POLITICAL SOVEREIGNTYNot a True Goal POLITICAL power is not the goal of Islam. However, God does grant political power to people as a means by which human beings are tested. Just as they are tested when

wealth is not the purpose of life. Similarly, attaining political supremacy is not the goal of the Islamic message. It is against the Divine plan that a community should make attainment of political dominance

directly at the acquisition of political authority. What they must endeavour to do instead is to cultivate within themselves strong consciousness of Islamic faith and fulfil all practical obligations of faith

a piece of superlative “breaking news” which can once again turn the spotlight on Islam as a peaceful religion in the eyes of the world in the 21st century. If we give this matter serious thought, we

the name of Islam. However, there is a positive aspect to this, because of which Kashmir has come to the fore in the world news in this age of the media. Now, if the call of the peaceful Islam is raised

the point from which Islam will be introduced to the world as a religion not of violence, but of peace. Circumstances tell us that this is what is destined for Kashmir. Today, Islam is in urgent need of

hunting, and taking him aside asked him to explain what he meant by these words and what was “faith”. The Shaykh then set before him the doctrines of Islam with such fervor and zeal that the heart of the

the blindness of his own errors. However, he said, “Were I now to make a profession of the faith of Islam, I should not be able to lead my subjects on to the true path. But bear with me a little, and when

the possession of the kingdom of my forefathers, come to me again.” Later he accepted Islam.” (The Preaching of Islam, London, 1913, pp.180-81)

be considered to legitimize the Maulana’s particular interpretation of Islam. Let me cite two examples, one, a Quranic verse, and the other, a hadith report, to clarify this point. Among the Quranic verses

verses that are used in support of the political interpretation of Islam is the following: God has ordained for you the same religion which He enjoined on Noah, and which We have revealed to you, and

political interpretation of the deen of Islam, the word ad-deen used in this verse is taken as referring to the entire gamut of the commandments and laws of the Islamic shariah, covering personal, social,

that they will be held deserving of being raised in the Hereafter as the followers of the Prophet of Islam. This is expressed in the following verse of the Quran: O Messenger, deliver whatever has been sent

behind their backs and bartered it for a paltry price: what an evil bargain they made! Those who exult in their misdeeds and love to be praised for what they have not done should not suppose that they are

which Muslims face in this life have a common solution — in the form of calling people to God. This is what the message of Haj is. Mind at Peace Spirituality is the result of a peaceful mind. And, living

published in 1843. It carried a foreword by way of introduction to Islamic teaching, which inter alia, stated that “the fatal point in Islam is the degradation of woman.” This ill-considered observation gained

between the nail and the eye. Islam has never asserted that woman is inferior to man: it has only made the point that woman is differently constituted. If all laws in Islam are based on this fundamental

Women’s Health Research Institute at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. This is what she has to say: “The importance of studying gender differences in the brain is about making biology

The Five Pillars of Islam The Prophet Muhammad has said, “Islam has been built on five pillars: testifying that there is no deity other than God, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God; saying prayers;

God in Makkah and fasting in the month of Ramadan.” Although a building is composed of many parts, what really holds up the entire structure is its pillars. If they are strong, the whole structure will

sound. But should they be weak, the entire edifice will crumble. Those which support the edifice of Islam are of immense strength, but they must first of all be raised up by its adherents if they are to support

Prophet’s house while he and Khadija were saying their prayers. He asked his cousin what they were about. The Prophet told him that this was God’s religion, the path that God had chosen Himself. It was

yourself.’ Ali waited for one night, then God made his heart incline towards Islam. He went back to the Prophet early in the morning. ‘What was it that you were telling me yesterday’ he asked. ‘Bear witness that

a Muslim. Then, in fear of Abu Talib, he used to come and see the Prophet secretly. Ali kept his Islam a secret; he did not tell anyone about it.” (Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah, Vol. III, p. 24) Similarly, when

Teaching of Islam Islam is not just a system; it is a means of becoming acquainted with the Lord of the Universe. A study of Islam should move one as proximity to God does. To understand Islam, one should

conditions which will prevail in the next life, but also instills one with fear and apprehension about what is to be one’s lot in the hereafter; which penetrates to the spirit of worship and does not merely

fulfill these obligations and refrain from injustice. This is an attempt to provide such a treatise on Islam. May God accept it.

Ulama did not result in the establishment of purely Shariah-based rule in any Muslim country. However, what did result was that everywhere the Muslims became divided into, broadly, two mutually opposed camps

the Muslims, awakening the true spirit of Islam among them, producing Islamic literature according to modern standards that would promote an urge to discover Islam among people, and works of a similar kind

establishing governance more truly in line with the teachings of Islam. They would then have played the role of transforming Muslim societies into Islamic societies. The true secret behind the dominance of the