Even though, for most people, the single most important and useful thing they do in the world is to raise a family — to look after and love their children and prepare them for their journey in life – in the modern world, family life is considered a bit of a nuisance, a distraction from… Continue reading Women Scholars
Formation of thoughts
Thoughts are formed independently of reason and before they are articulated in some form of language. Thoughts arise out of empathy of fellow feeling with some outside entity such as another person, or animal, or natural object like a tree or mountain, or a combination of these in a situation or scene. The most important… Continue reading Formation of thoughts
Some notes on Surat al-Shu`ara’
This surah addresses theintense anxiety that God’s Messenger, ﷺ, suffered on account of the kinds of negative response that he got when he conveyed to the people the message that God commanded him to convey. It seems that he blamed himself (v. 26:3). The Prophet grieved that, though some of the people were his relatives,… Continue reading Some notes on Surat al-Shu`ara’
Informal notes for a tafsir class on Surat al-Muddaththir
In my lecture I will go through the surah in detail. In these notes I take the opportunity to reflect, still in relation to this surah, five general matters that often come up when we are trying to understand the Qur’an. A: What is the relevance of reports going back to the Companions that inform… Continue reading Informal notes for a tafsir class on Surat al-Muddaththir
Surrogate motherhood
Your question: Since the surrogate mother is being injected not with sperm, but a fertilized egg. I’m having difficulty understanding the basis of necessitating zawaj (marriage) between the husband and the surrogate carrier. If the issue is social protection and rights those are entirely accounted for via legal contracts. It seems to me that this… Continue reading Surrogate motherhood
Surat al-Mursalat
This surah alerts us to the very evident reality that life in this world subsists within a beneficent arrangement that has been put in place and operates independently of human will and agency. Although this reality is obvious everywhere and at all times, human beings have a tendency to ignore it. They tend to forget… Continue reading Surat al-Mursalat
Surat al-Jinn
When someone behaves in a way that shows that they are not in control of their will, that they cannot sense what is harmful or dangerous to themselves, the Arabic word used will probably be majnun. Literally, the word means jinn-possessed. In ordinary usage it means mad. It is only if this condition persists, if… Continue reading Surat al-Jinn
Surat al-Nazi`at
In the opening line, the words are related to the verb naza`a, meaning to drag away or strip out forcibly. Other common words in Arabic derived from the same root include meanings like struggle, death struggle, the agony of death. Connected here with garqa, destruction and drowning, wa-n-nazi`ati garqa brings to mind an irresistible power… Continue reading Surat al-Nazi`at
A Meeting with Maulana Muhammad Tariq Jameel
Translated by Syed Huzaifah Ali Nadwi, Cambridge On Sunday, July 29th 2018, I had the chance to meet the very well-known speaker Maulana Muhammad Tariq Jameel in Wakefield (England) at the time of Dhuhr. Even though we had both wanted to meet each other for a long time it had yet to transpire. Yesterday, I… Continue reading A Meeting with Maulana Muhammad Tariq Jameel
Children,s Drawing
In my judgement, Muslims should not be presenting the Qur’an to children in a form designed to compete with modern secular books for children. It is more difficult for parents and teachers to hold the attention of children when the teaching material is not obviously entertaining. However, for the Qur’an, it is essential to make… Continue reading Children,s Drawing