Religious emotion and self-knowledge
People often confuse the intensity of an experience or feeling with the reality and authenticity of that experience or feeling. This applies very much to religious and devotional exercises. Both these can induce states of minds like…
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Manners in Islam
There is no rigid definition; it is relative to time and place and occasion. Nevertheless, we can apply a couple of test questions that, I find, always give a pretty good indication of what the level should be. First, I ask: am I behaving like this…
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Don’t Waste Ramadan
The Prophet (s) said that he was sent to make things easy for the believers. His sunnah in deciding the times of the daily prayers, and the beginning and end of Ramadan, is meant to make things easy so that the people would come together…
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From the Sirah of the Prophet ﷺ – The Messenger as a Teacher
قالوا: حدِّثنا عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم معلِّما. قلت: قد حالفكم التوفيق في سؤالكم هذا نامًّا عن صفاء طبائعكم وطهارة سرائركم، فما أجهل الناس به صلى الله عليه وسلم معلِّمًا! تدنى مستواهم وهبط هبوطا، وفسد عقلهم واختل تفكيرهم أيما اختلال
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The Length and Number of Units of Prayer
They asked: What are the obligatory and sunnah prayers (ṣalāh), and what is the number of their units (rakʿahs)? I replied: I have mentioned to you in a previous article that our prayers are scheduled…
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Tarawīḥ Prayer is not Obligatory
They said: Some people before us have condemned in very severe terms those who don’t perform the Tarawīḥ prayer. I replied: This condemnation is extremism in the religion of God and strictness where it doesn’t belong…
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Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse, whether of women or men or children, cannot be prevented by law. At most, law agencies can punish abuse after it has happened and has done the terrible, lasting psychological and social damage that it does.
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The Role of Reason
They asked: The philosophers are the people of intellect and worth, and of sense and reason, and so on what basis do you clash with their statements and depart from their views? And why do they differ so greatly among themselves with these outrageous differences…
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