Allah, the Almighty, says in Quran: فَمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُوا لِقَاءَ رَبِّهِ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلاً صَالِحاً وَلا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَداً۔ Whoever hopes to meet his Lord, let him do good deeds and join no other deity in the worship of his Lord. (Al Kahf 18:110) It is apparent from this verse that the person who worships […]
Women are as important as men for the survival of human race. A woman is a great blessing of God in form of a sister, a daughter and a wife. The most significant role of a woman is ‘the mother’. A mother not only provides a baby with his basic physiological needs but also establish […]
The story of Adam (علیہ الصلوۃ والسلام) and Satan is described in Quran [as well as in the Old Testament.] According to the details described in different parts of Quran, God appointed Adam His viceroy on the earth. He ordered the angels to prostrate before Adam. All angels did so, but a jinn present at […]
Kyrgyzstan is a Central Asian state bordering China, Uzbekistan Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. It became independent with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. (Photo Courtesy: www.lonelyplanet.com) Most of the population of Kyrgyzstan is nominally Muslim, and there has been a growing interest in Islam among those seeking a new ethnic or national identity. Kyrgyzstan also features in the US-Russian rivalry for control of Central Asia, […]
Hudhaifa bin Yaman (رضی اللہ عنہ) is a companion of Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ واٰلہ وسلم). He has a distinction among other companions that the Prophet shared some secrets with him. He often said, “Other people used to ask positive things from the Prophet whereas I always used to ask about evil and disorder […]
Recently, I have read a small Urdu book named “Tehzebi Nargasiat” which stands for “Civilizational Narcissism”. The booklet is written by Mubarak Haider who has composed a unique idea into a small scholarly booklet. Although, the author is known for his orientation to the Socialist Left but this book is a marvelous masterpiece of unbiased psychoanalysis. This article […]
Based on our experience with different types of writings, we can classify those under two categories: Serious academic writings and propagandistic ones. The objective of this essay is to establish criteria to differentiate between the two. The following comparison and contrast will help us in doing so: Academic Writings Propagandistic Writings Purpose The purpose […]
Human minds can be categorized into two types: taqlidi (stagnant and imitative of past precedent) and ijtihadi (dynamic and creative). The former denotes closed mindedness; the latter is its opposite, open mindedness. The taqlidi mind attains a certain level and then stagnates, while the ijtihadi mind keeps traveling ahead, stopping only at death. The difference […]
Among the various internal challenges facing madrasas (religious seminaries) today is the pressing problem of sectarianism and sectarian conflict. Some people claim that in the last ten or fifteen years there has been a decline in the sectarianism actively promoted by madrasas. God knows better, but I feel that if indeed this is so, it is still not very significant. A glance at […]
We are totally unaware from the manners of dissention or difference in opinion. Especially, in case of religious differences, our first reaction is that we start doubting the intention of people disagreeing with us and think that they are paid agent of some world forces. Some people take one step ahead by humiliating those who […]
