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One of the most eminent features of the Islamic culture is ‘Haya’ (bashfulness). Holy Prophet SAW said, “There is an Akhlaaq for every Deen and the Akhlaaq of Islam is Haya.”

The root word for Haya is ‘Hayaat’ which means ‘life’. So the life of Ummat-e-Muslima is “Haya” and the opposite of it (shamelessness) is death for the Muslim world. That is the main reason why it is being tried to the highest degree from all sides to root out our very sense of honour (haya).

By Khalid Baig

(Author’s Request: Please turn off your television set as you read this article.)

Television has spread like a wild fire in the world, including the Muslim world. It seems to have overcome the limitations of space and time.

Consider place. In Saudi Arabia, one can find the imprints of Hollywood only a few yards away from the Haram, the most sacred of all sanctuaries of Islam. Videocassettes are easily available at stores. A hotel attendant, at a walking distance from the Haram al-Sharif in Makkah can be found busy watching English movies on the television in his office even as the prayers are going on. At the Jeddah airport, the Umrah pilgrims can watch a European beauty contest courtesy of an Egyptian TV channel being broadcast to the airport television sets.  Read more... (2604 words, estimated 10:25 mins reading time)

Following, are a further few points of the deeper meaning of Haj. These I wish to outline merely as a specimen indicative of the many significance of Haj, similar to the two points of wisdom and virtue mentioned at the beginning of this chapter.

1. There are times when rulers, governors and kings call the various classes of their subjects together to discuss matters with them and receive reports. For this reason they are often made into various organizations; and each has its annual conference. This is what happens in Haj where representatives from all over the glove, from all spheres of life and from all ranks; gather at His House. Such is the Haj congregation.  Read more... (1922 words, estimated 7:41 mins reading time)

This translation of Syed Sulaiman Nadwi’s “Khutbat-e-Madras” is dedicated to the western world in particular and all users of English language in general. It is a well acknowledged fact that the western world has generally shown a hostile attitude towards Islam. But that attitude is now showing visible signs of change. Although Islam is still being portrayed by the western media as a threat and ‘extremist fundamentalism”, in the words of the of the Reader’s Digest it is “the world’s fastest growing religion.” Many prominent social and political leaders of the western world have begun to admit the importance of Islam for humanity and that there is a need to study it impartially and objectively in order to have a greater understanding of Islam and the Muslim world. At this point, it would be logical to say that a proper understanding of Islam can come only through original Islamic sources.  Read more... (631 words, estimated 2:31 mins reading time)

This article was originally addressed to “Institute of Islamic Research” which was headed by Dr. Fazlur Rahman at that time, but applies to all modernists of our time.
Indeed numerous judicial problems have been created in our time, and in order to solve them it is essential that scholars of Islamic jurisprudence and those having insight in these matters make collective efforts through regular discussions, debates and research. There are many such problems facing the Muslim world which require that the scholars of Islam and experts of modem science hold joint discussions to solve them in the light of established principles of Islam. The importance and necessity of this splendid job is being felt in various circles of Islamic scholars and some efforts are also being made at some places but due to lack of resources these efforts have so far not materialized into an organized collective forum.  Read more... (733 words, estimated 2:56 mins reading time)