Category: Articles

Human Action Within Divine Creation, A Muslim Perspective

My goal is to demonstrate how Muslims in twelve schools of thought, especially at the present time, understand human action within divine creation. In mainstream Islamic thought, the lesson of the Qurʾān is that human action is attributed to God and to the human agent simultaneously. The human agent has free choice in his acts. Human free choice and power are based on God’s power, providence, will and permission. In their existence and in all aspects and affairs of their lives, including their acts, human beings are not independent of God.

Routinizing the Iranian Revolution

“Routinizing the Iranian Revolution” in Islam in the Modern World, edited by Jeffery T. Kenney and Ebrahim Moosa, Routledge, New York, 2014, pp. 351-368 Routinizing

REVISITING WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN ISLAM: ‘Egalitarian Justice’ in Lieu of ‘Deserts-based Justice’

In traditional Islamic thought women’s rights have been defined on the basis of a ‘deserts-based’ notion of justice (al-ʿadāla al-istiḥqāqiyya), by which individuals are entitled to justice according to their status, abilities and potential. This notion of justice leads to proportional equality, which recognises rights for individuals in proportion to their ‘deserts’. In modern times this notion of justice has encountered enormous problems. Can we reread the Qurʾan and the Traditions in the light of an egalitarian notion of justice that is premised on fundamental equality between men and women?

Wilayat al-faqih and Democracy

“Wilayat al-faqih and Democracy” in Asma Afsaruddin (ed.), Islam, the State, and Authority: Medieval Concerns and Modern Issues, Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, pp. 207-224 Wilayat al-faqih

Human Rights and Intellectual Islam

New Directions in Islamic Thought: Exploring Reform and Muslim Tradition; Kari Vogt, Lena Larsen, Christian Moe (editors); I.B. Taurus, London, 2009, pp.47-73 Human rights &

Theories of Government in Shi’i Fiqh

“Theories of Government in Shi’i Fiqh”, Mujahid Hussain (translator) in Paul Luft and Colin Turner (editors). Shi’ism: Critical concepts in Islamic studies, vol III: Law,