Volume 4 Issue 1
 Urdu title page of volume 7 issue 2 of Al-Basirah. | |
| Discipline | Islamic Studies |
|---|---|
| Double blind | |
| Language | English, Urdu, Arabic |
| Edited by | Syed Abdul Ghaffar Bukhari |
| Publication details | |
| History | 2012-present |
| Publisher | National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad (Pakistan) |
| Frequency | 2 issues per year |
| Open Access | |
| License | not mentioned |
| ISO 4 | Find out here |
| Indexing | |
| ISSN | 2520-7334 (print) 2222-4548 (web) |
| Links | |
| None | |
| None | |
| 24 Weeks | |
Islām is a complete code of life. Man is the vicegerent and representative of Allāh. The role of vicegerent and caliphate can only be fulfilled in a complete manner, when the system of the Islamic Caliphate is established. It is the duty of Muslims to endeavor for establishing such a system in the world. The caliphate is the political title of Islām. It is, actually, the sovereignty of Almighty God on the earth. God creates its sovereignty by selecting the pious people from the humankind. With the help of Caliphate, unity, strength and equality can be established in the Muslim world. Democracy is the system of government, which is based on the wishes of the majority of the people of a state. However, the real democracy is the one in which wishes of people are directly or indirectly catered. An ideal democracy is the one in which all affairs of the country are run with the consultation of all the people. If the affairs of any state are run by the majority of the people, then that state will move towards its destruction. Allāh says, “O Muhammad. . ! If you obey most of the dwellers of the earth they will lead you astray from Allah’s way. ” The affairs of the Islamic state must not run by the wishes of the majority nor the minority of the people, but, on the values of truth and justice. The author of this paper presents a critical and comparative study of the Islamic Caliphate and democracy, and concludes that it is the Caliphate and not democracy, which is the true Islamic system of government.
Prayer [al-Ṣalāh] is the second most important pillar of Islām. This is the ritual which is supposed to be offered by all the Muslims, who come of age and are sane, regardless of their status and wealth. Following the acceptance of Islām, offering Prayer is the foremost obligation of a Muslim, which is considered the prime manifestation and the testimony of his or her practical submission to Allāh and His religion, Islām. Faith in Allāh is the foundation of Islām, in the same way, Prayer is the practical foundation of Islām. Therefore, the Prophet (S. A. W) laid stress on the significance of Prayer, the most. Only those, who are steadfast in their Prayers and safeguard them are really aware of its importance, and only they can expect from Allāh to give them their reward, thus, they are the true believers. The importance and reality of Prayer can be understood only by that person who is well aware of this relation between man and Allāh and only he can feel its true spiritual pleasure. The effects of Prayer are prominently visible in the daily life of Muslims. The history of Prayer is as old as the religion itself. Its concept has been a part of all the religions, however, they have different ways to perform it. In this paper, the author explores the Islamic academic sources to ascertain the importance and the status of Prayer in Islām. Also, he explores its history, the tidings and remuneration of Prayer and of the rites and rituals belonging to it, e. g. , Mosque, Āzān, Iqāmat, Rukū‘ (to bow down) , Prostration, Maintenance of Ranks, etc.
سرکاری عہدید اران کی تقررری، نگرانی اور محاسبہ عہد خلفائے راشدین کے تناظر میں
مصنف/مصنفین: علی، محمد
The period of the rightly guided caliphate is the best role model after the time of the Prophet of Islām, Muḥammad (S. A. W) . The rightly guided caliphs crafted the best honest governing mechanism. They understood their commitment with their Lord, Allāh, and the people. They took up the responsibility for providing for the basic needs of their people, like food, shelter, education, peace, stipends of children, married and unmarried persons, social security and justice, etc. The caliphs would appoint the tax collectors, governors and other government officials on the basis of merit: their honesty, qualifications, experience, physical fitness, etc. Further, they, at the time of their appointment, would advise their officials in an open gathering to better use their abilities, resources and powers for the welfare of the masses. Moreover, the government prepared a list of the assets and the properties of their government officials at the time of their appointments. It they found, later, significant increase in the assets, it was investigated and asked for an explanation. If the officials failed to justify the means of the increase in their assets, the additional assets and properties were confiscated by government. In this research study, the author highlights the measures adopted by the rightly guided Caliphs to ensure honest conduct of affairs by the appointed officials of the government.
Poverty is a global issue, particularly, related to the developing countries. The whole world is taking measures to eradicate it. People have different types of talent to earn money. Some are skilled, some have good entrepreneurship ideas and some others are good at manual work. We find that a great number of such skilled people are suffering from lack of resources in Pakistan and therefore not properly able to exert their skills to their utmost. Pakistan, being a developing country, is suffering from the issue of poverty. Many efforts were made for the alleviation of poverty during various regimes. Pakistan People’s Party introduced the Benazir Income Support Program. The same program has been maintained by the present Muslim League (Nawaz) government, due to its so-called utility. However, the fact is that its utility is not promising, as the meager amount given to the needy ones consumes in the daily expenditures and produces no lasting good. Contrary to this thesis of alms-giving, an anti-thesis is provided by the tradition of the Holy Prophet, Muhammad (S. A. W) , which emphasizes the provision of interest-free loan. The loan without interest, can enable a person to run his or her business, according to his or her capacity and the person can become independent. The present paper explores the prospects that how interest-free loan is more effective in removing poverty than alms-giving on a regular basis by the government.
Juristic rules laid the foundation of law, along with such juristic rules, Islām promotes the values of piety (through mystic guidelines) . Most of the theologians opine that the real approach to get close the Creator can only be achieved through the mystic guidelines. In the early period of Islām, during the time of the prophet, , caliphate guided rightly the of periods the during and (صلى الله عليه وسلم) Muhammad when people were trained in a very righteous environment, there were no such reservations about the applications of clear jurisprudential injunctions along with the mystic guidelines, but, when Muslims tasted the grandeur of rule, regime and abundance of wealth, they indulged in the worldly affairs and adopted a materialistic approach, not only in their daily life, but, toward their religion, too. The Muslim thinkers have been trying to define and explain whether the typical rituals of mysticism are reconcilable with the larger demands of an Islamic vocabulary. Despite the wide diversity of the critical approaches, a certain pattern has been identified by Muslim responses as mysticism, which is, sometimes found closer to asceticism and sometime as a mediator. Many Muslim mystics have dealt with mysticism, but, perhaps, Manāẓir Aḥsan Gīlānī has displayed, with reference to Ibn ‘Arabī and Shāh Walī Ullāh, the most impressive and knowledgeable applications of such mystic ideas within an Islamic framework. Manāẓir’s applied mysticism is not a typical mysticism; his special focus upon legal injunctions of al-Sharī‘ah goes much further than any of his peers in establishing a strong framework for better understanding of Islām. This study is devoted to examining the effects and implications of mysticism, not only for individuals, but also for the Muslim masses, generally.
بالوں کو سنوارنے سے متعلق شرعی احکامات
مصنف/مصنفین: Akbar، Sabeen
Allāh Almighty has concentrated most of the physical beauty of the human beings in the upper part of the human body, i. e. , the face and what surrounds the face. Here is displayed the important features of human beauty. Hair on head adds beauty to a person’s countenance. Especially, long, thick, silky & shiny hair is always preferred by females. But it required to be kept clean, tidy and properly combed. Unfortunately, often, it seems that the women, who wear “Ḥijāb”, do not bother to maintain their hair in a proper manner. Since, it is out of sight, so is out of mind, but, it does not mean that since if hair is not visible, they should neglect it. Sometimes, improper keeping of hair creates a lot of problems like lice, itching, dandruff, hair fall, etc. Therefore, cleanliness is the most important element for the health of hair and Islām also recommends the same. Most of the time, people adopt different methods and products for hairstyling, such as branded shampoo, extensions, transplantation of hair, dyeing, trimming of hair, etc. But, people need to know the Islamic ruling of beatification, so that they may not indulge in something, which is not allowed in the Islamic law. Therefore, the author of this paper, chose this topic to explore and hence, guide the people, especially, the women, the methods and types of products that are allowed for them to use and adopt, and the others ones that are forbidden or undesirable, according to Islamic law of beautification.
نظرة الكونفوشيوسية إلى الكون والإنسان
مصنف/مصنفین: مجید، اسماعیل
Confucius was born on September 28, 551BC. He was a teacher, writer, politician, philosopher and ideologue of the ancient China. The philosophy of Confucius emphasizes personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity. He championed strong family loyalty and ancestor worship. He also recommended family as a basis for an ideal government. His thoughts received official sanction and were further developed into a system known as Confucianism. Confucius' principles found the basis of the common Chinese traditions, beliefs and culture. Confucianism is often followed in a religious manner by the Chinese, but the arguments continue over whether it is a religion or not. The opponents argue that its values are secular, therefore, it is not a religion, while its supporters argue that despite the secular nature of Confucianism, it is based on a worldview that is religious, and, thus, can rightly be called a religion. Confucianism discusses elements of the afterlife and views concerning Heaven, but it is relatively unconcerned with some transcendental matters, often considered essential to a religious thought. This article provides an outlook of the Confucianism regarding the universe and the humanity and its comparison with the Islamic viewpoint of the same.
Moral values are seen as the basis of human civilization. Absence of moral values and responsibilities results in the justification of every evil in the society, as it is the case being observed in the present-day societies in many parts of the world. A nation, whose collective morals are high, is capable to lead other nations, irrespective of caste, creed and religious affiliations. If a nation, Muslim or non-Muslim, ignores the high moral values, it cannot avoid its decadence and destruction. Due to this utmost importance of morality for humanity, Islām regards morality as one of the integral parts of the Divine Revelation. Islām aims to create a sense of moral responsibility in its adherents, so that, they may show a complete picture of an ideal society, and enjoy their freedom to carry out the best possible moral deeds. The author of this paper, chose to study the present moral crisis in the Pakistani society and tried to determine the causes, which has brought about this moral crisis and also presents its cure in the light of the Qur’ān and Sunnah. The study focuses on the following aspects: Definitions of moral values & society, Prevalent social evils in our society, Causes of crimes and social evils, Remedies to root out unethical practices and evils from the society, Conclusion and recommendations.
The topic, "Eloquence of the Discourse in the Narrative of Ibrāhīm” is selected to meet the desire to examine the Quranic eloquence of the selected discourse. The Quranic narrative is selected for the present study for its significant position in the Quranic text. Most of its artistic elements are based on the Quranic rhetorical inimitability. In Sūrah Shua‘rā’, there are the famous dialogues of Ibrāhīm with the polytheists. He invites his nation to abandon the worship of different gods and pay their adoration to the One and the Only God: the Sustainer of the worlds. Then, comes his invocation (Du‘ā) for himself, his nation and for the Prophet Muḥammad (S. A. W) . Also, this article discusses the condition of the polytheists and their dispute with their leaders in the hell, those leaders, who diverted them from the right path. The article discusses the narrative, and studies the Quranic eloquence of the discourse in the story of Ibrāhīm. It shows how the Qur’ān deals with the said story from Rhetoric, syntactic and morphological point of view.
الاباحة في الشريعة الإسلامية والقانون الوضعي
مصنف/مصنفین: خان، ھدایت
Permissibility (al-Ibāḥah) is a kind of the Islamic law, which gives option to someone to do or not to do something. If something is done by someone under this order, no punishment or reward is liable. It nullifies the delinquency. This paper defines the lexical and technical meanings of permissibility as defined by different Islamic scholars like alShāṭibī, al-Āmidī and al-Ghazālī and the conventional law that how it removes responsibility of delinquency of an act and makes it permissible for person, who does it. Its different kinds and causes for permissibility have been discussed. It has general and particular kinds. It has also been differentiated from insanity: that when a person commits an offense under defective understanding such as childhood, mental illness and in sleeping. These conditions remove someone’s responsibility and one cannot be prosecuted by both the laws. Different rules regarding mistake and ignorance in the case of al-Ibāḥah (permissibility) has been discussed in detail. There are limitations of al-Ibāḥah and if the limits of alIbāḥah are transgressed, then, the act converts into criminality. The author, in this paper, presents a comparative study of the Islamic Law and Conventional Law on the issue of al-Ibāḥah.
Obligingness to Leadership: A Case Study of the Qur’an
Author: Shahzad, Irfan
We can divide human beings into two categories: Leaders and Followers. Leaders are a few, the rest of the overwhelming majority of the human beings are followers. They show an earnest tendency of following or obligingness towards their leaders. This capacity of the following is exploited and abused by the egoist and toxic leaders to bring destruction to their followers and the world. The author of the paper tries to explore and determine the motives of obligingness or complaisance of blind following. The author studies this phenomenon in the light of theories of the hierarchy of needs by Abraham Maslow, The Situational Factor by Philip Zimbardo, the Function of Labeling by Albert Bandura and Ego Depletion by Michael Cholbi. These theories have earned good acceptance from the experts. The theories are found helpful to understand the mentality of leaders and their followers as described by the Qur’ān. These theories are applied to some selected cases from the Qur’ān to reach a better understanding of the phenomenon. The Qur’ān at many places describes and discusses this human tendency. It presents dialogue between the leaders and their blind followers in the life hereafter, the person of Pharaoh, his maneuvering, his courtiers, the common people of Egypt, the followers of pagan chieftains and their opposition to the prophets give us ample description to know how blind following actually works under the influence of leadership. The author hopes that this study helps understand the mentality of the present day leaders and their blind or complaisant followers.
Price Fixation in Islamic Law
Author: Rafiq, Aayesha, Haleema Sadia
Adl and Qisṭ is indeed a manifestation of God’s mercy, rather, it may also be seen as a principal objective of Shariʿah. The origin or sources of administration of justice in Islām are the Quran, Sunnah of the holy Prophet, consensus of opinions of the jurists of Islamic jurisprudence and Analogy (Qiyās) . Justice is a sacred obligation of supererogatory. It is obligatory upon the Muslim rulers to appoint judges for the dispensation of justice to attain equality, to protect the human rights from their violation, to safeguard the lives and properties, and to maintain law and order in society. As a judge is supposed to accomplish a very important and noble task being a regent of Allāh, hence, some vital merits and criteria regarding the conditions and qualifications for the appointment of the Qāḍī or judge in the light of the Qur’ān, Sunnah and Islamic jurisprudence and the code of conduct for the Pakistani judges must be observed at all costs. The author of this paper has discussed these conditions and qualifications in this article. There are some unanimous conditions for the appointment of judges, while some others are not agreed upon. While presenting the difference of opinions of the Islamic jurists, the author tried to explain, reconcile the opinions and at some places presented her own view in the light of her analysis and arguments. These conditions are around thirty, but the author according to her own discretion chose some of the most important ones to discuss in this paper.
Conditions and Qualification for Being a Judge in the Light of the Islamic Law
Author: Chaudhry, Sajida Ahmed
‘Adl and Qisṭ is indeed a manifestation of God’s mercy, rather, it may also be seen as a principal objective of Shariʿah. The origin or sources of administration of justice in Islām are the Quran, Sunnah of the holy Prophet, consensus of opinions of the jurists of Islamic jurisprudence and Analogy (Qiyās) . Justice is a sacred obligation of supererogatory. It is obligatory upon the Muslim rulers to appoint judges for the dispensation of justice to attain equality, to protect the human rights from their violation, to safeguard the lives and properties, and to maintain law and order in society. As a judge is supposed to accomplish a very important and noble task being a regent of Allāh, hence, some vital merits and criteria regarding the conditions and qualifications for the appointment of the Qāḍī or judge in the light of the Qur’ān, Sunnah and Islamic jurisprudence and the code of conduct for the Pakistani judges must be observed at all costs. The author of this paper has discussed these conditions and qualifications in this article. There are some unanimous conditions for the appointment of judges, while some others are not agreed upon. While presenting the difference of opinions of the Islamic jurists, the author tried to explain, reconcile the opinions and at some places presented her own view in the light of her analysis and arguments. These conditions are around thirty, but the author according to her own discretion chose some of the most important ones to discuss in this paper.
Perceptions of Pakistani Society About Western Enlightenment: An Analysis in the Light of Islamic Teachings
Author: Sultana, Munazza, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
The study was conducted to examine some of the important questions raised by both the religious scholars and the proponents of the Enlightenment movement. The purpose of the study was to interpret enlightenment in Western and Islamic context and to examine the impact of western enlightenment on contemporary Pakistani society in the light of Islamic teachings. The study was quantitative in nature. Survey was conducted to probe into the perceptions of the Pakistani people regarding impact of western enlightenment on various aspects of contemporary Pakistani society. The sample of the study was 1000 people from four provincial headquarters of Pakistan including male and female from urban and rural areas of the provincial capitals. Two research instruments were developed by the researcher based on review of the related literature. First was a questionnaire named WEBI, Western Enlightenment Beliefs Inventory; second was a checklist named WEKAPC, Western Enlightenment Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Checklist. Results showed that most of the respondents were of the view that western enlightenment exerted significant influences on their thinking, lifestyles, and education, culture, media and social practices. Majority of the respondents thought that western enlightenment emphasized on tolerance, cultural harmony, equality, social justice and independent thinking. Gender-wise comparisons indicated that male respondents were more positive towards western enlightenment than the female respondents. It was recommended that Pakistani society needs to be made aware of the philosophy of western enlightenment and Islamic values which are characteristics of western enlightenment movement. There is need to initiate interfaith dialogue to understand socio-cultural dynamics of a Muslim society and a western society.