UT Publication Test
UT Publication test
Rights and Duties Pertaining to Kept Animals
A case study in Islamic Law and Ethics by Musa Furber.
Animals are at the heart of many of today’s heated ethical and legal debates. This paper presents a survey of Qur’anic verses and prophetic narrations related to kept animals, and a study of one school’s application of this evidence to the topic of kept animals. This ethical and legal study will also throw into relief some of the mechanism of madhhab based jurisprudence and fiqh reasoning. This study serves as a basis for understanding and applying Islamic moral theology to the numerous contemporary issues related to kept animals.
Metaphysics & Sociology
A lecture addressing the myth of metaphysical neutrality in sociology and some of the rationale behind the dismissal of metaphysical categories in the social sciences.
The piece concludes by asserting some normative elements of the Islamic social order and their raison d’être and how they reflect the unity of the Islamic sciences.
Elements of a Fatwa & Their Contribution to Confidence in Its Validity
This exploratory study examines the confidence Sunni Muslims place in the validity of fatwas based on their elements. It recommends that institutes which issue or disseminate fatwas ensure that their muftis are known to the public they serve.
The Problem of Reductionism in Philosophy of Mind and its Implications for Theism and the Principle of Soul
This essay seeks to delineate points of entry for Muslim theological reasoning into conversations in the field of philosophy of mind.
By equating the Kalam principle of soul with its foremost faculty, intellection, Muslim theological reasoning lends itself well to these modes of inquiry.
By looking at the work of Saul Kripke and Hilary Putnam, the collapse of “reductionism” is shown to give way to the concept of a non-physical mind, as well as an indication toward the sustainable plausibility of theism in general.
The essay demonstrates that contemporary obstacles and challenges to the theological principle of a human soul are surmountable,and adds to mounting scholarship in the field that calls into question the physicalist interpretation of the universe.
Vocational Society
A speech addressing the social philosophies and institutions, many of them common to Muslims and Christians, comprising a vocational and godly society.
Ranking Confidence in the Validity of Contemporary Fatwas & their Dissemination channels
The present exploratory study examines the confidence Sunni Muslims place in the validity of contemporary fatwas communicated through a variety of communication scenarios.
It recommends that newspapers and others reporting on fatwas change their focus in the types of legal opinions they choose to communicate.
The Intelligibility of the Islamic Tradition in the Context of Modern Thought
A speech addressing the social philosophies and institutions, many of them common to Muslims and Christians, comprising a vocational and godly society.
Response to Cardinal Scola’s House of Lords Speech
This text published today serves as a response to Cardinal Angelo Scola in his speech at the House of Lords, by offering his frank reflections on the presence of Muslims in Europe. This was addressed positively as a factor that contributed to the construction of a ‘good life’ for all communities, on the one hand, whilst on the other, stated negatively that the mere presence of Muslims in Europe constituted a potentially inassimilable problem and a challenge to the status quo.
Metaphysical Dimensions of Muslim Environmental Consciousness
Much of the contemporary Muslim discourse surrounding the environment takes place at the level of ethical duty—juristic commands and prohibitions. The present essay seeks to complement and underpin this necessary ethical discourse by offering considerations as to the metaphysical dimensions of a Muslim environmental consciousness.
Through a beautiful and lucid engagement with the Qur’an, the Prophetic sunnah, and the insights of some of Islam’s greatest mystical poets, a vista unfolds in which the natural order is perceived as a locus of the theophany of the divine names. In light of this connection, the Shari‘ah’s teachings as to man’s relationship with creation as steward (khalīfah) may be both better understood and experienced.