An enduring classic work on the etiquette that a Muslim must or should have with regard to handling and reciting the Quran (the Muslim scripture). The topics this volume raises include: ritual cleanliness, opportune times for recitation, the etiquette that students have with their teachers (and that teachers must have with their students), and variety of other issues that every Muslim should know and frequently ask about.
The key secret to unlocking the Quran and experiencing its innumerable benefits and wisdoms, and receiving its endless guidance is that one must approach it the right way: with "adab." This book explains the right conduct of the bearers of the Quran, and the characteristics of its memorizers and students.
Offering insights into Muslim culture, Fouad Masri addresses seven common questions Muslims ask about Jesus and the Christian faith, providing sensitive answers that winsomely guide Muslims to Jesus. With real-life stories, Masri helps readers see Muslims as Jesus sees them, without fear, with love, hope and expectation.
What connects Shiite passion plays with Brechts drama? Which of Goethes poems were inspired by the Quran? How can Ibn Arabis theology of sighs explain the plays of Heinrich von Kleist? And why did the Persian author Sadeq Hedayat identify with the Prague Jew Franz Kafka? One who knows himself and others will here too understand: Orient and Occident are no longer separable: in this new book, the critically acclaimed author and scholar Navid Kermani takes Goethe at his word. He reads the Quran as a poetic text, opens Eastern literature to Western readers, unveils the mystical dimension in the works of Goethe and Kleist, and deciphers the political implications of theatre, from Shakespeare to Lessing to Brecht. Drawing striking comparisons between diverse literary traditions and cultures, Kermani argues for a literary cosmopolitanism that is opposed to all those who would play religions and cultures against one another, isolating them from one another by force. Between Quran and Kafka concludes with Kermanis speech on receiving Germanys highest literary prize, an impassioned plea for greater fraternity in the face of the tyranny and terrorism of Islamic State. Kermanis personal assimilation of the classics gives his work that topical urgency that distinguishes universal literature when it speaks to our most intimate feelings. For, of course, love too lies between Quran and Kafka.
Have we ever wondered why Allah swt uses His name as Allah some places and Rabb in the others? Have we ever wondered what the difference between momin and muslim is? Can we make an argument to prove their meanings from within the Quran? Have we ever wondered why Allah swt uses the word zikar so extensively throughout the Quran; or what the meaning of the word zikar is; or how the meaning of zikar is different from talu, qara, and ratal; and even why there are talu, qara, and ratal, the three different words for reading the Quran? Or have we ever wondered why we are plagued by all kinds of catastrophes? Or why is there so much chaos and conflict in the world, and how can we solve these problems? If we have not wondered about such questions, the reason is that we have not read the Qur’an in its true sense. Today’s Muslims have two main objectives for their children: success in this world and triumph in the life hereafter. Muslim children need natural and social knowledge, but to fully enrich their minds, they also need to learn about the Quran and Islamic traditions. Many Islamic schools in North America are pursuing both of these objectives, but educators often feel that merging these two goals is too difficult. Having spent years teaching in Islamic schools and conducting a wealth of research, Roohi A. Ahmad has observed firsthand how complex the enterprise of Islamic education is. She has also witnessed the void of learning outcomes, teaching goals, and, most importantly, a clear vision and methodology for Islamic education. She has sought to remedy that situation in this book. It provides a practical methodology designed to help Muslim educators create a state-of-the-art Islamic education system that will lead to fully formed students who can function well in this world and ensure a positive outcome in the world to come.
Connecting Ecologies focuses on the environmental aspects of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’ and the challenge to care for our common home. It considers how best to devise and implement the new societal models needed to tackle the ecological problems facing the world today. The book addresses the need for and complexity of an integral ecology, one that looks not only at physical and biological processes but also allows for the contributions of theology, philosophy, spirituality, and psychology, including the implications for the human and social sciences. The contributions document four categories of resonances, resources, requirements, and responses evoked by a reading of Laudato Si’ and include consideration of other faith traditions. They reflect on how care for our common home motivates people in different places, cultures, and professions to cooperate for myriad goods in common. The volume is particularly relevant for scholars working in religious studies and theology with an interest in ecology, the environment, and the Anthropocene.
A revelatory account of early Islam’s great diversity by the world’s leading scholar of early Qur’anic manuscripts “There is no one better placed than François Déroche to write the history—and tell the story—of how the Quran went from words uttered by Muhammad to inviolable canonical scripture. This is a meticulous, lucid, and fascinating book.”—Shawkat Toorawa, Yale University According to Muslim dogma, the recited and written text of the Qur’an as we know it today scrupulously reflects the divine word as it was originally sent down to Muhammad. An examination of early Islamic sources, including accounts of prophetic sayings, all of them compared with the oldest Qur’anic manuscripts, reveal that plurality was in fact the outstanding characteristic of the genesis and transmission of the Qur’an, both textually and orally. By piecing together information about alternative wordings eliminated from the canonical version that gradually came to be imposed during the first centuries of Islam, François Déroche shows that the Qur’an long remained open to textual diversity. Not only did the faithful initially adopt a flexible attitude toward the Qur’anic text, an attitude strikingly at odds with the absolute literalism later enforced by Muslim orthodoxy, but Muhammad himself turns out to have been more concerned with the meaning than the letter of the divine message.
The Quran is the foundation of our faith and the source of our guidance as Muslims, but many of us struggle to create or maintain a relationship with the words of Allah in our daily lives. Quran journaling is a great way to cultivate that relationship - it gives you flexibility to connect with the Quran on your terms and the ability to see how verses apply specifically to you and your individual circumstances. This journal will be your guide on that journey to connect with the Quran in a meaningful way. With relevant monthly themes and selected verses for each day, this journal will help you to get started creating that relationship, without the overwhelm of not knowing where or how to start. Make the intention that the 365 daily verses in this book will be your starting point on your lifelong journey to connect with Allah's words in ever deeper and more meaningful ways. That they will be your reminders when you feel like you have wandered off the path. That they will be your foundation and your grounding in a world that seems ever more hectic. Bismillah. - Theme and Verse Number: At the top of each page, you will find the theme for the month and the number of the verse in the Quran which you can use to look up the verse. - Arabic: Regardless of the level you are, practice Arabic writing by copying down the verse. - Translation: Write down the translation you best understand and connect with. - Tafsir: Read through and write the background, context, and explanation of each verse. The most well known authentic resource for tafsir is Tafsir Ibn Kathir. Th is can be purchased online or in many Islamic bookstores. Tafsir Ibn Kathir can also be found for free online in various places. - Application: Reflect on and apply the verse of the day to your life. How does this verse connect to you and your experiences? How does it relate to the overall theme? Are there any other verses, hadith, or quotes that this brings to mind? How does it make you feel? How can you act on it? These are some questions to get you started, but of course you can write whatever feels right. - Dua: Write a short dua to help you put your learnings about the verse into action. Ameen. May Allah accept all your efforts in better connecting with the Quran.
This study illustrates why the language of the Qur'an is miraculous, unique, and evidence of divine authority. The author compares the language of the Qur'an with the language of pre-Islamic poetry, the Prophet's words (hadith), and the language of the Arabs both past and present, to demonstrate that although the Qur'an was revealed in Arabic it was at the same time an Arabic which was entirely new. Original and early Muslim audiences viewed this as miraculous and responded to the Qur'an's words, sounds, rhythms, etc. in a manner consistent with a deeper appreciation of its beauty and majesty which modern ears, trained by familiarity, and despite being surrounded by all manner of dictionaries and studies, are at a loss to capture. The author attempts to remove this veil and present the Qur'an to readers as if hearing it for the first time, to bring to life some of this wonder. In doing so he guides readers to appreciate the beauty of the Qur'an, to become more immersed in it, and to have a clearer understanding of its structure and flow. Devoting special attention to Surah Al Muddaththir, to underpin his analysis, Saeh thus brings the Revelation to life, to demonstrate that each surah has distinct features and characteristics that make it stand out uniquely within the design and sweep of the whole.
South Asia is today the region inhabited by the largest number of Muslims---roughly 500 million. In the course of the Islamisation process, which begaun in the eighth century, it developed a distinct Indo-Islamic civilisation that culminated in the Mughal Empire. While paying lip service to the power centres of Islam in the Gulf, including Mecca and Medina, this civilisation has cultivated its own variety of Islam, based on Sufism. Over the last fifty years, pan-Islamic ties have intensified between these two regions. Gathering together some of the best specialists on the subject, this volume explores these ideological, educational and spiritual networks, which have gained momentum due to political strategies, migration flows and increased communications. At stake are both the resilience of the civilisation that imbued South Asia with a specific identity, and the relations between Sunnis and Shias in a region where Saudi Arabia and Iran are fighting a cultural proxy war, as evident in the foreign ramifications of sectarianism in Pakistan. Pan-Islamic Connections investigates the nature and implications of the cultural, spiritual and socio-economic rapprochement between these two Islams.
