DOWRY AND DOWERAn Un-Islamic Practice DOWRY—a practice which has never been sanctioned by Islam— is greatly on the increase among the Muslims of India and Pakistan. The custom of dowry has its origin in

entitled under Islamic law. The practice of “compensating” for this by giving them wedding presents and labelling these “dowry” or Jahez is, in reality, a deliberate evasion of the Islamic law of inheritance

wholly unIslamic concept and has no bearing on the ideals of marriage. Had it been a traditional Islamic practice, precedents would have been set in the Prophet’s lifetime. The Prophet gave household items

THE ESSENCE OF RELIGIONPART IIWorship of God The Demands of Worship WHAT God desires of man, first and foremost, is that he display humility in His presence. This attitude is called worship. But man was

of diverse circumstances. It is necessary that this spirit of worship should be present, no matter what the circumstances are. The first aspect of worship relates to the person himself. In the course of

not required to enforce religious laws on a social or national level. One clear principle of the Islamic laws is that, 'God does not charge a soul with more than it can bear' (2: 286). That is to say, no

may be evolved. I have made an in-depth study of this problem from the historical as well as the Islamic viewpoints. I should like to make a brief presentation of my findings. According to my study, basically

are obsessed with the idealistic concept of peace. But one has to differentiate between what is possible and what is impossible. There is no other alternative. One has to be practical rather than idealistic

in terms of their own personal criteria. It is situations and circumstances which will dictate to what extent we can achieve these goals. In fact, in this competitive world, it is not possible for anyone

THE ISLAMIC STATE OF IS IS NOT AN ISLAMIC STATEAgainst True Islam ON June 29, 2014, an extremist leader from Iraq, Abu Bakr alBaghdadi, announced the establishment of a government and declared himself

himself its caliph. He named it the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). This event led to the creation of sensational news all over the world. On September 11, 2014, a report appeared in the media according

ten Arab countries have agreed to help the United States in its fight against the extremist group, Islamic State (IS). After talks with US Secretary of State, John Kerry in Jeddah, the Arab nations pledged

WELCOME Dear Readers, Welcome to ‘Spirit of Islam’, a monthly spiritual message, continuing in the tradition of its predecessors, ‘The Spiritual Message’ and ‘Al-Risala English’. This is a magazine for

as we continue our race towards material gain. Questions such as — why am I here, what will happen to me after I die, what is my purpose in life, why is there so much injustice in this world, is there any

sound principles of reason and science with a particular emphasis on the intention and spirit of Islam rather than the form or the ritual. All the articles have been either written by Maulana Wahiduddin

is the book of God. It has been preserved in its entirety since its revelation to the Prophet of Islam between CE 610 and 632. It is a book that brings glad tidings to humankind, along with divine admonition

Maulana Wahiduddin Khan Believers! Fear God, and let every soul look to what it lays up for the future. Fear God: God is aware of what you do. Do not be like those who forgot God, so that He caused them to

face the consequences in the ensuing longer life. This is the truth and the other name for it is Islam. Man’s success depends upon his always keeping this reality in mind. The whole life of one who is

revenge after revenge. When a situation of this sort takes shape, there is no end to it. This is exactly what is happening in Gaza. Acceptance of reality is the key to success. The Arabs of the West Bank

their respective areas. In contrast to this, the Arabs of Gaza are trying to establish ideal peace. What is happening in Gaza is the price of this unrealistic policy. According to the law of nature, there

or pursue ideal peace and face constant violence as its price. Early Islam provides a historical example of this. The Prophet of Islam started his mission in 610 AD. At that time, the Arabs followed the

translator, public speaker and former professor of Islamic Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. Among her books are ‘A Simple Guide to Islam’ and ‘A Study of World’s Major Religions’. She has translated

protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. THE JOURNEY CONTINUES… SPIRIT OF ISLAM is not a magazine that provides information or entertainment. It is a movement. It is a textual expression

edition of Al-Risala is Spirit of Islam that you are reading now. It is being published since 1984 under various names. The journey of Al-Risala under the name Spirit of Islam started in January 2013. This

humanity. There is only one way in which Islam can be rid of this bad image: and that is if Muslims stop giving their communal or national conflicts an ‘Islamic’ label. They must attribute all their actions

actions to their community, not to Islam, so that whatever they do can be seen for what it truly is—actions linked to their community, and not Islamic or religious actions as such.