Islamic Revival

In the first section of his   Iḥyā’ ‘ulūm al-dīn,  entitled  Kitāb al-‘ilm   (The Book of Knowledge),   Imam Ghazali includes a chapter  On the Evils of Knowledge and on Determining the Distinguishing Features of the Scholars of the Hereafter  [ ‘Ulamā’ al-Ākhirah ]  and those of the Teachers of Falsehood  [ ‘Ulamā’ al-Sū’ ]. The following is excerpted from the English translation by Nabih Amin Faris (Islamic Book Service, New Delhi, 2002). Minor alterations have been made to the translation and words in square brackets have been added: ‘We have already enumerated the excellence of knowledge and of the scholars, while concerning the teachers of falsehood several important strictures have been mentioned. These strictures have shown that the teachers of falsehood are the most severely punished of all men on the Day of Resurrection. It is therefore very important to ascertain what distinguishes the scholars of this world from the scholars o...

Question Are these   ḥadith  sound? Are the references provided correct and accurate? When you see the belly of Makkah will be cleft open and through it will be dug out river-like passages (i.e. tunnels) (or water in the road to Makkah), and you see the buildings surpass its mountains, then take care (or beware, or a variant has: then know that the matter is at hand, or then understand that the time of trial (Judgment day) is near at hand). [Narrated by Al-Azraqi in the Book of reports about Makkah – Kitab Akhbaar Makkah, Hadiyth-1725; A specific Hadiyth (in fact several related-Hadiyths) which prophesizes about this Tower. Itha ra’aitun mecca bu’ijat katha’ima, wa ya-tasawa bunyanuha ru’usa jibaliha, faqad athalati as-Sa’atu. When you see Mecca, its mountain with holes (pierced through them), and its buildings reach its mountain tops, then as-Sa’ah (the Hour) has already cast its shadow. [Suyuti] So when you see in Makkah that channels have already been dug (or tunnels b...

Also available now on   Google ,   Stitcher ,   Spotify We today are going through a crisis and our efforts to reform and bring change and revival are being wasted between Imitation and Neglect. In our approach of understanding Islam, on one hand, we have Imitation manifested in the form of Literalism, Extremism, and Reductionism, and on the other, we have Neglect which is manifested in the ideas of Pragmatism, Modernism, Progressive Approach among a few.  For some Islam is not relevant anymore today and so there have even been calls for a fundamental re-interpretation of the Islamic texts. We also observe that Contemporary Muslim behavior and practice is based on a reductionist reading of the texts and a simplistic understanding of reality. As a result, we are unable to produce solutions guided by the light of  Wahy ’ (Revelation) and based on the correct understanding of reality. However, let us remember the Address of Allah (swt) for us, He addressed as bei...