Hanaa Says Goodbye (P/B)

In The Middle Path of Moderation in Islam, leading Islamic law expert Mohammad Hashim Kamali examines the concept of wasatiyyah, or moderation, arguing that scholars, religious communities, and policy circles alike must have access to this governing principle that drives the silent majority of Muslims, rather than focusing on the extremist fringe. Kamari explores wasatiyyah in both historical/conceptual terms and in contemporary/practical terms. Tracing the definition and scope of the concept from the foundational sources of Islam, the Qu’ran and Hadith, he demonstrates that wasatiyyah has a long and well-developed history in Islamic law and applies the concept to contemporary issues of global policy, such as justice, women’s rights, environmental and financial balance, and globalization.

Framing his work as an open dialogue against a now-decades long formulation of the arguably destructive Huntingtonian “clash of civilizations” thesis as well as the public rhetoric of fear of Muslim extremism since the attacks of September 11, 2001, Kamali connects historical conceptions of wasatiyyah to the themes of state and international law, governance, and cultural maladies in the Muslim world and beyond. Both a descriptive and prescriptive meditation on a key but often neglected principle of Islam, The Middle Path of Moderation in Islam provides insight into an idea that is in the strategic interest of the West both to show and practice for themselves and to recognize in Muslim countries.

Remembrance and Prayer: The Way of Prophet Muhammad, was one of the first works of Shaykh al Ghazali’s to be translated into English. The book describes in vivid prose how the Prophet, upon him be peace, used to remember Allah and pray to Him. Not only are the exquisitely beautiful, deeply moving and penetrating words of the Prophet given in the English translation, but in the original Arabic as well, thus allowing those desirous of memorizing Arabic access to the original texts. The intimate relationship with Allah, which was the hallmark of the Prophet’s life, becomes clear and vivid. The book’s contents are immensely relevant. to the life and concerns of modern man, whose life has been made barren by the present secularist machinery.