Farsi said, “I am a Persian like yourselves, yet you can see how I am obeyed by these Arabs. Accept Islam and you shall have the same rights and responsibilities as we have. You may adhere to your religion

brother. We do not wish him to do with you as he has done with us. Do not speak to him or listen to what he says.” Tufayl says that he went to the Ka’bah with cotton in his ears, so that he would be unable

Then he thought: I have a mind of my own; I am able to judge what is said, whether it is good or bad, why should I not listen to him? If what he says seems sound, I will accept it; if not, I will have nothing

The same thing applies to the five principles of Islam. These principles are principles of Islam only as long as their manifestation and spirit are interwoven. Without the spirit, the form is as good as

as its not being there at all. The spirit of Faith. This is the first pillar of Islam. For its manifestation one is required to utter his faith in oneness of God and the prophethood of Muhammad. But its

unpleasant situations. He will ignore what may be objectionable and concentrate on positive aspects of the matter. Those who adhere to these five pillars of Islam only to the extent of their manifestations

to turn to God? By any standard of consistency, that is exactly what they ought to do. If any misguided scoffer were to allege that Islam was an imperfect religion in that it failed to lay down guidelines

tacitly, whenever they accept the ways of other religions as being more practicable than those of Islam. Certainly, in the case of dowry, Muslims have unashamedly adopted a Hindu custom. Similarly, other

have been derived from the customs of other nations. If Muslims suppose that just taking a pride in Islam is the sole prerequisite for their being honored in the court of God, they will eventually have to

To sum up, Islam is a religion of peace. The Arabic root of Islam is ‘silm’ which means peace. The Quran states: ‘…and Gods calls to the home of peace’ (10:25). It is thus God’s will that men and women

enemy of Islam. When Maulana Altaf Husain Hali joined forces with Sir Syed, both were ridiculed by Akbar Allahabadi: Syed ki dastan ko Hali se poochhiye Ghazi Mian ka hal Dafali se poochhiye What is the

Hambal, founder of the Hambali school of jurisprudence, there was “no other person whose bond with Islam was as strong as that of Imam Shafi‘i.” He was hardly ten years old when he committed the whole of

regarded as hujjat (the final authority). Anxious to establish consensus as an absolute source of Islamic law, Imam Shafi‘i began reciting the Quran over and over again in order to identify a verse which

basic source of Islamic law. The verse reads: He that disobeys the Apostle after Our guidance has been revealed to him and follows a path other than that of the faithful, shall be given what he has chosen

Period of Ignorance, (that is, before Islam) used to conduct usurious transactions amongst themselves. After the conquest of Makkah, both families accepted Islam. But at that time, the Banu Mughirah still

pay no interest (on any loans made to them) from the earnings they made after their acceptance of Islam. This naturally caused much dissension. Attab ibn Usayd as a representative of the Prophet in the

situation. In reply, the Prophet recited this verse of the Quran: “Believers, have fear of God and waive what is still due to you from usury, if your faith be true; or war shall be declared against you by God

modern age now testify to the truth of this 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

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

such people realize that it is entirely possible for them to successfully achieve by peaceful means what they are unable to achieve by violent means. May God accept the spirit of the writer in this regard

Farida Khanam, who is Professor at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi and Maria Khan, who after doing her BSc in physics is now pursuing her doctorate in Islamic Studies at Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi. I would

hell, were short ones. It was only when people became conditioned to accept Islamic teachings that verses dealing with what is lawful and unlawful began to be revealed. And if injunctions like: ‘Do not

way to reform people is to follow the path of wisdom and do everything gradually. The Prophet of Islam first of all changed the thinking of the people in Arabia. And only when they had developed the ability

single platform, they would be able to present a united front to the Jews. A unifying faith was just what they needed to heal the wounds of tribal conflict, and patch up the differences between the two tribes

It was Islam, then, that benefited indirectly from the war of Bu’ath, for it made the Aws and Khazraj realize the futility of war and seek peace among themselves. This peace they found in Islam, and they