Islam encourages the gathering of knowledge and the use of reasoning. In the Qur’an, God repeatedly urges humans to use their intellect and thinking skills so that they may differentiate between truth and falsehood.
The system of numeration employed throughout the greater part of the world today was probably developed in India, but because it was the Arabs who transmitted this system to the West the numerals it uses have come to be called Arabic.
Research has revealed that babies fed on mother’s milk are better protected from respiratory and digestive infections. That is because the antibodies in mother’s milk provide a direct defense against infection.
History shows that the Muslim physicians were the fathers of this therapeutic cuisine that influenced the world and was carried later by European travellers to the New World. This short paper showed how Europeans in the Middle Ages struggled with this complex culinary art and how its ingredients were the prize that drove them to compete for the trade in exotic spices and other ingredients.
Indeed, true religiosity which influences one’s behavior, leads to right guidance, and incites sacrifice and generosity, is the belief which is based on conviction that stems from within the human soul. This conviction is associated with clear evidence that warrants one’s free choice of any particular religion as a way to follow in developing his relationship with Allah and the people.
Spain’s Islamic centuries (AD 711-1492) left a particularly rich heritage of exotic and beautiful palaces, mosques, minarets and fortresses in Andalusia, which was always the heartland of Al-Andalus (as the Muslim- ruled areas of the Iberian Peninsula were known). These buildings make Andalusia visually unique in Europe and have to be classed as its greatest architectural glory.
The Prophet’s mercy was not restricted to the pious and obedient believers but also extended to the sinners and the disobedient…
Working together has always been important in Islam, and it makes sense, since it is close to impossible to survive on one’s own – and it falls upon all believers to honor this responsibility and hold on to the rope of God together.
The great Mesopotamia and Andalusia Civilizations – civilizations that were built by these brilliant scientists and philosophers – established the foundations of the science, art and philosophy of our age. The knowledge developed by the Muslim scholars was later transmitted to Europeans and enabled Europe to emerge from the Dark Ages and into the Renaissance.
As a Muslim woman, born, brought up and educated in England, I have sometimes experienced some discomfort in practicing Western psychology as a psychotherapist. Many times I see patients who I believe would benefit from a more holistic approach, taking into account their spiritual needs as well as their emotional and physical needs, but it is as if there is a taboo in mixing faith with treatment – it is not “acceptable” or considered “professional”.