Dr Muhammad Maroof Shah

Wisdom of Prophet Muhammad, Peace be Upon Him, according to Ibn Arabi Is it possible to discover a point of view that comprehends the truth in all points of view? Is it possible to state one’s “worldview” or vision that could resist any conceivable criticism or deconstruction? To these questions there is a positive answer. And that is a vision that unconditionally submits to Truth or totality of all truths, a vision of radical innocence that is open to all experience, a humility to qualify all one’s assertions or claims of access regarding anything including such ideals as Beauty, Truth, Justice and Goodness or revelations of Being or pursuit of Perfection and thus not claim absoluteness for any immanent thing or idea. And one who embodies the great Station that is not a particular station or ideological viewpoint and thus embraces the reality or truth of all stations,  is Muhammad (SAW). This is how “the Greatest Master” – as he is called by a vast majority of Ulama and Saints

Consciously or unconsciously we keep adoring beauty It is told that  once Ananda, the beloved disciple of the Buddha, saluted his master and said: “Half of the holy life, O master, is friendship with the beautiful, association with the beautiful, communion with the beautiful”.“Say not so, Ananda, say not so!” the master replied.“It is not half the holy life; it is the whole of the holy life.” (SAMYUTTA NIKAYA) Why is there a universal “weakness” for the most useless thing called beauty? ( Laotze had spoken of beauty as “the usefulness of the useless,”  and Kant as “Purposiveness without purpose.” ) Because beauty is from the otherworld. Plato meant the same when he said “beauty is the splendour of the Truth.” When women saw beautiful Joseph they exclaimed he is an angel. See beautiful girl and one exclaims a houri from heaven. Indeed beauty is from the otherworld and its existence is one of the most powerful proofs for the existence of God. Ghalib’s answer to his own questio

Muslims and Christians face almost similar challenge of making God’s word intelligible in a world that has been decisively impacted by Marx, Darwin and Freud. One of the greatest tragedies that have befallen the Muslim world is forgetting its great heritage in human and divine sciences crippling them in the face of modern challenges that require a philosophical idiom to comprehend and respond. Muslims have hardly learnt from Christian and Jewish counterparts. Great names in Judeo-Christian thought in the modern world are mostly philosophers or theologians who take full cognizance of the challenge from secularizing thought currents. It is a Christian philosopher who has written one of the most celebrated texts on secular age titled A Secular Age . It is such brilliant Jewish philosophers as Buber, Heschel and Levinas who have presented some of the most compelling ethico-mystical visions for the modern world. It is Paul Tillich, a Protestant philosopher, who has given us one of the

The basic problem I attempt to deal with is clarifying some aspects of debate on implementation of Islam in secular states, in light of key insights from Tradition (the Way of Salaf i Saliheen ). For Islam the sacred-secular binary is ultimately transcended as is the division between West and East, ancient and modern ( “Daleeli kem nazri qisayi qadeem-o-jadeed "). Islam appropriates all that is grand and noble and valuable ( “Al-hikmatu zaalat-ul mumin” ) in any thought current.       I argue that we need to engage with modern political thought currents in light of traditional understanding of politics as grounded in metaphysics/ Ad-Deen , and if some key motivations and insights from secular thinkers like Marx can be shown to concur with it, we shouldn’t fight shy of it. Since our dialogue is with secular Marxist or liberal democratic or other forms of modern political thought, one has to explore if we can talk in their idiom without distorting traditional understanding, or find

All states today are both religious and secular and none is purely religious or secular. God has not been dethroned. Today we seek to engage with Shah-i-Hamdan’s socio-political thought considering the fact that if he visited us today he would hardly recognize it, as the world has witnessed several frame shift mutations. He would be compelled to edit not only the sections invoking medieval knowledge of some sciences( that have been corrected thanks to progress of natural sciences) but also, in all probability, partly, some sections treating sociopolitical issues. Today the institution of kings he assumes or addresses is almost gone for good and there have already developed institutions that restrain rulers. He wound find much of his job done thanks to modernity that has made rulers accountable to theoretically independent judiciary. He would find neither slaves nor slave owners, neither feudal lords nor the land in the sense he had seen as primary wealth. He would encounter the mo

Trying to Understand Shah-i-Hamdan (RA) in the Liberal Democratic World. “Political Islam” and Muslim religious nationalism have been with us for quite some time achieving very little in political terms but continuing to be seen as an aspiration of majority of Muslims. Although these are essentially modern phenomena and ideologically complicit with otherwise tabo modernist ideological notions, influential medieval scholars are roped in to buttress the cases. How convincing are the arguments and how effective or relevant today needs to be seen. Mir Syed Ali Hamdani, also called Amir-i-Kabir, is one of the great but neglected Muslim political theologians who needs to be better known and carefully studied to help us develop contemporary Muslim political theology. A perusal of his writings, especially his Zakhiratul Malook and Letters that constitute key sources for exploring his political theology, today in the post-secular (and for many post-theological) world while taking note of

Finding Grace in the Kafkaseque World   Once sermons used to move a man to tears; some would even die listening to them as has been reported about Gousul Azam (RA). Now hearts seem to have hardened and preachers don’t seem to carry great conviction, although they may be eloquent and can quote chapter and verse from many books. Friday sermons used to be great education (occasionally they are still and we have some Friday imams or speakers in Kashmir whom certain people don’t ordinarily miss to attend); now most people avoid reaching mosques much before scheduled prayer time so that they are not “bombarded” by sermons. Although one can still get greatly moved by some classics of sermons like those of Gousul Azam and Eckhart and some pieces from such contemporaries as Zulfiqar Naqshbandi and Ahmed Javed.       It is said that once a great Zen Master was going to deliver a sermon in presence of great gathering. The moment he arrived at the podium, a song bird was around singing. He a

The world is today suffering not from supposed absence or hiddenness of God, but the noise of warring advocates of God. God seems to resemble a Prime Minister never speaking in the Parliament, while a commotion in his name, for him and against him, has been there throughout recorded history, especially in later times and most prominently during recent history when Godliness seems to have largely disappeared leaving place for God mongers. Advocates of Him are in plenty charging fees in His name. The funniest part of the story is that advocates are fighting amongst themselves for getting recognized as the best advocates. God is not tempted to speak, thus giving us a clue to His real nature. Despite executing a magnificent universe teeming with life, beauty, intelligence and countless examples declaring His glory for those who care to see, He doesn’t seem interested in explicitly showing off Himself or writing His name on any billboard or having a political party or forced conversion to

The world respects Socrates as the greatest moral teacher in philosophy, and has never stopped mourning his execution at the hands of the rulers of Athens. What was the charge against Socrates? That he corrupted the morals of the young, and defied the gods. What a charge against a man whom all agreed was the most just, one who cared above all for ethics, for improving people’s character.       A similar charge was made against Hussain (AS): that he defied the authority of earthly gods in the name of justice or God. Socrates gladly accepted his execution, but defended himself during the trial, a defense –   Apology   – that needs to be read by all, especially those who think that Yazid’s authority shouldn’t have been challenged. Imam Hussain (AS)’s “apology” for refusing to pay allegiance to Yazid is well-known. Its essential spirit is the same as that of great moral thinkers.       Since some scholars have sought to dilute the importance and sublimity of Hussain’s point of view in th

  By performing the supreme sacrifice of the self one is united with the Eternal, the Infinite. Hussain’s faith or philosophy states in simple words three points. The greatest adventure or meaning of life lies in death. Time and all its games it plays with us are meaningless except in light of the Eternal. We must die seeking justice and liberation of the Proles ( all the oppressed regardless of colour or creed). All these ideals are Socratic ideals, the greatest philosopher- matyr of history. For Socrates the purpose of philosophy is preparation for death. He refused to take allegiance of the corrupt rule or ask for pardon or even exile to escape death sentence. The spirit of his great Apology recalls the lectures delivered by Imam Hussain(a.s) to his family members and the opponent’s army. The point is that one must respect the call of the conscience. And as Socrates asks, who knows that death is a punishment? He says that he owes a cock to Heaven for the favor of taking away