From one of the most important matters that face every caller to Islam and every organisation, taking on the noble task of calling to this beautiful and perfect religion, is the question of sources of finance. After the terrorist incidents around the world, the ensuing drama and scrutiny over Islamic organisations struggling to do good has worsened and along with it anyone who funds Islamic projects. This has further resulted in large numbers of the general Muslim population not being as charitable as they normally are. I remember a friend of mine from a large charitable Islamic organisation telling me that the charity levels from people go down to less than half, after any major incident around the world. It seems that people become weary of being linked to anyone that may later be found to use the funds inappropriately. This paranoia and fear has gripped many people and has lead to a serious lack of finances for Islamic projects everywhere. In times as difficult as these, it falls upon the Shariah to bring in ease and legislate in a manner that would allow for its rulings to mould and adapt to our time and circumstances, so that its goals and purposes can be realised in all times and circumstances.

Allah the Most High legislated Zakat as a major source of revenue for the Islamic ummah. It was legislated to cater for some of the neediest sections of the ummah. These days however, when Zakat is given, usually only the poor and miskeen are sought out despite the fact that the poor only comprise one fourth of the recipients of the Zakat described in verse 60 of Surah Tawbah – since they are only two categories out of the 8 mentioned in the verse. It was defined by Allah rigidly enough for there to be divine clarity on the recipients of Zakat, but wide enough to leave the exact definition of each of the types of recipients, upon the ijtihaad of the scholars.

At the beginning of this article it is important to mention an important argument posed by some scholars, may Allah have mercy on them all, that: (more…)

With religion playing such an important role in the life of its believer, it carries the potential to guide their behavior into ethical streams. In this regard, Islam has tremendous emphasis on achieving this ideal. Let me give you a few examples of how the value of peace is centrally engrained in Islamic theology and so comprehensively maintained by the Shariah:

1. It is authentically reported from the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him that one of God’s numerous attributes is peace and one of His names is The Peace: “O Our Lord, you are The Peace and from you is peace.” Similarly every prayer ends by a supplication of peace for all those attending the prayer and every group or individual is greeted in Islam not with ‘Good morning’ or ‘Good afternoon’, rather with ‘Peace be upon you’ - a supplication for peace. Similarly, the greetings of the angels as well as the inhabitants of paradise – is also Peace. As well, the salutation or blessing from Allah to His creation is also peace. Also, the supplication of the Prophets for themselves or for creation is also that of peace – such as when the Quran quotes Jesus saying in the Chapter of Mary the mother of Jesus which is Chapter 19 in the Quran, verse 33 : “Peace be upon me the day that I was born, the day that I shall die and the day that I shall be raised up again.”

2. The notion of inner peace – within one’s self – that of not harboring ill feelings for any human being, that of having complete sincerity in worship and dealings, that of being at peace with God’s actions and destiny – are all concepts (more…)

Ladies and Gentlemen, given the less than flattering media attention on Muslim affairs and Islamic topics, the Islamic stance on peace is frequently questioned. However, just as an atheist is not required to apologize for the atrocities of Pol Pot and that of Stalin and Chairman Mao, nor is the Christian asked to apologize for that of the Hutus and Tutsi who killed each other in the name of religion, or for the atrocities of the crusaders and their pillage and plunder; and since the average Hindu is not collectively guilty for ravaging the Babri mosque in India; in the same way, nor should an average Muslim who has nothing to do with extremist groups be required to apologize for every act of vigilante violence that hits the headlines or every act of aggression designed to make a political statement rather than an Islamic one.

Surely the comprehensive nature of each religion must contain within itself manners and ways of self preservation - even if that means to take up arms; however, that must not be extended to annihilation of the opposition – which is the essence of extremism and perversion of the teachings of a pristine religion.

In the time of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, when reading his biography – one may think that he was a warring prophet, however (more…)

In the New York Times 10 best sellers list, the book entitled ‘The God Delusion’ by British ethologist Richard Dawkins, Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University featured prominently. The author argues against other things – that Atheism is the true faith of a logical human being, that why almost certainly there is no God and why Atheism is able to answer mankind’s needs for morals and values.

Whilst, this is not the place to evaluate the author’s arguments on the existence of God and to exemplify his weak grasp of theology about which the London Review of Books says: “Imagine someone holding forth on biology whose only knowledge of the subject is the Book of British Birds, and you have a rough idea of what it feels like to read Richard Dawkins on theology”; There is however another argument that he makes that is of interest for our talk today. The author vehemently argues that religion is at the root of evil, intolerance and violence. Religion he argues, subverts science, fosters fanaticism, encourages bigotry, does not in reality support peace and influences society in other negative ways. Dawkins states that preachers in the southern portions of the United States used the Bible to justify slavery by claiming Africans were descendants of Abraham’s sinful son. During the Crusades, “pagans” and “heretics” who would not convert to Christianity were murdered, and he cites numerous examples of what Islamic terrorists have done and are doing today. He argues that a good atheist would never fly (more…)

We too in Islam are experiencing this lack of spirit and originality, brought on by our troubled times and uncertainty of where we are going and what we all should be doing. If you were to examine some of the PhD dissertations from numerous Islamic Universities, you would find that many of them are centered on rechecking of classical masterpieces or studying an opinion of a past scholar. If you were to visit the printing houses of Lebanon and Egypt where most of the Islamic books are printed today, or visit some of the book fairs in the Middle East, you will see how almost every publisher prints familiar books - with yet another checking or typeset. Originality is eroded in what seems to be an assertion that scholarship and deep research is limited to the past - even though (more…)

Is there a need to make abortion even more accessible to women, especially since the age of women asking for abortion is getting lower and lower?

I watched with amazement at the 60,000 signatures and hand prints collected to prevent (more…)

Yet in my travels through Arabia, I have found the Arabian Desert to have parables and examples that bewilder the mind. One such parable was from a wise old man who used to sell the miswak in the gates of the Prophet’s mosque. (more…)