Articles by Dr. Parvez

In his farewell Hajj sermon, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ had said: تَرَكْتُ فِيكُمْ أَمْرَيْنِ لَنْ تَضِلُّوا مَا تَمَسَّكْتُمْ بِهِمَا كِتَابَ اللَّهِ وَسُنَّةَ نَبِيِّهِ “I have left you with two matters which will never lead you astray, as long as you hold to them: the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of his Prophet.” [Muwatta Imam Malik] The Qur'an is to the Sunnah, what a text book is to the teacher's classroom and laboratory notes. And as we know, both are necessary when it comes to passing an exam. While the Qur'an is well-defined, we need to know what exactly is the Sunnah. By definition, everything that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, did or retained/approved in the religious sphere is Sunnah, and following it is as important as following the Qur'an, if not more. The prophetic mission comprised four tasks: 1. Reciting the Qur'an to the people. 2. Purifying them. 3. Teaching them the Qur'an. 4. Teaching them the Wisdom (i.e. the Sunnah) This has been mentioned several times...

Gen Z boys, growing up in urban nuclear families, are witnessing a solitary environment far removed from the closely knit communities of yore. With hardly anyone to guide them in matters related to manhood and marriage, they often turn to the internet or to friends who are as clueless as they are. The Qur'an, being a complete code of life, dedicates several of its passages to elaborate upon interhuman relations. This is in complete contrast to the attention it grants to the ‘pillars of Islam’ like prayers and fasting and zakat and hajj. The Qur'an leaves it to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to explain how and when to offer namaz, what is the nisab for zakat, how to perform hajj, and their associated rulings. But when it comes to family matters, the Qur'an dives into minute details, even discussing rare situations and exceptional cases. In the 54th ayat of Surah Furqan, God reminds us of His grandeur by citing that He has created mankind from water, and made their relations through bloo...

Every claim demands supportive evidence. Although evidence is not proof in itself, the presence of overriding and convincing evidence is often treated as reliable proof of the claim. Science accepts perception (through five senses) and/or empirical data as evidence. Likewise, law accepts eye witnesses, DNA samples, voice and text records, documents etc. as evidence. Ontological questions, however, often lie beyond the scope of such evidences. Islam answers certain pressing ontological questions on the existence of God, life after death and divine revelation. But since all these concepts lie in the realm of ghaib, we require certain epistemological tools to substantiate them - to answer the question, ‘How do we know them to be true?’ For this, let us turn to our own country's ancient epistemological tools, the pramanas, and check how they might help us in substantiating the Islamic creed. In Indian philosophy, Pramanas refer to the ‘means of knowledge’ or the ‘criteria’ that we use ...

Who was Jesus Christ? The Jews reject Jesus Christ as an imposter and a false prophet. The Christians hail him as the begotten son of God. Between these two extremes, Islam maintains that Jesus Christ was a prophet and messenger of God. يَـٰٓأَهْلَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ لَا تَغْلُوا۟ فِى دِينِكُمْ وَلَا تَقُولُوا۟ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ إِلَّا ٱلْحَقَّ ۚ إِنَّمَا ٱلْمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ٱبْنُ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولُ ٱللَّهِ وَكَلِمَتُهُۥٓ أَلْقَىٰهَآ إِلَىٰ مَرْيَمَ وَرُوحٌۭ مِّنْهُ [an'Nisa, ayat 171] مَّا ٱلْمَسِيحُ ٱبْنُ مَرْيَمَ إِلَّا رَسُولٌۭ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِن قَبْلِهِ ٱلرُّسُلُ وَأُمُّهُۥ صِدِّيقَةٌۭ ۖ كَانَا يَأْكُلَانِ ٱلطَّعَامَ ۗ ٱنظُرْ كَيْفَ نُبَيِّنُ لَهُمُ ٱلْـَٔايَـٰتِ ثُمَّ ٱنظُرْ أَنَّىٰ يُؤْفَكُونَ [alMaidah, ayat 75] Even the New Testament calls him a prophet: “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee” [Matthew, 21:11,46] “Yet I must be on my way today, tomorrow and the next day; it is not right for a prophet to be killed anywhere except in Jerusalem. Jerusalem! Jerusalem...