Tag / islam

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From The Evil Of…

Luscious green groves with bright yellow daffodils, white tulips, red roses and an array of daisies and dandelions. These delights not only provide a sensation to the landscape, nor are they only for the pleasure of our sight; they do not only provide nectar to the bee, nor pollen to the butterflies; but instead, they are all this and much more. The green fingered horticulturalist has before him the laborious task to ensure the survival of the planet, and in these delights of the meadow, grove and field, the flora provides it with an apparel of celestial light. The celestial light that keeps our souls nourished and our planet’s heart pulsating.

Likewise, the task of the gardener is ever more multiplied as the consequences of not ensuring the survival of the plants may well lead to the loss of the planet. The plant kingdom is overwhelmingly interlinked with the animal kingdom that the loss of the former results in the loss of the latter. Human beings are not exempt from this rule. And it is because of this we find the Lord Almighty schooling us to take refuge from inherent evils of ourselves and of the world around us just like a gardener is cautious in taking care of his seedlings. Only then can the seedling grow to its potential and bear colour, fragrance, and fruit. 

The final two chapters of the Quran, surahs as they’re referred to in Arabic, encapsulate these instructions of how we are to beseech the Almighty to shield us from the vulnerability of life’s stern strife. The penultimate surah reads as follows:


“Say: I take refuge with the Lord of Daybreak”

The daybreak heralds the coming of a new day, a new beginning. Refreshing, restoring, and replenishing our energies, and thus nourishing our bodies and souls. It fills them with zest, gusto and flavour. And so, it befits us to seek the refuge of the Lord, Cherisher and Sustainer, whose hands control the orbit of our planet and its rising sun that is a harbinger of a new beginning.  

“From the evil of what He has created.”

Taking our gardening analogy further, we can see that the gardener has before him several tasks. First, after sowing the seed, he must net the strawberries, sprinkle slug-killing pellets and erect a scarecrow to cry away the ravenous starlings. These pests have no ill-will of their own. They’re not sworn enemies of the gardener, but, are merely fending for food for their own survival. Here the words: “from the evil of what He has created”, alludes to this inherent natural disposition of theirs. Not evil incarnate, but evil in a relative sense that may be potentially harmful to the gardener’s seedling. And so, likewise, snakes, scorpions, lions, tigers and bears, amongst a number of other predators, can become obstacles to security for our bodily and spiritual growth. For our frail mortal frames cannot reach its optimum when there is nothing left to grow. “From the evil of what He created” is the first line of petitioning our Creator in prayer to ensure our security in this earthly existence.

“From the evil of darkness when it outspreads.”

The dangers do not solely lie with predators. The world is a constant motion of cause and effect. Deprived of ample sunlight, water, and nutritious soil, the seedling cannot grow even without the danger of slugs and birds. And so, the gardener makes use of the dung-pit and the water-tank. This ensures the natural causes to take on their natural course of action. The Arabic word ghāsiq can denote the sun, moon, or darkness, any of which coupled with the verb waqaba – meaning concealed, absent and hidden: aptly fits our gardening analogy. The sun disappears and is concealed at night: the darkness outspreads,  and the moon appears causing a cessation to the supply of heat, warmth and energy. The sun is also concealed when there are dark overheard clouds or misty fog and thus prevents the nurturing environment so needed to ensure a good harvest. Likewise, we too in our fragile state, forever need shielding from adverse conditions that may hinder our physical and spiritual growth. Just as husbandry requires breaking backs, hardening hands, sweat, and toil, so too do we.  – and so we are taught to supplicate: “From the evil of darkness when it outspreads.” To beseech His omnipotent power to bestow all the wordly and spiritual causes needed to grow to our full potential.

“From the evil of those who blow on knots”

Magick was a common belief in days of old, and here the verse teaches us to seek protection against all such practises of the occult. It was commonplace in Arabia when witchcraft was used, to blow upon knots after reciting specific incantations. Here the gardening analogy helps us further. For the husbandman also makes use of cold-frames, water tanks and greenhouses to protect the seedling from unseasonal, extreme weather conditions that can occur unexpectedly. Morning dew can turn to frost and destroy the lettuce. Snow can fall and ruin the runner beans. Heavy rain can finish off a crop of strawberries. The use of cold frames and greenhouses ensures that these unexpected conditions do not ruin the crop. And so, akin to this is the practice of witchcraft which hinders the natural growth and the normative cause-effect relationship in this world, we are taught to ask His protection from the onslaught of such evil practices.


“From the evil of the envier when he envies.”

In the final verse of this surah, having sought protection from predatory pests; asked that the natural elements procure their normative causal affect; sought protection from unnatural, unexpected environmental conditions; we arrive at the final hurdle of externalities that may befall our budding gardener: the rival. The jealous neighbour. The envying allotmonteer. How many a begonia have been jealously destroyed by a covetous competitor at a garden competition? A large pumpkin stolen because someone else wanted to hold the trophy? Likewise, humankind’s growth may be halted, hindered and prevented from progressing further by a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, jealous, covetous rival. And so the surah in its final verse schools us in seeking His refuge against “an envier when he envies.” And so the surah ends. 

But this is not the end of the story. Having sought and safeguarded our seedlings from all such externalities, there remains a hidden, often concealed predicament: the bad seed. Bad seeds lead to bad crops. Yielding a much less harvest of 50%, 40%, 30% or worse still: a nil harvest. This is an internal problem which no cold-frame or greenhouse can protect against; and which no amount of horse manure can solve. If they’re bad, the only solution is to throw them out. Replace them.   

This surah is a supplication unto our Lord to assist us in ensuring the suitability of our inner seed. A prayer asking Him to protect us from internal feeders that feed on whole grains where the larvae live inside the kernels and seeds causing damage, laying eggs and rendering a once wholesome grain into a hollow void of nothingness.

And because the danger is subtle, discreet and often unnoticeable, the prayer begins by invoking God’s attributes. Whereas in the foregoing surah, only one Divine Attribute was invoked – “Lord of Daybreak” – here, three Divine Attributes are invoked: alluding to the enormity and grave consequences that can result of such inner feeders.

قُلۡ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ ٱلنَّاسِ

“Say: I take refuge with the Lord of Men”

مَلِكِ ٱلنَّاسِ

“The King of Men”

إِلَٰهِ ٱلنَّاسِ

“The God of Men”

The subtle nature of these inner workings of weevils demands that we supplicate to the One, Knower of All, from whom none and nothing is hidden. And hence our faith requires us to behold God through three lenses: acknowledging Him as Nourisher, Sustainer and Lord Supreme; acknowledging Him as King and Ruler par excellence – more than any earthly king; and as the Absolute God – to whom humankind is held accountable. It is through these three aspects of God’s Divine nature that we are taught to seek His protection.  

مِن شَرِّ ٱلۡوَسۡوَاسِ ٱلۡخَنَّاسِ

“From the evil of the slinking whisperer”

ٱلَّذِي يُوَسۡوِسُ فِي صُدُورِ ٱلنَّاسِ

“Who whispers in the hearts of Men”

The subtle and alluring net of the devil insinuates in a myriad of evil, insidious and deceptive ways so as to sap all good from Man’s inner soul. Akin to how the weevil renders the most perfect seed completely hollow and unable to bear any fruit.

مِنَ ٱلۡجِنَّةِ وَٱلنَّاسِ

“Of Jinn & Men”

This final clause amplifies the sources of these weevils from which emanate the satanic whispers: they may be men you see or invisible spirits you do not. When something is so obviously marked and plain for all to see one can become blinded to its existence. Likewise, the invisible is hard to detect. And so, this verse tells of our double-blinded myopia – not seeing evil as evil in the form of evil men, and not detecting the subtle deceptive, alluring acts of the invisible. So long as we constantly put ourselves before God’s protection, evil cannot touch us.

These two surahs, point to the necessity of seeking God’s protection against both external and internal factors affecting our bodily and spiritual growth. The verses are all-encompassing and taught to us by the Knower of All. To shine God’ light on the darkness around us we must first let it shine in our own true selves. These two surahs are the first steps in accomplishing this goal.    

Shazad Khan,

Birmingham, UK

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الإمام قاسم النانوتوي

عشقته و لم تسعدني الأيام بإمتاع النظر إلى محيّاه الجميل، لكني استطلعت أخباره في كتبه و رسائله حتى ما روى الرواة عنه في سيرته فوجدت هنالك عجائب أقلّها ما يستهوي النفوس المتمردة و يأخذ بمجامع القلوب الجافة العاصية إلى أن تعتنق الإسلام عقيدةً و منهجًا للحياة. إنه تفرّد بين معاصريه بما أوتي من لدن الحكيم العليم، و كتبه و رسائله اليوم لا تزال تبدي لمن أمّ حماها و تجشّم صعوبة القراءة صنوفاً من بديع الاستدلال على أنه رب واحد لا شريك له، و أن وجوده ليس ممكنًا فحسب بل ضروري و مستحيل عدمه، متصف بسائر الصفات الكمالية ، منزه عن جميع سمات النقص و الزوال.

عشقته منذ عهد الصبا لما وقعت الباصرة على (( تقرير دلبذير)) بالأردية ففكّرت فيه و تدبّرت خوافيه و حواشيه ، و زادني غرامًا به إذ سمعت أن أناسًا قبلي أصيبوا بما أصبت به، و عدّوه أحقّ بأن يُصرَف فيه نفائس أوقاتهم بعد ما فرض عليهم من الطاعات، و حسبوه عدّة لمعادهم و سعادة لحياتهم.

  تجد في رسائله و كتبه العديدة ما فيه طرزًا من الاستدلال يجمع بين العلم البديهي و النظري ، و القضايا المنتجة ما يعمل في شغاف قلبك و يطربك باتساوق نغماته من دون أن يكون هناك وتر و لا ألحان. تجد فيها برهانًا عظيمًا على التوحيد و إبطال التثليث ، و فوائد جمة في بيان الحِكم المكنونة في الشريعة المصطفوية التي لا تزال لامعة مع نضرتها الأولى و لم تضر بتغير الأيام ، بل هي سالمة باقية كالشمس بازغة بأجمل الهبات الطبيعية ، و لم تنقصها العلمانية و النسوية و ما بعد الحداثة ، و مياه دينِنا الإسلام ، إذا تعمّقنا النظر في كتب النانوتوي ، تبرهن لنا أنها باقية عذبة دافقة.

إليك مني السلام يا الإمام النانوتوي ، إننا ما رأيناك لكن رأينا آثارك الأبدية اللدنّية، أدهشتنا بصنع الاستدلال المنطقي البرهاني على أصول الدين و فروعه ، وشرعت لنا شرعة التعليم الديني في المدارس الإسلامية بالطريقة المثلى، و آثارك برهان جليّ على أن كان لديك عقل كامل ، و نظر نافذ، فاقت و زادت على من عمل قبلك من الفلاسفة و العلماء و الحكماء 

الإمام النانوتوي ، و ما أدراك ما الإمام النانوتوي؟ اللوذعي الألمعي ، قاسم العلوم و الفيوضات، صاحب الحضرة الربانية، هو الكنز المطلسم ، و البحر الزاخر المطلطم اللهم إني أسألك بجاهه لديك، أن تعمر قالبي بعلومه، وسمعي بأقواله، و روحي بأسراره و فيوضه ، اللهم بخالص ودّه لديك تنفحني بسبب حبّي إياه نفحة الأتقياء ، و تمنحني به منحة الأصفياء ، فإن علومه هي الأسرار المصنونة ، و الجواهر الأفراد المكنونة ، و اليواقيت المنطوية عليها أصداف مكنوناتك. فبعلومه صرنا نستدل بها عليك ، فقد زال بذلك عنّا الريب و حصل اليقين و الانتباه الذي لايشوبه شائبة أيّ شك. اللهم إنك جعلت دلالتنا عليك بعلومه ، فارض اللهم عليه و أعل مقامه فإنك جعلت علومه مصابيح الهدى المطهّرة من رق الأغيار ، فمن قلبه ظهر درر المعاني فجُعِلت قلائد التحقيق لأهل المباني. آمين يا رب العالمين.

شهزاد خان

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The Bedouin Life

 The way of life of the Bedouin was not a mere preamble to a higher civilization: it is a rounded, complete culture in itself. It is a culture no doubt formed and influenced by climate and geography and to a certain extent imbued with what may be described as barbaric notions; but in the last resort it is the outcome of realistic human responses to a human condition reduced to the barest essentials of life and lacking all those incidentals of ease which mould society in softer climes.

The natural environment of the Bedouin is hard and inclement. Steppes and deserts, sometimes traversed by dry riverbeds which carry water only after infrequent rains; the scorching heat of summer days and the biting cold of winter nights; shallow desert wells here and there, yielding scant quantities of mostly brackish water; vegetation so scarce for most of the year that it allows only for the breeding of camels and small cattle; and a tremendous expanse of skies, pale and burning in daytime like molten metal, and infinitely high and majestic, black and starry, by night: all this has contributed to the emergence of a special human type and of moral and social characteristics not to be found anywhere else.

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The Prophet in Makkah (Arabic)

و من لم يصانع في أمور كثيرة  

يضرّس بأنياب و يوطأ بمنسم

(زهير بن أبي سُلمى)

هذا البيت من معلقة زهير بن أبي سُلمى ، معناه أن من لم يجامل الناس و يداورهم في الأمور ، قهروه و غلبوه و أذلوه و ربما كشّروا عن أنيابهم و وطأوه بمناسم الإبل. هذا البيت جعلني أفكّر فيما كان للنبي ﷺ من أخلاق كريمة، و خُلُق عظيم. فإن النبي ﷺ لم يقض حياته قبل البعثة بين أحبابه و أصحابه ، بل قضى أربعين سنة قبل المبعث بين مشركي مكة، يخالطهم و يتعامل معهم في حياته ليلاً و نهارًا، و يتعاطى فيهم التجارة و هو عيش طويل طريقها، وعرة مسالكها، كثيرة منعطفاتها، تعترضها وهدات مما قد يصدر عن المرء من خيانة و إخلاف الوعد و أكل مال الباطل ، و عبقات من الخديعة ، و تطفيف الكيل و غير ذلك ، و الرسول ﷺ قد اجتاز هذه السبل الشائكة الوعرة و خلص و نجا منها نقيًّا سالمًا ، لم يصبه شيئ مما يصيب عامة الناس حتى لقد لقبوه بالأمين

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Ramadhan: The Healer

As much as I hate to admit it, I was of those who were wishing that the coming of Ramadhan was delayed this year. Drowning in the toxicity of this life, I didn’t feel ready. I didn’t feel like I had prepared enough. So as others were restlessly counting down the days and hours till this beautiful of guests was to grace them with their presence, I felt as if my tongue was empty in its sincerity. I found my heart hollow in its hesitance.

But the mercy of this month does not exclude even sinners like I. As the first sunset on that first day  dawned, I felt a loosing of knots within my soul- as if someone was breathing fresh air into my flailing lungs. Almost as if my soul was reaching out for all that it had been deprived in these last twelve months. As weak as it was, it was slowly but reaching for what it knew it needed- like a frail beggar extending his hand in dire thirst for just that one sip of water- knowing therein lay its remedy. Maybe sometimes our souls know things our physical faculties can never comprehend.

And so that night as each moment elapsed, I felt that knot slowly loosening…loosening. And as I stood there in prayer with complete strangers, a sense of solidarity overwhelmed me- we are all here prepared with our unpreparedness. Standing, untethered hearts in hand, with the anticipation that He will mend what is broken within us.

Al hamdulilahhi rabil aalameen. He is the one who hears me even when I am silent. The One who has always nourished me. How then, can I deny that His is the perfect decree? AlRahmaan Al Raheem. Cradling me like a child His mercy envelops me, irrespective of whether or not my human eye can see. Maliki Yawm iddeen. He is the One I will return to. It has never been about anything or anyone else. All that matters is me and Him. Ihdinas siratul mustaqeem. Guide me towards what is pleasing to you. O turner of hearts! Turn me onto your way. And though I may lapse and let go of you again and again, never let me go. Never leave me to myself.

And so as each crisp verse from the tongue of the imam echoed around me. Words from my Lord meant for an undeserving I, I felt the shackles I had fastened around my heart slowly slacken. I can never be fully prepared for the mercies he showers down upon me. I will always arrive bereft and negligent. But He sees me. He hears me. He knows me. He knows that each year, I will need these days to come and fill my wounds. How each year as my life progresses and I grow, my wounds will be different but the healing they yearn for will always be the same.

This Ramadhan may we all find our healing in Him.

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Ramadan The Healer (Arabic)

شهر رمضان المبارك

بقدر ما أكره  الاعتراف به ،أني لم أكن أتطلع إلى قدوم رمضان هذا العام، و كنتُ أتمنّى تأجيل مجيئه. لقد كنتُ غارقًا في مشاغل الحياة الدنيوية السمّيّة، لم أشعر بالاستعداد، و لم أشعر أني أعددتُ ما يكفي، فبينما كان الآخرون يعدّون الأيّام و الساعات حتى يكرمهم هذا الضيف المبارك بحضوره، شعرتُ كما لو أن لساني كان كاذبًا في ما يقول، و قلبي خاليًا عن أيّ تمنٍّ، وكان هذا القذى في جفني مدّ الطول

لكن رحمة هذا الشهر لا تستثني أحدًا، حتى المُذنِبين مثلي، فمع أفول الشمس حينما رُئِي الهلال، تبدّل الجوّ عاطرًا طاهرًا، شعرتُ بحلّ عقدةٍ في روحي، كأن أحدًا تنفّس الهواء النقي الصافي في رئتي المضطربة، كما لو أن روحي تمدّ يدها إلى كلّ ما هي محرومةً منه في الأشهر الماضية، كانت عطشانةً و لم تشعر، كانت جائعةً و لم تحسّ، كأنها تستخدم المخدّرات. لكن مع بدء هذه الأحاسيس و المشاعر شيئًا فشيئًا، كانت روحي تحاول الوصول إلى ما كانت تعرف أنها بحاجة إليها ، مثل الفقير الذي يمدّ يده في عطش شديد لرشفةٍ واحدة من ماء. ربما تعرف أرواحنا أحيانًا ما لا تستطيع أجسادنا فهمَه أبدًا

وهكذا في تلك اللّيلة المباركة مع مرور كلّ لحظة، شعرتُ أن العقدة التي حرّمتني الوجدان الروحي تحلّ و تتفكّك ببطء…و بينما كنتُ واقفًا في صلاة التراويح بين الأجانب تمامًا، غمرني شعور تغلغل في أحشائي و تمكّن في نفسي: نحن كلّنا هنا على استعداد مع عدم استعدادنا،و مع توقع أنه سوف يُصلَح ما انكسر بداخلنا

بدأ الإمام يقرأ الكتاب العزيز في الصلاة، الكتاب الذي حمَلَه المسلمون في فتوحهم الأولى، تلك الرسالة القوية الواضحة المشرقة، فأخذتْني الأفكارُ تطير بي، فالفاتحة التي سمعتُها من صوت الإمام كانت غير الفاتحة التي حفظتُها عن ظهر قلبي في صِغَري، نعم، آياتها كآيتها، و نظمها كنظمها، لكن معانيها كانت غير معانيها التي تعوّدتُ ذكرها. فغشيني موج كموج البحر فبدأتُ أغوط في هذه البحار العميقة

ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ. هو الذي يسمعني حتى و أنا صامت، الرب الذي يغذيني دائمًا، الذي أنبتني نباتًا حسنًا، و أنشأني نشأةً طيّبة، له الحمد و له الجزيل الثناء

ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ : هو الرب الذي يحتضني كطفل، يغلفني رحمته التي وسعتْ كلّ شئي

مَـٰلِكِ يَوْمِ ٱلدِّينِ: هو الذي سأعود إليه

إيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ: لا أهِمّ و لا أهتمّ  بأيّ شيءٍ أو أيّ شخصٍ آخر… كل ما يُهِمّني هو أنا وهو فقط

 ٱهْدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٰطَ ٱلْمُسْتَقِيمَ: أرشدني إلى ما يرضيك يا مقلّبَ القلوب! حوّلني إلى طريقك، وعلى الرغم من أنني قد أتركك مرارًا وتكرارًا ، فلا تتركني أبدًا. لا تكلني إلى لنفسي طرفةَ عين

وهكذا تردّد صدى كل آية حولي. كلمات ربي كانت تعني بي غير مستحق، و شعرتُ بأن الأغلال التي ربطتُّها على قلبي تتراخى، و كلّ آية أسمعها تفيضُ بالبهجة، وتموجُ بالنشوة، و تتفتح بالحياة الروحية

لا يمكنني أبدًا أن أكون مستعدًّا تمامًا للرحمة التي ينزلها عليّ ربّي، سأصِلُ دائمًا مجرّدًا ومهملًا، لكنه يراني، ويسمعني، و يعرفني حقّ المعرفة. إنه يعلم أنني سأحتاج إلى أن آتيه كل عام وأفتح جراحي. و كل عام مع تقدّم حياتي ونموها ، ستكون جراحي مختلفة ولكن الشفاء الذي أتوق إليه سيكون دائمًا كما هو، وحيدة، منفردة، طازجة كما قال ﷻ: وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ القُرْآنِ مَا هُوَ شِفَاءٌ وَرَحْمَةٌ لِلْمُؤْمِنِين

هذا رمضان! ربّنا يجعل لنا نجد كل شفاءنا فيه

شهزاد خان

 
 

 
 
 
  
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The Nature of Prayer

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The Quran speaks of two great worlds: the unseen and the visible (Q, 59:22); the world of matter and the world of spirit. We often refer to them as things visible and invisible – putting are sight as the main criterion for differentiating between the two great worlds. Yet, this is far from the truth. Indeed, the world of matter is all things made known to us by all our senses – the air we breathe, the sounds we hear, the things we touch, the food we taste; by the world of spirit we mean all those things our bodily senses cannot sense, perceive, feel, or make known to us.

Just as senses put us into connection with the material world, so to does our Faith put us into connection with the spiritual world. Faith is to the spiritual world what sense perception is to the material. Thus, Faith is often called the eye of the soul. But this is only partially true: Faith is not only the eye by which the soul can see, it is also the ear by which it can hear, the hand by which it can touch, the nose by which it can smell and the tongue by which it can taste that which the body cannot. Our senses realise the world of matter by making it real, substantial and evident. The work of Faith is to realise the world of spirit; to make it real, substantial and evident. This work of Faith is plainly described in the words, “This is the Book, wherein is no doubt; a guide to the God-fearing, who have Faith in the Unseen” (Q, 2:2-3).  Its task is to draw us out of the physical and material and place us before the presence of the unseen, invisible and spiritual.

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by micropaedia

The Birth & Origins of Islamic Sciences

The golden age of Islam, insofar as the intensity of the religious and spiritual life and the realization of its ideals are concerned, must be identified with the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad- Allah bless him and give him peace- and the first Muslim community at Medina. But just as the seed sown in the ground grows into a tree and finally bears fruit only after the passage of time and the gaining of nourishment from a suitable soil, so did the tree of Islamic civilization bear its intellectual and artistic fruits several centuries after its inception, during which it was nourished by the legacy of the previous civilizations to which Islam became the heir. The arts and sciences, as well as philosophy and metaphysics, reached their zenith of formal perfection and became fully articulated only after Muslim society had become completely consolidated, and only after the tenets of the Islamic revelation had been realized in concrete and tangible forms so as to make the new civilization distinctly Islamic, even when elements of non-Islamic origin had been incorporated into it.

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by micropaedia

A Forthcoming Book on Philosophical Ethics in Islam…

‘Are there moral road maps?’ A question that has baffled humankind since time immemorial. What is the right, proper and ethical way of doing something? Philosophers, both religious and secular, have toiled and vexed over these fundamental questions. Yet, there are some things that we all unanimously agree, are good, and others, we unanimously agree, are bad; it is the blurry grey areas that make us lose sleep at night – and there is no easy answer.

Historically, it was via the institution of religion that humans first heard the call to ethics and moral responsibility. The Abrahamic scriptures – Genesis and the Quran – tell us that it was Noah who first held humans accountable for their wrong doings.

Then came the Greeks, who, through their ingenuity, converted ethics into a science and philosophy. The forerunners here were the Sophists. Frequenting Athens and other Greek cities they would teach virtue and social morality in the second half of the fifth century B.C. Socrates came thereafter, who through his dialogues, greatly expanded upon the themes of the Sophists until finally Aristotle entered the scene and left his indelible mark on the pages of history with his Nicomachean Ethics.

The story does not end there. Religion makes a second appearance in the forms of Christianity and Islam. This time, Christianity and Islam adorn the philosophical musings of Aristotle and his ilk in religious garb and lay the bedrock of trying to harmonise reason and revelation – their entire focus here being the salvation and felicity of humankind in this world and the next.

During medieval times in the Islamic world, from Baghdad to Cordoba, where there was a constant struggle to try and harmonise reason with revelation, ethical philosophy was also argued, rebutted and debated along similar veins. One group, known as the philosophers, held that reason was the foundation upon which religious dictates needed to be built, and more importantly, conform to.  They thus attempted a Hellenistic commentary of religion. To this group belong: Farabi, Ibn Miskawayh, Avicenna and to some extent, Averroes.

On the other side were the Sufis, who argued that religious rulings are fundamental, and that reason is to be only regarded as a tool to understanding the complexities of the Divine. Prominent amongst this party were: Suharwardi, Ghazali, Ibn Arabi, Rumi, Ibn Qayyim, Sirhindi and Shah Waliullah.

Differences aside, what is apparent is that ethics as a science benefitted tremendously from these scholarly debates.

Why then a need for another book on virtue and ethics? Why am I resurrecting out-of-date and antiquated morals in a postmodern era? My answer is simple: a civilization without a moral compass will find itself very soon out-of-date and antiquated.

While life is confusing and challenging, it is these underlying moral foundations that provide guidance without which there is only confusion. My attempt in this book is to primarily lay bare that guide for myself in this ever-confusing world. I have delved into many books of eastern and western origin in English, Urdu, Arabic and Persian. Whilst my search lasted over a decade, it resulted in vain. What I mean by this is that books on this subject have either dealt with the subject from a rational perspective, or from a religious one – none from both. My attempt here is to provide a comparison from both rational and religious aspects to draw a line of comparison and to enable and articulate a clear path of demarcation. How successful I have been in this attempt I shall let the readers decide. Whilst not making any boastful claim on my behalf, if I have helped the reader even the least bit further to understand ethics, or appreciate the scholarly discourse on ethics or catch something of value for their own practical lives, I would claim that my humble attempt is justified.

I have divided this book into four chapters: the first three chapters deal with traditional and contemporary aspects from both religious and rational corners; the fourth and final chapter deals solely with the Islamic ethical framework.

by micropaedia

Why I Created U-Knowit

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My name is Shazad Khan and I’m passionate about learning and teaching. I founded U-Knowit to provide myself with an online platform to reach people that I couldn’t have reached otherwise. I’ve been teaching a range of subjects for nearly two decades now which include, Critical Thinking, English for Academic Purposes, Interactive Learning & Communication Skills, Arabic and Islamic Studies. I’ve also been blogging at micropaedia.org since 2010.  U-Knowit is basically an accumulation of my struggles, passions, reading, learning and meanderings; all systematically organised into modules for intellectual consumption.

 

But enough about me… I have a question for you – what type of person are you?

Are you passionate about empowering yourself?

Do you want to learn new skills and knowledge?

Do you struggle with the ability to write academically?

Do you struggle with being a Muslim in a Western context?

Do you find yourself in a pickle over pronouns and prepositions?

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