One hesitates to posit a basic principle of a just non-usurious economy since the history of ‘principles’ and most particularly ‘Islamic principles’ as interpreted by modernists, has been a dismal one. Thus, in their view, very wide principles, both usul and qawa’id, over-rule actual fiqh judgments. Bearing that in mind, one principle we might mention …
Category Archives: Articles
Wholes and Parts
“…for the madhhab of Malik is to examine what leaves someone’s hand and what it then receives, and the means, i.e. what is in between, is nullified…” (Al-Qawanin al-Fiqhiyyah, Sales, 5A.) As someone who lays no claim to authority or expert status, I cite with some reluctance my own track record in studying with others, …
A little historic overview
The image of the usurious Jew is a repellent one from the Middle Ages, redolent with the anti-Jewish prejudices of the Christians of the time, but, in fact, the story is much older than that, and had, by the Middle Ages, become almost redundant.
The Art of Community
The Art of Community Zakat and Awqaf in the future of Islam in England1 “He has laid down the same deen for you as He enjoined on Nuh: that which We have revealed to you and which We enjoined on Ibrahim, Musa and ‘Isa: ‘Establish the deen and do not make divisions in it.’ …
Self-knowledge
In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Most Merciful, and may Allah bless His Prophet and Messenger Muhammad and his family and companions and grant peace Dars for Saturday 16th December København This year marks a century and a year from the day of the final dismantling of the khalifate, and thus the rise …
Science and objectivity
‘Science’, i.e. the new mathematical physical sciences of Galileo, Descartes, and Newton et al which were to serve as the inspiration and model for all the other sciences, arose during the horrific civil strife of the Reformation during a part of which, the Thirty Years War, a third of the population of Europe died. More …
An appreciation of the life and teachings of Shaykh Dr. Abdalqadir as-Sufi
Assalamu ‘alaikum. At this difficult time I would like to share with the fuqara and faqirat some of what I learnt from our beloved Shaykh Dr. Abdalqadir as-Sufi. With the pain of longing for Allah we came to Shaykh Abdalqadir and he healed our hearts by showing us how we can get near to Him. …
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IZ interview
Question: Dear Hajj Abdassamad Clarke, you are one of the selected group of European born Muslims translators who translate essential Islamic texts into a European language. What are the necessary qualifications for this task? There is perhaps no need to repeat the obvious, the need for a good knowledge of Arabic, its idioms and usages, …
The Desert Return
Worthing mosque, May 2008 This Symposium is intended as an antidote to the mode of debate that more often than not leaves the participants none-the-wiser. Instead we hope to recover the ancient tradition of interested parties thinking together towards the truth in an atmosphere of convivial discussion.
Mawlid 1440/2018
Allah says, “Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The likeness of His Light is that of a niche in which there is a lamp, the lamp inside a glass, the glass like a brilliant star, lit from a blessed tree, an olive, neither of the east nor of the west, its …