By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwī Modern Western critical inquiry into texts carrying religious authority have been carried out on the assumption that those texts are of natural (this-worldly) origin and therefore any claims of supernatural origin are simply mechanisms by which the religious authority of those texts are established and sustained. This is supported by the historical fact that the Christian scriptures came to be recognised only when the establishment of geographically dispersed [and to some extent competing] Christian communities became apparent. Only after one of the dominant communities had forged an alignment with the political authority of the Roman…
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Islamophobia
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwī Any phobia has two directions from which it arises. One direction is from the person himself who is suffering the phobia, some cause in him, psychological or cultural. The other direction is from that which the phobia is about. In this case, Muslims should realise and admit to themselves that they are hated not necessarily for being Muslims but for their actual behaviours, or justifiable suspicions about how they might behave. There is nothing that can be done by Muslims to prevent that part of Islamophobia which emerges from the psychology or culture of those…
View More IslamophobiaA few thoughts on Surat al-`Ankabut
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwī The surah begins with the question: “a hasiba n-nasu ‘an…” It is not right to translate hasiba as ‘think’/‘imagine’ or ‘suppose’/‘conjecture’. The meaning here is ‘reckon’, ‘calculate’, to use reason to weigh up options in order to come to a judgment about the value of this or that option. The opening verses makes it clear that people tend towards what is a miscalculation, namely that by declaring their faith, by saying that they have believed in God and His Messenger, they have assured their salvation. They have not. The miscalculation is to say ‘we have…
View More A few thoughts on Surat al-`AnkabutThe Virtue of Sūrah al-Kahf
By this link: What is the degree of authenticity of the Prophetic narrations found regarding the virtues of chapters (sūrahs) of the Noble Qur’ān? I said: The authenticated (ṣahīh) of them are very few, and of the most well known established ṣahīh is what reliable narrators have transmitted about the virtues of sūrah al-fātiḥah, al-baqarah, al-‘Imrān, al-ikhlāṣ and al-mu‘awwidhatān (sūrah al-falaq and al-nās). Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said in Minhāj al-Sunnah (4/434): “And similarly also in the books of exegesis (tafsīr) are transmitted matters from the Prophet ﷺ the people of knowledge know that they are false, like narrations of the virtues of the sūrahs of the Qur’ān that Tha‘labi and…
View More The Virtue of Sūrah al-KahfSome cautionary advice to women travelling for `umrah
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwī It is important to do our religious obligations according to the norms and manners prescribed for those duties. But it is no less important to accomplish these duties in secure and peaceful environments. It is obvious, for example, that because men and women must, when they can, go out to the mosques for their obligatory prayers, it is necessary for the individual and the community to ensure their ease and safety when they do so. The duty of pilgrimage (hajj or `umrah) is particularly demanding of effort and resources because, for most Muslims, it entails…
View More Some cautionary advice to women travelling for `umrahCritical Reflections on Feminism
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwī I have been told that on this occasion I will not be addressing only fellow-Muslims but also non-Muslims. I have tried therefore to present what I wish to say particularly to Muslims in terms that are general, and make some sense to non-Muslims as well. What I have to say is in two parts: (1) some critical reflections on the direction of contemporary feminism (which is rather different from the feminism of a century ago that campaigned for political and property rights for women in the West) ; and (2) an account of three distinct but connected perspectives…
View More Critical Reflections on FeminismSurah Al `Imran: Overview
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwī 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, at this stage of our effort, to articulate some understanding of the surah as a whole, to see how its different themes intersect and interact, support and strengthen each other, and how they cohere with the main, fundamental principles of the teaching in the Book. Six closely linked passages…
View More Surah Al `Imran: OverviewThe Standing on the Plain of ʿArafah
The Food of the People of the Book
By this link They said to me: We have some problems understanding verse five of Sūrah al-Māʾidah: “and the food of those given the scripture before you is lawful for you and your food is lawful for them.” So, please assist us in solving the ambiguity and unveiling its hidden meaning. I replied: The book of God is surely worthy of our striving in understanding its vagaries, clarifying its difficulties, and explaining its secrets. I thank God that He granted you success in seeking to be guided by His definitive revelation. I asked them: What is the source of your…
View More The Food of the People of the BookSahih Muslim
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi The two most sound books of hadith are Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, both of which have always been studied and taught in the highest seats of learning in the Muslim world, and extensively commented on by hadith and fiqh specialists. It is true that, in respect of the soundness of the hadith selected Sahih al-Bukhari is generally preferred over Sahih Muslim. However, there are certain technical points and professional qualities for which Sahih Muslim is preferred over Sahih al-Bukhari. Muslim follows the general method of hadith experts in organizing and ordering his material. This…
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