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Fatawa: Islam and Politics
2008-04-09 13:58:00
Question:What is political Islam? Answer:In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger. Dear brother in Islam, we would like to express our deep appreciation for giving us the chance to answer such a very important question that appears to be very crucial especially in the wake of the attacks launched by the enemies of Islam nowadays against this comprehensive religion. Indeed, Islam is under assaults and severe attacks that aim at distorting its real, great image. However, those arch-enemies will get nothing and their attacks and conspiracies will get them nowhere, for it is Almighty Allah that defends this religion and establishes His course. Almighty Allah says: “Fain would they put out the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah will perfect His light however much the disbelievers are averse.” (As-Saff: 8) As regards your question on political Islam, we would like to cite for you the ...

War Ethics in Islam
2008-04-01 14:03:00
Name of QuestionerHartman - Germany TitleWar Ethics in Islam QuestionI am not a Muslim. Yet I’m a peace-loving person and I am eager to know whether there are ethics that govern war in your religion, especially as we know and see what happens nowadays: gross violations of all ethics and teachings. Your earliest response will be very much appreciated. Date01/Apr/2004 Name of CounsellorIOL Shari`ah Researchers TopicRelations during War AnswerIn The Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger. Dear brother in humanity, thank you very much for having confidence in us, and we hope our efforts, which are purely for Allah's Sake, meet your expectations. First of all, we would like to tell you that war is decreed in Islam in self defense. This indicates that aim behind war is to ward off aggression not to impose Islam as a religion. Referring to this, Allah Almighty says: “To those against whom war i ...

Islam and the Position of Women
2008-03-25 07:04:00
By Sayyid Mujtaba Musavi LariThe West's vociferous partisans of Women's Lib. have no idea of the revolutionary leap forward in women's position which Islam brought about. In the days of Islam's first appearance the position of women was that of chattels of the men - little above the domesticated animals. Yet the West, for all their vaunted freedom, have added nothing to what Islam gave to women, except liberty for increased corruption and licentiousness. Islam prohibits debauchery, laxity, vulgarity, debasement and demoralisation. Is that to hinder women's upward advance?Islam regards both man and woman as created by God to rise to the full stature of the perfect human. This is in stern contrast with those versions of the Heavenly Book which Jews and Christians have tampered with and published as reading: "Amongst every thousand men appears one beloved of God: but amongst all the women in the world there is not to be found one who is included in God's grace and favour." (My quotation i ...

TAUHID ( ISLAMIC MONOTHEISM )
2008-03-24 05:18:00
Tauhid ( Islamic Monotheism ) has three aspects :(A) Oneness of the Lordship of Allah ; Tauhid-ar-Rububiyah : Tobelieve that there is only one Lord for all the universe itsCreator, Organizer, Planner, Sustainer, and the Giver ofsecurity, etc., and that is Allah.(B) Oneness of the Worship of Allah ; Tauhid-al-Uluhiya : Tobelieve that none has the right to be worshiped [ e.g. praying,invoking, asking for help (from the unseen), swearing,slaughtering sacrifices, giving charity, fasting, pilgrimage,etc. ] but Allah.(C) Oneness of the Names and the Qualities of Allah ;Tauhid-al-Asma was-Sifat : To believe that :(i) We must not name or qualify Allah except with what He or HisMessenger, Muhammad (peace be upon him), has named or qualifiedHim,(ii) None can be named or qualified with the Names orQualifications of Allah ; e.g. AL-Kareem,(iii) We must confirm all of Allah's Qualification which Allahhas stated in His Book (the Qur'an) or mentioned throuhg HisMessenger ( Muhammad ) without changi ...

Understanding Politics in Islam - Fiqh al Siyasah
2008-03-21 08:43:00
Adapted and rearranged from the book Fiqh al-Dawlah written by Professor Yusuf al Qaradawi.1. What is the aim of politics in Islam?According to Al-Mawardi from his book Al-Ahkam Al-Sultaniyyah, it is hirasatud din wa siasatud dunya - to uphold the religion and administer the world. Politics is not munkar - is not a depravity - real politics is noble virtuous because it administers the affairs of all creatures, bringing man closer to good and away from fasad - evil. According to Ibn al-Qayyim, politics is really the justice of Allah the Almighty and His Prophet (peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him).The Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. was a politician as well as the messenger conveying the risalah, murabbi - teacher, Qadi - Chief Justice, Head of the nation and Imam of the ummah. The Khulafa' al Rasyidun - the rightly guided leaders who succeeded him were also politicians following the Sunnah - way of the Prophet, establishing just administration, practising ihsan - the betterment of go ...

Scientific Evidence on the Oneness (Tawheed) of Allah (SWT)
2007-12-23 17:46:00
Ibrahim B. Syed, Ph. D. PresidentIslamic Research Foundation International, Inc.7102 W. Shefford LaneLouisville, KY 40242-6462, USAInsha'Allah I will talk a few words on "Qur'an and Science" which I hope will be beneficial for Dawah work. I am a student of Science and a student of Qur'an Majeed. Although my knowledge of Arabic is basic, Alhamdulillah I have discovered that the scholars have failed to translate the Qur'an faithfully, particularly into the English language. For example Zauj is translated as wife rather than spouse. Alaq is translated as blood clot or congealed blood rather than leech or something that clings. Similarly very few people know the meaning of Nikah or Zina.Science means knowledge or "ILM" in Arabic, or systematic study of Natural Phenomena or Ayah(in Arabic). God or Allah (SWT) says in the Qur'an Kareem "Inna Fi Dalika La Ayathin Li Qaumin Yatha Fakkarun." Meaning these are the Signs for those people whothink. Allah(SWT) asks us to study His creation(Nature) ...
Allah  Evidence 

Islam, Culture and Women
2007-12-16 13:56:00
by Ruqaiyyah Waris MaqsoodHow can anyone justify Islam's treatment of women, when it imprisons Afghans under blue shuttlecock burqas and makes Pakistani girls marry strangers against their will?How can you respect a religion that forces women into polygamous marriages, mutilates their genitals, forbids them to drive cars and subjects them to the humiliation of "instant" divorce? In fact, none of these practices are Islamic at all.Anyone wishing to understand Islam must first separate the religion from the cultural norms and style of a society. Female genital mutilation is still practised in certain pockets of Africa and Egypt, but viewed as an inconceivable horror by the vast majority of Muslims. Forced marriages may still take place in certain Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities, but would be anathema to Muslim women from other backgrounds.Indeed, Islam insists on the free consent of both bride and groom, so such marriages could even be deemed illegal under religious law.A w ...
Culture  Islam  Women 

Sex Education For Muslim Youths And Their Parents
2007-12-13 13:37:00
by Dr. Shahid AtharAbstractSex Education of children and youth is a sensitive but important aspect of their learning. At present Muslim children are getting secular sex education at schools and getting, the wrong messages from the media. In this article pro and con of American sex education and Islamic concept of sexuality and marriage are discussed. Finally a curriculum is proposed for Islamic sex education to be given at home or Sunday Islamic school.Key Words: Sex Education, Teenage Pregnancy, Sex in Islam and Marriage.In The Name of Allah, Most Kind, Most Merciful Allah says in Quran:"Say: Are they equal to those who know, and those who do not know?"Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) has said:"Blessed are the women of the Ansar (citizens of Medina). Shyness did not stand in their way seeking knowledge about their religion"Although Quran has given so much emphasis on acquiring, knowledge, and in the days of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) Muslim men, and women were never too shy to ask him questions i ...
Education  Muslim  Parents 

Oral Sex
2007-12-12 16:02:00
Is oral sex permitted?Books of fiqh tend to be quite dry when it comes to bedroom behavior. What you usually find is in the form "everything is permissible, except for x, y, and z" instead of a detailed checklist of things to try if you wish. While the traditional approach of generality is fine as a teaching tool for students of knowledge who would be asked specific questions, it is less effective when laymen have no one to ask, when the only people available to ask mean well and know a bit more than the questioner but are laymen themselves, or when laymen go to the books directly.So, since the issue of oral sex is frequently asked it seems necessary to give a general answer. I apologize that the questioner is going to get less and more than he originally asked for.The basic list of things that are unlawful between husband and wife include:Anal sex Sex during menstruation and nifas Sex that would be harmful or prolong recovery from an illness When books talks about what is lawful, they ...

SPECIAL FEATURE: ISLAMIC SCIENCE AHEAD OF ITS TIME
2007-12-11 16:51:00
By Amjad Rafiq. Based upon extracts from the video The TruthThe Islamic Society University of Essex November 1994RELIGION and SCIENCE have always been considered to be twin sisters by Islam and today at a time when science has taken great strides, they still continue to be associated. Furthermore, certain scientific data are used for a better understanding of the Qur’anic text. In a century where, for many, scientific truth has dealt a deathblow to religious belief, it is precisely the discoveries of science that, in an objective examination of the Islamic Revelation, have highlighted the supernatural character of various aspects of the Revelation.After a study which lasted ten years, the famous French physician Maurice Bucaille adressed the French Academy of Medicine in 1976 and expressed the complete agreement of the Qur’an and established findings of modern science. He presented his study on the existence in the Qur’an of certain statements concerning physiology and reproducti ...
Ahead  Science  Time 

Jabir Ibn Haiyan
2007-12-10 19:14:00
(Died 803 C.E.)Jabir Ibn Haiyan, the alchemist Geber of the Middie Ages, is generally known as the father of chemistry. Abu Musa Jabir Ibn Hayyan, sometimes called al-Harrani and al-Sufi, was the son of the druggist (Attar). The precise date of his birth is the subject of some discussion, but it is established that he practiced medicine and alchemy in Kufa around 776 C.E. He is reported to have studied under Imam Ja'far Sadiq and the Ummayed prince Khalid Ibn Yazid. In his early days, he practiced medicine and was under the patronage of the Barmaki Vizir during the Abbssid Caliphate of Haroon al-Rashid. He shared some of the effects of the downfall of the Barmakis and was placed under house arrest in Kufa, where he died in 803 C.E.Jabir's major contribution was in the field of chemistry. He introduced experimental investigation into alchemy, which rapidly changed its character into modern chemistry. On the ruins of his well-known laboratory remained after centuries, but his fame rests ...

ISLAM DENOUNCES TERRORISM
2007-12-10 17:33:00
"Those who make mischief in the earth ; theirs is the curse" ( Koran, 13/25 )All forms of terrorist attack are roundly condemned in Islam. According to the Qur'an, it is a great sin to kill an innocent person, and anyone who does so will suffer great torment in the Hereafter:…If someone kills another person—unless it is in retaliation for someone else or for causing corruption in the earth—it is as if he had murdered all mankind. And if anyone gives life to another person, it is as if he had given life to all mankind. Our Messengers came to them with Clear Signs, but even after that, many of them committed outrages in the earth. (Qur’an, 5:32)This verse equals the killing of one innocent to slaughtering all of humanity! Another verse expresses the importance that the faithful attach to life:Those who do not appeal to any other deity besides God [alone]; nor kill any soul whom God has forbidden [them to] except with the right to do so; nor fornicate. Anyone who does so will incu ...
Islam  Terrorism 

Islam—What Muslims Believe In
2007-12-10 16:54:00
by Staff Sgt. Amy Parr, Air Force Print News 10/09/01 - WASHINGTON—A new word was introduced at the United Nations Summit on Racism in September - “Islamiphobia,” meaning the fear of Islam and Muslims. This new word represents the fear felt by some who link all people of Islamic faith to the terrorists who hijacked planes and crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Pennsylvania. The best way for people to overcome those fears is to be informed, said Chaplain (Capt.) Hamza Al-Mubarak, a Muslim chaplain assigned to the 81st Training Wing, Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. “Ignorance and hate have already cost us thousands of lives,” he said. “Get the information (about Islam) and pass it on to someone you know.” The Quran does not condone acts of terrorism, he said. “Islam is a religion of mercy and peace, it does not permit or encourage terrorism,” Al-Mubarak said.“Killing the weak, infants, women and the elderly, and destroying property are considered seri ...
Islam  Muslims 

Why Islam Forbids Pork?
2007-12-10 16:39:00
By: Rashid Shamsi (The Muslim World League Journal, Rajab 1420 - October 1999) Food and drink have direct effect on our health. That is why Islam has prescribed regulations about our food and drink. It lays great emphasis on our physical as well as moral health, because both of these are equally important for a healthy society. The abstention from eating pork is one of the steps taken by Islam to practise hygiene and to attain purity of soul.Islam, for the cultivation of inner faculties, insists upon the cleanliness of body and the purification of soul through Salaat (prayers) Zikr (remembrance of Allah) and other devotional duties. Islam teaches us how to attain the virtues and how to give up bad habits because both good and bad grow in the man according to his upbringing, education and environment.A human being has natural desires: food, sleep and sex being the three primary ones. He has also other natural emotions: sorrow, happiness, love, fear, disgust and avarice etc. Islam doesn' ...
Islam  Pork 

Food: Prepared by non-Muslims
2007-12-07 19:51:00
Q227 :A friend of mine advises me not to eat any food cooked or prepared by anyone other than a follower of Islam, Christianity or Judaism. According to him, it is not permissible in Islam to eat any food prepared by a Hindu or Buddhist, etc. How far is this correct?A227 : Perhaps your friend has a very restricted view of the Qur'anic verse which states that "the food of the people of earlier scriptures is permissible for you to eat". There is no disagreement among scholars that this verse refers to slaughtered animals. What is meant is that animals slaughtered by Christians and Jews are permissible for Muslims to eat because it is forbidden in their religions to consecrate the slaughter of any animal for any one other than Allah. This does not apply to other religions. Hence, the restriction on Muslims not to eat the slaughtered animals of the followers of other religions. This ruling does not apply to the preparation of food which does not include anything unlawful for a Muslim to ea ...
Food  Muslims 

Moral Righteous Ethics Required on Human Research
2007-12-07 10:59:00
by Adam Abdullah26 September 2006In this era of scientific advancement in the field of medical science, Muslim physicians and Islamic scholars need to establish clearly rules and guidelines concerning medical research on human. This was stressed at the 8th conference of the Islamic Organization for Medical Sciences, where they urged medical nstitutions to take ethical principles into consideration when conducting biomedical researches on human beings.“All research involving human subjects should be conducted with three basic ethical principles, namely respect for persons, beneficence, if benefits outweigh harms and justice,” said Nazih Hammad, a member of the Islamic Fiqh Academy, an affiliation of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).“The performance of research on human subjects is Islamically acceptable. However, it should be useful and responsive to the purposes of Islamic law including the safeguarding of one´s religion, life, intellect, progeny and property, an ...
Ethics  Human  Research 

Biography of Imam Ahmed bin Hambal (ra)
2007-12-06 23:05:00
Biography of Imam Ahmed bin Hambal (ra)Imam Abu Abdullah Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Hambal (Rahimahu Allahu Ta'ala) was born in Marw on the 20th of Rabi-ul-Awwal 164 A.H.EARLY LIFE: His father, Sayyiduna Mohammed (radi Allahu anhu) was a warrior (Mujaahid) and lived in Basrah, Iraq. Imam Ahmed bin Hambal (radi Allahu anhu) was a very intelligent child, keenly interested in furthering his Islamic education. At the age of 16, he began studying Hadith literature. It is said that he learnt almost a million Ahadith by heart. He became a famous Jurist.HIS TEACHERS: Some of his teachers were Imam Shaafa'ee, Sayyiduna Bishar bin Al Mufaddal, Sayyiduna Ismail bin Ulayyah, Sayyiduna Jarir bin Abdul Hamid and Sayyiduna Yahya bin Said (radi Allahu anhumul ajma'in). The great compilers of Ahadith, Imam Bukhaari and Imam Muslim (radi Allahu anhuma), including his teacher, Imam Shaafa'ee (radi Allahu anhu), have also reported Hadith from him. Imam Shaafa'ee (radi Allahu anhu), in spite of being the most ...
Bin 

Medicine Containing Alcohol
2007-12-06 17:29:00
Question:As-Salamu `alaykum. I would like to know if it is permissible to take medicine containing alcohol which is used to preserve it. Jazakum Allah khayran.Answer:Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.Dear questioner, we would like to thank you for the great confidence you place in us, and we implore Allah Almighty to help us serve His cause and render our work for His Sake.Responding to the question in point, the eminent Muslim scholar, Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, states:"Some jurists do not consider medicine to be necessary as food. They cited the following Hadith to support their argument. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says, "Allah has not made things that are unlawful for you to consume to be your medicine."On the other hand, other jurists maintain that medicine is so important and necessary as food. Both of them pres ...
Alcohol  Medicine 

How Islam Views Sex outside Marriage
2007-12-06 16:45:00
Question:Some women go unmarried throughout life due to certain social factors against their will. Are these women allowed to have sex outside the wedlock in any way at any time of their life?Answer:In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.Dear questioner, thank you very much for having confidence in us, and we hope our efforts, which are purely for His Sake, meet your expectations.In his response to the question in point, Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi, former president of the Islamic Society of North America, states the following: “It is a very sad thing to see that Muslim women or men suffer unmarried life due to un-Islamic social factors. We must blame our un-Islamic social customs and materialistic outlook that cause some men and women to remain unmarried.Some young people or their parents have very high expectations for their spouses. They set a very difficult standard of education, profession ...
Islam  Marriage 

“THE WEST AND THE MUSLIM WORLD: DEFUSING THE DEFINING TENSION OF OUR TIMES”
2007-12-06 16:08:00
By: DATO' SERI ABDULLAH BIN HAJI AHMAD BADAWI PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIAVenue:INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES, LONDONDate:23/01/2007Title :“THE WEST AND THE MUSLIM WORLD: DEFUSING THE DEFINING TENSIONOF OUR TIMES”1. FEW WILL DISPUTE THE FACT THAT THE DEFINING TENSION TODAY IS BETWEEN THE WEST AND THE MUSLIM WORLD. SURE, THERE ARE OTHER TENSIONS AS WELL – JAPAN AND CHINA; JAPAN AND THE TWO KOREAS; RUSSIA AND UKRAINE; INDIA AND PAKISTAN; THE UNITED STATES AND CUBA AS WELL AS VENEZUELA; AND THE MANY CONFLICTS IN AFRICA.2. THERE ARE TENSIONS WITHIN NATIONS AS WELL, IN THE WEST AND ELSEWHERE – HERE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM; SOMALIA; SRI LANKA; CHINA; RUSSIA; MYANMAR; THAILAND; AND THE PHILIPPINES.3. BUT NONE OF THESE TENSIONS ARE AS PROFOUND OR AS FAR-REACHING IN THEIR GLOBAL CONSEQUENCES AS THE TENSION BETWEEN THE WEST AND THE MUSLIM WORLD TODAY.4. THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY THAT THE TENSION BETWEEN WESTERN COUNTRIES AND MUSLIM NATIONS WAS THE DOMINANT TENSION ...
Muslim 

The Hajj Through History
2007-12-05 05:17:00
From Huda,The pilgrimage retains tradition in modern timesEach year, over 2.5 million Muslims descend in Mecca, Saudi Arabia for the annual Muslim pilgrimage, or Hajj. The largest gathering of humanity in any one time or place is the culminating spiritual experience for a Muslim, as well as a logistical challenge for the government of Saudi Arabia.The Hajj has been performed by Muslims every year for the past 14 centuries. In earlier times, the Hajj was literally the journey of a lifetime, a dream for which a person spent an entire lifetime saving up the funds. The trip itself was an arduous and difficult one, often taking months or even years on horseback or on foot, through mountain terrain and desert. Gangs of bandits often attacked the routes to Mecca to extort money from the pilgrims."And proclaim the Pilgrimage among men. They will come to thee on foot and (mounted) on every kind of camel, lean on account of journeys through deep and distant mountain highways..." (Qur'an 22:27)Ac ...
History 

CLASH OF TERRORS?
2007-12-04 19:44:00
CLASH OF TERRORS?Asghar Ali Engineer(Secular Perspective, October – 16-31, 2001)Osama Bin Laden allegedly organised attack on World Trade Centre in New York and on Pentagon and the President Bush is bombing Afghanistan if not to win, at least to vindicate his and his nation's honour. Prof. Huntington may not be right about his hypothesis of ‘clash of civilisation' but here at least there is ‘clash of terror'. What Osama and his network al-Qaeeda allegedly did to America Mr. Bush is doing much more in retaliation. Not only to them but also to whole country which has not only given refuge to him but is also protecting him which is of course an unpardonable sin in the eyes of President Bush.President Bush's rage knows no limits. We are in know of medieval doctrine ‘eye for an eye and nose for a nose'. And Mahatma Gandhi, an apostle of peace and non-violence had said that if every one wants an eye for eye the world would be full of blind people. But Mr. Bush wants not only an eye f ...

What is the meaning of Islam in a general sense?
2007-12-04 19:29:00
What is the meaning of Islam in a general sense?The Qur’an uses din, usually translated as “religion,” in different contexts with various meanings, of which the most important and common are: judging, rewarding, punishing (1:4, 51:6, 82:18-19, 37:53, 56:86); way, law, constitution (12:76); penal law (24:2); the collection of moral, spiritual, and worldly principles, system, way of conduct (33:5, 40:26); servanthood, obedience (16:52); and peace and order (8:39).General Islamic BeliefsWith Islam, God completed the religion He revealed and chose for humanity (5:3). Literally, Islam means submission, peace, and salvation. In its most fundamental aspect, Islam is epitomized in the most frequently recited of all Qur’anic phrases, the Basmala—In the name of God, the Merciful (al-Rahman), the Compassionate (al-Rahim). Both words are related to the quality of rahma (mercy and compassion). God manifests Himself through His absolute, all-inclusive Mercy and Compassion, and Islam is fou ...
Islam  Sense