By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi The clear command of God is that when the believers are in dispute over a matter, they should defer it to God and His Messenger, that is to say, the Book and the Wisdom. (Wisdom is that sense and quality of judgement which is given to the Messengers, along with revelation, so that they can embody the commands and guidance of God in everyday practice, sometimes strictly sometimes flexibly, always faithfully. The Wisdom in the case of the final Messenger is more popularly known as the Sunnah.) We cannot obey this command if there is…
View More Benefiting from our differencesAuthor: admin
Forty hadith
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi There is a reason why, when you a read a very technical text, you don’t understand it. Even if most of the words used are words you are familiar with, even if the words are arranged in ways that are familiar to you, there are enough technical words in the text to make the matter of it incomprehensible. Those specialised, technical words do not connect with anything, they do not refer to anything, known to you in your world. If this technical text happens to be an instruction about what to do, or if it…
View More Forty hadithSurat al-Takwir and Surat al Infitar
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi These surahs compel us to call to mind realities that we accept are true but which we almost-never include in our conscious, deliberate calculations when we decide on a course of action or when we put a value on something, when we say it is good, bad, or worth this much or that much. No human being is unaware that they were born, that for many years (before they became sure and fully conscious of themselves) they were needy and dependent on others for survival; no human being is unaware that at some time in…
View More Surat al-Takwir and Surat al InfitarSurah Nuh
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi 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 does not mean that other elements of the whole story are not remembered and not relevant. Rather they are remembered and relevant in a particular light derived from the focus of the particular surah. The major, central themes of the Qur’an are found in this surah closely juxtaposed to each other so that the message of the…
View More Surah NuhInformal notes for a tafsir class on Surat al-Muzzammil
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi The surah is named after the word in the opening verse. It is an important image. It first calls to mind someone wrapped up against the sharp cold of a cloudless desert night. Then, it calls to mind someone wrapped in solitude, by the cloak and by the darkness and stillness – cut off from the diverse sensations, distractions and preoccupations of daylight hours which bring much information and incident that we have to react to and deal with. This being cut off from the world is not absolute: the world is still there —…
View More Informal notes for a tafsir class on Surat al-MuzzammilBe answerable for your tongues
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi I would remind my brothers and sisters in Islam – those who support me in some degree or agree with me in some ways, and those who disagree with me or oppose me or abuse me – that speech is action which has weight in the present and consequences thereafter. Therefore it is of the highest importance to be very disciplined in one’s speech. Just as you would not strike someone with your hand, so also you should not strike them with your tongue, neither to hurt nor to flatter. Allah says: “The hearing, and…
View More Be answerable for your tonguesPrinting translations of the Qur’an without the original Arabic text
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi Though the Qur’an was sent down in Arabic, its message is universal. This is very clearly stated in the Qur’an itself: ‘Say: O humankind! I am God’s Messenger to you all.’(al-A‘raf, 7:158 ) ‘We have not sent you save as a bringer of good news (hope) and as a warner to all humankind; but most people do not know.”(Saba’, 34:28) ‘Say: I do not ask you for any reward for it.It is nothing but a reminder to all the world.’(An‘am, 6:90) The Prophet, upon him be peace, was made aware of this, and he informed…
View More Printing translations of the Qur’an without the original Arabic textThe Meaning of Du’a
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi The hungry one calls upon Allah to feed him but food does not fall from the sky. The unwed calls upon Allah to grant him a child but he does not get what he wants. The supplicator calls and calls upon Allah but his wishes do not come true and so he thinks that dua is the weakest of means and feeblest of ways. We have seen the disbelievers and polytheists mock dua. Doubt enters the hearts of those weak in faith and many Muslims do not resort to dua except out of habit and…
View More The Meaning of Du’aSahih al-Bukhari
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi My hope for this two-day course is that, at the end of it, you will understand why the Sahih of Imam al-Bukhari has for over 1200 years held its reputation as the most reliable resource for those who want to know how the Qur’an is to be understood and lived. That is, this Sahih is the most reliable record of how God’s Messenger, salla-llahu `alayhiwasallam, understood and explained and put into practice every aspect of the mission entrusted to him. We all know that Imam al-Bukhari lived his whole life as an Islamic scholar of…
View More Sahih al-BukhariHope
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi The difficulties that Muslims are facing in our times belong to every aspect of life. Moreover, very often the loss of the political power, or strength of the opponents of Islam make many of us to loose any hope. This despair is not appropriate to the people who have the Qur’an, and who are entrusted to help others. We should remember the lives of those Prophets of reformers who worked normally in situations much worse than ours. Remember Ibrahim who was raised by a father who not only worshipped idols but he used to make…
View More Hope