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Editors, Page 61

Terror on a train

By Shaykh Hamza Yusuf
“Tragedy acquires meaning and consequence only if we learn from it. And what we must learn from this tragic event in Portland is that the best of America came up against the worst of America on that train. And even though the best died, in their death, there has to be a collective affirmation from all of us that the America of Jeremy Joseph Christian is not the America that we want. Instead, we must resolve to nurture the America of the three courageous men who put their lives on the line. ..”

John the Baptist: a Prophet of Islam

“Allah did not just miraculously grant Zecheriah a son. He made this child a blessing for his parents and beautiful in character. Prophet John is described in the Quran as chaste and righteous…”

Be generous in Ramadan!

By Dr Husni Hammuda
“Generosity isn’t only about money, although, if you are wealthy, then money does play a big part. Generosity is more about your attitude: giving others your time, your expertise, your love, your compassion, and yes, also your money, out of love and gratitude to Allah, the Most Generous One…”

Ramadan: The Heartbeat of Islam

By Sheikh Abdul Hamid Lachporia
“We must have our bearings right, the right sense of destination, the right navigational equipment, and an inbuilt system of correcting the course and raising an alarm, in case one begins to zigzag or go dangerously astray. The Most holy and auspicious month of Ramadan helps to define our limits [Hudood] and is a powerful social vehicle to help us through the Month that Almighty Allah Most Beneficent and Merciful has claimed for Himself…”

Fasting (saum/som) as a spiritual diet

By Rabbi Allen S Maller
“Our society has increasingly become one of self indulgence. We lack self discipline. Fasting goes in direct opposition to our increasing “softness” in life. When people exercise their will-power and fast, they are affirming their self-control and celebrating mastery over themselves. We need continually to prove that we can do it, because we are aware of our frequent failures to be self-disciplined…”

Open letter to the Manchester bomber

By Rafiq ibn Jubair
“What did you seek to achieve by indiscriminately targeting the innocent?
Did you seek to divide people and make them turn on one another?
On the contrary, it has united people of all faiths and brought the best out of them.
What did you seek to achieve by causing havoc and chaos?
Did you not study the life of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)?
For in the Qur’an He is described as a Mercy to the whole of mankind…”

Ready for Ramadan?

By Sheikh Abdul Hamid Lachporia
“O you who believe! Instead of telling Almighty Allah what we want, we should try to ask what it is that He wants for us, or wants us to do, in each situation. Sometimes He gives a very clear indication of what it is He wants us to do through inner conviction, through a verse of the Most Holy Qur’an, or an insight given through another person. When we are less certain, we can pray for what seems to be the best solution, acknowledging that Almighty Allah’s wisdom is perfect…

How Qur’an and Torah Support Each Other

By Rabbi Allen S Maller
“Ramadan is the month when the Sacred Scriptures of Christians, Jews and Muslims were first revealed, so it is a good time to understand how they relate to one another.

Since all monotheistic scriptures come from the one and only God, we all should view other monotheistic religion’s scriptures as potentially enriching our understanding of our own scripture. Yet for almost 14 centuries almost all Jews, Christians and Muslims have read each others holy scriptures from an adversarial perspective.

This is because in the middle ages almost all readers thought of revelation as a zero sum sport like tennis (with only one winner) rather than a multiple win co-operative sport like mountain climbing. …”