To many followers of the world’s major religions, the idea of self-examination is by no means novel. Among those who are philosophically and historically more alert, Socrates is best known for having made an apt remark, “Life unexamined is not worth living.” Muslims, by and large, have so often heard the dictum “Examine yourselves before…
In the present globalised and competitive society, every nation is eager to develop and expedite its economic advancement. Economic might is considered very important. This desire is very noble provided it is multi-dimensional in approach, for example it takes into consideration all human needs and requirements together with economic development. If this approach is not…
The recent surge of baby dumping cases is obviously a grave reflection of an acute social crisis besetting our community. Statistics on the reported abandonment cases are terrifying. How about cases that go unreported? I would say that what we are facing now is just the tip of the iceberg. The actual number of cases…
What exactly is the relation between pleasure and good life, between satisfaction and happiness, between contentment and felicity, between ladhdhah and sa‘adah? According to al-Ghazali, pleasure is “the attaining of the object of desire, while desire is the soul’s inclination to possess the object of its yearning (shawq).” When sensitive and rational faculties function well,…
Some people erroneously think that open-mindedness means to accept all opinions and to avoid making judgement over those opinions. A rational person will not make a blind, hasty or an uninformed judgement nor will he accept ideas and opinions indiscriminately. He will listen to what others have to say and suspend judgement until what is…
Though news of infanticide has been highlighted by the media recently, infanticide is definitely not a new phenomenon. It has been documented among the people of Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome. The Vikings, Irish Celts, Gauls, and Phoenicians are no exceptions. Resnick (1970) conducted a literature review of documented infanticide, dating from 1751 to 1968, from…
With the latest debate concerning the abolishment of the UPSR and PMR, I strongly believe, we Malaysians are no stranger to calls for reform of our educational system. So often have such calls been made that they cannot but leave some general impressions. One such impression is that the system as well as its stake-holders…
The relationship between religion and human rights (what I personally termed ‘human-rightism’) is complicated and likely to remain controversial. To foster a better understanding between them, IKIM took the initiative to organize the seminar ‘Religion and Human Rights: Towards a Better Understanding’ in June. Fifteen papers were deliberated, including a keynote address from Mashood A.…
The relationship between religion and human rights (what I personally termed ‘human-rightism’) is complicated and likely to remain controversial. To foster a better understanding between them, IKIM took the initiative to organize the seminar ‘Religion and Human Rights: Towards a Better Understanding’ in June. Fifteen papers were deliberated, including a keynote address from Mashood A.…
Secularist believes that the quest for moral truths is of the pride of reason: it is the judging of all-whether good or evil, right or wrong-in terms of deduction alone. On the contrary, Muslim believes in guidance (hidayah) as the foundation stone of all good, which one must be willing to accept in humility to…
