Piety, Virtue, Righteousness or Moral Excellence

Piety, Virtue, Righteousness or Moral Excellence

Piety (virtue, righteousness or moral excellence) is not (merely) that you turn your faces to the East and the West; but (real) Piety is that one believes in Allah and the Last Day and the Malaika and the Book and the Prophets, and gives wealth, despite (one’s) love for it, to relatives, and to orphans (or those left alone in society), to the destitute & helpless, to the wayfarer, and to those who ask (for help), and in (freeing) slaves…

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The Quran, Determinism and Free Will

The Quran, Determinism and Free Will

‘WILL’ is “the mental faculty by which a person decides or conceives himself as deciding upon and initiating his actions”[1]. When we ask the question, “Do we have free WILL?”, the answer depends very much upon what we mean by “free” in this context. If we ask, ‘Is our WILL free from compulsion?’, the answer is ‘YES’ but if we ask, ‘Is our WILL free from causation?’, the answer is ‘NO’. “A man is free from compulsion when he is not restrained or coerced…

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Divisions among the Muslims

Divisions among the Muslims

The Believers were told categorically by the Almighty Allah, i.e. the One in Whom they believe that all of them were a single brotherhood[1] and that He has named them Al-Muslimeen[2]. But the so-called believers would not like the name Al-Mulsimeen as given to them by Allah but later on would like be known by other names, e.g., Sunni, Shia, Ahl-e-hadith, Ahl-e-fiqh, Ahl-e-Quran, Hanafi, Maliki, Hambali, Shafi’ee, Deobandi, Barailivi, Naqshbandi, Chishti, Suhrwardi, and so on. Perhaps this was not enough…

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Leadership Style of the Prophet (s.a.w.)

Leadership Style of the Prophet (s.a.w.)

Leadership has been defined in many ways but it is mostly agreed that “leadership is about influencing others towards a common goal”. According to Michael H. Hart’s book ‘The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History’ (1978), Muhammad (s.a.w.) has been the most influential personality in the entire human history. It will be interesting and edifying to know what was his leadership style which made him the most influential person ever along with other factors. Bernard M…

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The Islamic Living

The Islamic Living

ۛ أَحْسِنُوا ۛ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ Do good deeds; Surely Allah loves the good-doers. [Al-Quran Surah 2: Verse 195] وَقُولُوا لِلنَّاسِ حُسْنًا And speak of goodness to people in a nice manner. [Al-Quran Surah 2: Verse 83] وَقُولُوا قَوْلًا سَدِيدًا And talk straight, to the point, without any ambiguity or deception. [Al-Quran Surah 33: Verse 70] وَاجْتَنِبُوا قَوْلَ الزُّورِ Avoid any deceitful or ostentatious talk (comprising any distortion of facts or deviation from the truth) [Al-Quran Surah 22: Verse…

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The Islamic Ideology

The Islamic Ideology

The core Islamic Ideology is that there is no god but Allah[1]. Only He is the Giver of the Supreme Law (Lahu-al-Hukm) [2]. Only He has the Ultimate Sovereignty (Lahu-al-Mulk) [3]  and only He has the Ultimate Authority to be submissively obeyed, worshiped and adored (Lahu-ad-Deen) [4] (FaAbudoohu) [5].  All manmade laws must be consistent with His Supreme Law and all human authorities must be subordinate to His Divine Authority. Allah has no partners in His Supreme Legislative Authority (al-hukm)[6], in…

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Definition of a Muslim

Definition of a Muslim

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…

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