The Relevance of Islam Today

By studying the history of humanity, it is evident that any nation builds its material achievements upon a specific intellectual foundation. This foundation sustains and advances the nation's material achievements, even in the face of severe problems or crises. On the other hand, if a nation lacked an intellectual foundation, its achievements would wither away and it would be unable to recover from any setbacks that confront it. 

It would lose its momentum altogether and cease to exist as a civilization. This intellectual foundation is of the utmost significance, as it serves as the basis for any civilization and provides a nation with its point of view about life, goals, methodology, and a reference for problems and issues that emerge in the course of a society. When the intellectual foundation is adopted and implemented, it engenders creativity and an effective way of thinking.

Islam & the Economic Question

In order to address the economic system in Islam, we first of all need to clarify the position of Islam in relation to the quest for material well being. This is because the word dunya, which is associated with material wealth or worldly matters has become a dirty word for many Muslims. 

The separation of deen from dunya (secularism) is a Western-Christian concept that has recently become widely internalised amongst Muslims. Consequently, seeking to increase in economic or worldly matters is frowned upon, - while continuous engagement in prayer and other personal ibadat is regarded as meritorious. As such, many people get confused and conduct a double life. On the one hand, money talks, it gives status and makes life comfortable, so they seek it vigorously. On the other, they feel guilty, thinking that their effort should be spent on 'religious' duties. 

The Role of Contracts in Islam

Throughout history Muslims have been renowned traders. Many of the Sahabah (ra) were shrewd businessmen. Indeed, trading is an issue that has been implicitly and explicitly encouraged in the Qur'an and Sunnah. 

''O you who believe! Eat not up your property among yourselves in vanities: But let there be amongst you Traffic and trade by mutual good-will.'' [ 4:29]

 

The True Understand of Victory (Nasr) being from Allah

“Verily those who disbelieve spend their wealth to hinder (men) from the way of Allah and so they will continue to spend it, but in the end will become an anguish for them. They will be overcome and those disbelievers will be gathered in Hell" [TMQ Al-Anfal: 36].

Beautiful creation of Allah ..Subhanallah 

Excavating Evolution of this world

The scientific dogma of the 20th century

Observe the sun rising in the morning, the stars hanging in the sky in their beautiful order, the incredible nature of man or of any other creature for that matter. See their intricate system interwoven, as splendid tapestry, systems upon systems, beauty upon beauty, complexity upon complexity.

Comparisons from the Battle of Ain Jaloot

The month of Ramadhan is indeed a month of blessing in which the Muslim seeks to gain nearness and the immense reward from Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala). It is also a month in which many lessons can be drawn from Islamic history. During this month the Muslims fought many battles thereby expanding the mercy of Islam into new lands and also repelling the aggressors that invaded the Islamic lands to restore the protection and authority of Islam and the Muslims. One such famous battle was the Battle of Ain Jaloot in 658 Hijri against the Tartar invasion, which is considered as one of the greatest victories in the annals of human history. Considering the current predicament of the Muslims in Afghanistan, Palestine, Kashmir, Indonesia, Bosnia, Chechnya – indeed the Muslims all over the world, there are many comparisons and key lessons that can be learnt from this famous battle.

The Khilafah and the Indian Subcontinent

After yet another anniversary of the abolishment of the Khilafah state it is important for us to reflect upon its history and the reaction of the Muslims towards its demise and eventual destruction. It is assumed by some that the Muslims and their scholars did not react to the call for the abolishment of Khilafah and that they did not realise its significance. This is untrue, history is a testament to the reaction of the Muslims, their struggle to maintain it and their pain at the eventual removal of the shade of Allah (swt) from the earth. The example of the Muslims of India and its renowned Khilafat Movement demonstrates this.

Before elaborating upon the reaction of the Muslims in India, it is important to understand the background of how the Islamic rule reached Indian subcontinent which is now home to approximately half the Islamic Ummah numbering more than half a billion Muslims, with approximately 250 million Muslims in India, 160 million in Pakistan and 120 million in Bangladesh. Indeed Urdu has now become probably the most widely spoken language of the Ummah, even more widespread than Arabic.