The Soundest Book
They asked: What is the greatest book? I replied: After the Book of God, the greatest book undoubtedly is the Ṣaḥīḥ of Imām Bukhārī, entitled al-Jāmiʿ al-Musnad al-Ṣaḥīḥ al-Mukhtaṣar min Umūr Rasūlillāh wa Sunanihī wa Ayyāmihī. Nothing like it has ever been authored in Islam or any other tradition.
Contemporary Issues in Congregational Prayer: Live Broadcasting and Women’s Congregation
When forced to pray from home—such as during a pandemic—some question whether they can join a congregation by following a live broadcast of the imam. Under Islamic law, however, a valid congregational prayer demands the imam and worshippers share the same physical space; audio or video streams alone are insufficient.
The pandemic and Ramadan
Introduction Only a week remains to prepare before we welcome the month of Ramadan. With the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing, so is the lockdown, and it is most likely that the lockdown will continue throughout Ramadan, and perhaps even longer. People are preparing...
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…