Lectures

In the Muslim world at large, in the non-Muslim world in general, and, in the western world in particular, the mention of the two terms halaal and haraam almost invariably turns one’s mind to food. It is my intention in this paper not only to deal at length with the question of permissibility of food from the Quranic standpoint, but also to show that halaal and haraam extend beyond, and mean much more than, food. more

The shocking events of September 11, 2001 in the United States of America rocked the entire world as never before. It has been the topic of the day ever since, dominating media reporting all over the globe. The USA, Britain and their allies have formed a global coalition and are bombing heavily the suspected strongholds of Osama Bin Laden in Kandhar, Kabul and other parts of Afghanistan. more

The Economic System Of The Quran

The role of Women In The Quran

Economy is perhaps the most important area of human civilization as it involves short-term as well as long-term management, production, distribution and consumption of articles necessary and essential for human existence and survival. It has always been an important issue throughout the history of mankind — even in the ‘pre-money’ days. But since the introduction of coins and notes as legal tender economics more

It is curious that we always seem to be in need of discussing the role of women in the Quran – as if men have no role to play, or they already are fully aware of it. The answer lies in early anthropology (human history). The male, using his muscular superiority, managed to force the female to take a secondary role in human affairs. She was confined to the cave bearing, tending and guarding her offspring till he returned with food more

Fasting - As-Siyaam

What lies beyond the dark valley of Death? What happens to me after I cross that bridge of no return? What sort of existence does one have there? Will there be a society in that world as we know it in this? These and other similar questions are age-old. Man has wondered about death and beyond since the dawn of humanity more

The word for ‘fasting’ in Arabic comes from the three-letter root saad, waow, meem, which basically means to abstain, to stop or to hold oneself. Some of the derivatives are : sawm (fast) , saama (he fasted) , siyaam (fasts) , sayyaam (one who fasts a lot) , saaem (a male who fasts) , saaema (a female who fasts) , masaam (place to stop), more

Those of you who know what the word ‘secularism’ means may be wondering about the relevance of the above statement to this talk. Some of you might even argue - on the basis of their understanding of what secularism means - that the greatest trick the Devil ever played was to convince the world that God does not exist. However, I tend to think that Verbal was right, and for (at least) two reasons: more

Are events – physical as well as social – predictable? Is everything that happens in this world pre-determined? Did God, at the dawn of Creation, decide what was going to happen in the human social world? Has He a definitely irrevocable plan for each and every individual? Is our destiny pre-decided? Can we change our destiny? Are we inescapably bound to our fate? Can we know what lies in store for us? more