Culture & Heritage

This presentation is based on the book “Music & Singing in the Balance of Islam” (Arabic) by Shaykh Abdullah al- Juday (2004) Summary – The Balanced Fatwa Music & Singing are types of lahw (entertainment, amusement, frivolity, sport, etc.). Thus, they are acceptable and even encouraged at times in moderation in the Sunnah, just like poetry, humour, laughter, etc.  However, …

Most modern coffee-drinkers are probably unaware of coffee’s heritage in the Sufi orders of Southern Arabia. Members of the Shadhiliyya order are said to have spread coffee-drinking throughout the Islamic world sometime between the 13th and 15th centuries CE. A Shadhiliyya shaikh was introduced to coffee-drinking in Ethiopia, where the native highland bush, its fruit and the beverage made from …

The word ‘ Urdu ‘ is derived from Turkish word ‘ Ordu ‘ meaning ‘ Army Camp ‘ or ‘Lashkar ‘ . Exact origin of ‘ Urdu ‘ is some what difficult to trace; but many different theories have been developed to explain it. Mohammad Hussain Azad, an eminent Indian scholar, believes that Brij Bhasha, a dialect of Western Hindi, …

Little is it known that there was a time when the Sultans of Turkey ruled the hearts of the Musalmans of the far-famed isle of Sarandib. Sri Lanka is home to a large number of Muslims many of whom comprise the descendants of Arab traders who had settled down here several centuries ago. It would appear that in the early …

Last week the Sakirin Mosque opened in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the first mosque in the country to have an interior designed by a woman, Zeynep Fadillioglu. An interior designer known for jet setting ways, she nonetheless won a commission to redesign the religious structure in Istanbul. She even recruited women to help in the construction. . Begun last year, …

Suwarn Vajracharya We might stand up for our community, but it cannot be said that we have stood against the interest of the country as a whole. I have always said, and I repeat it today, that I consider the interest of the country as a whole, to be paramount. (Dr. T. B. Jayah1) , 1937) 1. Introduction The Malays2) …