Tag: Featured
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The Bitcoiners Confronting Islam’s Money Problem: Is there an Exit From Riba?
Hudhaifah Zahid, founder of Grynvault and Econommi, discusses Islamic economic ethics and Bitcoin with Hibatuallah Bensaid. He critiques modern fiat systems for embedding riba, arguing that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin offer a path to monetary sovereignty and challenge conventional financial structures. Zahid emphasizes the need for active engagement and community resilience to navigate financial ethics and…
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The Embodied Pedagogy of Islamic Knowledge
Scholarship has increasingly examined historically grounded, textually cultivated traditional Muslim religious schools and their influence on the everyday life-worlds of the communities surrounding them. These institutions, as centres of religious education and spiritual practice, have played a central role across the Muslim world in shaping, informing, and reforming the daily engagements of believers. In doing…
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Whose Body? Islam, Surrogacy, and the Limits of Market Autonomy
Meghan Trainor’s announcement of her third child’s birth through surrogacy is the latest example of the ongoing debate over commercial surrogacy, particularly in wealthy circles. The discussion addresses the theological and philosophical considerations regarding bodily autonomy, consent, and the commodification of reproduction, emphasizing the Islamic perspective that prohibits such practices based on moral principles.
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Muslim Noir in Wael Abdelgawad’s ‘Zaid Karim: Private Investigator’
The novel introduces us to Zaid Karim, the titular Palestinian-American detective. Zaid is a struggling private investigator, beleaguered by his failures both personal and professional, in the midst of a marital separation, and largely ostracized from his local Muslim community. Some serendipitous circumstances and calculated schemings later, Zaid finds himself embroiled in a convoluted search…
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Sonja Brentjes on the Post-Classical Sciences: Continuity, Patronage, Debate
Sonja Brentjes’ book reassesses the history of sciences in Islamicate societies from the 13th to 17th centuries, challenging notions of decline after the classical period. She argues that rational sciences coexisted with religious studies in madrasahs, supported by elite patronage, and highlights the complexity of scholarly activity, suggesting areas for further research.
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The Squandered Prophet
“Khālid ibn Sinān is considered to have been a prophet after the time of Jesus but before the time of Muḥammad… Khālid was a man of extraordinary spiritual power, and by use of his staff was able to counter a fire that was engulfing his land in Aden. He chased the fire back into the…
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A Rejoinder to the Statement on Zakat by AMJA and FCNA
I am writing this article to advise the US Muslim community not to give credence to the “fatwā” issued by FCNA and AMJA. Darul Qasim’s Dār al-Iftāʾ will issue a more detailed rebuttal from a fiqh perspective. Acquiescence to a status quo is built upon defeatism and inertia. Over time, it breeds intellectual laziness, discourages…
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Tributaries of the Ocean: On the Necessity of Spiritual Mentorship for Muslims
My wife and I recently spent some quality time with religious mentors in our lives. As usual, we were struck by the ways in which they are a clarifying presence in our lives, which we often needlessly complicate. I was reminded of the dire need we have in our communities for people to have access…
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Allah’s Signs, Man’s Scalpel: Reframing Islamic Scientific Practice Beyond the Positivist Lens
The modern concept of an Islamic ‘Golden Age’ often oversimplifies a complex historical period, neglecting the integrated worldview where science and theology merged. Al-Zahrawi exemplifies this ideal, blending rigorous inquiry with spiritual reflection.
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Reading Silence: Omission, ʻIbra, and Islamic Philosophy of History
Exploring the dual meanings of history and distinguishing between past events and their historiographical accounts. It analyzes modern historiographical philosophical frameworks, particularly focusing on the pedagogy and moral imperatives in Islamic historiography. Omissions in historical narratives reflect ethical considerations rather than negligence and this shapes how we understand the past.