overcome the temptations of the self and to continue to lead a life guided by principles is the truly Islamic jihad bin nafs. According to the Hadith, a believer is one who wages jihad with himself in the path

death. The other form of jihad is that which is engaged in to propagate the constructive message of Islam. All those who embark upon such a course must first of all study the Quran and Sunnah in a dispassionate

would be proponent of Islam be in a position to make a true representation of his religion. Two conditions have been laid down in the Quran for the communication of the teachings of Islam to others— naasih

these 13 years of da’wah work was the entry into the Islamic fold of men of the highest moral calibre, who were responsible for forming the history of Islam, for instance, Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali, etc

wage war against the Prophet, even then, instead of opting for the way of reaction and retaliation, what the Prophet did was to secretly migrate to Madinah. Migration, by its very nature, was a clear example

hundred in number, to form a powerful centre of Islam in Madinah. Had they adopted the path of confrontation instead of peaceful migration, the history of Islam might have been buried right there in Makkah

travellers in need. It is a legal obligation enjoined by God. God is all-knowing and wise. (Quran 9:6048.WHAT IS A FATWA?Fatwa literally means an ‘opinion’ and it is not legally binding. A fatwa is applicable

in accordance with Islam, then he may visit an Islamic scholar and put these personal questions to him. And, that scholar may give him his opinion according to his knowledge of Islam. That is a fatwa. That

Mirza. Fatwa cannot be solicited for another person. Doing this is unacceptable and forbidden in Islam. The Sharia distinguishes between fatwa and qaza. The former refers to the opinion given by a mufti

overcome the temptations of the self and to continue to lead a life guided by principles is the truly Islamic jihad bin nafs. According to the Hadith, a believer is one who wages jihad with himself in the path

death. The other form of jihad is that which is engaged in to propagate the constructive message of Islam. All those who embark upon such a course must first of all study the Quran and Sunnah in a dispassionate

would be proponent of Islam be in a position to make a true representation of his religion. Two conditions have been laid down in the Quran for the communication of the teachings of Islam to others— naasih

travellers in need. It is a legal obligation enjoined by God. God is all-knowing and wise. (Quran 9:6048.WHAT IS A FATWA?Fatwa literally means an ‘opinion’ and it is not legally binding. A fatwa is applicable

in accordance with Islam, then he may visit an Islamic scholar and put these personal questions to him. And, that scholar may give him his opinion according to his knowledge of Islam. That is a fatwa. That

Mirza. Fatwa cannot be solicited for another person. Doing this is unacceptable and forbidden in Islam. The Sharia distinguishes between fatwa and qaza. The former refers to the opinion given by a mufti

differences occur is without doubt a difficult proposition. But the reward for this is very great. In Islam every good deed is a form of worship. It is a form of worship when a person faced with differences

to adhere to the way of justice, even when differences seem overwhelming. Differences are no evil. What is evil is a person not dealing with differences in an appropriate way, such as would ensure his passing

fear of God despite there being differences is a great Islamic act. Not going in fear of God at the time of differences is grievously un-Islamic.

PRINCIPLE OF MORALITYThe simple principle of morality in Islam is: ‘you should want for others what you want for yourself. You should like for others what you would like for yourself.’ The way one person behaves

referred to as ethics. What should be the first principle of morality? This principle is simply that – you should want for others what you want for yourself. You should like for others what you would like for

considerations. In actual fact, in the early phase of Islam (as well as in the later phase) dawah and reform works had to be performed, without which the history of Islam would not have been complete. If the ulema

institutions, certainly all this constructive work would have been left undone. That is why the Prophet of Islam expressly prohibited any clash with political institutions. This avoidance of strife guaranteed that

The latter is established through various non-political institutions. According to the scheme of Islam, non-political institutions established at the social level have always to remain stable. In this

Muslims is that for latter day generations the basis for the Islamic ethos became the later history of Islam instead of the Quran and Sunnah. Muslims found their glorious history far more attractive than

Quran by reciting it, they were, in fact, lost in the glories of Islamic history. Gradually they came to associate themselves and Islam with this grand history: instead of the Quran and Sunnah, history

subjects. If they derive Islam from the Quran and Sunnah, then all God’s creation— even a blade of grass—will appear to them as God’s signs. Whereas when history is the source of their Islam, the forts and palaces

da‘wah the master key for believers for all time. Whatever the Muslims gained in the first phase of Islamic history was through da‘wah. Any future gains will likewise be through da‘wah, for the revolution

for the propagation of Islam. But even more important is the development of various branches of scientific research which have quite finally established the veracity of Islam. What was formerly achieved

ease. Da‘wah is certainly the master key for believers. But it will prove to be so only when true Islamic prerequisites are kept in mind.FEBRUARY 13 Suffer in Silence“When one’s ego is hurt,” says a contemporary