Reading the Qur’an During Menstruation
There are two predominant scholarly opinions regarding this issue. In the following response, I will outline these opinions in detail and then offer my reflections and some practical guidance that Muslim women might consider adopting.
Inheritance: a general overview of the laws
Introduction Concepts and arguments related to inheritance are in many respects so finely detailed and entangled that it is difficult to keep in mind the general principles and goals of inheritance laws and customs in Islam. These principles and goals are, as we...
Taysir
Definition of Taysir Taysir means taking the easier path to manage a difficulty. As a term in Islamic scholarship, it means giving advice or a ruling in favour of the easier option, provided the matter is one in which preference between options is allowable. Alignment...
Modern science seeks power, not wisdom
Narrow Focus on Causes and Effects Modern science is dedicated to explaining events and processes in the natural world, most of the time by means of some degree of mastery of the chain of the causes and effects that lead to specific events and processes. The problem...
Balancing General Principles and Specific Rulings in Islamic Law
Over-Defining a Concept Through Inference Many scholars infer from instances of Qur’anic or Prophetic ruling what they think is the common or universal principle which governs these rulings. For example, the notion that ‘the state of woman is covering’ is derived from...
Reflections on How Muslims Disagree, Dispute, and Divide
Having a debate with someone you disagree with and having a conversation with them are not the same thing. People perhaps think that a debate is just the same as a conversation with the addition of a few rules and procedures. For example, whereas
Questions about the Dictionary of women scholars
The two questions put to me since the publication of the full Dictionary are:1- Among the entries in the book, how many women are narrators of hadith and how many are scholars of hadith, muhaddithat? Why are they not distinguished?2- What is the total number of women narrators and scholars of hadith?
Three questions related to the on-going pandemic
Being vaccinated while fasting. Women attending funeral prayers. Women visiting graves. The three questions I have just responded to do have something in common. Behind each of them is a worry that, because someone somewhere at some time may abuse a permission…