strive hard for our cause, God is surely with the righteous. (29:69) In this verse, jihad also means efforts made in the search for Truth or to acquire intuitive knowledge of God—and in this sense it is

and the same—of establishing the ideology of monotheism in the world, so that man might worship one God alone. As we know, there came a large number of prophets in ancient times, but the message of monotheism

Jesus was the last link in the chain of these persecutions faced by the preachers of monotheism. Then God decreed the abolition of this coercive political system, even if it entailed the use of force in order

‘Taqwa’ (God-fearing life) means a cautious life. Success for man in both worlds lies in his invariably adopting the path of caution in all matters of life. It is taqwa, a guarded, disciplined life, that

Then, on the way to the mosque, he is reminded at every step that he is heading towards the house of God. It is as if, even before the prayer starts, he is busy with prayer. In the mosque, there is an unalloyed

through tawassum His travelling thus becomes an ibadat, or worship, in that it serves to remind him of God. This process is integral to the workings of the mind of a true believer—a spiritually hungry person

marefat. Siahat means travelling, tawassum means to learn a lesson, and marefat means realization of God. A believer’s journeying is a kind of ibadat on the move, in the course of which his contemplation

accountable for the result of his actions. Any unwise decision may cause him to pay the price. While God has discharged His role in the first phase, man must discharge the responsibility of developing himself

opposite of patience is haste. A person who behaves in a patient manner follows the creation plan of God. In contrast, someone who deviates from the creation plan can be sure that it will be impossible for

accountable for the result of his actions. Any unwise decision may cause him to pay the price. While God has discharged His role in the first phase, man must discharge the responsibility of developing himself

to their questions: “No one can inform you like the one who is All-knowing.” (THE QURAN 35: 14)   God’s mercy to us is many times more than that of a mother to her child.

extraordinary journey which is called Mi‘raj (Ascension) in the history of Islam. In this journey through God’s unseen arrangement the Prophet reached Jerusalem from Makkah. Here at the holy site he performed a

for the believers. Each Muslim naturally has the desire to enter this mosque and prostrate before God like the Prophet Muhammad and other Prophets did. Now if this prostration in worship is linked to the

feelings of being able to prostrate for the Almighty God at a place where the Prophet Muhammad alongwith all the Prophets had prostrated before God.

these pursuits. One retires from the human world and enters the world of God. The contact which the believer thus establishes with God should remain with him throughout his life. This is what the Prophet termed

desirable form of worship. In Itikaf, one distances oneself completely from the world and turns to God. Itikaf is the most complete fulfilment of Islam’s requirements during the month of Ramadan, but, it