Tawheed is the essence of Islam. Tawheed is an Arabic term which means ‘oneness’ and ‘unity.’ In Islamic terminology it means the oneness of God. It is a fundamental doctrine of Islam referring to the oneness

Creator gives a sense of oneness with all creation. Islam established a close and direct relationship between the Creator and His creation. In Islam no mediating power of any kind exists between the Creator

of God.’ Monotheism is to believe in the fact that all power lies in the hand of one God alone. Islam enjoins the believers to worship one God alone. No other being or object is worthy of being worshipped

positive gain to date what has happened is that the image of Islam has been gravely distorted to that of a religion with violence as part of its creed. A further error committed by the Islamist group is to suppose

international plane, against non-Muslim nations. This supposition that the whole world is the enemy of Islam is entirely without foundation. In the highly competitive world of today, one group or community is

by the Islamists’ politics, unguided as they are by the Quran and Hadith, the image of Islam that will emerge will be that of a religion based wholly on peace and mercy, which, in reality, is what it is

83.OFTEN PEOPLE RETURN THE QURAN PRESENTED TO THEM SAYING IT MAY BE A BOOK OF MAGIC. WHAT SHOULD BE DONE IN SUCH A CASE?People in this world have spirit of enquiry. It should be left to the choice of the

of discussion and not of offensive feeling.84.HOW CAN WE REVIVE ISLAMIC SPIRIT AMONG MUSLIMS?Muslims should be able to revive the Islamic spirit by reading the Quran in a language they would understand

it as and when he got time. He told me that he had been doing this for fourteen years. I asked him what he thought was the gist of the Quran. He said that he read the Quran for receiving reward and not

83.OFTEN PEOPLE RETURN THE QURAN PRESENTED TO THEM SAYING IT MAY BE A BOOK OF MAGIC. WHAT SHOULD BE DONE IN SUCH A CASE?People in this world have spirit of enquiry. It should be left to the choice of the

of discussion and not of offensive feeling.84.HOW CAN WE REVIVE ISLAMIC SPIRIT AMONG MUSLIMS?Muslims should be able to revive the Islamic spirit by reading the Quran in a language they would understand

it as and when he got time. He told me that he had been doing this for fourteen years. I asked him what he thought was the gist of the Quran. He said that he read the Quran for receiving reward and not

THE EDITORIAL DIRECTORDr. Farida Khanam has been a professor at the Department of Islamic Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi. A Study of World's Major Religions, A Simple Guide to Sufism are two

the books amongst many others, of which she is the author. She has also translated many books on Islam authored by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. Currently, the chairperson of Centre for Peace and Spirituality

HAJJ—THE PILGRIMAGE HAJJ or pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of Islam. The Prophet observed: “There are five basic pillars of Islam. To bear testimony that there is no deity save Allah, and that Muhammad

BELIEF in the Day of Judgment or the Day of Resurrection (Qiyamah) is a fundamental tenet of faith in Islam. It is also referred in the Quran as, “the Hour” (31: 34, 74: 47), “the Day of the Account” (72: 130)

Gathering”, “Day of the Reckoning”, “Day of Distress” (74: 9) and the “Great Announcement”. According to Islam the end of the world will come on Doomsday. On Doomsday God will unravel all veils. All things that

the earth is shaken with its violent shaking, when the earth shakes off her burdens, when man asks, ‘What is happening to her?’; on that Day it will narrate its account, for your Lord has so directed it.

of on-going conflict, by these Muslims in the name of Islam we must ask why such a great contradiction has arisen between the principles of Islam on one hand and the practice of Muslims, on the other.

which has been the greatest underlying factor in the undue stress laid on war in the latter phase of Islam’s history. With the automatic accord in Muslim society of a place of honour and importance to the

Most people think Islam to be outdated and irrelevant precisely because of its militant interpretation. Demands for a reform in Islam are on the increase, as the ‘old’ version of Islam cannot apparently

ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM THE ISLAMIC WAYSeek the Gardens of Paradise ACCORDING to Islam, the virtuous are to be rewarded by God in the after-life by being admitted “to gardens watered by running streams”

that Paradise is represented in the Quran as a beautiful garden shows the importance attached by Islam to vegetation: indeed, frequent mention is made in the Scriptures of green and growing things as being

fodder as provision for you and for your cattle to enjoy.” (80: 24-32) It was ever the desire of Islam that man should make his surroundings verdant, even if in the next instant his handiwork were to be

possible. ISLAM IN A PLURALISTIC SOCIETY FOR the greater part of his life, the Prophet of Islam lived in a society where adherents of other religions existed side by side with believers in Islam. The Prophet’s

traditions—those of Muslims according to their Islamic traditions, and those of the polytheists, Christians and Jews according to their respective traditions. This principle of Islam was intended to apply at all places

practices. Islam recognizes no difference between Muslims and non-Muslims from the ethical standpoint. The rights granted to a Muslim are exactly the same as those granted to a non-Muslim. Islam advocates

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

those who denied the truth and rejected Our signs shall be the inmates of the Fire, there to remain—what an evil destination! No affliction can befall man but by God’s permission—He guides the hearts of

completely changed. Gaining, which was considered as such will actually turn out to be losing, while what was considered as losing will turn out to be gaining in the real sense. Failure on that Day is real