Distributive justice : who gets what and how

Distribution of wealth and income is one of the most important topics concerning the economic life of man, and yet the most controversial. It is due to distribution of wealth and income that great revolutions such as the French Revolution of 1789, and armed conflicts in many parts of the world have taken place. The most fundamental question in the distribution of wealth and income is: What criterion or criteria should be followed to achieve distributive justice? This question has been a big controversy among philosophers, economists, and politicians, and no conclusion has ever been reached. The aim of this paper is to analyze the principles of distributive justice according to Islam and liberal thought. It focuses on the views of Sayyid Qutb, ;-"luhammad Baqir al-Sadr, John Rawls and Robert J\ozick. The former two are recognized figures in the contemporary Islamic thought. They have addressed themselves to social, political, cultural and economic problems prevalent among contemporary Muslims and have suggested some ways to overcome them, based on the teachings of the Qur'all and SW11lah. They are regarded among the pioneers of Islamic revival, which is concerned mainly with the establishment of an Islamic State, and the application of the Shari'aTr (Islamic la",,") in all aspects of life. The latter two are contemporary American philosophers who have contributed new ideas to the conception of justice. No study of justice is considered complete without reference to their view

Volunteerism from Islamic perspective

Volunteerism is a great virtue that is grounded in the teachings of both revealed and non-revealed religions and in all cultures. Since time immemorial, people have been spending time and money to help others without any expectation of compensation. All Prophets were volunteers and they emphatically stressed the need for volunteerism. Billions of hours are devoted to volunteer activities and some world leaders have also called upon their subjects to volunteer their time and money to help others. The aim of this work is to highlight the concept of volunteerism from the Islamic perspective. No religion or law gives volunteerism as much importance as Islam does. Islam encourages its followers to voluntarily share their time, wealth, knowledge and acts of kindness with others. The work is divided into two sections dealing with discussions on the meaning of volunteerism, its different forms and ethics

The Qur’an as a transformation factor: A survey on Reading vs Understanding the Qur’an among the students of the International Islamic University Malaysia

The Qur’an is the basis of Islam and an intrinsic part of a Muslim life. It is the strong rope that connects Muslims to their Lord, Allah, the Straight Path (al-Sirat al-Mustaqim)leading them to everlasting bliss and the backbone of their success in both existences, i.e. al-Dunya and al-Akhirah (here and hereafter). The purpose of this paper is to explore how the students of the International Islamic University Malaysia read the Qur’an. It is undeniable that recitation of the Qur’an is an activity in which Muslims engage from childhood to death. No day passes without the Qur’an being read. Despite this, however, it is unfortunate that not many Muslims understand what they read from the Qur’an! The researcher contends that understanding the Qur’an is essential if Muslims are to uplift themselves from the current state of moral, spiritual, political and economic decline; that Muslims would have been the leaders of the world today had they been able to continue dealing with the Qur’an the way it was dealt with by the Prophet’s companions and their immediate successors; and that understanding the Qur’an is the greatest challenge facing Muslims today. Key Words: Qur’an, reading, understanding, reflection, transformation

Meaning, classification, epistemological foundation and significance of worldview

The central focus of this work is on the importance of worldview, that is, why a worldview is needed and why it is important to be understood. There are several reasons why a person should understand worldview. The main argument in this paper is that, to explain people‘s knowledge, deeds, perceptions and beliefs about the existence and nature of God (theology), the ultimate nature of reality (metaphysics), the origins and nature of the universe, life, and especially Man (cosmology), the meaning and purpose of the universe, its inanimate elements, and its inhabitants (teleology), the nature and purpose of Man in general and, oneself in particular (anthropology), and the nature of value, what is good and bad, what is right and wrong (axiology), one must get to the root cause, which is the worldview. That is, the framework from which one sees and interprets reality

Distributive justice : a comparative analysis

Distribution of wealth and income is one of the most important topics concerning the economic life of man, and yet the most controversial. It is due to distribution of wealth and income that great revolutions such as the French Revolution of 1789, and armed conflicts in many parts of the world have taken place. The most fundamental question 86 in the distribution of wealth and income is: What criterion or criteria should be followed to achieve distributive justice'} This question has been a big controversy among philosophers, economists. and politicians, and no conclusion has ever been reached. In this paper I intend to analyze, comprehensively and systematically, the 'Islamic Theory' of distributive justice in comparison with the 'Entitlement Theory' and the 'Difference Principle' so as to show the differences and similarities between it and these two liberal theories of distributive justice that now dominate the Western thought. The study will be limited to views offour contemporary thinkers; namely, Sayyid Qutb, Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, John Rawls and Robert Nozick. The fanner two are recognized figures in the contemporary Islamic thought. They have addressed themselves to social, political, cultural and economic problems prevalent among contemporary Muslims and have suggested some ways to overcome them, based on the teachings of the Qur'an and Sunnah. The two are regarded among the pioneers ofIslamic revival, which is concerned mainly with the establishment of an Islamic State, and the application of the Shari'ah (Islamic law) in all aspects of life. Ibn HaIdu

Infusing creativity in teaching and learning: an Islamic approach

Infusion of creativity in teaching and learning is a key element in the development of any nation. It is a problem-solving technique where students learn to think “out of the box”; they learn to ‘create’ (generate new ideas, or ways of viewing things, designing, constructing, planning, producing, inventing) which is the highest level of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Many Muslim scholars are of the opinion that the regress of the Islamic world was due to intellectual decline; that is, taqlid (following others and holding uncritical faith in their opinions) and jumud al-Fikr (stagnation of the mind). Therefore, the revival of Islamic civilization requires liberation of the Muslim mind from all forms of mental slavery. This paper deals with infusion of creativity in teaching and learning as a way forward for Muslims. Its objectives are twofold; firstly, to analyze the importance and significance of infusion of creativity in teaching and learning on the basis of Qur’an and Sunnah; and secondly, to highlight the objective of creativity in education from an Islamic perspective; that is, rejection of taqlid. To achieve these objectives, the paper begins with explanation of the conceptual meanings of creativity and its development in Islamic thought and heritage. It concludes with recommendations for creative teaching. Keywords: Creativity, teaching, learning, taqlid, jumud al-Fikr, education, Islamic Thought an