Interpreting Islam edited by Hastings Donnan. Pub: Sage Publications, London, 2002. Pp: 196. Pbk: £18.95. By Laila Juma This small volume, fewer than 200 pages, is timely, coming soon after the September 11 attacks, which have brought Islam to the forefront of many minds in the West. Unlike many books rushed into the bookstores during the last few months, this is not an attempt to explain Islam to the uninformed (often by the uninformed); ...
By: An Exposition of Hadith by Imam Khomeini ...Muhammad ibn Ya’qub (al-Kulayni), from ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim, from Muhammad ibn ‘Isa, from Yunus, from Dawud ibn Farqad, who reports al ‘Imam al-Sadiq (A) to have said, “Anger is the key (that opens the door) to all kinds of vices.”[9][82] Exposition The great researcher Ahmad ibn Muhammad, popularly known as Ibn Maskawayh, in his book Taharat al-’a’raq, which is a fine book of rare ...
In another session, al-Mamoon invited him to debate Sulayman al-Maroozi, Khurasan's scientist in kalam(theology), and the debate between them dealt with some significant topics which were being debated then by scholars of the science of kalam, and the starting-point of the discussion was the issue of Badaa(change in an earlier divine ruling). The Holy Imam (A.S.) explained its sound meaning, indicating that the Sublime and Great God had ...
The nomadic Arabs, who rose from their desert tents, founded in remarkably short space of time, the mightiest empire of the Mediaeval era, which stretched from the shores of the Atlantic in the West to the Great Wall of China in the East. Their success in the field of territorial conquests was no more spectacular than their achievements in the realm of knowledge.In fact they brought about the greatest revolution in the history of mankind-a ...
Sayyid Sa’eed Akhtar Rizvi A sensible and well-balanced family system is the very foundation of a happy life. Indeed, it is the root of an advancing civilization. Religion comes to take human beings nearer to Allah. Therefore, it must create an atmosphere conducive to that ideal; otherwise, it cannot achieve its goal. No religion can be regarded as complete unless it has a well-defined code of family life which expressly shows the exact ...
Iranian Ambassador to Dublin Javad Kachouiyan warned against the unity of the terrorists and extremists against the human civilization. 'The Middle East has been suffering from occupation, aggression, discrimination, militarism, underdevelopment, injustice and instability throughout decades and today not only none of these problems has been remove, but we are witnessing the unity of the ISIL, terrorists and the foreign forces from different ...
As explained in the last session, the above theory is based on an array of statutory principles. The first principle is the exigency of law for society while the second principle is that the law must be divine. After these two stages comes the issue of the implementer of law. Proving this theory to Muslims who accept those principles and believe in the Islamic fundamentals is not difficult. However, in dealing with those who reject those ...
By: Sayyid Muhammad RizviWhy we have to pray five times a day? Why dogs and pigs are regarded as ritually impure animals? Why an animal slaughtered un-Islamically is forbidden and ritually impure? These are but a few of the many questions asked by our youths about the shari' ah laws. They want to rationalize every law of the shari'ah; they want to know the reason and purpose of the legislation of these laws.This chapter deals with this ...
I was deeply offended by the events described in an article in the Sep. 25, 1995 issue of "Qadhaya Dowaliyah" ("International Affairs" an Arabic weekly issued in Pakistan).It describes the furious reaction of many German intellectuals to the announcement of the Frankfurt based German Book Publishers Association that the prestigious Book Peace Award for the year 1995 would be awarded to Professor Annemarie Schimmel. Dr. Schimmel is an eminent ...
The general decline of religious belief in modern man has resulted in the abandonment of the belief in the Afterlife. Most contemporary cultures only see as valid the reality accessible to the senses or to the instruments that supplement them, and ridicule the unseen as mere fantasy and myth. As such, death is seen as the final fall of the curtain, bringing an end to the meaningless cosmic anomaly called ‘intelligent life’. The ...
Al Wefaq National Islamic Society said the deportation of Sheikh Mohammed Khojesteh from his homeland, after the revocation of his nationality, is an egregious violation of the Bahraini constitution and the International Law which Bahrain is must be committed to.Sheikh Khojesteh is a patriotic Bahraini figure who made significant contributions in serving this country and its unity and the enlightenment of its people. This decision takes Bahrain ...
As we look around us we find the world and admire the universe and we come to know that there is a Creator and also there is a power which controls this system systematically and the Creator, power is God which is Supreme. But peoples have different opinions about God. Some Say that he is an incarnation, some say he has a son, given birth to a human being, some say He begets not, nor is He begotten, etc etc.Some say Jesus is a son of god, some ...
Sin which is certainly a Greater one is stealing or thievery. Imam Riďa (a.s.) has included stealing among the Greater sins according to the tradition reported by Fazl Ibn Shazān. Amash says that Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) has related from the Holy Prophet (S) that he said, “A believer cannot commit fornication and a believer cannot steal.” (Wasa’il ul-Shia)Thus one who fornicates or steals is not a believer. Such a person is devoid ...
By: Muhammad Taqi Misbah YazdiAs to which of these administrative forms is acceptable to Islam, we have said earlier that if democracy in legislation means that whatever is approved by the majority of people—that is, 50% plus 1—is a credible, official and binding law even if it were against the text of the Qur’an, then Islam does not accept such democracy in legislation. Islam that has its own explicit laws in various ...
THE BAY' (SELLING)What is bay'? The bay' (selling) means the sale and exchange of a property with another property in a way that the owner, who is ,called "the seller" of the merchandise transfers the ownership of his property to the other party in exchange for money, and the other party called "the buyer" pays the money to the seller in exchange for the merchandise.As is evident, the bay' is considered as one of the 'uqud (contracts) and ...
By: Sayyid Lutfullah Safi al-GulpayganiQUESTION: Keeping in view the fact that aside from the short five-year period of Amir al-Mu’minin (peace be upon him), the administration of society was not in the hands of the Imams (peace be upon them), to what extent is the system of religious government according to the Shi‘a view practicable and able to be implemented in society?ANSWER: Shi‘a thought is a logical school that has and has always ...
An Expression of FaithHazrat Abu Talib (‘a) took the Holy Prophet (s) under his protection after his (s) grandfather died. He also happened to be the Chief of the Elders of the Quraysh of Mecca.The Quraysh were constantly warning Abu Talib (‘a) to control his nephew from spreading monotheism and deriding their gods, but he would silence them in his own courteous, but firm, manner. Islam went on spreading from household to household, ...
As greenhouse gas pollution destroys Arctic ecosystems, countries like Canada are spending millions not to halt the destruction but to exploit it.
Late last August, Canada announced a 93.7-million-dollar prospecting programme to map the energy and mineral resources of the region. There are "countless other precious resources buried under the sea ice and tundra," Prime Minister Stephen Harper said during the announcement. The government's mapping ...
What Does Tayammum Mean?
Tayammum is the Islamic term for "dry ablution". This is the type of ablution performed when clean water is not readily available, or it is not feasible for a person to perform regular ghusl or wudhu because of medical reasons or similar issues. In such circumstances, instead of water, the person wipes a small amount of sand, dust or dry earth on his/her face and ...