Articles by Dr. Parvez

Several thousands of years ago, when God decided to create a new species we now call human beings, he gathered the angels and informed them,  اِنِّیۡ جَاعِلٌ فِی الۡاَرۡضِ خَلِیۡفَۃً Khalifa means a person who has been delegated some authority and power by the one who originally possesses that authority and power. The political successors of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ were hence called Khalifa, because they ruled in his name, by the authority vested in them by virtue of being the Prophet's political successors. Similarly, spiritual leaders too make their most accomplished students their Khalifa, which essentially means that they too would now deem to have the same spiritual authority that they have. So when God said that He would create a new species which would act as His Khalifa, what He meant was that this new species (man) would be delegated, in some measure, some of God's own powers and attributes that other species on earth do not possess. But as all Spiderman fans kn

Would you keep your promise? A set of ayaat that struck me and stuck with me this Ramazan was the 14th-15th of Surah alAhzab: وَ لَوۡ دُخِلَتۡ عَلَیۡہِمۡ مِّنۡ اَقۡطَارِہَا ثُمَّ سُئِلُوا الۡفِتۡنَۃَ  لَاٰتَوۡہَا وَ مَا تَلَبَّثُوۡا بِہَاۤ   اِلَّا  یَسِیۡرًا وَ لَقَدۡ کَانُوۡا عَاہَدُوا اللّٰہَ مِنۡ قَبۡلُ لَا یُوَلُّوۡنَ الۡاَدۡبَارَ ؕ وَ کَانَ عَہۡدُ اللّٰہِ مَسۡئُوۡلًا  “And if they had been invaded from all sides, and fitnah (i.e. disobedience/ betrayal) had been demanded of them, they would certainly have obliged without much hesitation. And they had already promised Allah that they would never turn their backs and flee. And a promise made to Allah would certainly be accounted for.” [Surah alAhzab, ayaat 14 and 15] Since the Qur’an is all about introspection, I kept wondering where I stand vis-a-vis these two ayaat. These ayaat speak about those Muslims who reside in Muslim societies and follow Islam in their routine lives, but they falter when their faith is tested u

Khajoor khana Sunnat NAHI hai!  What? Wait? But this is what we have been told all along - that khajoor khana Sunnat hai. Even I felt so until I attended a lecture by Maulana Dr. Athar Habib Nadvi sahab some time back who explained to us that apne ilaqe ka sabse sasta khana khana Sunnat hai, na ki khajoor khana, per se. 7th Century Arabia me gareeb se gareeb aadmi bhi khajoor afford kar sakta tha. Gharo me kuch na hota tab bhi khajoor aur pani hota. Isiliye Huzoor ﷺ khajoor khana pasand karte the, because that was something even the poorest could afford. Aap ne kabhi zaitoon/olives import kar ke nahi khaye. Aap India me hote to khajoor bhi import kar ke na khate; yahañ ka staple diet pasand karte jo yahañ ka har aadmi afford kar sakta hai (daal, roti, chawal). This is because Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was a mass leader. He had once famously told a poor host that vinegar is the best food (because that is all he had in his house at that time to serve him with bread), even though it is establish

Satan did not bow before Adam because he considered himself better than Adam. He did not find it necessary to bow before an inferior being made of clay. ​قَالَ مَا مَنَعَكَ اَلَّا تَسۡجُدَ اِذۡ اَمَرۡتُكَ​ ؕ قَالَ اَنَا خَيۡرٌ مِّنۡهُ​ ۚ خَلَقۡتَنِىۡ مِنۡ نَّارٍ وَّخَلَقۡتَهٗ مِنۡ طِيۡنٍ Surah alA’araf: 12 But by that logic even the angels should have refused to bow before Adam, right? They too were created of a better raw material than Adam (noor), which was even better than that of the Satan (fire), and even they could not understand why God was creating a species which would cause havoc on earth and shed blood. وَ اِذۡ قَالَ رَبُّکَ لِلۡمَلٰٓئِکَۃِ اِنِّیۡ جَاعِلٌ فِی الۡاَرۡضِ خَلِیۡفَۃً ؕ قَالُوۡۤا اَتَجۡعَلُ فِیۡہَا مَنۡ یُّفۡسِدُ فِیۡہَا وَ یَسۡفِکُ الدِّمَآءَ ۚ وَ نَحۡنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمۡدِکَ وَ نُقَدِّسُ لَکَ ؕ قَالَ اِنِّیۡۤ اَعۡلَمُ مَا لَا تَعۡلَمُوۡنَ Surah alBaqarah: 30 But they bowed! That is called ibadah (submission). No ifs, no buts. Just hear and obey. There are man

For those who really want to know, Muhammad ﷺ (before becoming a prophet) was a young handsome man of 25 years when he first married. Whom? A twice widowed lady (Khadijah ؓ ) who was 15 years older and already had kids from her previous marriages. This marriage lasted 25 years (till her death). The Prophet was now 50 years old, and despite the polygamous tradition of Arabs, had not married any other lady all those years. He had 6 kids from her. All the other women the Prophet then married were also either widows or divorcees, with the sole exception of Lady Aishahؓ . Aishah married the Prophet after she entered puberty, and this marriage lasted 9 years (till his death). Each of the marriages with the other wives had their own social context and background. For instance, the Prophet married Lady Zainab ؓ  to demonstrate in clear terms that one's adopted son is not his real son, and his wife is not his daughter in-law. Some ladies were prisoners of war (Juwairiyah ؓ ), so

If Khuda, then why not Ishwar and God? In my last post, while translating the words of the Azan, I had used the word Ishwar for Allah. Some friends pointed out that Ishwar should not be used instead of Allah because ‘Ishwar’ is not one among the 99 names of Allah.  In the Indian subcontinent, salat is known as namaz, and saum is known as roza, despite the fact that these are Persian words which cannot be found anywhere in the Qur'an or Hadith. Can you tell me one more Persian word which is widely used by Muslims in the subcontinent? That word is ‘Khuda’. It is used instead of Allah, despite the fact that Khuda is not one among the 99 names of Allah that we find in the Qur'an and Hadith. When Persia was taken by Muslim forces in the 7th Century CE, some people approached Caliph Umar Farooqؓ and submitted that the Persians use the word Khuda instead of Allah. Caliph Umar, after weighing that word on the scales of the ayaat quoted below, approved the use of the word Khuda for All