heard anything so beautiful or so balanced.” He then accepted Islam and went back to his people in order to communicate to them the message of Islam: but only one of them, Abu Hurayrah, became a believer. Tufayl

cried Tufayl. “Go back to your people,” the Prophet told Tufayl. “Communicate to them the message of Islam and be gentle with them. You will find many amongst them like yourself. “ (IBN ABDIL BARR)

it is not the Islamic way to launch movements with the aim of achieving political ascendancy. On the contrary, the objective of the Islamic struggle is to inculcate in people the Islamic character and

and the true spirit of Islam. And then, if, in any given society, a large number of people were to become imbued with this true spirit, a time might come when God in His wisdom saw fit to invest them with

who had accumulated 40,000 dirhams from his trading, put all his capital into the service of Islam. When he and the Prophet emigrated from Makkah to Madinah, he took 6000 dirhams with him—enough to finance

used in the service of the Islamic cause. So it was with others who accepted Islam. Just as they themselves entered the Islamic fold, so their properties became part of the Islamic treasury. Belief in one

who had accumulated 40,000 dirhams from his trading, put all his capital into the service of Islam. When he and the Prophet emigrated from Makkah to Madinah, he took 6000 dirhams with him—enough to finance

used in the service of the Islamic cause. So it was with others who accepted Islam. Just as they themselves entered the Islamic fold, so their properties became part of the Islamic treasury. Belief in one

practised. They have found out a recipe for Islamic activism, that is actually a quest for personal leadership and communal political advancement in the guise of Islam. But fake gold is believed to be gold

justice. Today, a person enjoys freedom, in order that he can be tested. For the time being, he can do what he wants. But when this period of testing is finished, he will find himself utterly helpless. He will

Quran: Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in (the husband’s) absence what God would have them guard.13 The responsibilities of woman as regards man described by the Quran

find any strangeness in the teachings of Islam; rather she will accept them as if they were the voice of her own heart. Here I would present these teachings of Islam in brief under different headings. OBEDIENCE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN War in IslamSome ‘Islamic thinkers’ claim that there are two types of war in Islam—one that they call ‘muslihana jang’, or war engaged in to reform others, and another that is fought in

in the Quran or the Hadith. The fact is that only one type of war is allowed in Islam— and that is defensive war. Islamic teachings advocate a ‘reformist movement’, but certainly not a ‘reformist war’.

Resurrection when every human being will have to stand before God for accountability. According to Islam, believers should perform Hajj or Umrah once in their lifetime and then vow to lead their lives according

of God brought by the Prophet. The efforts of the Companions helped in conveying the teachings of Islam to the inhabited world of that time. This history of the Companions of the Prophet gives us the lesson

the year, unlike Hajj which happens only once in a year. Islam does not require Muslims to repeatedly perform Hajj or Umrah. According to Islam, believers should perform Hajj or Umrah once in their lifetime

from food and water is a physical act. How does this benefit a believer in the spiritual sense, or what spiritual qualities does this abstinence help one inculcate? In the month of Ramazan, a believer abstains

hungry during the fasting period. Also they eat elaborately at the time of breaking of their fast. What do you have to say about this trend? The Quran has laid out detailed commandments pertaining to fasting

fasting—to inculcate sensitivity so that one is able to understand the profound meaning of the Quran. What is the religious and social significance of Eid-ul-Fitr? Eid-ul-Fitr literally means ‘festival of

sciences a worldly necessity. Without knowledge of the Quran and the Hadith, one cannot understand what must be done in this world for one to earn everlasting salvation. The secular sciences, on the other

towns is dominated more by the lofty minarets of mosques. This shows the difference between the Islamic and