It should suffice to ‘legally’ declare or consider someone a Muslim if he/she makes the following declaration: “I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad (s.a.w.)[1] is His last and final Messenger. I solemnly vow to submit, surrender and yield to all of Allah’s Laws and Commands as given in His last and Final Book, i. e. the Quran[2]. I realize that in the Hereafter, I shall surely be held accountable in Allah’s Court for all of my…
The Holy Quran propounds an immutable law of change, i.e. “people or nations can’t have their state of affairs changed until they change their own psyche or mindset or paradigm”[1]. A long-lasting positive change in a society can only be brought about through appropriate education. Even when a revolution is indispensable, the step of appropriate education and awareness in the community is a pre-requisite. The Quranic strategy of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) for bringing positive change in the society of…
All mankind were once one single community (ummah); [then they began to differ -] whereupon God raised up the prophets as heralds of glad tidings and as warners, and through them bestowed revelation from on high, setting forth the truth, so that it might decide between people with regard to all on which they had come to hold divergent views. Yet even after all evidence of the truth had come unto them, some people continued to disagree out of selfish…
According to the Quran, the believers in the Islamic Ideology and belief system are a single brotherhood[1]. Being a single Muslim Community (ummatan Muslimatun)[2], they are all believers in one God and are obliged to submit to the Ultimate source of Law given by the Almighty in the Quran. All this necessitates their political and economic union in the comity of nations of the world. Currently, the Muslim Community in the world is divided into 57 independent sovereign states, with…
The term ‘Salat’ has been used in the Quran not only to refer to a ritual (prayer)[1] to commemorate Allah’s Guidance individually[2] and collectively[3] and in the consultative assemblies and conferences of the Muslims[4] but it also refers to a just socio-economic order that must be established if the Muslims have their own sovereign State[5]. During the independence movement in India at the dawn of the 20th century, the Muslim scholars were clearly divided into two main camps. Those who…
Three things which are particularly mentioned in the Quran as unchangeable or immutable or for which there can be no substitute are: (1) Kalimaat-i-Allah (i.e. Allah’s words, precepts, or laws given in the Quran)[1], (2) Sunnat-i-Allah (i.e. Allah’s laws in the universe or nature or His laws about the rise and fall of people or nations)[2], and (3) Khalq-i-Allah (i.e. Allah’s way of making things whereby He has endowed every creation with a certain nature or constitution)[3]. The idea of…
In Islam, the state is a unity and there is no distinction or dualism of the masjid and the state. During the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) and his four rightly guided successors, the church/masjid and the state were not separate entities with separate authorities. Masjid had a multi-faceted role including an office of the head of the state, a place of meetings of the cabinet/council as well as meetings with foreign delegates, and a community centre. There is…