Woman, Half-the-Man? Crisis of Male
Epistemology in Islamic Jurisprudence
Excerpt: There are, however, epistemological
problems connected with the way normative sources are
retrieved and interpreted by Muslism jurists which have
hampered the necessary progress towards one particular
area in the interhuman relationships, namely, the
personal status of Muslim women.
Excerpt: As the twentieth century comes
to an end it is time to reflect on our achievements and
failures in responding to the Qur'anic challenge of
creating a good society on earth. The entire human
history has been a history of the struggle to bring about
this ideal society. The ideal that Islam is seeking is
also a universal ideal for the entire humanity. It has
been a mission of all the prophets and all the sages to
see that humanity through its spiritual and moral
perfection brings about the establishment of a just
community.
"Right to Die?": Muslim Views About
End of Life Decisions
Excerpt: "How fortunate you are that you died
while you were not afflicted with illness." Thus said the
Prophet addressing the person whose funeral rites he was
performing. Such an assessment of death without illness
coming from the founder of Islam indicates the value
attached to a healthy life in Muslim culture.
Article 4: Cloning in the
Qur'an and Tradition
Islamic Perspectives on Human
Cloning
Excerpt: A wide range of opinions [has]
emerged among the scholars of Islamic law and theology in
its Sunni and Shi`i formulations in the wake of the
cloning technology that produced Dolly the sheep.
Although the cloning technology that is widely referred
to in Muslim literature deals with "embryo cloning," with
which this article is mainly concerned, among some
scholars there is a wider comprehension of the technology
in the way it appears in the scientific literature
dealing with genetics.
Article 5: Taqlid:
Blind Adherence or Rational Acceptance?
Excerpt: Development of Islamic religious
sciences like theology (kalam) and jurisprudence (fiqh)
clearly values people who question the authority of the
`ancestral' tradition. To be sure, the Qur'an praises
those who `think' and `reflect' about the divine
guidance, and endeavor to follow it in organizing their
life on earth.
Article 6: Brain Death and
Organ Retrieval
Excerpt: The mystery of life and
death is resolved in the Qur'an by linking it to the
working of human conscience and its ability to maintain a
healthy status of human spiritual-moral existence with
faith in God. Once that necessary equilibrium between
faith and work in life is lost, then a state of human
being's death has set in. It is this death that should
cause anxiety in human beings
Article 7: The Issue of
Riba in Islamic Faith and Law
Excerpt: Riba or `usury' based transactions
have been regarded as forbidden in Islam. With the
growth of Muslim economies, both at the national as well
as international levels, the issue of riba poses great
difficulties in justifying financial institutions that
charge interest. Muslim legal scholars belonging to all
schools of legal thought have resorted to the
reinterpretation of the scriptural sources to accommodate
drastic changes that have occurred in the way financial
transactions are carried on today. Religiously speaking,
the matter of interest is far from resolved; but
practical considerations have forced Muslim groups, both
of Sunni and Shi`ite pursuasion, in justifying
interest-based banking and other financial institutions.
However, within the legal tradition, there are ethical
principles like public good (maslahah) and `no harm, no
harassment (la darar wa la dirar), which will determine
the future direction of Muslim search for morally
responsible economy.
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