
today's Ulema and Islamic theologians find themselves incapable to provide
incisive guidance in modern societies, because their medieval interpretations
of the Islamic theology are patently out of date. Without understanding how
history changes society and persons, how can the Ulema be the thought leaders
in their community?....
Mushtaq ul Haq Ahmad Sikander, New Age Islam
Mushtaq ul Haq Ahmad Sikander, New Age Islam
The more we try to deny the reality of extra marital affairs, the more
its vicissitudes are going to haunt us. Love if not present in the marriage
will be sought after, outside its ambit despite the challenge of the society to
call it illegal, immoral or licentious. Love, care, respect are the founding
blocks of any relationship and for marriage if one of these is missing the
relationship drags on without being a source of solace for both parties. The
boundaries of caste, colour, religion, region and status need to be cut loose
and love needs to be made a priority while consummating a marriage. ....
The ‘Political Islam’ movement spearheaded by Maududi and people like
Syed Qutb has culminated in the form of the barbaric ‘Islamic State’ in Iraq
and Syria. However, the grand ambitions harboured by Islamists like Mr Qazi
appear to be unaffected even after this epic failure of the movement. Brookings
Institution, by giving a platform to Islamists, is invariably amplifying a
vocal minority among Muslims....
Another Hadith that is narrated to us is one day someone came to
Prophet Muhammed and said, “I want to perform Jihad in the way of Allah.” The
Prophet asked, “Is your mother alive?” He replied, “Yes.” The Holy Prophet then
said: “Cling to her feet, because Paradise is there.” So I’ve used the big
scary word “Jihad” and mother in the same sentence and guess what – Mother
trumps Jihad. How? Well there are two types of Jihad, the lesser outer jihad is
the physical act of war but only in terms of self defence and the greater inner jihad is a personal struggle of
self-improvement against the self’s base desires....