The Tradition of Memorizing the Quran

It is a tradition in the Muslim world that some people memorize the Quran by heart. A person’s becoming a hafiz is considered to be a sign of deep devotion to the holy book, deserving of admiration by people and rewards by God. Because the text is sacred it has to be recalled by the … Read more

Abuse of Women

Many traditional ulema have interpreted aya 4:34 as justification for men to abuse women. Dr. Kaukab Siddique shows the fallacy of such interpretations. Islamic Refutation Of Oppression of Women

Significance of Eid Ul Adha

Eid-al Adha is the annual celebration of the memory of Prophet Ibrahim who offered to sacrifice his son for God; but God favored him and accepted the sacrifice of a ram instead. The principle of sacrifice is our willingness to give up something dear to us for a high purpose. The Middle East, the cradle … Read more

The Essence of Religion

Sura 98 Ayas 4–5 And those to whom scripture was given did not become divided into sects until after evidence had come to them. But they were enjoined nothing more than to worship God, be sincere in religion and be regular in prayer and give charity, for this is the essence of religion. The Quran, … Read more

Alcohol More Dangerous Than Heroin

by The Associated Press November 1, 2010 Alcohol is more dangerous than illegal drugs like heroin and crack cocaine, according to a new study. British experts evaluated substances including alcohol, cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and marijuana, ranking them based on how destructive they are to the individual who takes them and to society as a whole. … Read more

Wrong Beliefs Cause Disasters

Sura 13 Aya 31 As for those who are in denial, disasters will not cease to afflict them because of what they do, or will land close to their homes, until God’s promise is fulfilled: verily, God never fails to fulfill His promise. Sura 13 Aya 40 Do they not see how We are reducing … Read more

Tranquility

Sura 13 Aya 28 Those who have faith, their hearts find tranquility in the remembrance of God, for undoubtedly, hearts do find tranquility in the remembrance of God. No matter who you are, where you live, and what you do, life brings you problems every day. You can be a surgeon, a farmer, an office … Read more

Expansion of Time

And what will explain to you what the night of power is? The night of power is greater than a thousand months. Sura 97: 2-4 These verses are about the first experience of revelation by Prophet Muhammad.. What the Prophet experienced that night was so momentous it could not have otherwise happened in thousands of … Read more

Interpreting the Quran

Preamble: Communication is interaction. When you read a text there is an interaction between the words on the page and your own inner script. The reader’s script is composed of his or her prior store of information, motivations and world-view. Thus when you read a translation or a commentary (tafsir) of the Quran you are … Read more

Hope and Faith

“And who-other than those who have utterly lost their way-could ever abandon hope of his Lord’s grace” Quran (15:56) In life, we all face situations which are not what we want them to be. There are situations when you feel stuck. It seems that there is no way out; you have worked very hard and … Read more