I am delighted to announce the publication of my latest book “The First and Last Revelations of the Qur’an.” This small, focused study examines the ḥadīths and historical reports on the first and last verses and chapters of the Qur’an. The book is available in paperback and on Kindle from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, and other Amazon channels. It should also start becoming available shortly on other channels.
Since the attacks of 11/September/2001 on the USA, terrorism has been presented in the West as the most immediate danger to the globe. You cannot read an “unbiased” newspaper, watch an “informative” news bulletin, or listen to an “honest” politician without the subject of terrorism coming up. Almost always, terrorism is used to refer to the savage brutal acts that are carried out by Muslim individuals and groups. In addition to its savagery, this racist definition is the most conspicuous aspect of the “terrorism” that is the subject of continuous debate in the West. Continue reading
I explained in a previous article how The Length of the Fasting Day of Ramadan is not simply a fixed formula from the dawn to sunset. This method is perfectly suitable for most places, but it starts producing impractical or even meaningless results for northern locations with high latitudes. In extreme cases, the fasting day could be over 22 hours or less than 2 hours long, depending on the time of the year! Continue reading
Like any collective activity, the Muslim congregational prayer (salāt al-Jamā’a) must have its rules, so that all participants can perform it in the same way. The Qur’an does not give details about how the prayer, whether individual or congregational, should be physically performed, but there are hadiths and narratives about how the Prophet prayed and ordered the Muslims to pray. But being a form of worship that the Muslims from the time of the Prophet performed on a daily basis, it is logical to conclude that the main details of this practice must have been perfectly preserved. Continue reading
I am very delighted to announce the publication of an Arabic edition of my book Abrogation in the Qur’an and Islamic Law: A Critical Study of the Concept of “Naskh” and its Impact. The book, titled النسخ في القرآن العظيم والقانون الإسلامي: دراسة نقدية عن مفهوم النسخ وتأثيره, has been published by الدار العربية للعلوم ناشرون (Arab Scientific Publishers Inc.), Beirut, Lebanon. The book is available from physical bookstores, as well as the publisher’s website and the online bookstore نيل وفرات (Neel wa Furat). For more information about the book, its table of content, and sample sections, click on the front cover of the book below to visit the book’s page on my Arabic website.
I am delighted to announce the launch of my Arabic website بُعدٌ إسلامي (Islamic Dimension). This website is for publishing full books and excerpts from my published Arabic works. I might also publish occasional articles. At launch, the website contains my book التاريخ يشهد بعصمة القرآن (History Testifies to the Infallibility of the Qur’an) in full and sample sections from my latest book النسخ في القرآن العظيم والقانون الإسلامي: دراسة نقدية عن مفهوم النسخ وتأثيره (Abrogation in the Qur’an and Islamic Law: A Critical Study of the Concept of “Naskh” and its Impact).
There are number of verses in the Qur’an that reveal leadership qualities of Prophet Muhammad. One of these is the following verse:
It is by some mercy from Allah that you have been gentle with them. Had you been rough and hard of heart they would have dispersed from around you. So pardon them, ask for forgiveness for them, and consult them. Then when you have resolved, put your trust in Allah. Allah loves those who trust Him. (3.159) Continue reading
After delivering the third Abdullah Yusuf Ali Memorial Lecture on 16th of February 2013, brother Saif Eldin Hassan Elawad interviewed me for Al-Rābiṭa, the monthly Arabic magazine of the Muslim World League. You can download the interview from here. If you would like to download the full issue, you can download it from here.
Yesterday, I published an article on the option of using the length of the fasting day in Mecca or Medina when fasting Ramadan in northern locations where the fasting time can be unreasonably long. I discussed flaws in the argument of those who object to this method and the incompatibility of their thinking with the objective of Islamic Law. I also quoted well-known scholars who approved of this method.
In this article, I am going to give simple instructions on how to calculate the start and finish times of the fast everyday following the length of the fast in Mecca. Continue reading
