Conversations, Questions, and Answers About Islam
Interpreting the Prophetic Traditions The “Problem” with Some Sirah Narrations The interpretation of the Satanic Verses incident touches directly on the nature of the Prophet’s revelations as understood by many traditional Muslims. The concept of infallibility is assumed to the extent that ascribing even minor sins to the Prophet (pbuh) are considered blasphemous. For these […]
Understanding the Prophetic Traditions “How Does Truth Happen?” Shahab Ahmad, author of the thought-provoking book – Before Orthodoxy – starts his dissertation with this question to the reader. He uses this generic question to drive to his specific question: given the diversity of Islam, “how does a single position come to be universally established as […]
Introduction You have indeed in the Prophet of God a good example … (Qur’an 33:21) Who was Muhammad ibn Abdullah, peace be upon him? Can we reconstruct his historical life despite the many legends and narrations that have circulated among the early generations of Muslims? How can faith in Islam and its prophet be established […]
The Status of Women and Men The Case for Complementary Roles Why make the case for complementary roles? On the one hand, there has been a general realization in the turn of the 20th century that fundamental interpretations of Islam have severely limited the status and inclusion of women to the detriment of Islamic culture […]
I would say one of the biggest obstacles I have with Islam is the treatment of women. There are other hesitations I have and some as well regarding Christianity. Regarding your response about women in the mosque, has it always been a precedent going back to the time of Muhammad that women, for the most […]
Nobody in early Islamic history denied the legal validity of the Sunnah مَنْ يُطِعِ الرَّسُولَ فَقَدْ أَطَاعَ اللَّهَ Whoever obeys the Messenger is obeying God. (4:80) When the archangel Gabriel revealed a new passage of the Qur’an to the Prophet (pbuh), he also instructed where that passage belongs. Some passages were before, some were after, and […]
