23. January 2019

Salaam Alaikum Sheikh. I wonder if you can help me with an issue I have inshAllah. Recently my husband spoke to me about possibly entering into a muttah marriage with another woman. I feel very strongly that polygamy wouldn't work for us no matter what way he does it. It has left me anxious and find myself constantly worrying about what his plans are. Is muttah marriage permissible? Can he do it without me knowing? It feels so wrong to me on so many levels. Any advice would be greatly...

17. July 2018

Law And Ethics in the Islamic Normative Tradition The Encyclopedia of Islamic Bioethics, Oxford University Online by Khaled Abou El Fadl Introduction There is a wide range of jurisprudential and ethical prescriptions, under the broad rubric of Sharīʿah that apply to ever expanding issues raised by the field of bioethics. The Sharīʿah consists of ethical and legal normative duties and obligations binding to each Muslim individually and to Muslims collectively. The Islamic classical legal...

14. August 2017

The question of how the law becomes known has occupied the minds of Muslim scholars for a long time. In the early centuries, the heated debates, and at times even hostilities, centered around the place and role of ethical principles and reason in the development of the religious tradition. Numerous reports in the Islamic tradition described the very mission of the Prophet Muhammad as part and parcel of an ethical project—a project that builds upon and develops people’s natural ethical...

14. April 2017

Professor Khaled Abou El Fadl delivers a powerful lecture on the notion of reasoning with God and the forgotten role and importance of reason in the Islamic tradition. He discusses his latest book, Reasoning with God: Reclaiming Shari'ah in the Modern Age, and how Muslims need to reclaim the beauty of their tradition in which reason and reasonableness are central to leading a life of Godliness as opposed to Godlessness. Enlightening, powerful and pertinent to the challenges facing Muslims in...

13. March 2017

Assalamualaikum, Dear honorable Prof Khaled Abou El Fadl A Muslim and Islamic Scholar that I respect greatly, I wrote to you to ask for your time, generosity and wisdom, as I'm greatly saddened by the situation in my country, that have turned my Muslim brothers and sisters against each other. And the questions that have turned my Muslim brothers and sister against each other is, "Does Islam allows Muslim to vote for non-Muslim to be in the position of governor, in a Muslim majority country? "...

18. January 2017

A bill requiring the U.S. State Department to declare the Muslim Brotherhood a "foreign terrorist organization" is very likely to become law in the coming days. Senator Ted Cruz, one of the sponsors of the law, stated in a press release that the Brotherhood "espouses a violent Islamist ideology with a mission of destroying the West." In the same press release, Cruz cited to what is known as the "civilization jihad" memorandum - a document in which he accuses American Muslim organizations such...

16. January 2017

The Epistemology of the Truth in Modern Islam By Khaled Abou El Fadl[1] Abstract: There is a serious problem with arguing that God intended to lock the epistemology of the seventh century into the immutable text of the Qur’an, and then intended to hold Muslims hostage to this epistemological framework for all ages to come. Among other things, this would limit the dynamism and effectiveness of Divine text because the Qur’an would be forever locked within a knowledge paradigm that is very...

01. December 2016

Asalamu Aleykum, I wonder if you can guide me on a personal matter. I have written my will and alhumdullilah have advised my executors to seek guidance from a knowledged sheikh in order to ensure inheritance is distributed according to sharia law. Inshallah it will be. However there is a matter, which I want to include in my will. I remarried recently and as my husband, he will be entitled to a share of the inheritance, as yet we have no children and it may not be possible. Upon marriage my...

10. November 2016

Shari‘ah and Human Rights by Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl* Abstract: This chapter identifies some of the main obstacles that hinder serious Islamic engagement with the field of human rights, and analyzes potentialities within Islamic doctrine for realizing a vision of human rights. This chapter will focus on potentialities—the doctrinal aspects in Muslim thought, and particularly Shari’ah, which could legitimize, promote, or subvert the emergence of a human rights practice in Muslim cultures....

01. August 2016

By Khaled Abou El Fadl I recall watching the Republican 2011 debates on Shari'a and Islam with a smouldering sense of frustration. Questions like "Would you appoint a Muslim to your cabinet?" seemed surreal in the country whose founding fathers generated the Federalist papers, leave alone the Independence Declaration or the U.S. Constitution. Listening to the latest round of Republication pontifications on Shari'a and Islam in 2016 transformed the smouldering frustration to indignation and...