Raheel Lakhani – studies advanced religious education and takes interest in comparative religion
During the second and third centuries of Islam, an era of philosophy emerged in Muslim civilizations where both Mutazalites and Asharites held debates on issues of free will, God’s attributes and the nature of scripture. The former adhered to rationality for acquiring truth, while the latter believed in a more traditional interpretation.
Later, in the fourth century, a group known as Ikhwan al-Safa (or the Brethren of Purity) emerged in Basra.
The Brethren became famous for their encyclopaedic work , the Rasa’il, which comprised of fifty-two epistles. The work covered a range of disciplines and was divided into four major sections : the mathematical sciences (geometry, astronomy, geography, music, arts, logic), the natural sciences (biological, meteorology, embryology, physics, epistemology), the psycho-rational sciences and the theological sciences (including discussions on meta-physics). The work permeated all major aspects of human life – religious, social, economic, scientific and political – and the Ikhwan maintained that the principles that they promulgated would lead to justice, happiness and salvation.
Simerg’s Special Series: I Wish I’d Been There – The Love for Ali by Altaf Hajiyani
Altaf Hajiyani – student of Islamic history
Hazrat Ali (a.s) the first cousin, son-in-law, first male convert and the champion of Islam is revered, loved, and respected by all communities is Islam. However, this affection is at different levels for different Tariqah’s within Islam. For Shia Muslims he is at the center of their spiritual guidance and the very first Imam and rightful successor to the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.s). The Sunnis regard him as one of the four rightly guided caliphs.
The affection that Shias and Sufis as well as other Muslims hold for Ali is not unusual as it was the Prophet himself who showed his profound feeling for Hazrat Ali right from the time he was born in the House of God, the Kaaba. Indeed, it is said that when Hazrat Ali was born he did not open his eyes, nor his mouth till the time Prophet Muhammad took him in his hands.
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