of the gathering and said, “O Chief of the Faithful, is the Book of God (Quran) to be followed or what you have to say?” ‘Umar replied that it was certainly the Book of God that was to be followed. The

God says in His book: ‘O believers, it is unlawful for you ... to force them to give up a part of what you have given them.’”49 The woman had misquoted the text, but ‘Umar did not choose to assert himself

as we find in this incident, is a clear indication that woman has been granted her full rights in Islamic society. HOME MANAGEMENT IS NOT AN INFERIOR TASK A certain woman called Nasibah once came to the

to God and being grateful to Him for His munificence and blessings are forms of prayer in Islam. However, Islam teaches that such expressions of gratefulness will go in vain if we fail to realize the great

Prof Farida Khanam in bringing out the Spirit of Islam. The Urdu monthly Al-Risala has completed four decades, while its English edition Spirit of Islam has completed a decade. However, one thing has been

the editor. She has kept on writing, editing, proofreading, translating, and guiding the Spirit of Islam editorial team with utmost care and dedication. Hailing from a hamlet with little formal education

prejudices against Islam is because of widespread negative behaviour of many Muslims. As you have also written, many Muslims have hate for people of other faiths. Also, many Muslims interpret Islam in such a negative

Muslims as being responsible for driving others away from Islam? To some extent, Muslims are responsible for the negative perception of Islam among others. But even then, others are responsible, because

everyone knows that Muslims are not the source of Islam. The source of Islam is its text, so people should refer to the text to form an opinion about Islam. For example, there is corruption in Indian society

try to remove the stone by collective effort, you can certainly achieve your goal. The Prophet of Islam said: “The hand of God is on the group or team.” The majority of the great events of history was

This kind of work is destined to achieve its desired goal, because the work is done with team spirit. What does team spirit mean? It means willingness to cooperate sincerely as part of a team. The majority

which would have prevented them from doing so. Even during the Prophet’s lifetime, they had taken Islam to the borders of the Arabian Peninsula. After his demise, they continued to act as if at his behest

the Quran, and the Prophet’s Sunnah. In this way they passed on what they had heard from the Prophet. This was a time of great Islamic conquests, and a certain portion of the Muslim community had to shoulder

inclination for such things. The majority of them used the atmosphere created by the conquests of Islam to further their preaching mission. It was their, and their disciples’ steady, unobstrusive efforts

Caliphs. But even during this ideal period of Islam, the state continued to suffer from a variety of severe problems. Indeed, there is no period of the Islamic State which can be pinpointed as one in which

their lives in a state of perfect peace and normalcy. This is not due to any deficiency in the Islamic State, but rather to the exigencies of the “training course” established by God Himself for the moral

formed in this world in which people will lead peaceful lives. According to God’s scheme of things, what is of actual importance is the preparation and formation of individuals. This unavoidably takes place

of the present day. The kind of thinking that characterizes Muslims in our times is not based on Islamic teachings, but stems rather from the Muslim media which invariably speaks the language of protests

complaints. The Muslim militancy of the present age is based neither on reason nor on any teaching of Islam. It is entirely the upshot of the Muslim communitys’ anger, disillusionment and negative thinking

enemies. The Muslim militancy of the present age is based neither on reason nor on any teaching of Islam. It is entirely the upshot of the Muslim community’s anger, disillusionment and negative thinking

which would have prevented them from doing so. Even during the Prophet’s lifetime, they had taken Islam to the borders of the Arabian Peninsula. After his demise, they continued to act as if at his behest

the Quran, and the Prophet’s Sunnah. In this way they passed on what they had heard from the Prophet. This was a time of great Islamic conquests, and a certain portion of the Muslim community had to shoulder

inclination for such things. The majority of them used the atmosphere created by the conquests of Islam to further their preaching mission. It was their, and their disciples’ steady, unobstrusive efforts

being his strictness with himself, and his tolerance towards others. To bear out the principles of Islam, the emphasis should be more on actions than on words. Anas, a companion of the Prophet, tells of

“God does not look at how you appear, but at your actual deeds.” (Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 2564) An Islamic society should, therefore, be a serious-minded society, in which its members should refrain from

apply themselves diligently to the more important of life’s tasks. Another characteristic of a truly Islamic society is that its members work for their living. They do not make demands but earn whatever they

time-honored principle laid down by Islam. Fourteen hundred years ago, Islam held that a woman was not fit for so high a position as that of a sovereign. While until very recently this could have been

scientific fact. What the Prophet had said as a matter of inspiration has now been established, after a long period of study and research, as a reality. This is clear proof that Islamic principles are based

either of them forgets the other will remember” makes it quite clear that in such credit dealings, what has to be considered next in importance to justice is memory. When biological studies have shown a