By this link: 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 according to the statement of Ibrāhīm: “I love not the things that go down” [6:76], avoiding the timings of the worship of the polytheists, those who worshiped the sun, planets and stars. Building upon this, the obligatory units of prayer are ten in the day and ten in the night. Ten is a number that denotes completion and perfection, as God says: “These are…
View More The Length and Number of Units of PrayerAuthor: admin
Sexual abuse
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwī 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. In the Western world over the last seventy years any notion of ‘sin’ attached to sexual behaviours traditionally regarded as abhorrent has been dissolved. Steadily, over this period, the notion of ‘sin’ has been replaced by a legal concept, namely the concept of ‘consent’. This fits well with the Western cultural ideal of ‘personal autonomy’, the ideal…
View More Sexual abuseWho Taught You History?
By this link: Why do you always encourage us to study history? I replied: Knowledge of history is a serious and hefty matter, and one of extreme importance. It represents the review of strategic elements and developmental factors in human societies, and the study of civilizational, political, economic and cultural conditions across time and space. No scholar or student of knowledge can afford to be oblivious to it. We learn from history, for example, the context in which Islam was revealed, the monumental changes witnessed by Islamic lands, and the political, cultural and civilizational fluctuations among human traditions. So history…
View More Who Taught You History?The Descent of Jesus, the Son of Mary, peace be upon them both
By this link: Will Jesus the son of Mary, peace be upon them both, descend as a just ruler before the Day of Judgement? I said: why do you ask this question? Do you not know that I dislike these theological dogmatic questions that neither benefit religion nor worldly life, have no bearing in matters of faith, Islam and worship of the Lord of the worlds and nor is anything sought from them except pointless discussion and futile debates devoid of blessing? They said: Certainly we know that about you, and we are convinced of your noble, dignified and excellent…
View More The Descent of Jesus, the Son of Mary, peace be upon them bothDo You Speak to God?
By this link: What is the meaning of God’s statement: “And to Moses God spoke directly;” His statement: “O Moses! I have indeed preferred you to all others by virtue of the Message I have entrusted to you and by virtue of My speaking to you;” the statement of Adam, peace be upon him: “You are Moses whom God chose with His speech;” and what has come in the ḥadīth of the Greater Intercession: “They will come to Moses and say to him, O Moses, you are the Messenger of God whom He chose above other people with His Revelation…
View More Do You Speak to God?The Art of Criticism
By this link: What is the true meaning of critique? I replied: Critique1 linguistically means to examine something and distinguish its good from its bad, and lexically refers to highlighting the dimensions that are beautiful, complete or beneficial, while exposing those that are detested, deficient or harmful. It is also to study an academic or artistic enterprise in order to analyze it and place it in proper perspective, arriving at its true value and estimation. It is also to reject a view or position, but only after proper examination, study or research. They asked: What is the meaning of censure?2…
View More The Art of CriticismPrinciples of Ḥadīth in the Ḥanafī School
By this link: We have learned from you ḥadīth and its principles in exhaustive detail. You have laid out for us its rules and principles in an easy manner and detailed for us the differences of the trustworthy scholars and proficient experts, along with their views in authentication and weakening of ḥadīth narrations. You have drawn comparisons for us between the positions of the earliest scholars—along with their methodological commitment to diligence, precision, accuracy and consistency—and the carelessness of the later scholars, with their chaotic and mixed up assertions, full of bias, inconsistencies and discrepancies. We are grateful to you…
View More Principles of Ḥadīth in the Ḥanafī SchoolWho Taught You How to Think? An Introduction to Maulānā Shahbāz Iṣlāḥī
By this link: What is critical thinking? I replied: The faculty of critical thinking is basically the process of analogical deduction, which consists of drawing order and connection between things and matters, linking the known with the unknown, and that which is understood with that which is less understood. Sound critical thinking emanates from the correct ordering and precise linking between different issues, such as causes with their effects; results with their reasons or rationale; starting premises with their end results; and fundamental principles with their subsidiary, peripheral issues. This must be done such that the path and link through…
View More Who Taught You How to Think? An Introduction to Maulānā Shahbāz IṣlāḥīThe Sunnah Explains the Qurʾān
By this link: 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, and share a bit of their light. The profound meaning of Ibn ʿUyaynah’s statement never ceases to amaze me: “The Sunnah is an explanation of the commands and prohibitions.” Also, there is the statement of Shāfiʿī and others who said: “Surely the Sunnah is an elaboration of the…
View More The Sunnah Explains the QurʾānThe Prophet as a teacher
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwī The manners and personal preferences, and also the public judgements and policies, of the Prophet, salla l-lahu `alayhiwa-sallam, have been studied and preserved by devout Muslims throughout the millennium and half since the coming of Islam. No other religious leader has had such an enduring influence on so many people after him, shaping both the ideals that they profess to aspire to and the concrete detail of how they conduct their everyday relations and affairs individually and collectively. His precepts and practice have been reverently, conscientiously and continuously applied in the most diverse geographical and…
View More The Prophet as a teacher