Believers, Jews, Christians, and Sabeans—whoever believes in God and the Last Day and does what is right—shall be rewarded by their Lord; they have nothing to fear or to regret. (The Quran, 2:62) This

along with other religious groups. The content of this verse makes it very clear that salvation, by Islamic standards, depends upon the individual’s own actions, and that it is not the prerogative of any group

Another important aspect of Islam is that it does not advocate belief in the manyness of reality; on the contrary, it stresses reality’s oneness. That is, according to Islam, reality is one, not many. 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

keep Islam firmly established at the level of the non-political system.The Command of War in IslamIt is a fact that certain verses in the Quran convey the command to do battle (qital) (22:39). What the

fight against you, but do not be aggressive. (2:190) 2. Only defensive war is permitted in Islam. Such a war is one in which aggression is committed by some other party so that the believers have

is the book of God. It has been preserved in its entirety since its revelation to the Prophet of Islam between 610 and 632 A.D. It is a book that brings glad tidings to mankind, along with divine admonition

followed by further [convulsions], hearts will be throbbing, while eyes will be downcast. They say, ‘What? Shall we be brought back to life, even after we have turned into decayed bones?’ And they say, ‘That

have to face resurrection. When the great overwhelming event arrives, on the Day that man remembers what he strove for and Hell is there for all to see, anyone who has acted arrogantly and prefers the life

in any respect proper or acceptable. I said it was certainly not an Islamic jihad and it was obviously not going to establish an Islamic system. Nor, I added, did separation from India make any sense. The

signatures. ‘Once we separate from India’, they wrote, ‘our land will become an Islamic Kashmir.’ I told the men that what they had written was nothing but baseless, wishful thinking. They would soon realize

a pine tree, which remains unmoved and static until God cuts it down when He wills. – Prophet of Islam (Sahih Bukhari) USING the simile of a plant, this Hadith talks about a particular characteristic of

because he considers the issue as involving a person just like himself—a fellow human being. This is what makes him arrogant in his behaviour. But the matter is very different in the case of a person of faith

traditionally-trained Muslim ulema, in India and abroad, to participate in inter-community dialogue initiatives. What do you think are the reasons that few such ulema are engaged in such dialogue? One major reason is

in serious dialogue. Even if they participate in any interfaith dialogue, they often misrepresent Islam because they speak in the language of debate, which is not acceptable to other participants. I don’t

gradually you will learn their language and will be able to be sensitive to their culture and traditions. What role does the fact that madrasa students and the ulema who teach in madrasas have very little social

was asked by ‘Amr ibn ‘Abasah what was meant by faith, he replied, ‘Self-restraint and gentleness.’ HADITH OF MUSLIM.One who is willing to accept God as his Lord, Islam as his religion and Muhammad as

‘Jihad bil Quran’ — Jihad with the Quran 2. ‘Qital’ also known as ‘Jihad bil saif’ — Jihad as war What is meant by Jihad with the Quran? The Quran is a book which brings glad tidings to mankind along with

struggle is not just Jihad but according to the Quran it is the Jihadan kabeera or Greater Jihad. What is meant by Qital or Jihad bil saif? Another related term that is used in the Quran is ‘qital’ which

only be using the name of Islamic reformation to spread disorder and dissension in society. All such movements would be totally un-Islamic and have nothing to do with Islamic teachings. No Risk, No

monism into Islam, but it is certainly without foundation, and has no room in Islam. The Quran says,“Prostrate yourself and come near” (96:19). This shows that the incidence of nearness between God and

and man does take place but God and man do not become one entity. Rather what happens is that when the servant becomes a true sajid (one who prostrates himself before God), at a psychological level, he experiences

al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 50) The concept of unity (vahdat) does not exist between God and man, but in Islam the concept of the nearness between God and man is valid in the perfect sense.GLORIFICATION OF GODHamd

GREATEST GOODThe Summum Bonum LITERALLY meaning the greatest good, summum bonum is an end in itself. What, in practice, is the summum bonum? Most people hold that freedom is the greatest good, but freedom

peace is to provide the basis for all activities, which would pave the way for justice. Spirit of Islam Issue 39 March 2016 41 best principle for peace is to maintain status quo. The practical method would