103.WHAT IS CHARITY AND WHAT IS THE ISLAMIC CONCEPT OF CHARITY?Charity in Islam (zakat) is the giving of alms out of one’s own private means at a minimum fixed rate. This money is given in the name of

and life itself would come to a standstill. Charity is a way of acknowledging this fact of life. Islam desires that private wealth should be considered as belonging to God. In so doing, no one should consider

milk the goats, help the servants at their work, and eat his meal with them; and he would go to fetch what we needed from the market.”AUGUST 23 The Theory of Revolution in IslamWe learn from the Quran that

telling simplicity: “God does not change people’s lot unless they change what is in their hearts” (13:11) The starting point of the Islamic revolution is, in fact, the individual. From the individual it gradually

individual. Clearly, Islamic thinking on this subject is diametrically opposed to the communist ideology, which decrees that the individual can be reformed by a change of system. The Islamic view is that when

embodiment of a spiritual personality. —Maulana Wahiduddin Khan ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF OTHERS—BASIS OF LOVE IN Islam, acknowledging others for the good they have done to you is considered very important. The Prophet

receive help and support directly, but this also fills our heart with love for humanity at large. What is the rationale behind the ‘love-all’ formula? It is that every other person is your benefactor.

culture. We are living in a civilization. Whatever we make use of is a gift of this civilization. What is civilization? It is an advanced stage of refinement in ethical and material matters resulting

(68:4) So great an importance has been attached in Islam to moral character that it has been set up as a criterion by which to judge all other Islamic virtues. If one is good in relation to other human

reformed state, Islam has given a basic commandment, which has been mentioned at many places in the Quran. One such Quranic verse runs: “(Believers are those) who enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil.”

Islamic CharacterThe truly Islamic character is always marked by humility— the paramount virtue to be cultivated by the believing Muslim. “The true servants of the Merciful One are those who walk humbly

also with their fellowmen. That humility is the very essence of an Islamic character is illustrated by this saying of the Prophet of Islam: “God has revealed to me that His servants should be humble towards

Hadith No. 2865)Hoping for a reward from God.It is in becoming acquainted with God that one knows what characteristics one should, as a Muslim, cultivate in

need be under government orders, and not independently. This Islamic principle shows that there is no room for non-state warfare, which is what we generally call guerilla war. A guerilla war is fought by

can it wage a lawful war (8:58). In Islam, there is only ‘declared’ war. Therefore, in accordance with this principle, no proxy war in Islam can be lawful. Most Islamic actions are governed by certain conditions

taken place between the Banu Hashim and the Banu Umayyah. This stopped the advance of Islam for a period of ten years. What set this process in motion once again was the voluntary withdrawal of Hasan ibn Ali

practical form of non-violent activism. This peaceful move on the part of Hasan ibn Ali re-opened to Islam the locked doors of progress. 5. During the last days of the Abbasid caliphate Mongol tribes

The history of Islam had apparently come to a standstill. At that moment the spirit of dawah work was born within the Muslims. As a result, the majority of the Mongols converted to Islam. And that miracle

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

your heart about it—so that you may warn by means of it and it is a reminder to the believers. Follow what has been sent down to you by your Lord and do not follow any protector other than Him. How seldom

preacher of truth is concerned to see that what he sees as the absolute truth is being rejected by the majority of the people who consider it a falsehood. What is paramount in his eyes is treated by people

Wahiduddin Khan, born in 1925, in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, is an Islamic spiritual scholar who is well-versed in both classical Islamic learning and modern disciplines. The mission of his life has been

Sayyidina Imam Al Hassan Peace award for promoting peace in Muslim societies. He has been called ’Islam’s spiritual ambassador to the world’ and is recognized as one of its most influential Muslims . His

rational demands do not give man a second option. Life is governed by reason and not by emotions. What is reason? It is only another name for the law of nature. The laws of nature cannot be altered. It

decline in terms of spirit, and not in terms of form. Forms or rituals have always been in existence: what disappears is the spirit. So, it is the spirit that needs to be revived, and not merely forms or rituals

faith, to rediscover the living ideology of Islam and to re- awaken their minds along the lines which were followed by the Prophet and his companions. What is degeneration? Degeneration is simply a kind

original message of Islam and cling merely to some lifeless rituals—that is the sign of degeneration. At that time Muslims need to revive their faith, to rediscover the living ideology of Islam and to re-awaken