bear’ (The Quran, 2:286). That is, a believer, or believer-groups would be held responsible only for what it is possible to do. Granted that the Shariah holds the original site of a mosque to be its place

defined simply in terms of the position—material or spiritual— of the mosque in Islam. Even so, Muslims have carried out what they understood to be their duty at the cost of great sacrifice and, tragically

Khanam is an author, editor, translator, public speaker and former professor of Islamic Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. Among her books are ‘A Simple Guide to Sufism’ and ‘A Study of World’s

Abraham is the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Abraham and his son Ishmael were both Messengers of God. Together, they built the Kabah in Makkah

Of all the Muslim acts of worship, the Hajj is the most prominent. In one Hadith, the Prophet of Islam called it the ‘supreme act of worship’. It is not just the rituals that make it so, rather it is the

To bring about an atmosphere of peace within the society Islam has given a number of commandments. For instance, the Prophet of Islam observed ‘A believer is one from whom people feel secure as regards

to say: By God, he is not a believer from whose nuisance his neighbour is not safe. (Al-Bukhari) Islam aims at making all individuals peace-loving to the ultimate extent. That is why we are enjoined to

‘Assalam-o-Alaikum’ that is, peace be upon you. According to another saying of the Prophet, the best Islam is to greet everyone you come across, whether or not you are acquainted with the person. (Fathul-Bari

of America. Islamic vision extends not just to the world we know, but to the entire cosmos: Muslims can say with justice that theirs is a truly universal religion. This universality of Islam is no empty

theory, for the entire history of Islam supports it as a guiding principle which has been consistently put into practice. Nowhere have the universal principles on which Islam is founded been better expressed

had come when Rustam, as commander-in-chief of the Iranian armies, thought it prudent to invite an Islamic delegation to visit his court. When they arrived there to enter into discussions. Rustam, wearing

lips spontaneously with this two-sided realization are called prayer in the Islamic Shari’ah. The concept of prayer in Islam and how to offer a true prayer is described in great detail in the Quran and

with Islamic belief in monotheism. When Islam teaches mankind to believe in one God, with all power vested in Him alone, then praying to someone other than God can never be in accordance with Islam. That

HUMAN BROTHERHOODMessage of Hajj ACCORDING to Islam, all human beings have been created by one and the same God, and for this reason, belong to one great brotherhood. So far as their earthly origin is

produced a diversity of skin colouring, languages and other racial characteristics. The teaching of Islam in this regard is that despite differences of colour, language, etc., people should harbour no ill-will

unilaterally accepting their conditions. Islam is a peace-loving religion in the full sense. If others create an atmosphere of violence and disharmony, the demand of Islam on such occasions will be to refrain

the aims Islam wants to promote can be realized only in a peaceful atmosphere. In the negative atmosphere of violence and confrontation, no target can be achieved. That is why the Prophet of Islam always

HUMANITY IN A NEW AGEThe intellectual revolution Islam ushered in, based on Tawheed, the unity of God, broke the mental block to open the doors to the investigation of nature, leading to scientific progress

it was an insurmountable barrier. However, things changed with the advent of Islam. The intellectual revolution that Islam ushered in, based on Tawheed, the unity of God, opened the doors to the investigation

Firstly, the breaking of the mental block that I have just referred to. This began with the advent of Islam in Makkah and continued after that, up to the decline of the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad in the mid-13th

unilaterally accepting their conditions. Islam is a peace-loving religion in the full sense. If others create an atmosphere of violence and disharmony, the demand of Islam on such occasions will be to refrain

the aims Islam wants to promote can be realized only in a peaceful atmosphere. In the negative atmosphere of violence and confrontation, no target can be achieved. That is why the Prophet of Islam always

Another aspect, no less important, is that people from different spheres continue to enter the fold of Islam. It is like the introduction of new blood into the believer. In this way the Muslim community saves

more the true message of Islam spreads through the da’wah process around the globe, the more its textual, ideological and practical preservation is ensured, and the more Islam gains from the enlightenment