The Strategic Significance of the Fast of Ramadaan, the Isra’ and the Mi’raj

This booklet, on the subject of fasting in Islam, comprises four sections. In the first section we discuss the basic objective of the institution of fasting in Islam as one of the development of ‘values’. We argue the point that values are an indispensable foundation of ‘power’ . In the second section we seek to explain the linkages which exist between fasting, on the one hand, and such specific values as charity, chastity, and freedom, on the other. In the third section there is an attempt to demonstrate a certain chronological sequence through which the compulsory fast in Islam can lead the believer to spiritual or religious experiencse. We then proceed to demonstrate the link which must always exist between moral and spiritual values, or between morality and religion and, hence, between religion and power. And finally, in the fourth section we examine the effect of fasting on the physical body and on physical health. Physical health and strength are a vital requirement, materially and psychologically, for the development of power.

 

Surah Fatiha and Spiritual Quest

Transcription of a lecture delivered by Maulana Imran N Hosein at Maulana Ansari dhikr group gathering, Abd-al-Aleem House, Cape Town, South Africa. Lecture transcribed by Irshad Soofie (http://www.sufi.co.za) . We begin with Allah’s Blessed name; we praise Him and we glorify Him as He aught to be glorified and we pray for peace and blessings on all His noble messengers …

Dreams in Islam

One of  the signs of  the  last age,  i.e., before  the end of  the world,  is  the absence of knowledge (of Truth and,  therefore of  Islam).   Our widespread  ignorance of  the  subject of  ‘Dreams’ and  the  important place which ‘Dreams’ occupy in Islam, (as well as the widespread ignorance of the subject of the Prohibition of Riba in Islam), is …

The Qur’an, the Family and Crime

This is the last of four Ramadan Special essays published by Jama Masjid, San Fernando, and written by Islamic scholars Imran N. Hosein and Siddiq A. Nasir, that turn to the blessed Qur’an in an attempt to respond to rampant crime. Rallies, marches, changing Ministers of Government and Police Commissioners, etc., can never be a substitute for knowledge. The previous …

The Qur’an, Secularism and Crime

Who decides what is right and what is wrong?  The society?  Religion?  The Government?  I  myself? And now we see a shift, in contemporary society, from principles of right and wrong to choices, decisions and risks, and therefore to subjective personal decisions, with little regard for wider consequences.  No longer is “man the measure of all things” – I am …

The Qur’an, crime and a philosophy of punishment

This is the second of four Ramadan Special essays published by Jama Masjid, San Fernando, and written by Islamic scholars Imran N. Hosein and Siddiq A. Nasir, that turn to the blessed Qur’an in an attempt to respond to rampant crime. Rallies, marches, calls to change Ministers of Government and Police Commissioners, etc., are never a substitute for knowledge. The …

Why do Muslims Pray Five Times a Day?

The Catholic Prime Minister of the Caribbean island of St. T Vincent is reported (Trinidad Guardian, May 8th, 2004) to have entered into the Mt. St. Benedict (Catholic) Monastery in Trinidad for a spiritual retreat during which “ he would join the monks in praying five times a day”. There are many people in the Caribbean who have chosen to …

The Philosophy of Gender in Islam

If God is a man, that’s bad news for women – because masculinity would then be divine – and hence only the male would have been created in the divine image. This explains why the feminist revolution has redefined God as being both male and female. Islam declares that Allah Most High created both the male and the female but …

The Eid of Sacrifice

Selfish people cannot sacrifice, and hence cannot truly love. True love always requires sacrifice. The greater and more profound the love – the greater the sacrifice it commands. In this sense it is only the brave and courageous, only those who can ‘give’, and ‘take’ nothing in return, who can truly love, for only they can truly sacrifice. What do …

Ashurah in The Qur’an

The Qur’an has described the event when Moses (‘alaihi al-Salam) was ordered to flee by night from the eastern delta of Egypt where the Israelites had all assembled, towards the sea, and beyond that to the Holy Land “which Allah had given to them”. Pharaoh pursued and caught up with them as they approached the sea. They were now trapped, …