Notes on Surah al-Shu’ara’
This surah addresses the intense anxiety that God’s Messenger, salla l-lahu `alayhiwa-sallam, suffered on account of the negative responses he got when he conveyed to the people the message God had commanded him to convey. It seems that he blamed…
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Thematic Overview: Surah Al ‘Imran
The tried and tested way of teaching the Qur’an is to work through it verse by verse, striving to deepen our experience of the words of God, and to improve conscience and practice of the religion. That said, there is also some merit in stepping back…
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Critical Reflections on Feminism
What I have to say is in two parts: (1) some critical reflections on the direction of contemporary feminism; and (2) an account of three perspectives on how to pursue reforms in the norms and conventions that negatively affect women in Muslim communities.
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Surah Nuh
This surah is a condensed overview of the themes found in more extended narration elsewhere in the Qur’an, of the story of Nuh `alayhi s-salam, notably Surah Hud. As always in the Qur’an, the focus on certain elements…
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Surah Al-`Imran
The longer surahs at the beginning of the received text of the Qur’an have a complex arrangement of passages because they are simultaneously addressing three major concerns of the Qur’an, and the focus of attention alternates between these concerns.
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Not being able to take a bath after menstruation
If a woman’s menstruation stops while she is at work or travelling and she is not able in that situation to take a bath (ghusl), is she allowed to miss the obligatory prayers (i.e. defer them until she can take a bath)?
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Those eligible for Zakah
Who should I pay my zakah to in the West? The qualification in the question, “in the West”, does not have much significance for the answer, except that in the West, Muslims however numerous, do not (or do not yet) organise the collection and expenditure of zakah as a state function.
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Who Taught You Literary Criticism?
[قالوا: ما النقد الأدبي؟ قلت: هو دراسة للأعمال الأدبية وتفسيرها وتحليلها وموازنتها بغيرها والكشف عن محاسنها ومقابحها وما فيها من قوة وضعف ولون وجمال، وهو بكلمة أخرى تقدير النص الأدبي تقديرا صحيحا وبيان قيمته ودرجته وتحليل أسلوبه قالوا: ما الأسلوب وما تحليله؟ قلت: الأسلوب هو المسلك الذي ينتهجه الأديب أو العالم أداء لمعنى من المعاني]
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