The Prophetic Jewels of al-Shaykh Fakhr al-Din al-Razi


Book Description

This book is a translation of an extract from Jawahir al-Bihar fi Fada'il al-Nabi al-Mukhtar ﷺ by al-Shaykh Yusuf ibn Isma'il al-Nabhani who had compiled in it the Quranic exegesis of 16 sets of Quranic verses on the virtues of the Chosen Prophet ﷺ cited from al-Tafsir al-Kabir by al-Shaykh Fakhr al-Din al-Razi – with foreword by Dr. Iskandar Abdullah, Director of Arabic Language & Cultural Consultancy Service LLP. Al-Tafsir al-Kabir is an extensive 32-volume book of Quranic exegesis. Being both a philosopher and a theologian, much of al-Fakhr al-Razi’s perspectives with regard to the virtues of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ revolve around his Prophethood, including the evidences of his Prophethood, his noble characteristics as a Messenger, the benefits of sending him to mankind as a Messenger, the superiority and eminence of his religion, and the obligation to have faith in him, glorify him, support him and follow him ﷺ. On top of that, this book highlights the evidences that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is better than all the other Prophets, his great moral characters of gentleness, compassion and mercy, and the abundant gifts and abundant goodness granted by Allah ﷻ to him ﷺ. The ease of access to information in this digital age has helped ordinary Muslims be motivated to read translations of the Quran since the glorious Quran is the most primary source of Islamic knowledge alongside the Prophetic Hadiths. Nevertheless, one of the best ways for a Muslim to understand the Quran is in fact by studying the books of Quranic exegesis by the great scholars of the Muslim Ummah. Therefore, this book serves to aid readers in understanding the Quran with regard to the virtues of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ by studying the exegesis of just some of its noble verses through the lens of al-Shaykh Fakhr al-Din al-Razi.







The Expansion of Prophetic Experience


Book Description

Abdulkarim Soroush is known primarily for his epistemological/hermeneutical theory, the “Contraction and Expansion of Religious Knowledge,” and its application to Islamic political theory and religious pluralism. While his Reason, Freedom and Democracy in Islam applies that theory to plurality and the historicity of understanding and interpretation of religion, this book captures some of his original theories about religion itself. The Expansion of Prophetic Experience treats the historicity of the Prophet Muhammad’s revelatory experience, including human and contextual influences on the genesis of the sacred Text. It presents substantial aspects of Soroush’s Neo-Rationalist hermeneutical project for an Islamic reformed theology and ethics, systematically leading Islamic reformation beyond conventional projects of piecemeal adjustments to the Shariʿah or selective re-interpretations of the Qurʾān.




Purification of the Heart: Signs, Symptoms and Cures of the Spiritual Diseases of the Heart


Book Description

This exploration of Islamic spirituality delves into the psychological diseases and cures of the heart. Diseases examined include miserliness, envy, hatred, treachery, rancour, malice, ostentation, arrogance, covetousness, lust, and other afflictions that assail people and often control them. The causes and practical cures of these diseases are discussed, offering a penetrating glimpse into how Islam deals with spiritual and psychological problems and demonstrating how all people can benefit from these teachings.




The different aspects of islamic culture


Book Description

This volume, the first of six to be published, studies fundamental values of Islam, along with the nature of rights and the responsibilities in a general context. The authors analyse the development of social thought and morality in Islam, and ways in which they are enforced through the family and education. Particular attention is paid to the status of women, children, youth and the socially excluded. Several chapters broach specially Islamic approaches to economics, government and justice. A world religion since its inception in the seventh century A.D., Islam is today seeking vigorous answers to contemporary problems through its multi-faceted history. Issues of poverty and wealth, inequality and demands for political expression, and respect for diversity in a difficult world of conformity are dealt with in this series. The study is organized along thematic rather than chronological lines and thus it is not necessary to read the volumes in order. Volume II is in fact the first to have been published. Volume IV is forthcoming end 2002, volume V mid 2003 and volumes III and VI in 2004. This volume, the first of six to be published, studies fundamental values of Islam, along with the nature of rights and the responsibilities in a general context. The authors analyse the development of social thought and morality in Islam, and ways in which they are enforced through the family and education. Particular attention is paid to the status of women, children, youth and the socially excluded. Several chapters broach specially Islamic approaches to economics, government and justice.




Acts of Devotion


Book Description

This publication by the pious and upright scholar, Shaykh Idris b. Muhammad al-'Iraqi is a summary of his larger work, "Irshad al-Khass wal 'Amm li Bayan Fadl Ba'd al-Ayyam wa al-Layali wa al-Shuhur wa al-A'wam" [Guiding the Elect and Ordinary Folk Through Clarifying the Benefit of Some Days, Nights, Months, and Years]."




Muslims Under Non-Muslim Rule


Book Description




The Self-Disclosure of God


Book Description

The Self-Disclosure of God offers the most detailed presentation to date in any Western language of the basic teachings of Islam's greatest mystical philosopher and theologian. It represents a major step forward in making available to the Western reading public the enormous riches of Islamic teachings in the fields of cosmology, mystical philosophy, theology, and spirituality. The Self-Disclosure of God continues the author's investigations of the world view of Ibn al-ʿArabī, the greatest theoretician of Sufism and the "seal of the Muhammadan saints." The book is divided into three parts, dealing with the relation between God and the cosmos, the structure of the cosmos, and the nature of the human soul. A long introduction orients the reader and discusses a few of the difficulties faced by Ibn al-ʿArabī's interpreters. Like Chittick's earlier work, The Sufi Path of Knowledge, this book is based primarily on Ibn al-ʿArabī's monumental work, al-Futūḥāt al-Makkīyah "The Meccan Openings." More than one hundred complete chapters and subsections are translated, not to mention shorter passages that help put the longer discussions in context. There are detailed indices of sources, Koranic verses and hadiths. The book's index of technical terminology will be an indispensable reference for all those wishing to delve more deeply into the use of language in Islamic thought in general and Sufism in particular.




Occidentosis


Book Description




Philosophising the Occult


Book Description

Was it mere encyclopedism that motivated Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d.1210), one of the most influential Islamic theologians of the twelfth century, to theorize on astral magic – or was there a deeper purpose? One of his earliest works was The Hidden Secret (‘al-Sirr al-Maktūm’), a magisterial study of the ‘craft’ which harnessed spiritual discipline and natural philosophy to establish noetic connection with the celestial souls to work wonders here on earth. The initiate’s preceptor is a personal celestial spirit, ‘the perfect nature’ which represents the ontological origin of his soul. This volume will be the first study of The Hidden Secret and its theory of astral magic, which synthesized the naturalistic account of prophethood constructed by Avicenna (d.1037), with the perfect nature doctrine as conceived by Abū’l-Barakāt (d.1165). Shedding light on one of the most complex thinkers of the post-Avicennan period, it will show how al-Rāzī’s early theorizing on the craft contributed to his formulation of prophethood with which his career culminated. Representing the nexus between philosophy, theology and magic, it will be of interest to all those interested in Islamic intellectual history and occultism.