Rationalists and Empiricists have both argued in their own fashion in supporting the existence of God. Differences in their views are based on the extent of emphasis each side lays on human sense experience. Empiricists claim the existence of God based on information and knowledge gathered through sense faculties endowed to humans. Rationalists on the…
Category: Religion
The rule of St Benedict: Bringing order out of chaos
St.Benedict of Nursia is a key figure in early Roman Catholic Monastic tradition. He founded a total of twelve communities for monks in and around Rome, before moving to Monte Cassino for the later years of his life. St. Benedict’s main contribution to Christian theology was his prescription of the ‘Rule’, which laid out a…
Comparing Qur’anic and Biblical Depictions of Abraham
As many as 50 characters who appear in the Holy Bible also appear in the Holy Qur’an. This includes that of Abraham, Issac and Ismael as well. The Qur’an, having appeared seven centuries after the Holy Bible, believed by Muslims to be the more authoritative text. Consequently, there are many differences between the stories of…
Frequently Asked Questions on Islamic Banking
1. THE HOLY QUR’ANHAS PROHIBITED RIBA. WHAT IS MEANT BY THIS TERM? The term Riba can be loosely translated into the financial concept of ‘interest’. As per Shariah law and Islamic scriptures, the practice of giving or taking interest upon principal is prohibited. In financial transactions a few types of Riba could arise, namely, riba…
Islamic Banking: Sukuk and Screening of Stocks
The article titled Sukuk and their Contemporary Applications by Muhammad Taqi Usmani is a report of issues in relation to the “compliance of Sukuk with the precepts of the Shariah.” Sukuk, which can loosely be translated as ‘financial certificates’ in common economic parlance, is a crucial instrument in Islamic banking procedures. The precepts of Shariah…
The set of religious observances known as the Five Pillars of Islam
All people of the Islamic religion are expected to observe a set of five simple rules which are called the Five Pillars of Islam. These are, namely, “Belief, Worship, Fasting, Alms giving and Pilgrimage”. The Five Pillars act as a template for how the faithful have to conduct themselves in relation to fellow believers as…
How did Saint Paul universalize Christ?
There are many Apostles and Saints who propagated the message of Christianity across the world. Among these St. Paul is one of the more prominent. Also referred to as Apostle Paul or Paul of Tarsus, this early missionary carried the message of Jesus Christ to unchartered geographies and its people. His contribution to the writing…
Why can Buddhism be considered “psychological”?
Buddhism is a major religion in current times, but its origins goes back thousands of centuries. Having originated in North Eastern India, it had spread far and wide in the Eastern hemisphere, making it a dominant religion in the Asian continent. Buddhism has been in existence even before the rise of Judeo-Christians, making it stand…
What is the basic world view of tribal religions?
Since tribe formation is the earliest form of human organization, tribal religions can said to be the earliest expression of organized religion. Since human tribes lived in a state of nature and their survival depended on benign natural conditions and events, they recognized the power of natural elements. These elements included fire, water, air, earth…
Farid Esack’s concept of the “clash of fundamentalisms”
In the reading titled In Search of Progressive Islam Beyond 9/11, author Farid Esack makes several valid observations. At the outset, he admits that the word ‘progressive’ is very hard to define due to elements of subjectivity and scope. In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and other…