A MESSAGE FOR THE NEW YEAR

A MESSAGE FOR THE NEW YEAR Dear Readers, Greetings of Peace! They are not thankful to God, those who are not thankful to their fellow men. —Prophet Muhammad. BEING one of those to whom the spirit of Islamic teachings is close to the heart, I take this opportunity on the New Year to thank all the readers of our monthly magazine Spirit of Islam. The beginning of the 7th year of the publication calls for an enormous gratitude to God Almighty for seeing us through every challenge which one faces in an effort to continue any endeavour in the way of humanity. Through this opportunity I would like to convey the benefits I have received from this magazine. As per the teaching of our mentor Maulana Wahiduddin Khan we should only present to others what we ourselves benefit from. It was my heartfelt desire to understand Islam in the contemporary idiom since my childhood. I had read many books and journals on Islam, but none gave me the picture of Islam in a language that I could understand. When I got involved with Spirit of Islam and Maulana Wahiduddin Khan’s Centre, my mind found what it had been looking for all along. I felt this was the Islam that has been presented in the Quran and Sunnah as it is, but conveyed in the contemporary idiom so it could address modern minds. One-by-one I was able to understand the principles of Islam. I find the articles given in ‘From the Spiritual Tree’ and ‘Towards Global Peace’ columns of particular relevance to me. Before getting involved in the magazine one question I often asked was, ‘Is Islam a religion of peace or does it sanction violence?’ The articles in these sections made me realize that Islam is completely a religion of peace. It in fact, gives an ideology of peace that is in perfect harmony with nature and with contemporary times. Reading the spiritual articles helped me find peace within myself while the articles on global peace helped me understand how to attain peace in society and the world at large. I would like to add that the magazine gives a holistic picture of Islam after removing the misconceptions related to the religion. It makes one understand the deeper meaning of jihad, the difference between jihad