I. Style & Eloquence ( الاساليب و البلاغة ) 1. The causative ‘ إِنَّ ’ About the ellipses in the verse ‘ َتَزَوَّدُواْ فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ الزَّادِ التَّقْوَى ’, Ghamidi writes (note 12): ‘Those well verse...
My Dear Asif Assalamu alaykum I thank you for your feedback on this issue and deeply appreciate the concerns you have voiced in your email. While totally agreeing with your last two points, I would li...
The Researcher’s Companion I Meaning & Morphology ( الصرف و اللغة) 1. أِمْلاَل and إِمْلا. The word أِمْلاَل means “to dictate” and so does the word إِمْلا . Both words have been used in the Qur’an in...
The Researcher’s Companion I Meaning & Morphology ( الصرف و اللغة ) 1. أمر As pointed out by Ghamidi, (note 13), in the Arabic language, the word أمر is not always used to connote a command or a direc...
We often become thankless to our Creator even though His favours abound. Even a very partial list of these favours would outdo a loss or deprivation we may be experiencing. It is just a question of op...
The Dec 2005 issue of Renaissance marked the completion of fifteen years of its publication. Taking this to be an opportune moment, we have devoted this issue of the journal to present a comprehensive...
I Meaning & Morphology ( الصرف و اللغة) 1. الطَّاغُوت As pointed out by Ghamidi (note 12), this word is synonymous with ‘Satan’. This synonymous usage is evident from the following verse: الَّذِينَ آم...
I Eloquence & Style ( الاساليب و البلاغة ) 1. The أَلَمْ تَرَ form of Address About this form of address, Ghamidi writes (note 1): ‘This style of address in which plural entities are actually addresse...
I Meaning & Morphology ( الصرف و اللغة) 1. ‘ َالْمَعْرُوف ’ The word ma‘ruf in the Qur’an as well as in Arabic has two meanings: 1. the good and the equitable. 2. the norms and customs of a society. F...
Experiencing some loss is a taxing time of a person’s life. It reminds him of a great reality he often forgets and ignores: trials and tribulations are a part and parcel of life; they change form but...
I Meaning & Morphology ( الصرف و اللغة ) 1. ‘ الْعِزَّةُ ’ (al-‘Izzah) The word ‘ الْعِزَّةُ ’ literally means ‘prestige’. It is used in the Qur’an in this meaning in many verses. See for example 4:13...
I. Meaning & Morphology ( الصرف و اللغة ) 1. ‘ قصاص ’ (Qisas) While explaining the meaning of this word, Ghamidi writes (note 1): ‘The word ‘Qisas’ is from ‘Qasas’ which means to follow someone along...
I. Meaning & Morphology ( الصرف و اللغة) 1. ‘ دَابَّة ’ While commenting on the usage of the word ‘ دَابَّة ’, Ghāmidīī writes: ‘Just as it is used to connote animals that walk on the earth, it is als...
The stance of Islam regarding certain issues relating to women has remained a hot subject of debate, especially in the last few centuries. ‘The fatal point in Islam is its degradation of women’ is wha...
There exist a number of misconceptions regarding the stance of Islam on women. In this essay, an attempt, based on the views of Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, has been made to dispel some common misconceptions...
I. Meaning & Morphology ( الصرف و اللغة ) 1. ‘ وَسَط ’ According to Ghāmidī (note 5), the word ‘ وَسَط ’ is used literally. It refers to the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad (sws) who stood as an in...
Making friends is easy; maintaining friendship is not. In fact, making ourselves unpopular is a job so easily done. One slip of the tongue, one harsh word, one instance of anger and we might end up lo...
I. Meaning & Morphology ( الصرف و اللغة ) 1. ‘ كَلِمَات ’ As pointed out by Ghāmidī (note 7), the word ‘ كَلِمَة ’ occurs both for a word or letter and for compound meanings. The latter usage is also...
I. Meaning & Morphology ( الصرف و اللغة ) 1. ‘ سُؤال ’ As indicated by Ghāmidī (note 25), the word ‘ سُؤال ’ (question) has many connotations. One of these is a question that actually has a ring of an...
I. Meaning & Morphology ( الصرف و اللغة ) 1. ‘ الّرُسُل ’ (Al-Rusul) The word ‘ الّرُسُل ’ (Al-Rusul) is a plural of ‘ الّرَسُوْل ’ (Al-Rasūl). As pointed out by Ghāmidī (note 12), the word has two co...
