Contributed by Prof. Dr. Nazeer Ahmed, PhD Islam, meaning surrender to the Will of God, is an eternal idea. Muslims assert that it is the pristine faith of mankind, subscribed to by the first created humans, Adam and Eve and confirmed by the Messengers of God, including among others, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammed.… Continue reading Omar bin Abdul Aziz
Contributed by Prof. Dr. Nazeer Ahmed, PhD Shaykh ibn Abdul Wahhab was one of those rare scholars whose ideas have continued to influence the Muslims for more than 200 years. Representing the puritanical stream in Islam, in the tradition of Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal (d. 855) and Shaykh Ibn Taimiyah (d. 1328), his followers continue… Continue reading Shaykh ibn Abdul Wahhab of Najd
Submitted by Professor Nazeer Ahmed The traditional narrative about India’s struggle for independence takes a political route. The inference is drawn that India’s political elite compelled the reluctant British to give up their Indian empire and depart peacefully. A deeper look at the forces that led to the dissolution of the British Empire tells a… Continue reading Muslim Contributions to India’s Freedom Struggle – A Different Narrative
ISIS, Extremism and an Opportunity for a Knowledge-based Civilizational Renewal Submitted by Professor Nazeer Ahmed “Verily, Allah does not love the extremists” (The Qur’an, 5: 87) Summary: This essay takes an historical look at the occasional rise of extremism in the fourteen hundred years of Islamic history. The objective is to sift through and identify… Continue reading The ISIS Phenomenon
Prof. Dr. Nazeer Ahmed What is Civilization? Verily! Throughout time, Humankind shall indeed be at loss, Except such as those As have certainty of faith, And engage in righteous action, And work together To uphold justice (balance and truth), And work together, With patient perseverance. The Qur’an (103, 1-3) Where there is no faith, there… Continue reading Faith and the Dialogue of Civilization
Contributed by Prof. Dr. Nazeer Ahmed, PhD Khulfa e Rashidoon Abu Bakr as Siddiq (r) (632-634) Omar Ibn al Khattab (r) (634-644) Uthman ibn Affan (r) (644-656) Ali ibn Abu Talib (r) (656-661) The Ithna Ashari Imams Ali ibn Abu Talib (r) (656-661) Hassan ibn Ali (661-669) Hussain ibn Ali (669-680) Zain ul Abedin (680-712)… Continue reading Caliphs, Imams and Dynasties
Contributed by Prof. Dr. Nazeer Ahmed, PhD Year Event 570 Birth of Prophet Muhammed (p) at Mecca 610 Revelation of the first verses of the Qur’an Ali ibn Abu Talib (r) and Abu Bakr as Siddiq (r) accept Islam 615 Conversion of Omar ibn al Khattab (r). 620 A group of Muslims migrates to Abyssinia… Continue reading Chronology
Contributed by Prof. Dr. Nazeer Ahmed, PhD When Islam burst upon the global scene in the 7th century, it faced the Christian (Byzantine, Eastern Roman) Empire in the Mediterranean and the Zoroatrian Empire in Persia. The campaigns of Caliph Omar Ibn al Khattab (r) eliminated the Sassanids, the Persians embraced Islam, and Persia became a… Continue reading Marginalization of Muslims – A Brief Review
Contributed by Prof. Dr. Nazeer Ahmed, PhD Tanzeemat (Turkish, plural of tanzeem, organization, discipline) is a term used for the processes, institutions and administrative changes initiated between 1839 and 1878 by the grand viziers Mustafa Rashid Pasha, Mohammed Amin Ali Pasha and Mustafa Fuad Pasha and implemented during the reigns of Sultan Abdul Majid (1839-1861)… Continue reading The Tanzeemat of the Ottoman Empire
Contributed by Prof. Dr. Nazeer Ahmed, PhD A great civilization must have the resilience to renew itself from within. It is what distinguishes a civilization from a mere dynasty. Islamic civilization has demonstrated time and again its innate capacity for renewal after every disaster. The death of Prophet Mohammed was the first great trial of… Continue reading Shah Waliullah of Delhi
Contributed by Prof. Dr. Nazeer Ahmed, PhD History is not created with a big bang. It moves in subtle, almost imperceptible steps in which all men and women participate. It is an edifice on which the action of every human, no matter how humble, has left its imprint. Great events do occur, but they merely… Continue reading Women Sovereigns in Islam
Contributed by Prof. Dr. Nazeer Ahmed, PhD Pivotal as Persia was in the political developments of Muslim Asia, its primary contribution was to preserve, reinvigorate and transmit the spiritual legacy of Islam through its language, art and architecture. While the Arabs provided the ideational foundation of the edifice of Islam, it was the Persians who… Continue reading Islam in Persia
The Fatimids in Egypt Contributed by Prof. Dr. Nazeer Ahmed, PhD The Fatimid conquest of Egypt (969) was a defining moment in Islamic history. It destroyed any semblance of central authority in the Muslim world, provoked the reaction of the Turks as defenders of orthodox (Sunni) Islam, impelled the Omayyads in Spain to declare their… Continue reading Fatimids in Egypt
Contributed by Prof. Dr. Nazeer Ahmed, PhD The triumphant advance of Muslim armies across the inter-connecting landmass of Asia, Europe and Africa brought into the Islamic Empire large masses of people who were previously Christian, Zoroastrian, Buddhist or Hindu. Conversion to the new faith was slow. The conquering Muslims left the people of the territories… Continue reading Fiqh, the Development of
Contributed by Prof. Dr. Nazeer Ahmed, PhD The Abbasid revolution was the first major military-political upheaval in the Muslim world, which resulted in the destruction of one dynasty and its replacement by another. The lessons from that revolution are as valid today as they were in the year 750. Civilizations decay from within. External factors… Continue reading The Abbasid Revolution
Contributed by Prof. Dr. Nazeer Ahmed, PhD Islam was introduced into the southwestern part of the Subcontinent, the Malabar coast, through trade. It was introduced into the northwestern part, Sindh and Multan, through an accident of history. The conquest of Sindh, located in Pakistan, happened in stages. During the Caliphate of Omar ibn al Khattab… Continue reading The Conquest of Sindh
The Death of Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) Omar Ibn al Khattab (r) The Civil Wars Muawiya Karbala Omar bin Abdul Aziz The Conquest of Spain The Conquest of Sindh The Battle of Tours The Abbasid Revolution
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Islam and Sufism – 100 Questions and Islam and Sufism (Tasawwuf) – 100 Questions Hidayat e Shuyukh- Part 1 Author: Shaykh Ul Islam Hazrath Hafiz Mohammed AnwarUllah Farooqui Submitted by Junaid Asifali, Pleasanton, CA Question 1. What is the definition of Islam, Iman and Ehsaan? The shaykh quotes the famous hadith of Jibreel AS… Continue reading Hidayat e Shuyukh- Part 1
Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr Muhammad Ali Abdus Salam – Nobel Laureate in Physics Abdul Sattar Edhi – Angel of Mercy Ahmed Zuwail – Nobel Laureate in Chemistry Aziz Sancar – Nobel Laureate in Chemistry Sadat Hassan Manto- Writer The Rockets of Tipu Sultan and their connection to the American National Anthem Muhammad (SA) according to… Continue reading Biography
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