Islam and Diplomacy: The Quest for Human Security

Salah is one of the five pillars on which the edifice of Islam rests. Most of us feel that we already know all there is about salah – the formal prayers of a Muslim. However, very few individuals actually do justice to it or derive any worldly or spiritual benefits from it.

Salah & Its Essential Conditions is an effort to detail the essential prerequiires of salah. Moreever, it takes a detailed look at its importance along with the different types of obligatory and voluntary prayers. It alsa presents an illustrated guide to help those who wish to learn or correct the performance of their prayers.

Inshallah, all those who wish to improve their salah will find plenty of help in this book whether they are looking for information on cleanliness and purify, locating the direction of qibla, improving their congregation during salah, making up for the missed salah, or joining acongregation when the imam has already sarted the salah, or joining a congregation when the imam has already started the salah. All in all, it is a relevant handbook on what the Prophet (saw) has described as the coolness of his eyes.

Organizations must have rules of order to facilitate their debate and to fill in the procedures not detailed by their constitutional documents. While most American organizations are content to operate by Robert’s Rules of Order, Muslim organizations have often wrestled with questions over whether the rules of order systemized by a Western military figure are in accord with the Qur’an and the Sunnah.

This book tackles the matter directly and takes into account the Qur’an, the sunnah, Islamic manners and the history of Islamic consultation and leadership to provide a simple, practical guide to organizational procedure that can be incorporated into the governance of Muslim organizations. The book includes advice on writing bylaws and on complying with the best practices of the U.S. Dept. of Justice in a way that is Islamically authentic, transparent, and accountable. It provides a basic starting point for any Muslim organization while allowing for flexibility so that organizations may make any variations they require within their own bylaws and constitution, so that it can accommodate differing schools of thought on Islamic law. In its discursive approach it is an essential primer for understanding the value of rules of order and the Islamic context for their application. The Islamic Rules of Order has been adopted as the rules of order of the Association of Muslims Social Scientists.

In our busy lives, Friday comes around once a week. It often comes and goes without our being really aware of it. For many Muslim men, it may be punctuated by the congregational prayer that they make special efforts to attend. For many Muslim women, it may go by just like any other day. This ought not to be the case. In this unique book, Dr. Gowher Yusuf gives us reason to stop and think about how special Friday (al-Jumu‘ah) really is, and what we should be doing to achieve the many bounteous blessings it holds for those who observe it. Drawing constantly from the Qur`an and the Sunnah and the great works of the scholars of Islam, Dr. Gowher Yusuf explores this topic in depth and presents it to the reader in simple language for them to understand and ponder over. This book travels through the various issues pertaining to the Friday prayer and its Khutbah, or sermon. These issues are explained within the Islamic framework, thus abolishing any myths and misunderstandings and clarifying the topic for the reader. Dr. Yusuf writes: The day of the week known as al-Jumu‘ah, or simply Jumu‘ah, is Friday, and it is special. Compared to the other days of the week, Friday has been accorded the largest amount of merit, so much so that the father of all humankind, Prophet Âdam (peace be upon him), was created on this day and a particular prayer was ordered for this day. It was from the guidance given to Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) to magnify this day, honour it, and designate it for acts of worship. …On a Friday, we all will be gathered and will stand congregated in front of Allah, the Exalted, on the Day of Resurrection, also called the Day of Accountability or the Day of Judgement.

The purpose of this book is to provide English speaking Muslims a concise and authentic compilation of the instructions regarding funeral rites in Islam.

Zakah, the third Pillar of Islam, is probably the first Pillar of its economic system. It represents the first and most important mechanism to implement economic justice and to provide sustenance to the economically unfortunate, two issues for which Islam is especially sensitive. These two issues are the essence of this book. This book consists of all the main issues of Zakat (i-e, Zakah on Gold, Silver, Paper Money, Livestock, Fruits, Grains, Rented Land, Buried treasures, Minerals, Trade, Shares, Stocks, and Exploited Assets etc). The main objective of this work is to serve an easy and authentic reference to the reader.

With the advent of technology, the entertainment industry has flourished and become immensely popular. Combine this with the exponential advances in technology, and the result is an increasing number of ways to amuse ourselves. As a result of such advances, Muslim react in a variety of manners towards entertainment. Some label entertainment as completely forbidden. This sometimes includes parents who say no to almost everything that their young ones deem to be ‘fun’, without providing them with suitable alternatives. Others, who do not want to take this extreme approach, fall into the trap of excessive use of – and even addiction to – various sources of entertainment, without any limits.

In Having Fun the Halal Way, Ismail Kamdar explores the teachings of Islam regarding entertainment. Drawing upon the Quran, the Sunnah and the understanding of the righteous scholars of Islam, he provides a detailed and balanced analysis of the topic. He not only explains the detriments of the current entertainment industry, but also suggests alternative means to have a good time with friends and family members.