Islamic Architecture of Andalusia
Spain’s Islamic centuries (AD 711-1492) left a particularly rich heritage of exotic and beautiful palaces, mosques, minarets and fortresses in Andalusia, which was always the heartland of Al-Andalus (as the Muslim- ruled areas of the Iberian Peninsula were known). These buildings make Andalusia visually unique in Europe and have to be classed as its greatest architectural glory.
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Religion between ‘Blind’ Imitation and Certainty (P. 2)
Indeed, true religiosity which influences one’s behavior, leads to right guidance, and incites sacrifice and generosity, is the belief which is based on conviction that stems from within the human soul. This conviction is associated with clear evidence that warrants one’s free choice of any particular religion as a way to follow in developing his relationship with Allah and the people.
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How Prophet Muhammad Reprimanded Children
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) handled many situations involving the antics and natural tendencies of infants and minor children with exemplary patience and good-naturedness. As God has commanded us in the Qur'an to emulate Prophet Muhammad as a ticket to earning His ultimate pleasure with us in the Hereafter, we should see how the Prophet corrected or reprimanded small children whenever they did something that could, in the modern world, severely test the patience and tolerance of most stressed-out, quick-to-snap adults.
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The Influence of Islamic Culinary Art on Europe
History shows that the Muslim physicians were the fathers of this therapeutic cuisine that influenced the world and was carried later by European travellers to the New World. This short paper showed how Europeans in the Middle Ages struggled with this complex culinary art and how its ingredients were the prize that drove them to compete for the trade in exotic spices and other ingredients.
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A Message to Perfect Morals
Research has revealed that babies fed on mother's milk are better protected from respiratory and digestive infections. That is because the antibodies in mother's milk provide a direct defense against infection.
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Arabic Numerals
The system of numeration employed throughout the greater part of the world today was probably developed in India, but because it was the Arabs who transmitted this system to the West the numerals it uses have come to be called Arabic.
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Europe: The Seeds of the Renaissance
Islam encourages the gathering of knowledge and the use of reasoning. In the Qur’an, God repeatedly urges humans to use their intellect and thinking skills so that they may differentiate between truth and falsehood.
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Ethics in Islamic Finance: Defining Ethics (Part 2/2)
For a transaction to be ethical, the overall goals of Shari`ah should also be fulfilled at the contract level. Other than avoiding riba and gharar, Monzer Kahf indicates that fulfilling maqasid (objectives) at the transaction level would involve satisfying the objectives, principles and values underscored in the Islamic laws of transactions.
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Faith: The Life-Changing Key
Reforming people and communities cannot be carried out randomly or haphazardly. Rather, a nation cannot be reborn or revived except through a very long process of genuine education or radical change that affects all its joints
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Ethics in Islamic Finance: Looking Beyond Legality (Part 1/2)
The pioneers of Islamic economics asserted that an economy based on Islamic values and principles would produce a moral economic system serving the needs of not only Muslims but humanity at large. The economy would strive to fulfill the goals of Shari`ah and result in achieving a just and vibrant economy.
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