The Qur’an says: Have you not seen that God has made subserviant to you whatever is in the heavens and earth, and immersed you in His graces, seen and unseen. [31:20] This realisation, that we are immersed in God’s bounties, should inspire within us a profound and abiding sense of shukr or gratitude to God.…
The Four Imams: Did They Forbid the Layman from Taqlid?
Let me clarify two issues before I explain the point of this post. The first issue that needs clarifying is: what is taqlid? The second one is: who are the Four Imams? [1] As an Arabic word, taqlid stems from qallada, meaning: 'To place a collar (qiladah) around the neck.'1 It is called this because the person who does taqlid, the muqallid, entrusts his affair…
How Best to Keep Strife out of Our Life?
Shakespeare tells us in Othello: ''Tis the soldiers' life. To have their balmy slumbers waked with strife.' In other words, it is part of the job description of men at war that they will often be woken from whatever pleasant sleep they could be having by the unexpected call to arms; or a surprise enemy attack; or…
Islam’s Social Vision: Braving the Steep Road
Islam's vision of society, as has been so admirably stated by Tim Winter (a.k.a. Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad), 'is rooted in immediate and sincere concern for human welfare under a compassionate God.' One of the prophetic statements which best encapsulates this outlook is found in the following hadith: 'O people! Spread [the greetings of] peace,…
Legitimate Islamic Learning: Being People of Isnad
One cannot worship God with loving submission, save with sound sacred knowledge or ‘ilm. The Golden Rule in this regard was stated by Imam al-Bukhari in these terms: al-‘ilmu qabla'l-qawli wa'l-‘aml - 'Knowledge comes before speech and action.'1 If we don't possess sound knowledge, we could make something a part of the religion which can never be…