Hindu and Muslims have lived together side by side for centuries in India. They have learnt to enjoy each other’s festivals and rituals. Diwali, the festival of light; Eid, the occasion for Sewais; and Holi, the festival of gaiety; all occasions were meant to enjoy and visit each other’s place and strengthen the bonds. Among numerous rituals, Azaan or call to prayer is one, which is heard by Hindus and Muslims in a locality five times a day. Irrespective of merits or demerits of the recent controversy, a melodious call, specifically in the morning, sounds pleasant and uplifting for the soul,...

When Voyager 1 spacecraft was leaving our solar system on February 14, 1990, engineers turned it around for a last look on Earth from 4 billion miles away. The picture of a tiny dot of light, among countless stars, inspired Dr Sagan to write a moving piece, entitled 'Pale Blue Dot'. Few words from it are quoted here. “Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic...

In the Islamic perspective, the rizq does not simply mean food or money. It encompasses everything that God gives to a man, and its unequal distribution is as per a complex Design that encompasses the human effort. (6:165) Moreover, the Quran also acknowledges the need of activities that are for God only (fi-sabil-lil-lah) and do not involve a commercial return. To compensate partially this designed inequality of rizq, and to generate resources for such non-commercial activities, Quran prescribes zakat and encourages Sadaqa. Zakat is a regular and obligatory contribution, compulsory for all capable...

The Quran has put great stress on ‘faith’ and ‘actions’ both. The faith involves two basic articles, ‘there is no other God but One Creator God’, and ‘Muhammad is the messenger of God’ or the Message that has come through Muhammad (PBUH) is from the same Creator God’. Once a person has this faith in the origin of Quran, its credibility assumes gargantuan proportions. Thereafter, each and every information, injunction, decree, precept, rite, regulation and rule of Quran, becomes literally the Word and Command of the Creator Himself. But, to get benefit from this ‘Ultimate...

I want to invite the AMU community to reflect on something that has always been a part of an Alig’s existence and yet has not attracted the required discussion and debate. I am referring to the symbols in the AMU emblem. The apparently common place symbols, a tree, a book, and the crescent moon, all have deep significance attached to them and one need not be a symbolist or Illuminati to realize their worth. The verse within the emblem especially is extremely important as it tells us something that has the potential to change the face of earth, only if we can realize its true message. The tree,...