Category: Theology
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The 313 of Badr: Torchbearers of Truth in a World of Shadows
“Allah is pleased with the first and foremost of the Emigrants and the Supporters and those who followed them in goodness, and they are pleased with Him.” -Surah At-Tawbah (9:100) The Crisis of Moral Orientation in the Hyperreal Age In a world governed by optics rather than ontology, where simulacra supplant substance and spectacle substitutes
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Fasting as an Entry into a Transcendent Cosmic Realm
The author explores the crisis of meaning within modernity, emphasizing the loss of metaphysical grounding and identity amid neoliberal consumerism. It presents fasting as a transformative practice, aligning the self with divine attributes and serving as a resistance against hyper-individualism. Fasting purifies the soul, bridging human experience with transcendence and spiritual elevation.
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Who is an ʿĀlim?
In contemporary times, answering “Who is an ʿālim?” requires more than just a cursory definition. Presently, the term is often loosely applied to people of various levels of Islamic scholarly training, at times even to the novice student of knowledge. However, historically, the term ʿālim had a very precise definition. To be amongst the ʿulamāʾ, one was required to meet a high…
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Harmony Among Madhahib: Imam Al-Sha’rani’s Al-Mizan al-Kubra
The study of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) is marked by the existence of multiple schools of thought (madhahib), each offering distinct interpretations and methodologies in the application of Sharia. Among these, Imam Al-Sha’rani, a prominent 16th-century Egyptian scholar, stands out for his pioneering efforts in advocating for reconciliation and tolerance among these diverse schools. His book…
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The Purpose of Creation: Al-Jīlī’s Divine Perfection in the Muhammadan Attributes
A translation of the first chapter of al-Jīlī’s work, al-Kamālāt al-Ilāhiyyah fi-l-Ṣifāt al-Muḥammadiyyah ﷺ, that has been rendered from the original Arabic. The entire book may be a project undertaken as a future endeavor, but the first chapter has been published due to the praise ascribed and importance noted of the Messenger ﷺ. May the…
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Revisiting the Premise of FCNA’s Fatwa on Calculations versus Moonsighting
In 2006, the Fiqh Council of North America (“FCNA”) adopted its fatwa concluding that calculations should replace the traditional practice of moonsighting to determine the Islamic lunar months. Though this position represented a stark break from tradition, it immediately gained widespread acceptance. At the same time, this fatwa was met with significant opposition from the…
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The Virtues of the Levant: A Translation from Matlab al-Nāsik fī ʿIlm al-Manāsik
The detailed work of al-Imām Abī ʿAbd-Allāh Shihāb al-Dīn al-Tūrbishtī al-Ḥanafī, ‘Maṭlab al-Nāsik fī ʿIlm al-Manāsik’, contains sections on the virtues of the Levant and its people, its importance now, in the past, and in the end of times, followed by a section on al-Aqṣā, a translation of which may similarly follow. All of these…
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Shah Waliullah’s Sheltering of Ibn Taymiyya in Mughal India: A Perso-Arabic Letter on the Damscene Polymath
Shah Waliullah’s response-letter to the unity of virtues, Mu’īn al-Dīn al-Thattāī. Its contents include the banishment of doubts in the speech of Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn Ahmad bin Taymiyya al-Hanbalī, and an exposition on his virtues and his ineffable appreciation amongst the Sunnī scholars; and a refutation who of those who seek to undermine his status,…
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Ensuring Economic Justice: The Imperative of Transparency and Accountability in Zakāh Distribution
Zakāh is a foundational pillar of Islam, considered integral to the foundation of Islamic civilization to such an extent that the first Caliph Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه waged wars against those who rejected giving zakāh. It is a grave mistake to consider zakāh as merely another form of charity; zakāh is an institution and…
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Understanding Ibn Taymiyya’s Approach to Theology
Indibutably, Ibn Taymiyya is heralded as one of the more unique figures within the Islamic civilization and its scholastic tradition. A radically non-conformist scholarly dissenter, he considered himself unbound by the expectations of tradition and the religious accretions of preceding centuries, which had molded contemporary Islam into its normative, orthodox form.