The Prophet Muhammad’s Models of Coexistence and the Constitution of Medina

Modern humankind is experiencing some obstacles in solving the complex and chronic problems of society. The question how multireligious, multicultural, and multiethnic societies can exist peacefully raises these problems. The difficulty of finding a solution to these problems has historical, social, and political aspects. The reluctance of the public in general and decision-making mechanisms in particular to force or step over the boundaries of modern paradigms can also be added to these problems. This study explains the models of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) for peaceful coexistence with particular focus on the Constitution of Medina.

Supplication, Prayer and the Inner Peace They Afford

ABSTRACTThis article emphasizes two important aspects of worship in Islam. It focuses, namely, on two different types of terms for prayer: supplication (du’a)and prayer (salat). In Islamic tradition supplication means giving one’s whole self to God and presenting one’s physical and spiritual needs to Him. Salat (prayer) is communication between the temporal and spiritual domains. In fact, prayers function as regulators and equaliser systems on personality and character. In the context of worship, if prayers are done consciously they improve people both internally and externally. If, while worshipping God consciously , one feels that he or she is before God, he or she will feel that way, i.e. in God’s presence, all the time, and this will regulate his or her behaviours.

An Examination into the Impact of Sufism on Muslim Elites and the Development of Islam in Nigeria

Sufism is a living and dynamic esoteric institution in Islam, as demonstrated by the ever increasing number of its adherents, especially in Nigeria. This article therefore, examines the impact that the Sufimovement orders have made on the Muslims elites and the growth and spread of Islam in Nigeria. In doing so, the concept of Sufism, its place in Islam, and its impact in the world of Islam will be examined. The articles reveals that the Sufis play an important role in the propagation of Islam in Nigeria. Even today, the Sufiorders are still involved in the promotion of Islamic education and the propagation of Islam. This is so because, through the efficacy of prayers derived from it, Sufis were able to solve some personal problems of Muslims in Nigeria. The article concludes that the orders have led many of their members to acquire the necessary discipline before they can acquire deeper knowledge of the true existence of Allah and his relation to Him and the universe.

On Avicenna’s Canon of Medicine: Contemporary Issues

Avicenna is one of the most prominent philosophers and one of the most famous doctors in history. His book The Canon of Medicine is considered one of the most important medical achievements and was an influential reference in the field of medical research for a long time. In this book Avicenna discusses the definition and scope of medicine, temperature, the humors, anatomy, the causes of diseases, etiology, the influence of seasonal changes on the body, dietetics, balneology, sphygmology, urinoscopy, alvine discharge, the preservation of health, etc. This article explores contemporary issues regarding Avicenna’s Canon of Medicine.

Postmodernism and Islam: Epistemological Challenges and Sociopolitical Perils

Postmodernism is sometimes described as an intellectual position that is congenial to a sanctioning of a pluralistic epistemology and a tolerant and inclusive society. This outlook is supposed to extend to religious methodologies and communities of faith. This seems to be a superficial view, however, in that postmodernism’s questioning of modernity’s intellectual premises does not translate into a sympathetic outlook toward religion, Islam in particular, since postmodernism opposes foundational systems of thought and Islam qualifies as a worldview that bases its epistemology on foundations, which it considers objective and universal. Nor is the situation better in the sociopolitical field since postmodernism’s theoretical decentering of the West remains just that, while in reality the modernist project goes on unchecked, its hegemony exacerbated, and its consumerist lifestyle proliferating at an unprecedented rate with the onset of globalization. It is this last aspect that is more perilous to religious worldviews since it is ultimately the availability and allure of various lifestyles and tastes, of which Western culture has a dominant share, that ultimately threaten religious convictions, more so than the deconstruction of the theoretical premises of a particular system of faith.

Individual and Property Rights from the Islamic Perspective

The implicit requirements in the Islamic concept of human rights stem particularly from the right to life (individual rights), forced labour, the right to property, freedom of speech, etc. Human rights in early civilizations were composites of various philosophies that served a people’s social and cultural contexts. Both religious and secular conceptions of civilization determined the laws that dictated early human rights. In the wake of World War II, the United Nations General Assembly compiled and adopted a document called The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The day of its adoption, 10 December 1948, became known internationally as “Human Rights Day.” But the declaration could do little to actually prevent widespread violations of human rights throughout the world. Millions of people had inviolable rights as humans but died as the result of inhumane actions. Western civilizations and societies addressed the question of human rights but did so with great variation in application and entitlement. At present, with over 30 million human beings enslaved and the majority of them women and children, we cannot afford to ignore this issue. But an impoverished country is not the only culprit - nor is Asia, although the Pacific Rim is the most heavily enslaved areas on the globe. In America itself, trafficking is the third highest source of commercial profit, with more than 300,000 people enslaved today. And America partakes both in import and export of the slave network, with 14,000 people trafficked into the country each year. The history of human rights is a long examination of the question of what is “natural and right” about the human condition. Human rights, broadly speaking, should be unchallengeable and universal. This article deals with the need to highlight the value, importance of rights, and dignity of human beings from the Islamic perspective. The individual and property rights protected in Islam have no match at present either. Respect for human beings can be realized with the call “anyone who freed a slave will find his place in gardens of heaven.” Then companions of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) took up the challenge and did all they could for the liberty of slaves. The Pious Caliphs did every thing for the protection of human rights.

The Legislation of Islamic Jurisprudence: A Dialogue between Opponents and Proponents

Ijtihād, either individual or collective, has been controversial from the very beginning with respect to what extent the legislation of verdicts by Muslim jurists is allowed. There are two main opinions about taqnīn, i.e., the legislation of Islamic jurisprudence. The majority of Saudi scholars say that it is ḥarām i.e., legally forbidden in Islamic Sharīʿa, whereas the majority of Egyptian jurists are of the opinion that it is essential and needed in the modern period. Most Muslim countries follow the Egyptian view by enforcing written constitutions and laws. The conclusion from the comparative study of arguments is that it is somehow better that there be no taqnīn. The evidence and arguments presented bythose scholars who argue for doing away with taqnīn seem more convincing because their basis is sharīʿa rulings and they also provide logical, historical, and observable evidence as well, whereas the other side proves it case by quoting general principles from Maṣlaḥa, Sadd al-Dharāʾiʿ, and Istiḥsān, and most of their arguments are based on experience, logic, and demonstrable proofs and do not provide enough Sharīʿa support. Historically, however, we have seen and how skillfully and exquisitely Sharīʿa Courts have worked in the past 13 centuries without taqnīn.

The Ottoman Model in Jerusalem, the Common Capital of All Religions

Muslim Quarter“As Jerusalem was a sacred town for not only the Muslims but also the Christians and the Jews, it was visited by a colossal number of visitors from all over the world during the sovereignty of the Ottomans as has the case ever been. We will explore this fact with many firmans by Ottoman Sultans. During the reigning era of the Ottomans there used to be four large quarters in Jerusalem. In the northeast thereof was located the , where were found the Town Hall, Masjid Al-Aqsa and Sahra Al-Mukaddasa (the Holy Desert). In the northwest was theDuring the period of Ottoman State, the holy places pertaining to Christians, Muslims and Jews have been explained and described according Ottoman Archives. If lesson is derived from history, there certainly exist ways out of the crisis of Jerusalem. Our proposal is to return those days of peace and tranquillity by setting forth, with some additions, from the Ottoman Model that had been successfully practiced for 450 years.

The Message of The Damascus Sermon for Muslim-Christian Relations

The context in which Bediüzzaman Said Nursi wrote the first version of his now famous Damascus sermon was a meeting on a continent and in an age in which Muslims were being forced to reflect on their identity due to negative interaction with non-Muslims.Meanwhile, the relationships between Muslims and non-Muslims have changed drastically. Nonetheless, not only Muslims but also Christians and even Muslims and Christians together in dialogue now have more rather than fewer reasons to be concerned about the question of how they, based on their authentic religious values, can contribute to a good society.Even the mid-20th century Turkish revision of the Damascus sermon is dated. The document does, however, offer a clarifying template that can still be highly beneficial for Muslims and Christians a century later in striving for what is beneficial for themselves and their environment while keeping their own identities in mind.Christians could also acknowledge a great deal in the six ailments and remedies the healer identifies in the “Six Words.” At the same time, it suits the spirit of the age to proceed not only via a set of major resemblances between both religions but also mutatis mutandis in connection with what is typical for each religion. As a Christian, I would like to flesh this out with “hope,” “faithfulness,” “love,” “unity,” “dignity,” and “consultation,” based on my faith, of which Jesus Christ is the centre.The challenge of today’s and tomorrow’s globalised reality that Muslims and Christians have to cope with is, for instance, to formulate a new Purifying paradigm based on the concepts listed by Nursi, designed to be fully respective of the well understood uniqueness of the other. Christian acceptance of Muslims should not depend on the extent to which they are integrated into Western society, nor should Christians be viewed by Muslims as pre-Muslims.This challenge goes further and is more difficult than striving to come to “a common word”: in fact, we will need to understand a variety of words. But if the efforts are crowned with success, this is a more valid way for Muslims and Christians - who together make up the majority of the world’s population - to be a good example for society.From a Christian point of view and that of the 20th century’s disenchantment, Nursi is overly optimistic when he suggests society can be affected by implementing religious values. Religious people and non-religious people alike in the current demographic will continue to co-exist and individually suffer from the cited and notcited maladies, and this was no different in the golden eras of yore.Nevertheless, we can point to signs of hope when we succeed together in resolving the dilemma of right-wing capitalism and liberalism on the one hand and left-wing communism and socialism on the other by means of our own religiously motivated values to allow Christians, Muslims, and others to sample a bit of the future heaven on earth.