The annual Religious Freedom Reports released by US State Department often include sections about religious freedom in Saudi Arabia. These reports are officially distributed by the State Department and then circulated amongst the centers of research in the West as well as the international media outlets and other channels. Saudi Arabia comes on top of concern of those involved in these reports, due to its religious and political significance. Accordingly, it becomes incumbent on us, as Saudis, to discuss the sections in these reports which cover religious freedom in our country and provide facts that are not included in these reports. While discussing these reports, we should explain to the world our view point vis-à-vis these reports. We should also allow the reader to discover the truth as stated therein and according to criteria upon which many fair-minded, rational people agreed with us.
Imam Shafi on On Legal Knowledge Read Classical – Excerpt Written in the second Islamic century by al-Imam al-Shafi’i (d. 204AH/820AD), the founder of one of the four Sunni schools of law. This important work gives the fundamental principles of Islamic jurisprudence and its influence continues to the present day. During the early years of the spread of Islam, the exponents of Islamic legal doctrine were faced with the problems raised by ruling and administering a diverse and rapidly growing empire. In Medina and Kufa, as well as other cities of early Muslim rule, schools of law had to be developed, but it took the genius of Muhammad b. Idris al-Shafi’i, born in the year 150AH/767AD, to establish the principles by which the various legal doctrines could be synthesised into a coherent system. In the Risala, which laid down the basis for such a synthesis, al-Shafi’i established the overriding authority, next only to the Qur’an, of the Sunnah or example of the Prophet Muhammad as transmitted in the traditions.
Author: Muhammad Bin Idrees Al-Shafaei - Mohammed Bin Idrees Al-Shafai
Reveiwers: Muhammad AbdulRaoof
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Author: Mane' Bin Hammad Al-Juhani
Discussing the scriptures of Islam & Christianity, Gary Miller, a Canadian Muslim indicates that a Muslim believes in the religion of Jesus but sees mainline Christianity as a religion constructed about Jesus. The majority of Christians deify Jesus while Muslims say that he was a great prophet & messenger of Allah.
Author: Gary Miller
Reveiwers: Muhammad AbdulRaoof
Publisher: Islamic call and guidance centre in Abha: www.taweni.com
In this classical treatise, Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy on him) discusses the differences between advising and condemning, which is an extremely important topic since it is very common that the two are confused for one another. For the most part, his talk revolves around the dealings and affairs of the scholars, and how it was from their way to advise and accept the truth from one another. And he shows how condemning was not from their characteristics, but rather from the signs of the evil and wicked people who held hidden goals and objectives.This book is especially important in these days due to the wide scale confusion that exists on this subject amongst the Muslims. So today when we find scholars of the Sunnah refuting weak opinions of other scholars from the past, they are quickly accused of hating those scholars of the past and just condemning them, when in fact they are really advising the ummah and warning the Muslims against following a man in his error. So, we hope that these matters become clear to the reader upon studying this treatise and that he is able to distinguish those who are truly advising from those who are just condemning.
Author: Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbali
Translators: Abu Maryam Ismaeel Alarcon
Publisher: http://www.almanhaj.com - Almanhaj Website
This book includes a comprehensive vision of issues related to the promotion of virtue and prevention of vice and its official establishment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This book was prepared by a group of Saudi academicians, males and females, representing different Saudi universities and various geographical regions. They address the Western public opinion, its political and intellectual sources. Their aim is to clarify reality for Western public opinion, its political, intellectual and media sources. This reality that remains obscure for this public opinion as a result of certain political circumstances, religious superiority or suspicious media lusts. This reality was obscured from the West by the current rapid international developments and changes.