Abstracts no. 35

Oct 19, 2023 Zani i Nalte English 0

Editorial

1. Instead of farewell and on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the scientific journal “Zani i Naltë”

Dr. Genti Kruja, Chief Editor of the magazine “Zani i Naltë” (2012-2022)

Islamic Sciences

2. Judicial system in Islam

Prof. Dr. Qazim Qazimi

Abstract

God Almighty has created man as a social being who cannot live completely independently and isolated from others. The human being, in the circle where he lives, as such, lives in an interdependence that often causes quarrels and divisions, when personal interests collide. This also manifests itself with conflicts, the cause of which is the deprivation or violation of the rights of individuals or different groups.

The rule of law, as a principle, is accepted throughout the civilized world. However, if comparisons are made between different interpretations and implementations of the rule of law, significant juristic-legal differences can be observed between different states. Neither the Noble Qur’an nor the Prophetic Traditions define any particular form of government. Apart from the fact that it is required that the form chosen by the people is based on its work on justice or even better on the Laws of Allah (swt).

Legislative experts in contemporary governments take care to write and compile explanatory notes to clarify the general purpose of the law and the purposes of each article in particular. Precisely these explanatory notes, together with all the research and debates that are recorded in the case of the proposal and approval of a law, serve as an aid for lawyers and judges to understand the relevant law and to apply it. From these, we can see that the interests of the Shari’ah are not only concerned with the personal aspects of religion or rites of worship, but deal with all aspects of life. The state that claims to be an Islamic state has an obligation to support the right and oppose the unjust. The Islamic state is responsible for the welfare of all its citizens, whether Muslim or non-Muslim. He must provide them with the basic needs of life. Today there is no ideal Islamic state, there are several models that are continuously making systematic efforts to build adequate Islamic systems, but, for now, there is no hopeful light on the horizon in this direction.

3. The influence of the Noble Qur’an on the Arabic language

Prof. Dr. Hfz. Hajredin Hoxha

Abstract

Every language, as the researchers say, continues depending on its speakers; it rises with their rise and weakens with their weakening. This social image is subject to the law of evolution. History tells us about many languages and cultures that enjoyed the bitter fate of loss and extinction, which did not happen to Islamic culture and the Arabic language, which was preserved by the Noble Qur’an. Thus, the Arabic language remained the strongest language in endurance to challenges and difficulties, at the time when the Arabs mixed with foreigners, thanks to the cultural and civilizational elements it has acquired thanks to being the language of the Qur’an.

Thus, it can be concluded that the value of the Qur’an and its great influence was not only in the Arabic language and in its preservation and enrichment, but also in everything: the cosmos, creatures and the world.

Qur’an and Science

4. Commentary on Surah Fatiha by Albanian scholars H. Vehbi Dibra – H. Ibrahim Dalliu – H. Ali Korça

Xhemal Balla

Abstract

Explaining the word of Allah is a task beyond our power. I will try, – says Haxhi Vehbi Dibra, – to develop and improve what will be possible on the high meaning of this surah. After us, others will come and speak from generation to generation; life will come to an end and the interpretation of the Qur’an will never end, because it is the supreme word of God, and since God has no end, His supreme word also has no end. This shows the capacity needed to interpret and comment on the Qur’an.

Hafiz Ali Korça in his commentary says: This surah is very short in terms of words, but in terms of its content it is very deep. God in this surah shows the Ruler and the Benefactor of both lives. He with His greatness teaches us how we should praise Him; orders us to say: The good things You have given us are endless, they cannot be counted. Perpetual praise and general gratitude belong to You. You watch over and care for every living thing.

In his tafsir, Hafiz Ibrahim Dalliu makes a longer comment about how we can accompany a work or action. This is the word Bismil-lah …. – …. بسم الله which means: In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful we are reading…

Studies

5. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, The wonder of the age – II –

Dorian Demetja, Directorate of Culture, Albanian Muslim Community

Abstract

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi was a high-calibre scholar of Kurdish origin, born in 1878 in Eastern Turkey. He lived in the last decades of the Ottoman Empire, experienced its collapse and disintegration after the First World War, and lived 37 years after the formation of the Turkish Republic in 1923. Being a person of high spirituality throughout his life and mission was as a result of acting in accordance with the Qur’an and Sunnah, as well as respecting reason and logic. He remained faithful to his cause with such nobility that he demanded nothing more than the opportunity to meet the minimum necessities of survival. Many publications and conferences have been devoted to Bediuzzaman’s distinctive qualities; such as devotion to lofty ideals, his deep perception of the world today, simplicity, all-encompassing humanism, loyalty to his companions, chastity, modesty, humbleness and little self-sufficiency. .

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi has faced, throughout his life, the most difficult trials. This is because he confronted and tried to challenge anarchy, which was based on disbelief and atheism, defining it as the most significant problem that needed to be addressed urgently. He lived at a time when a good part of humanity was immersed in atheism, due to abuse of science and philosophy, and when the minds were brainwashed by communism. He hated disbelief, tyranny, and apostasy, so he fought hard against despotism. He says: “Before me is a great fire. Its flames are reaching the cup of heaven. In that fire my child is burning, my faith is on fire. I’m running to put out that fire and save the faith. Someone is blocking my foot in the street, what does it matter? In the face of this great fire, is this small event worth it?! Truncated thoughts! Narrow views … ”

Bediuzzaman analyzed three major factors that had to do with the essence of the problems of that time, but which remained the same in our time: Ignorance in the sense of indifference to God and the Prophet, poverty and social division. Bediuzzaman dedicated his life to the fight against this fatal virus. In his eye, the hope of salvation for the ummah would be in vain, as long as false and deviant ideologies would prevail and until society was enlightened with the light of systematic learning, knowledge and thought. He inspired the younger generations with the news of the rebirth and guided them to the paths that lead to Islamic thought. He always referred to knowledge and activation of the mind and worked hard for the birth of a perfect and healthy society. To achieve such an ideal, Bediuzzaman thought that education was the main guide, which would include mosques, schools, garrisons, streets, playgrounds, and even prisons.

Bediuzzaman wrote many books, but the focus was on works entitled “Risale-i Nur” (Messages of Light). They are the fruit of serious efforts, which explain and present to today’s man the basic principles of faith and the truths of the Qur’an. Bediuzzaman himself said in a lecture: “Now I see clearly that most of my life has been commanded and directed beyond the capacity of my perception, which would produce these messages to serve the cause of the Qur’an, as if my whole life as a scholar had been spent in preparation for these writings, which demonstrate the miracle of the Qur’an.”

In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the various attacks on the foundations of faith undertaken by materialists, atheists, and others, in the name of science and progress, made Bediuzzaman understand the urgent and fundamental need, which consisted of preserving and strengthening faith. His method analyses belief and disbelief and demonstrates through clear logical arguments that, by following the method of the Qur’an, not only it is possible to reasonably prove all the truths of faith, but also demonstrate that these truths hold the only rational explanation for existence: man and the universe. With the method he developed, Bediuzzaman explained the truths of the faith in a language that can be understood by people of all walks of life, presenting the unity of mind, heart and feelings. Thus, by combining theology, mysticism, and the positive sciences, he presented a whole new perspective and aimed to eliminate the division of school, madrasa, and tekke. His works have been consistently read with great care, with sincere feelings of appreciation, and will continue to be of particular importance as time goes on.

Bediuzzaman believed that the source or the cause of man’s problems that the Islamic world was currently facing, could be cured, in particular, only through the renewal of the faith. Thus, Bediuzzaman turned his back on the politics of the time and devoted all his efforts to this goal. With a deep knowledge of the religious and modern sciences, the new path to truth that Bediuzzaman opened with the works of the Risale-i Nur was so successful in preserving and strengthening the faith that it was accepted by many personalities as the reviver of the religion as promised by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) that he would come in every century in the well-known hadith: “Surely Allah will send to this ummah at the beginning of every century a mujtahid who will renew the affairs of the religion. ”

6. An Islamic perspective on the preservation of material cultural heritage

Abdullah Bulku

Abstract

Material cultural heritage is an existence that constitutes an important dimension of human existence and human society throughout history. On the other hand, man, as the highest creature in this world, who is guided by religion as divine light, is a multi-dimensional being with the ability to perceive and create relationships with all other existences. Thus, the preservation of material cultural heritage as an important subject for human perception and a dimension of human society constitutes an essential and universal problem for human beings.

The efforts to create the new man, under the totalitarian regime, during the last century, and the confusion, the crisis of values, and other problems of the modern world, which have characterized the period of transition, have damaged the material cultural heritage as much as they have affected by the fading of our perceptive and cognitive ability regarding this existence. If contemplation and reflection is a precursor to action, then there is a need to define the meaning and importance that this existence has for us, based on the worldview that everyone perceives and builds his life.

In this paper, we have tried to provide a general approach to understand the importance of preserving material cultural heritage from the Islamic point of view. First, the concept of religion, culture and the relationship between them is addressed. In the following, some aspects and dimensions that unfold through material cultural heritage are addressed, which are: Knowledge of history, cultural diversity, cultural identity and collective memory. These principles constitute important dimensions of man and society as an existence, and their preservation is closely related to self-knowledge and the spiritual, intellectual and material emancipation of societies in full harmony with their nature and other existences. In the next part, we have tried to give an ethical approach to the preservation of material cultural heritage. First, an introduction was made regarding the ethical roots of this problem. In the following, an ethical approach is presented in the Islamic perspective, referring to the concept of man’s responsibility as God’s vicegerent on earth.

Translation

7. The life of Abu Mansur Al-Maturidi and the socio-political and theological context in Central Asia in the tenth century

Dr. Aref Chaker

Abstract

Abu Mansur al-Maturidi is one of the most influential theologians in the Muslim World. He emerged in the tenth century in Central Asia and established his own theological school, alMāturīdiyyah; a school that played and continues to play a pivotal role in the formation of the Sunni synthetic theological movement in the Muslim world. A review of the studies undertaken concerning al-Maturidi demonstrates the influence of the socio-political and theological context of Central Asia on al-Māturīdi has not been studied, examined or analysed. This paper focuses on studying this overlooked aspect in Sunni theology. It evaluates the existence of any influence of the social, political, cultural and religious factors on al-Maturidi’s works and his academic identity. It examines the nature of these influences, positive or negative, by undertaking a qualitative content analysis of all biographical, historical and geographical literature relevant to al-Maturidi and Central Asia. The study uncovered the strong influence these factors had on al-Maturidi. These influences were all positive in many of his writings. More importantly, these factors helped shape the synthetic theological paradigm al-Maturidi adopted in much of his literature.

Review

8. The publishing activity of Bosnian theologian Enes Kariq, translated into Albanian

Azmir & Behrim Jusufi, Prizren

Abstract

Whom the Almighty God honored with wisdom, he honored with great kindness. Man, in general, during his life is guided by some ideal, regardless of whether it is religion, science, or something else. It is important that that connection of man with his ideal of life, is invisible, immaterial and strong – immeasurable, by the very fact that it is the connection with his inner reality, the spiritual journey and the striving and weaving to achieve it…

The written work is one of the traces that remain even after the passage of man into the Eternal world, and its influence is deeply engraved in the impression and purpose of writing the work. If a work spreads and is heard far away, it is one of the signs that the purpose of writing it was in the right direction. There is no greater kindness than that which enables you to put the ideal of the soul, the spiritual feelings, on paper and that the pen, at the same time, is one of the dearest companions.

Personality

9. Haxhi Hafiz Mahmud Dashi – Decorated for patriotic activity

Abstract

Haxhi Hafiz Mahmut Dashi’s activity was very extensive. In the pedagogic field, he left a deep mark on many students, many of whom worked and became prominent national, religious, educational and cultural personalities, among whom stand out outstanding orientalist scholars such as Vexhi Buharaja, theologians and researchers such as Hasan Selami, Ejub Faslia, Haki Repishti, researchers like Shaban Demiraj in the field of philology, etc.

The patriotic activity of Mahmud Dashi has been awarded with the decoration for patriotic activity, for an uninterrupted activity for the benefit of the national culture.

Thus, the outstanding theologian and pedagogue entered with dignity the history of Albanian culture and education in particular, remaining a magnificent example of education and Albanian culture.

Retrospective

10. Man and the Universe – I –

Abstract

Man has the capacity to judge and reason; that is, he is free to choose and act, and therefore he is responsible for his actions.

The nobility of a creature is not caused by the common qualities that associate it with its inferiors, but by the characteristic qualities that distinguish it from these inferiors. Man, with the power of reasoning and free will, has an inner life, a transcendental life, which is called human life.

If there is a proven truth, it is that nothing in the world is in vain, but has a purpose, is destined for a predetermined purpose, according to an eternal design.

All scholars have accepted one truth, but they are divided into two parts: some claim that the truth exists and man only discovers it, and some others say that the truth does not exist but man creates it with his mind.

Honest readers automatically understand how right the first part is and how wrong the second part is, because if there is no truth then the person himself is a lie, an untruth. Then how is it that an untruth, a lie, can create a truth? This is something absurd and those who are of this opinion are wrong.

Therefore, we reach the conclusion and say that the truth is and man only discovers it. Man’s mission is therefore only to discover the truth that is, and that was before man came to life.