that religion is only for God” (2:193). And, indeed the revolution brought about by the Prophet of Islam caused idolatry to be re-defined as a matter of unenlightened personal faith, thus depriving it of

tawhid, the Oneness of God. With superstition and personal cults vanishing under the influence of Islam, the very foundations of hereditary monarchy were shaken. As a result of freedom of opinion having

also. Muslim modernists too started to give a liberal interpretation to the traditional teachings of Islam. Again the conservative Muslims opposed such a move. These Muslim conservatives came to be known as

fundamentalism has two meanings. To me one meaning is right, the other meaning is wrong. One meaning of Islamic fundamentalism is to take it in the sense of sticking to the fundamentals, called ittiba’, adhering

declines, a totally contradictory mentality develops. In this stage, Muslims invoke the teachings of Islam in order to stress their claims to superiority over others, not to mould their own lives according

the very same time, they will worship dead and living personalities. They will proudly announce, “Islam stands for equality!” But this claim will not be reflected in their relationships and dealings. They

Companions came with their queries about the procedures to be followed in this very important part of Islamic worship. Most of these questions concerned the rites and their forms. One would say that he had carried

dishonouring of a person.” This saying of the Prophet throws light on how form relates to spirit in Islam. That is, the spirit is the essential factor, while the form, or ritual, is purely a matter of externals

converse of this is illustrated by a tradition set down in the books of Hadith. Once the Prophet of Islam was seated in the mosque in Madinah, when a Muslim worshipper came to meet him after duly performing

Mu‘adh ibn Jabal to Yemen to call people to Islam, he told Mu‘adh that he would meet a number of people of the Book, and that he should first explain to them the article of faith i.e., the concept of the

social and cultural system to any community, and demanded that they establish an Islamic state immediately or enforce all Islamic laws in all spheres of life. Although all of the commandments, in the above

no innate knowledge of the laws to which he must conform. The crucial point made by the Prophet of Islam is that this universe has One God who, with His extraordinary strength and wisdom, controls and sustains

of ourselves tells us that human beings are invested with certain powers, albeit in limited form. What then is so extraordinary about these same powers being embodied, to absolute perfection, in an all-powerful

They changed their way of dressing and, grew beards, shaking off one by one almost all the pre-Islamic customs that they had retained after their conversion. Lending or borrowing on interest as well as

villagers who were going out on a religious expedition. He motioned to one of them to stop and asked him, “What is all this movement for?” The Mewati replied, “There was a time when we were neither aware of our

Just one day before the entry into Makkah, when the Prophet asked Abu Sufyan to bear witness to the Islamic faith, the latter said, “By my parents, you are undoubtedly very forbearing, very tolerant, nobler

with at all times. A section of the sixth chapter of the Quran reads: say: ‘Come, I will tell you what your Lord has made binding on you: that you

they asked his wives how he worshipped. When the Prophet’s wives had answered them, they felt that what they had been doing in worship was insufficient. They said, “We stand in no comparison with the Prophet

marry.” In the eyes of God, what is important is the spirit of the worship we do, not the form by which we do it. Meanwhile, the Prophet returned. He heard what they were saying and said, “By God

that is important, far more than the quantity. The same is the case with fasting. In the eyes of God, what is important is the spirit of the worship we do, not the form by which we do it. Righteousness is

people’s unpleasant behaviour and would steadfastly continue to work to disseminate the teachings of Islam. The Quran is filled with injunctions to the Prophet to avoid the opponents with goodly