Bøger udgivet af Alhamd Publishers LLC

In this book I have recounted important facets of the story of my inner intellectual and spiritual growth. It is the story of how, a relatively, dogmatic model of Islam developed into the paradigm that I now accept. In one sentence my journey has taken me from an honest acceptance that Muslims alone will win salvation to an equally honest acceptance of the beauty and validity of inter-faith spirituality. More importantly, my reasons for accepting so are derived not merely from my study of philosophy, but also, and very much so, from the study of the Quran in the perspective of history.  My paradigm of Quranic Islam may be termed as ‘Spirit-centered Humanism’ to distinguish it from ‘Neutral or Scientific Humanism’. And I submit that this interpretation of Islam, which I have come to accept after years of thought and reflection, fully satisfies the most rigorous intellectual criteria. In Part A, I give a brief account of my mental and spiritual growth at different stages of my life. In Part B, I briefly describe my image of India based on critical history.

Quest for Islam is a systematic exposition of Islam in the light of contemporary knowledge by a practicing Muslim. A seminal work, it successfully resolves intellectual difficulties created in traditional interpretations by new knowledge. Among other things it organically integrates core Islamic values with the requirements of plural societies and secular democracies. It thus adds a fresh dimension of value to the Islamic thought-cum-value system. It will appeal greatly to Muslim intellectuals perplexed by the assault of modernity on traditional values and institutions. The Author argues that we must always be alive to the need for evolutionary growth and judicious innovation. In the global village, knowledge of how ‘they’ live is commonplace and comparisons are inevitably made. Consequently young Muslims have more questions than ever before for their elders. The “do as you are told”, and the “shut up and conform” responses are patently inappropriate. The quest for an ‘Islam For Our Times’ is, therefore a road that all thinking Muslims must travel with humility and abundant faith in the merciful guidance of God.

"Authenticity and Islamic Liberalism" is a collection of four original and highly stimulating papers on the liberal existentialist approach to religion with special reference to Islam in India. Each paper deals with an independent theme; yet, a consistent analytical existentialist approach makes them a well-orchestrated and balanced exposition of what may best be called "Islamic Liberalism". In the first essay the author pleads for adopting a fresh approach, devoid of the conceptual gloss of a long and hallowed tradition, to the study of the Quran: the original and everlasting source of the Islamic faith. The second essay discusses the classical problem of the conflict between faith and reason in an extremely fresh way in the light of authenticity, which is the pivotal idea in contemporary existentialism. The third essay deals with the basic issue of the proper function and jurisdiction of religion in human life as a whole. The author holds that this matter has become highly politicized in the Muslim world, when, in fact, it merits the most dispassionate analysis. The last essay gives a working definition of Islamic liberalism and traces its career in India from the thirteenth century up to date. The Two Supplemental Essays included in this new edition provide additional insights and food for thought. The philosophical acumen of the author of “Quest for Islam”, the valuable factual information and the lucid style of the present work makes it indispensable reading not only for all Muslim intellectuals and other serious students of religion, but also for public and professional men who function in plural societies of the modern age.

This monograph attempts to describe different approaches to philosophy, their situational and conceptual fields, their inter-relations and limitations. The possibility of combining them into a multi-dimensional approach is also discussed. The key notion underlying this essay is that the actual doing of philosophy must be rooted in a critical and comparative meta-philosophy.Most philosophers are so busy in establishing truths, or analyzing words and sentences, as the case may be, that they tend to neglect meta-philosophy. This leads to methodological isolationism and a polemical instead of an irenic approach to philosophical problems. The point of departure of this study is the view that the problem of the nature of philosophy and of philosophical disagreement is not a preliminary enquiry but rather the central query of twentieth century thought. The author critically examines five broad approaches to philosophy; the religious, the metaphysical, the cultural, the analytical and the existentialist. He cautions against the adoption of a mono-dimensional approach and recommends a multi-dimensional answer to this basic question. While this survey deals primarily with the philosophers of the West, the analysis and conclusions are applicable to all philosophers, Eastern or Western.