The Sciences of Tafsir

From the Tafsir of Ibn Juzayy Kitab at-tashil li ‘ulum at-tanzil “The Sciences of Tafsir” is translated from Ibn Juzayy al-Kalbi’s Kitab at-Tashil li ‘Ulum at-Tanzil”. “The author was born in 693 AH. His name was Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad, called al-Qasim, ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Juzayy al-Kalbi, i.e. from the Arab tribe of Kalb, …

Ya Ayyuha’sh-Shabaab

There is an apparently coherent narrative that posits a mythic ‘salafi’ Islam at war in defence of the Muslims against ‘Zionist Jews’ and ‘Crusader Christians’ in a triangular religious configuration. Since it is self-evident that there is slaughter of the Muslims in many lands on earth and their denigration in many other lands, what heroic …

I am nothing

The claim “I am nothing” is perhaps the most arrogant claim of all, for there is that “I am” even if it is followed by “nothing”. It is like the abstemiousness of those who give up “things”. There may be nothing in the hand, but take a look at what is in the heart.

The Manufacture of Ignorance – Abdassamad Clarke and Uthman Ibrahim-Morrison

“I refused to go to college because I wanted an education.” Gore Vidal There is a vital need to re-introduce the independence of the scholar, scientist and expert, acknowledging that there are already a substantial number of such people within the academic nexus who against all odds have held to the highest qualities of scholarly …

The Elephant in the Room – Abdassamad Clarke

The elephant in the room is of course not Islam, since the Muslims are everywhere under occupation, being bombed, killed and driven from their homes by warfare or famine, often the consequences of geo-politics or globalisation. The issue that will not go away is the imperial power of the US as the foremost representative of …

Occupy Together – Abdassamad Clarke

The poet W. B. Yeats strove to make a unity of his life. “Hammer your thoughts into unity,” was his expression of that. Few things are more important for us today, as things and causes are automatically shunted into categorical boxes where they are rendered impotent like a freshly slaughtered Egyptian chicken tossed into a …