When I was a child, growing up in the sixties and seventies just a few blocks away from the notorious Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, I was surrounded by the hippie movement. It was a “turn on, tune in, drop out” age of sexual freedom, cultural revolution and social recklessness. Happily, I was never caught […]
Preservation of the Quran (part 1 of 2): Memorization.
The Glorious Quran, the Muslims’ religious Scripture, was revealed in Arabic to the Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, through the angel Gabriel. The revelation occurred piecemeal, over a period of twenty-three years, sometimes in brief verses and sometimes in longer chapters. The Quran (lit. a “reading” or “recitation”) […]
Did Muhammad Author the Quran?
Who authored the Quran? Someone must have produced it! After all, how many desert men have stood up in the history of man and given the world a book like the Quran? The book has amazing details of past nations, prophets, and religions as well as accurate scientific information unavailable at the time. What was […]
The Pleasures of Paradise in Brief.
God has said in the Quran: “And give good news (O Muhammad) to those who believe and do good deeds, that they will have gardens (Paradise) in which rivers flow….” (Quran 2:25) God has also said: “Race one with another for forgiveness from your Lord and for Paradise, whose width is as the width of […]
The Journey into the Hereafter.
Introduction Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam who passed away in 632, related: “Gabriel came to me and said, ‘O Muhammad, live as you wish, for you shall eventually die. Love whom you desire, for you shall eventually depart. Do what you please, for you shall pay. Know that the night-prayer is the honor of a believer, […]
Clash or Peaceful Coexistence?
Is it possible for the inhabitants of our global village to live peacefully together and reap the fruits of science and technology whose pace of advancement is ever increasing? Or are their religious, cultural and civilization differences bound to create clashes and wars among them? The matter is so important that it behooves Muslim intellectuals […]
Why Were we Created?
All praise is due to Allah. May His prayers and blessings be upon his Last Messenger and on all those who follow the path of righteousness until the Last Day. Not just Muslims, but every single human being has to answer the most fundamental question at some point in his or her lifetime: “Why was […]
The Sixty Ninth Call: The Prohibition of Putting ourselves before Allah and His Messenger.
Almighty Allah says (what can be translated as): “O you who have believed, do not put [yourselves] before Allah and His Messenger but fear Allah. Indeed, Allah is Hearing and Knowing.” (Al-Hujurat: 1) In this verse, Almighty Allah disciplines His believing servants and teaches them the standards of addressing the Messenger, Peace Be upon Him, […]