Articles by Dr. Parvez

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