A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Am I crazy for thinking the Trinity is illogical? ”   I believe it is important to understand how a thing is defined within its context before considering it logical or illogical.  The word “Trinity” comes from the Latin word, “ trinitas ”, which means “three”, or “triad”.  The Greek equivalent is “ triados ”.  The first surviving use of the term was around 170 CE by Patriarch Theophilus of Antioch, who wrote in his second letter to his friend, Autolycus, “In like manner also the three days which were before the luminaries, are types of the Trinity, of God, and His Word, and His wisdom.  And the fourth is the type of man, who needs light, that so there may be God, the Word, wisdom, man.”   The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains the Trinity thus: “The Church expresses her Trinitarian faith by professing a belief in the Oneness of God ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Is the principle of Islamic banking possible? ”   Islamic banking has two primary principles: the equitable sharing of profit and loss in any venture, and the prohibition of riba’ , usury.   In principle, these are equitable considerations, and praiseworthy.   The contentions of Islamic banking is not the principles, per se, but the reinterpretation of their application within the context of conventional financial practices, and the creation of near equivalent financial instruments.   This is where is falls short.   Islamic banks make a profit through equity participation, which requires a borrower to give the bank a share in their profits rather than paying interest.   For example, we consider mudharabah , where one party, the bank, provides the capital, and the other party, the business owner, provides the expertise and labour.   The problem with most su...

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Is cryptocurrency haram in Islam ? ”   A cryptocurrency is merely a form of digital asset based on a distributed network.   This means the system is decentralised, outside the control of any regulatory authority, except at the points of exchange.   None of this makes cryptocurrency inherently haram .   The contention is that there is no underlying physical asset to give it value.   Islamic finance has no basis to characterise this, and the fiqh , jurisprudence, has not caught up with developments.   However, if we view cryptocurrency as a means of exchange, and not an inherent asset by themselves, this contention can be addressed.   In the same vein, cheques and currency developed as means of exchange, not assets in and of themselves.   Their value lies in what they represent.   A second objection raised is that cryptocurrencies are inherently volatile.   This is a weak argument. ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Can zakat be used for microfinance? ”   Zakat al-mal must be paid to the eight categories of Muslims deserving of zakat as Mentioned Explicitly in the Qur’an:   سُوۡرَةُ التّوبَة ۞ إِنَّمَا ٱلصَّدَقَـٰتُ لِلۡفُقَرَآءِ وَٱلۡمَسَـٰكِينِ وَٱلۡعَـٰمِلِينَ عَلَيۡہَا وَٱلۡمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلُوبُہُمۡ وَفِى ٱلرِّقَابِ وَٱلۡغَـٰرِمِينَ وَفِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ وَٱبۡنِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ‌ۖ فَرِيضَةً۬ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ‌ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَڪِيمٌ۬ (٦٠)   Alms are for the poor and the needy, and those employed to administer the (funds); for those whose hearts have been (recently) reconciled (to Truth); for those in bondage and in debt; in the cause of Allah; and for the wayfarer: (thus is it) Ordained by Allah and Allah is Full of Knowledge and Wisdom. (Surah at-Tawbah:60)   The fuqara’ , the poor, are those who earn less than half their basic needs.   The masakin , the destitute, are tho...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is a transcript of a lecture given by Mawlana Wafi’ Muhammad.   The Merciful Lord Who is the Originator of the skies, earth and everything therein, Appointed man as His Representative on Earth.   He Made man different from the rest of the creatures, as beside the human species that originated from clay, all the other creatures were created from water.   When this was made known to the other creatures, they became surprised to know that Adam ( a.s. ) possessed what was to be the Lord’s representative here on the Earth; although he was just a lump of mud.   There is no doubt of the fact that man is special.   Some of the reasons which make him superior to all other creatures are: He has a physical body capable of manifesting the Divine Attributes in his earthly life, such as the fact he can show love, mercy, generosity, and so forth; if the light of the soul is kept clean it can reflect something of the Div...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Mawlana Wahshi Kirmani ( q.s. ) wrote:   “Every heart that is not aflame is no heart; A frozen heart is nothing but a handful of clay. O God!   Give me a breast that sets ablaze, And in that breast a heart and that heart consumed with fire.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Shaykh Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Musa al-Wasithi ( q.s. ) spoke excellently saying, “The closest thing to abomination is he who attends the self and whoever considers the self’s beautiful actions to be beautiful and meritorious because that habit will necessarily lead to him approving of those actions of the self that are offensive.”