Acta-Islamica

عالمی تہذیبی کشمکش اور اسلامی نظامِ حیات

Dr. Syed Bacha Agha — Sun, 21 Dec 2025 00:00:00 -0500

This paper explores the significance, relevance, and resilience of the Islamic way of life within the context of global civilizational conflict. In particular, it seeks to examine Islam's global role, its foundational civilizational principles, and its comprehensive solutions for humanity in the light of the "Clash of Civilizations" thesis. The analysis highlights the spiritual essence of Islamic civilization, its intellectual foundations, ethical standards, and its inherent capacity to foster global harmony. Throughout human history, civilizations have experienced cycles of conflict, exchange, and evolution. However, with the emergence of Samuel Huntington’s theory of the Clash of Civilizations in the late 20th century, the discourse on civilizational dialogue, confrontation, and conflict gained global academic and political prominence. In this context, Islam, as a major civilization, came under renewed scrutiny in the West. The central question thus arises: Is Islam a symbol of conflict, or a beacon of dialogue, harmony, and salvation for humanity? This study endeavors to examine this very dimension.

رمضان کی راتوں میں حرمتِ اکل و مباشرت کےمسئلے کا جائزہ، سورہ البقرہ کی آیت 187 کے تناظر میں

Dr. Irfan Shahzad , Dr. Abdul Basit — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 00:00:00 -0500

It is assumed that it was once incumbent upon the first Muslim community to restrain from conjugal relation with their spouses during the nights of Ramadan. The traditions differ in this regard. Some say that they were supposed to carry out the restrictions during the day time of Ramadan throughout the nights of Ramadan after breaking their fast or after their sleep or after ‘Isha’ prayer. When some Muslims failed to keep up the restrictions, especially the conjugal relation with their spouses, Allāh revealed the verse, Sūrah al-Baqarah, 2:187, to remove the restrictions of Ramadan for the night time.

In this article, the author investigates if there was any religious directive regarding the said restrictions during the nights of Ramadan prior to the revelation of the verse 2:187, which it aborted. If it was not, then, how the companions developed diverse understandings of the particular restrictions during nighttime of Ramadan, and what do the words of the Ayat, ‘now, it is made lawful to you’, means, which apparently means that something was unlawful before and now it was made lawful through this verse. The author, in this paper, tries to find the answers to these questions in the light of the textual study of Qur’ān and Aḥādīth.

Current Issues in Pakistan’s Gold Trade and Their Solutions in the Light of Islamic Law

Mufti Muhammad Hussain, Dr. Hshmat Ali Safi — Sun, 21 Dec 2025 00:00:00 -0500

The paper examines contemporary practices in Pakistan’s gold trade in light of classical Islamic commercial law. It begins by reaffirming the special monetary status of gold and silver in Sharia and outlines core juristic principles: equality and simultaneity of exchange in gold-for-gold and silver-for-silver transactions, the prohibition of deferment on both sides in ribawi exchanges, the permissibility of credit when one side is a currency, and the distinct rules governing istisnaʿ (manufacturing contracts). Against this framework, the study surveys four main sectors of the gold market—wholesale, manufacturing, retail jewellery, and laboratory testing—and identifies recurrent violations such as future sales without possession, sale of non-existent goods, chain trading without qabd (constructive or physical possession), and impermissible remuneration structures (e.g., “fee” deducted from the very gold being tested). The paper proposes Sharia-compliant alternatives, including replacing binding future sales with unilateral promises coupled with actual sale at delivery, ensuring at least one counter-value is possessed in credit transactions, clearly separating labour charges from the exchange of ribawi commodities, and pricing mixed items (gold with gemstones or alloys) in a way that preserves the prohibition of riba al-fadhl. It concludes that many existing contracts in all four sectors are either fasid or batil, rendering their income unlawful, and calls for comprehensive reform and awareness so that gold trade can operate within a valid Islamic contractual framework.

تحفظ عقل /ذہنی صحت کے اصول اور تحفظ کے احکام قرآن و سنت کی روشنی میں : تحقیقی مطالعہ

Dr. Ayesha Snober, Dr. Ihsanullah Chishti — Sun, 21 Dec 2025 00:00:00 -0500

This research article examines the principles of preserving human intelligence and mental health within the framework of the Qurʾān and Sunnah. The study begins by launching the centrality of ʿaql (intellect) in human self-esteem and accountability, noting its inclusion among the Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah. It explores how Islamic teachings provide a comprehensive framework for mental well-being by emphasizing Tawḥīd, Tawakkul ʿalā Allāh, and ritual acts of worship as stabilizing forces for the mind and soul. Furthermore, the study highlights the Qurʾānic injunctions and Prophetic traditions that defend against destructive elements such as intoxicants, superstition, sorcery, suspicion, and excessive anxiety. It underscores the importance of ethical virtues such as patience (Ṣabr), self-accountability (muḥāsabah), optimism, altruism (īthār), moderation (Iʿtidāl), and social harmony (Ḥusn al-Muʿāsharah), all of which contribute to psychological resilience and societal balance. In addressing contemporary challenges—including materialism, social inequalities, depression, addiction, and the rising flow of mental illnesses—the research contends that the Qurʾān and Sunnah provide not only preemptive principles but also remedial guidelines.

Modernity and Atheism: The Impact of Western Philosophies on Muslim Youth and Critique from an Islamic Perspective

Sajad Ali — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 00:00:00 -0500

The topic of the present research paper is the phenomenon of increasing religious scepticism and atheism among Muslim youth, the symptomatic reaction to the hegemonic confrontation with Western modernity. It assumes that this trend is not chiefly a theological renunciation but rather a wider psychosocial restructuring towards a secular world of materialism, radical individualism and constraining conception of scientific rationality. The research adopts a multidisciplinary approach, examining historical, socio-educational, and digital processes that allow transferring and internalizing this worldview. The article provides a systematized critique in an Islamic sense, as modern atheism is a form of contemporary shirk (idolatry), which propels created notions, including the sovereign self or materialist scientism, to supremacy. It also dismantles the epistemological constraints of secular reason that is found outside of revelation. The main argument is that Islam youth atheism is a symptom of the unresolved tension between the holistic paradigm of Tawhid and the disintegrating modernity worldview. Therefore, a good response should not be apologetic but provide a proactive, intellectually sound and holistic alternative that tackles the intellectual, educational and psychological aspects of this crisis thus reasserting the narrative of a self-assured, modern Islamic identity.