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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Benefitting from our Differences
When the believers are in dispute over a matter, they should defer it to God and His Messenger. We cannot obey this command if there is in our community any established institution to which religious differences and disputes among Muslims must be referred.
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Taqwa
Taqwa is the root of all the virtues that adorn religious life, and the virtues in turn strengthen the root from which they grow. Without taqwa the motivation for religious life is clouded and confused, brittle, vulnerable…
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The Prophet as a Teacher
The manners and personal preferences, and also the public judgements and policies, of the Prophet, (s),, have been studied and preserved by devout Muslims throughout the millennium and half since the coming of Islam.
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The Sunnah Explains the Qurʾān
They asked: Do you agree with those who say that the entirety of the Sunnah explains the Qurʾān? I replied: Who am I to agree or disagree with the Imāms of the ummah? I am merely a student who stole a seat at their table, who seeks to learn something from them…
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Sunnah and Ḥadīth
They asked: What is the meaning of sunnah? The technical meaning of the term is a way or practice that was established and pursued by the Prophet, peace be upon him, and then by the Rightly Guided Caliphs, the rest of the Companions…
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Stress and Anger
Stress is often, not always, the result of overburdening a system so that it cannot function normally. In extreme cases a person under stress is unable to rest or sleep, even when they know that rest and sleep are what they urgently need.
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