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Culture, Religion and the Modern Muslim Man
The rising influence of the Western ways, visible through minuscule injections in our society of foreign conceptions like materialism, skepticism, modernism, feminism, agnosticism, invariably ending in atheism, hedonism and nihilism, has to be seen as a common Muslim’s revenge on the conception of religion and culture amongst us which has, in many ways, moved away from the realities of life. When hurdles are placed in the path of the natural conception of life, a conception of the life in line with fitrah, life rebels, seeks revenge. When the natural desires and legitimate endeavors of man are suppressed, his nature puts up a resistance that invariably ends up in defiance. This…
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Instruction of the Student – Imam Zarnuji
Burhan al-Din al-Zarnuji (d. 620 AH/1223 CE), a Muslim scholar, is the author of the celebrated pedagogical work Ta’līm al-Muta’allim-Ṭarīq at-Ta’-allum (Instruction of the Student: The Method of Learning). We took the book for our reading sessions. The following summary would be helpful for the ones who have read the text or joined us in the sessions. These bullets can help in reminding what is already learned, this cannot replace a teacher or the text. Foreword by Hamza Yusuf: Islamic Community is Rooted in Adab. Adab is knowing ones place in hierarchy. Argument for hierarchy “Are they the same – those who know and those who do not” (39:9). “I…
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Prophet Muhammad (saw) in the Qur’an
“Proclaim! In the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, who created – created man, out of a leech-like clot. Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful, – He who taught (the use of) Pen, – Taught man that which he knew not.” – Qur’an, Iqraa (Alaq) 1-5 With these words started what would become a source of guidance for millions of people around the world. The declaration or proclamation of which was to be done ”in the name of God” – the Creator. It wasn’t for any personal benefits to the Prophet (saw) who would soon suffer persecution, sorrow, and suffering. No, he was not seized with madness (7:184) nor…
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Proclaim! All of you who care, Proclaim!
Proclaim! You the reader, Proclaim! “In what capacity do I proclaim? In whose name do I proclaim?” “Proclaim, in the name of your Lord who created man from (what you could never imagine it could be made from. A thing nothing in its essence, then what is it that fills you with arrogance.)” “Proclaim, the fact that your Lord is the most Bounteous (for it is he who has given all that he has given to anyone who has anything. There is nothing to be proud about).” Proclaim! You who has lost courage, Proclaim! “What do I tell them who it is that taught me what to proclaim?” “(Proclaim that…
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How to practice faith?
I don’t claim to be a mystic who has gained any kind of spiritual mileage, however, the very fact that I am a human being makes me eligible to write on a topic that concerns the core living of us humans. While for most of my life I have held on to rationalism in the public sphere of my life while holding on to intuition as the source of judgment in my personal one, the two often seem to be at loggerheads for an outsider. That, however, has not been true in my experience; it has been a smooth ride between the two seemingly contradictory sources of knowledge. Why I…
Renaissance, Reformation, Enlightenment
