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Reflections on Surah al-Jinn

When someone behaves in a way that shows that they are not in control of their will, that they cannot sense what is harmful or dangerous to themselves, the Arabic word used will probably be majnun. Literally, the word means jinn-possessed.

The Crisis facing Madrasah

Madrasahs, like Nadwa, Deoband, Islah and others, which have been active in service of the Muslim community for the best part of 150 years, now face a hard choice. They are under pressure to shift from the objectives for which they were originally…

Indian Triple Talaq Bill

People have called and written to me to report that Muslims in India are very angry and, at the same time, very anxious, that the so-called “triple talaq” bill has been passed by both houses of the parliament, and the President has given assent to it.

The Standing on the Plain of Arafah

Translated by Dr. Abu ZaydStanding in ʿArafah is ṣalāh just as ṭawāf is ṣalāh, for Ḥajj combines all forms of ṣalāh together.Ṣalāh essentially signifies entry into the presence of God. When an ordinary person comes before a powerful king into his majesty’s...

Maqasid of Shari’ah

Today I will be talking about the maqasid of the Shari’ah. My main focus will be the argumentation, the reasoning, of great jurists of the early period. I will try to give the reasons, partly philosophical and partly historical, for the differences on this issue…

The Food of the People of the Book P2

They said: People have raised questions and doubts concerning what you published about the verse: “And the food of those given the scripture is lawful for you and your food is lawful for them.” I replied: Don’t you know that…

The Forty Hadith concept

Most people are not able to read hadith all the time. Most of us are not scholars of hadith. But our need for hadith is not less than theirs. To make it easier for people to benefit from hadith, a convention became established among Muslim scholars of…

The Food of the People of the Book

They said to me: We have some problems understanding verse five of Sūrah al-Māʾidah: “and the food of those given the scripture before you is lawful for you and your food is lawful for them.” So, please assist us in solving the ambiguity and…

Be answerable for your speech

I would remind my brothers and sisters in Islam – those who support me in some degree or agree with me in some ways, and those who disagree with me or oppose me or abuse me – that speech is action which has weight in the present and…

Hope for Muslims

The difficulties that Muslims are facing in our times belong to every aspect of life. Moreover, very often the loss of the political power, or strength of the opponents of Islam make many of us lose hope. This despair is not appropriate to the people who…