Islamic Revival

OGN inteviews former Guantanamo Bay prisoner Moazzem Begg regarding the Taliban victory in Afghanistan.   Source

This video from the Tafseer of Quran circles of Professor Muhammad al-Massari includes an in depth explanation regarding the Shariah definition of Iman. Using evidences from the Quran, the Sheikh elucidates a refinement to the traditional definition of Iman as 'At-Tasdeeq al-Jaazim' (decisive assent). He explains the need to include 'acceptance' and 'surrender' in the definition.    Source

  Now, what we have at the moment is – we have no fuqaha’ ! It is as simple as that. What do I mean by that? I mean we have ‘ulama’ , but they are castrated, metaphorically speaking. They are impotised, they are unmanned, politically speaking. Why? Because they have assembled a vast body of knowledge – no one will argue it. They can quote you hadith from morning to night. They can make commentary on Qur’an from morning to night. How many will make prayer from night to morning is not our business. But these men cannot impinge on the social process. I was visited by a man from Qatar, who presented himself as this Islamic authority and an Islamic leader. He said, “Kitab wa Sunna”. I said, “How can you say, ‘Kitab wa Sunna’, if you work for this Amir, when this and this, and more that you know that I do not know is haram and should be punished and is unacceptable?” He said, “Oh, he is a very nice man, he is a very charming man, but he is rather stupid and he does not un...

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him forewarned us that the era prior to the advent of the Dajj ā l would be characterised by years of deception and treachery .  This is exemplified by the alliances which are often made with the enemies of Islam, bringing the topic of allegiance to the fore.  To provide cover and justify the crimes of modern-day dictatorships, some have bizarrely argued that the allying with the enemies of Islam, arising from the political expediency of the ruler, isn’t essentially problematic because it is not accompanied with ‘loving them.’  Yet the explicit text of the Qur’ān provides rebuttal to such an absurdity.  It is not merely a trivial matter, nor simply one relating to acts of political expediency, but rather it is a grave matter: drawing the line between al-‘Im ā n (faith, belief) and kufr (disbelief). Nature of allegiance An explanation of allegiance through the lens of the Islamic texts is a far cr...

Discussion of the Historical Precedence Argument –  summed up as “the practical reality was that there were several competing caliphs or sultans, and therefore it is not an obligation or realistic to have a single Imam”. Without debating the premise of the argument (which could itself be considered historically problematic) – it is important to consider that Islam came to deal with the human condition, in all its aspects – political, social, personal. And in doing so – while laying down ideals and normative standards, it also provided Muslims with a reference for correction – hence the entire corpus on enjoining the good and forbidding the evil for example. The fact that the Prophet – peace be upon him – made the statement that if two caliphs are appointed then the second should be killed – is evidence that disunity will occur among Muslims, and that there would be situations where authority would be contested. The direction of the Prophet to kill the second c...

Generally speaking, the contemporary argument that it is permitted to have more than one ruler for Muslims is not textually based but derived from the thinking that the paradigm of the nation-state is the only pragmatic way to do politics today. The inability to imagine another form of state, or to envision a unified Muslim state, may then lead to the sincere individual seeking justification from Islam for submission to the current geo-political status quo, hence the relevance of this contention. This contention is pushed under the arguments: It is not an obligation to have a single Caliph – scholars have differed over it It is not possible to have a single Caliph – so it is not necessary Historically a single uncontested Caliph was the exception not the rule, and therefore it has not been considered obligatory These arguments are then used to conclude that the idea of a unified Islamic state is un-realistic, and the status quo of multiple nation states is fine. A Summa...

Common parlance has that there are but five pillars of Islam: the testimony of faith, establishing the prayer, paying the obligatory charity, fasting in the month of Ramaḍān and making the pilgrimage.  The famous traditions carrying that wording are reported in almost all notable collections of ḥadith . When it comes to the citation, usually it is the narrations reported on the authority of Ibn Umar, son of Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (may Allah be pleased with them both). It is a continuously recurrent tradition ( mutawātir ) from Ibn Umar and has been reported by a large number of the trustworthy narrators from the successor generation to the companions, the Tābi’een . Curiously though, the actual word pillar (Arabic:  rukn , pl.  arkān ) is noticeably absent from all the reported texts through which this has come.  Furthermore, the word ‘only’ (Arabic: faqaṭ ) is not part of any reported text.   Usually in the English translations it is eithe...