Wahb ibn Munabbih, a seventh century universal Muslim historian, had related that there was a king who was numbered among the great kings. One day, the king wished to go for a ride. He bade all the commanders of his army to ride out also, in order to display his sovereignty and might to the…
Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses. Jyllands-Posten’s cartoon of the Prophet. Qur’an burning by Christian Dove World Outreach Center. The Innocence of Muslims film. While unbelievers’ position is understandable, the above-mentioned representative sampling of individuals and institutions are not only ranged against the Prophet Muhammad, but further derided his message and scoffed at all that are sacred…
Libertines aspire after the type of freedom which thrives on the absence of laws, including God’s or moral laws. In reality, lawless liberty is at best an animal or brutish freedom. As Jean Jacques Rousseau (d. 1778) points out, casual good-pleasure and self-indulgence have no difference from the kind of freedom the beasts of the…
Libertines promote the type of freedom which lets every individual lives according to his fancy. Let every person acts as he wishes for his own good as he sees it, as “man is the measure of all things”, and judgments of right and wrong are relative. (See further IKIM VIEWS, 10 April 2012.) For libertines,…
Thinking that freedom means doing what a man likes as he pleases, libertines promote freedom which thrives on the absence of laws. To such habits of mind, liberty is viewed only as casual good-pleasure, self-indulgence, and self-will. The fanatics among them are pleased with nothing but to give vent to their desires. They champion licentiousness…
In his Major Themes of the Qur’an, Fazlur Rahman observes that, “Obligations and rights are the obverse and converse of the same coin; the one obviously cannot subsist for any length of time without the other.” Indeed, claiming one’s right must be matched with discharging one’s duty and obligation. Likewise, demand for freedom must be made…
Muslim thinkers maintain that God, as a Law-giver, does not prescribe anything except for the best interests of humankind. That which is conducive to protect religion, life, property, and dignity will characteristically make man reaches God in the state of prosperity and ultimate Happiness. In the best interest of the condition of their worldly lives,…
According to the Qur’an, mankind, in itsnatural state of being (fitrah), affirm the existence, oneness and transcendence of its Creator. As this affirmation consists originally in the Primordial Covenant agreed and promised by each human soul to Allah (called al-mithaq), its understanding is based on revealed scripture interpreted by Prophetic tradition. Qur’anic verses and traditions of…
While diversity of faiths and religions test Malaysians’ capacity for unity, it also accentuates the need of a framework which is practicable and acceptable to all. Two global scholars, Fazlur Rahman and Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, have suggested in their works, that the positive value of different religious communities is that they may excel with…
Malaysians, of various races, are on the right track as long as they approach issues and problems in a manner that is non-extreme and non-violent. Rejecting racial fanaticism, attempting to bridge misunderstanding of racial issues, and articulating a voice of moderation, this is the way forward for Malaysia as well as global community in formulating…
