By AY Mol on
4/17/2013 12:02 AM
Qur'an verse 5:32 is connected to verse 5:45, both are 'told to the Children of Israel' and are used as examples of humanism. In 5:32 there is a limitation given on taking life and an unlimited promotion of retaining life, it makes an exception for killing in the case of punishing murder and lifethreatening chaos on earth (fasādin fi-l'Ardh), to protect the innocent and weak, but this is only a last resort as even they can be forgiven if they reform and repay their crimes (5:33) or if the victims and authorities forgive them (2:178, 5:45). This is why there are NO exceptions in this verse in the equalizing of one saved life with the saving all of mankind; if a human life is saved or spared, even if he is a murderer, it is as if all of mankind is saved. The literal Arabic makes it very clear: "to give life (a'hyā) to one being is as if giving life to the entire human race together (a'hya al-Nāss jamiy'ān)". It isn't just sparing a life, it is reviving it. Shaykh Muhammad 'Abduh emphasizes that this verse embodies the human rights of the entire human race ("tandhaghim fīhi jamiy'a huqūq al-Nāss"), it's the universal knowledge on which human existence stands and making it inviolable.
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By Abdur Rab on
4/13/2013 5:02 PM
There probably is no one simple, clear-cut answer to the question: How God exists. Scientific, philosophical, and theological positions on this question proliferate. It is indeed a Herculean task to go through and make a sense of the almost endlessly complex maze of all the discussions on this issue. This article attempts to provide a concise understanding of how God exists by reflecting on a deeper meaning of some of the Quran verses, as well as by appreciating the modern scientific position that everything that exists or occurs in the universe is a result of the evolutionary process that has been at work throughout the universe from the very beginning, if there was a beginning that could be defined.
God's existence cannot be proved, but can be intuited by spiritual experiences, as by prophets, saints, and mystics. God is Immanent in the universe, i.e., He manifests Himself through His agents, which are Nature, human beings, and other beings.
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By Abdur Rab on
1/22/2013 8:46 PM
This is a revised and somewhat expanded version of a topic discussed earlier on this site in December 2010.
The article focuses particularly on the practice of halala (Called “hilla” in Bangladesh or “hulla” by some) –the system that entitles a divorced wife to remarry her husband, but only after she marries another person and after that person divorces her. The article demonstrates that this practice is unIslamic, barbaric, not really supported by the Quran.
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By AY Mol on
1/2/2013 9:35 AM
According to the early Mu'tazilite al-Qasim bin Ibrahim (d. 860) belief/iman is being protected from doing evil, as through knowing God, one will not commit evil on earth. And thus belief is freely acquired knowledge, not forced/jabr by God through predestination (taqdir), but made possible through how God created and measured (qadr) existence.
Thus true belief/iman comes from knowledge of God/al-ilm Allah, through which man is protected/aman from bad deeds, and this knowledge leads man to perform righteous and equality-creating deeds/as-Salihat and good and beautiful deeds/ihsan. Thus if one creates evil on earth, you've no true knowledge of God.
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By AY Mol on
12/27/2012 9:43 PM
The great theologian al-Maturidī (d.944) of the Hanafi school of thought and the founder of the second major theological school (maturidiyya) next to the 'Ashari, developed a next stage of rational philosophical theology without a need to distance itself from his predecessors, the Mu'tazilah, as al-'Ashari did in his Hanbali environment in Baghdad. This was partially because he worked in the more cultural and religious plural environment of Samarqand, but also through the Mu'tazilah background or rational similairities in the Hanafi school. al-Maturidi wrote several works, from which his "Ta'wilat ahl al-Sunnah", a complete commentary (tafsir) of the Qur'an, and "Kitab al-Tawhid", his main treatise on theology, are the most significant. His tafsir was one of the first to focus on a holistic and theological approach to the Qur'an, whereby the power of reason is presented. Below we give some quotes from his "Kitab al-Tawhid" that show his intelligent and rational approach to theology and revelation. Through Reason/Aql...
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By Abdur Rab on
12/17/2012 6:18 PM
Does Islam denegrate women and discourage their education? The ultra-conservative version of Islam like the one promoted by the Taliban has suppressed women's legitimate rights. They have not refrained from even taking repressive measures to dissuade girls from going to school. Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai has been on media spotlight since their savage assassination attempt on her. This incident is a wake-up call for Muslims to reexamine Islam’s true message about education for women.
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By Abdur Rab on
11/19/2012 8:34 PM
This is a synthesized, compact look into this complex subject, coming after an earlier one written in January 2010.
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By Abdur Rab on
11/3/2012 4:52 PM
This article makes a vital distinction between riba or interest banned in the Quran and that used in the modern finance and banking system. While the former used at exorbitant rates in pre-Islamic Arabia was clearly unethical and unacceptable, the latter serves a necessary and very beneficial role. The latter interest makes possible proper functioning of the modern finance and banking system and serves as a vital tool for monetary and economic development policy and as an essential device for efficient allocation of productive resources.
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By Abdur Rab on
10/10/2012 1:14 PM
So-called Islamic finance or banking has spread rapidly worldwide in recent decades. This financial system is ostensibly based on the principle that all its products should be free of interest involvement, which means that such products (loans for various services and payments for deposits) must be backed by real assets on the ground. In practice, however, it can be seen that Islamic banks have miserably failed to avoid interest receipts from borrowers of their funds and payments to their depositors. Though such receipts and payments are cloaked in different (Arabic) names.
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By AY Mol on
9/21/2012 7:34 PM
Abdulaziz Sachedina, 'The Role of Islam in the Public Square', p.7-8:"It is important to underscore the significance of the Qur’an’s universal discourse calling upon humanity to respond to its original nature capable of discern- ing right from wrong. No human endowed with reason can fail to understand this moral language. More importantly, as a source of unity that transcends religious differences, this language establishes the necessary connection and compatibility between private and particular spiritual, public, and universal moral guidance. Hence, the Qur’an binds all of humanity to its natural predisposition not only to be aware of the meaning of justice but also to will its realization. In this universal idiom, no human being, then, can claim ignorance of the ingrained moral sense of wrong and right; it follows that none can escape divine judgment of a failure to uphold justice on earth. The Qur’an allows non-believers to be other in the sphere of ethics, where the natural knowledge of good and evil makes...
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Blogs by DRC researchers
DRC's own researchers discussing and posting on diverse subjects on the Qur'an, the world, human society, interpretation, Muslim world, history, science, philosophy etc.
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