Spirit of Islam, Sept-Oct 2021

FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF’S DESK Prof Farida Khanam is an author, editor, translator, public speaker and former professor of Islamic Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. Among her books are ‘A Simple Guide to Sufism’ and ‘A Study of World’s Major Religions’. She has translated into English many books authored by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. Currently the chairperson of CPS International, she is a regular contributor of articles to various publications. Dr Khanam has edited Maulana’s English translation of the Quran and has also translated his Urdu commentary on the Quran into English. She can be reached at thecentreforpeace@gmail.com OBSTACLE IN THE ACCEPTANCE OF TRUTH CALLING people to God is a solemn responsibility of a Muslim. This noble task of calling people to God is performed directly as well as indirectly. The direct means of this missionary task is to address the people through spoken or written words. The indirect means comprises of the good conduct of the Muslims in society that influences other people to ponder over the message of Islam. Both of these approaches may or may not yield the desired result. What might be the reason when the call towards the truth of Islam fails to elicit a positive response? The reason the Islamic message does not get across, people say, is that it is not backed up by actions. Most people can only be won over by a practical model; intellectual discussions and rational proofs are not enough. This is an idealistic thinking. The problem is, we are not in a position to say to others: “Look, here is an Islamic individual; here an Islamic home; here an Islamic community.” At first sight, the statement that ‘people can only be won over by a practical model; intellectual discussions and rational proofs are not enough’ appears quite correct. However, it is only half, not the whole, truth. Indeed, the only words which have any value in the sight of God are those which are backed up by actions. From this point of view, one