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February 23, 2023

The Problem of Pain: A Muslim Response

This essay will consider a fundamental outlook in C.S. Lewis’ The Problem of Pain that draws on the Christian outlook towards the reasons behind the existence of pain in the world -as one emanating from the sin of Adam and Eve, as described in the Book of Genesis.
September 27, 2022

Book Review: Saffron Republic: Hindu Nationalism & State Power in India

Thomas Blom Hansen, of Stanford University, and Srirupa Roy, of University of Göttingen, edited an anthology of thirteen essays that explores the “New Hindutva.” In this volume, world-leading academics, award-winning journalists, and independent filmmakers raise concerns over the violent ideology that defines contemporary Hindu nationalism. Saffron Republic: Hindu Nationalism and State Power in India (2020), by Cambridge University Press, discusses details of Hindutva repression that rarely make it to the mainstream media. The oppression of Muslims, Christians, Dalits, and Women in India by state apparatus has reached an all-time high. Anyone interested in South Asia, both the region and diaspora, will welcome this timely contribution.
September 24, 2022

Book Review: The Intelligent Design Debate & The Temptation of Scientism

The Intelligent Design (ID) debate is one of the raging debates in contemporary times. Two opposing camps have established themselves. There is the pro-ID who support creationism; there is the anti-ID who support evolution. The debate is reflected strongly in the theism vs. atheism debate in popular culture. In The Intelligent Design Debate And The Temptation of Scientism (Routledge, 2016), Erkki Vesa Rope Kojonen takes a step back from the often vitriolic passion of the debate and provides a calm and refreshing overview of the important details that get lost over the shouting of both sides. Kojonen’s book allows readers to see the ID debate in a new light that is unlike what popular culture portrays.
September 7, 2022

4 Months Update: May to August 2022

Our operation year starts from May, and since four months have past, it is time to update you on what we have been doing. We have been planning and developing 10 new courses, drafting new books and essays, preparing new impactful translations, recording new podcast episodes, delivered an immersive knowledge retreat, planning a da'wah leadership retreat, expanded our Lighthouse mentoring service, delivered academic online seminars, delivered onsite education and lectures, and more. Alhamdulillāh.
September 7, 2022

Does the Qur’ān make a mistake on where semen or sperm is produced?

This article responds to the objection that the Qur'an, in chapter 86, makes a mistake on where semen or sperm are produced. This objection only undermines the Qur’ān if all the valid interpretations are at odds with established science. What is meant by established science is any empirical observation or scientific conclusion that is extremely unlikely to change. It does not refer to scientific conclusions or theories that may change over time due to new data or observations. The objective of the article is to show that there are at least three valid interpretations of this verse that do not contradict established science or do contain any scientific error.
August 24, 2022

Academic Seminar: Loving the Loving – Why Allah is Worthy of Our Adoration

This in-depth seminar explains who is The-Loving, unpacks the concept of worship, uncovers the relationship between knowledge and love, presents 7 reasons why Allah is worthy of our utmost love, illustrates Al-Ghazali's 5 causes of love, explicates how to attain Allah's special love, and throws light on how to use this topic in the context of sharing Islam, and more.
August 15, 2022

Academic Seminar: How (Un)Free is Speech?

This in-depth seminar explains and uncovers the objectives of freedom of speech (FoS), its limits, the role of competing values, the political and cultural contexts, and the apparent double standards in contemporary discourse. The main objective of this seminar is to explain how to use the topic of FoS to defend and share Islam.
June 18, 2022

Is the Qur’an Contradictory? Part 2: Western Scholarship & Six Popular Contentions

This is the second essay in the two-part series on so-called contradictions in the Quran. This essay investigates six popular contradictions of the Quran that are widespread in Anglophone print and online domains. Special emphasis will be given to Western academic sources that provide a response to such claims of contradictions. This essay hopes to show that a thorough and adequate perusal of scholarship on Islam is imperative in order to better evaluate and respond to the misplaced claims of contradictions in the Quran that are articulated in the English language.
June 15, 2022

Is the Qur’an Contradictory? Part 1: Arabic Scholarship & Al-Shinqīti’s Methodology

This two-part essay series discusses the issue of contradictions in the Quran. The first essay will delve into how Arabic scholarship has dealt with the topic. The renowned scholar Muhammad Amīn Al-Shinqīti has provided a rigorous methodological approach to engaging with apparent contradictions in the Quran. The essay analyses the important features and applications of Al-Shinqīti’s methodology, as well as evaluating its effectiveness. The second essay delves into how Western scholarship deals with the topic. Six major contradictions in the Quran will be analysed using English-language academic sources in order to better understand them. The facts brought up in this essay series show that any confident assertion that the Qur'an is contradictory is unwarranted.
April 2, 2022

Ramadan Update: May 2021 to April 2022

Alhamdulillah. We are delighted to give you the opportunity to find out what we have achieved since last Ramadan. We have delivered on all of the commitments we promised you last year. We would like to thank you all for supporting us and believing in our vision. We all want to see a world that receives the message of Islam and for it to be a place where Muslims can academically and intellectually share their faith.
April 2, 2022

No Doubt: 10 Effective Strategies On How To Deal With Your & Other People’s Doubts

The book is about destructive doubts. While one of the sources of doubts about Islam could be about liberalism and Islamic ethics, it may not be the doubt that you are having or someone you know is experiencing. Perhaps, that doubt stems from a problematic hadīth you read or not being able to reconcile science and the Qur'an. Maybe a traumatic experience has led you to question God’s mercy, or perhaps, the idea of following a religion with so many rules is too much to swallow. Whatever doubts you or someone you know is going through, this book has been written to address them. This book presents 10 effective strategies that will equip students with the necessary epistemic and psycho-spiritual tools needed to deal with your and other people's destructive doubts.
April 2, 2022

Sapient Voices

Sapient Voices is a Sapience Institute podcast that aims to give platform to voices of wisdom and to facilitate discussion in order for reason to prevail.
April 2, 2022

The Miracle of the Qur’an: A Classical Treatise Explaining the Literary Miracle of Allah’s Book

Abū Sulaymān Ḥamd ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Khaṭṭābī was a 10th century Muslim scholar of hadith, Islamic law, and the Arabic language. In his treatise he argues that when one analyses and examines the cause for the Qur’an’s inimitability they will conclude that the genres of speech therein contrast with each other, their levels in relation to explanation vary, and the stages of their rhetorical eloquence diverge – they are not always the same. All these categories of speech are praiseworthy and irreproachable. This is in contrast to the type of speech that is excoriated and criticised, none of which is found in the Qur’an.
March 17, 2022

The Incoherence of Atheism: Why Belief in God is Both Natural and Rational

The Incoherence of Atheism outlines a powerfully convincing case for why belief in God is both a natural product of human nature and a natural consequence of the dictates of human reason. It offers a unique analysis of key arguments expounded by neo-atheists, and exposes their inherent flaws. In examining both cosmological and teleological approaches toward establishing the truth of theism, the work draws on important insights in both contemporary science, as well as medieval Islamic theology.
February 21, 2022

Book Review: The War on the Uyghurs

'The War on the Uyghurs' (Princeton University Press, 2020), by Sean R. Roberts, is key reading for those who seek to educate themselves on the complexities of the ethnoreligious genocide. We all have a moral obligation to help the Uyghurs; the first step is to educate ourselves on the complexities of China's crimes against humanity. The War on the Uyghurs is perfect on this score. Social media is being flooded by CCP activists and trolls who engage in misinformation, especially in labeling Uyghurs as terrorists. Sean R. Roberts has exposed a variety of such falsehoods; so, his book is important for those challenging CCP propaganda.
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