Western criticism of religious texts 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… Continue reading Orientalists and Hadith
Islamophobia
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… Continue reading Islamophobia
A few thoughts on Surat al-`Ankabut
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… Continue reading A few thoughts on Surat al-`Ankabut
Protest justly for justice
The Indian government has recently passed a law which offers citizenship to refugees and migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan provided that they are not Muslims. Muslims are explicitly excluded by name, which is unprecedented in its disdain for human rights conventions regarding the treatment of refugees and migrants. The government is also proposing a… Continue reading Protest justly for justice
Al `Imran 121-130
The Qur’an is not revealed to human minds and hearts cut off from their pasts. It is not revealed to blank minds, but to minds already shaped and constrained by their culture (inherited from their ancestors) and by present, ongoing relations and commitments. For example, an Arab may have lent money from which he expects… Continue reading Al `Imran 121-130
Balaghah
Balaghah is generally understood to be the art of managing speech or writing so that it is persuasive. If the speaker or writer consciously chooses and arranges words so as to produce in the listener or reader the meaning and impact in their own mind of the thoughts they want to convey, then speaker or… Continue reading Balaghah
The 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… Continue reading The Virtue of Sūrah al-Kahf
How do I study and what do I learn?
I was trained as an `alim in Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow India. I also did a doctorate in the University of Lucknow where I recently gave a lecture on how Muslim women should go about recovering their public authority as Islamic scholars. In short, what I study is focused on the traditional Islamic sciences of tafsir… Continue reading How do I study and what do I learn?
Some cautionary advice to women travelling for `umrah
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… Continue reading Some cautionary advice to women travelling for `umrah
Critical Reflections on Feminism
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… Continue reading Critical Reflections on Feminism