This study offers a brief analysis on some biographical works on Imam al-Ghazali and his view on the issue of faith and good deeds through examination of various relevant literature. Imam al-Ghazali has been regarded as one of the world’s most influential thinkers as well as the greatest scholar Islam has ever produced. The life, teaching and thought of al-Ghazali have attracted the attention of many scholars, both Western and non-Western. The influence of al-Ghazali is not limited within his own tradition, but is felt both in the East and the West, reaching Jewish and Christian traditions. This study is theoretical in nature, and it involves bibliographic/library research. It surveys and offers a brief analysis of some literatures—mostly in English—that are relevant to al-Ghazali’s biography and his view on the issue of faith and good deeds. This study found that although there are some critical assessments and misunderstandings of al-Ghazali’s life and views, majority of literature consulted acknowledge his great scholarship and contributions in many aspects. Al-Ghazali did not remain indifferent but indeed ardently refuted the various interpretations related to the issue of good deeds which he considered as heretical. The research also shows that not only al-Ghazali always emphasised the observance of religious commandments, but he also breathed spirituality and gave deeper content and insight into the religious life.

This article focuses on the responsibilities of a child towards parents as stated in the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) arranged in the book al-Adab al-Mufrad by Imam al Bukhari. The responsibility towards parents in the present day take a change due to the modernization and globalization. The act of taking care of parents were assigned to other parties such as to the caretaker. For this reason, these hadiths of the Prophet (PBUH) helps to emphasize the child to fulfil their responsibilities towards parents in their life and even after their death. All the hadith in this book which is related to the responsibility of a child towards parents will be analysed precisely that can be used as a guide to all. Since this is a content analysis study, it will illustrate the content of the hadith precisely by making a comprehensive reading and comparison of hadith from other Muslim scholars on this topic. This method is reliable and the result of the findings are applicable to be practiced. Simultaneously, the findings found that it is an honour for the child to host his parents with kindness and respect. As a result of being good, respect, supplication, be grateful and obey their parents as in doing all this sincerely, the child will be rewarded with blessings and grace in this world and hereafter. Keywords: Imam Al- Bukhari; Al-Adab Al-Mufrad; Adab; Responsibilities; Parents

This article explains the proper adab of communication towards parents based on the teaching of the Prophet (PBUH) as recorded in the chapter of “Adab towards Parents” in al-Adab al-Mufrad. Communication between child and parents are important as it strengthen their relationship with each other. This study highlighted the proper communication towards parents as most of the Muslim children has greatly affected by the modernisation of lifestyle and the outburst of modern technology in communication. Their communication towards parents are way from the teaching of the Prophet (PBUH) and against the values of Islam. This is a content analysis study which involves library research. The objective here is to elucidate the communication towards parents according to the teaching of the Prophet (PBUH). This study found that it is not an easy task to practice good interpersonal communication to parents however, the a hadith (the Prophet’s (PBUH) sayings, teachings and practices from the adab in the book al-Adab al-Mufrad will enable the children to improve their way of communication towards parents.

Kajian ini meneliti isu Covid-19 dari perspektif akidah Islam dan rawatan Islam. Covid-19 telah menjadi isu utama dunia yang mana pelbagai cara pencegahan dan rawatan telah diambil diseluruh negara. Permasalahannya ialah sangat kurang penelitian dari sudut akidah Islam dan rawatan Islam diketengahkan. Keadaan ini dikhuatiri akan menghakis akidah orang Islam dan menambahkan kebergantungan mereka kepada usaha manusia semata-mata. Justeru, kajian ini menyungkil konsep penyakit dan pandemik dalam pandangan Islam serta membincangkan pengajaran dan hikmah disebalik penyakit wabak, khususnya Covid-19. Kajian ini juga mengkaji konsep rawatan atau pengubatan Islam (rawatan nabi al-tibb al-nabawiyy), amalan-amalan tertentu sebagai pencegahan serta rawatan alternatif yang boleh dipraktis atau dilaksanakan. Kajian ini adalah kajian kualitatif dan kajian perpustakaan yang menggunakan kaedah deskriptif dan analisis. Kajian ini penting bagi membantu menjaga dan memurnikan akidah umat Islam serta membantu mengurangi jangikatan penyakit wabak melalui rawatan Islam. Kajian ini mendapati bahawa pada terdapat beberapa isu akidah dalam permasalahan Covid-19 dan rawatan Islam dilihat sebagai salah satu rawatan alternatif yang perlu dilaksanakan dan diperkasakan.

In Indonesia, the text of the Qurʾan is available in nine different local languages. One of them is the Javanese dialect of Banyumasan, the oldest and most authentic among the local Javanese dialects. This variant of Javanese has an egalitarian character and is free from social stratification markers. This study aims to resolve the problems encountered by the translation team of Terjemah Al-Qur’an Bahasa Banyumasan who had to overcome substantial translation barriers due to the intercultural context. This study uses a qualitative approach. We found that socio-linguistic adaptation created significant barriers during the translation process. Certain topics require a distinctive vocabulary to reflect the original meaning and context correctly. Also, the use of a special set of words is needed to translate proper nouns. The translator’s decision to replace certain non-etiquette words with standard Javanese is to acknowledge the egalitarian character of the Banyumasan dialect in the translation, while yet preserving the original message of the Qurʾan and the intricacies of the Arabic language.

This paper proposes a model of human management developed from a qualitative research project carried out between 2016 and 2019. The project involved a total number of 100 participants who work with television and new media industries in Malaysia. These participants include 14 managers, 46 creative production workers, 30 production workers (technical), and 10 participants representing policymakers. The model was built upon a four-layer conceptual framework comprising analyses of (i) organisation, (ii) policy, (iii) production community and (iv) product/text. In doing so, we examined how these media production workers manage and balance between their; (i) personal, emotional, (ii) religious-spiritual and (iii) professional life. The study also identifies systematic approaches to managing the challenges faced by Muslims media professionals. A model of human management proposed by this project takes into consideration of elements, such as (i) organisational culture, (ii) values, (iii) leadership, (iv) workplace policy and also, such meanings as (i) ‘being human,’ (ii) ‘humanised workplace,’ and (iii) ‘doing good work.

This article discusses the development of the concept of faith and good works in the early Christianity and Islam. This article is a library research which uses descriptive and content analysis methods. In early Christianity and Islam, there were several interpretations that led to controversies which were either directly or indirectly related to the issue of faith and good works. The study found that there were several different interpretations that had been regarded as erroneous or heretical. Such different interpretations were represented by Manichaeism, Donatism, and Pelagianism in early Christianity, and Kharijites, Murji’ites, Mu‘tazilites in early Islam.

This article aims to highlight the insights of selected renowned Muslim scholars on the nature of good deeds. The article focuses on analysing spiritual insight of selected Muslim scholars towards the dual dimensions of good deeds, which is inner and outer or physical and spiritual. This article is library research which employs descriptive and analytical study. The article founds that these Muslim scholars affirms the existence of inner dimension of good deeds, and therefore, good deeds comprise of both inner and outer dimension. Both of these dimensions need to be observed accordingly. The balanced observance of these two dimensions of good deeds is critical in order to achieve its real purpose.

Artikel ini akan menjelaskan mengenai elemen-elemen akidah Islam yang terdapat di dalam novel bertajuk “Si Sabariah”. Novel ini adalah sebuah karya sastera yang ditulis oleh seorang tokoh ulama’ nusantara yang terkenal iaitu Hamka. Sebagai ulama’ dan sasterawan, Hamka cukup dikenali sebagai penulis yang telah menghasilkan pelbagai genre penulisan termasuklah dalam bidang agama dan sastera seperti novel dan cerpen. Novel “Si Sabariah adalah karya pertama Hamka dalam bidang sastera, yang diselitkan di dalamnya banyak elemen atau topik-topik yang berkaitan dengan akidah Islam. Kajian mengenai novel ini menghasilkan natijah iaitu isu pokok berkaitan akidah dalam novel ini adalah peringatan tentang azab Allah swt bagi sesiapa yang berusaha mahu meruntuhkan rumahtangga orang lain, apatah lagi dengan disertai sifat tamak haloba dan cinta dunia. Elemen utama ini dapat dilihat dalam dialog-dialog dari beberapa watak utama dalam novel ini.

The issue of faith and good deeds had triggered several controversies in early Islam, particularly raised by Kharijites, Murji’ites, and Mu‘tazilites. Among the Sunnite schools, the Hanafites holds a slightly different view of faith and its relationship to good deeds. Since the Hanafites exclude good deeds from being an element of faith, there are some parties who charge them with holding the heretical view of the Murji’ites concerning the issue, or at least, they are labelled as “the Sunnite Murji’ites.” This article argues, however, that this charge is erroneous and indeed, this article affirms that the Hanafites held a pure Sunnite position. To prove this stance, this article examines and compares briefly different views of the concept of, and relationship between, faith and good deeds, before critically scrutinize the Hanafite view and position on the issue. This article found that although the Hanafites do exclude good deeds from being an element of faith, their conception of faith is still dynamic, in which good deeds are absolutely still required, and this run counter the Murji’ite ultra-passive attitude towards good deeds. The slight difference between the Hanafites and the other three Sunnite Schools is due to the different socio-political context and different approaches employed by the two groups to the concept of faith. Thus, any allegation that the Hanafites are the Murji’ites or even “the Sunnite Murji’ites” is not only improper but is erroneous.

This special issue reveals pertinent academic discourses of several selected articles that had been presented in the Marital and Sexuality Counseling Seminar (MASEC 2021), organized by Counseling Programme, Faculty of Leadership and Management in collaboration with Sa’adah Counseling and Consultation Centre for Well-being (Sa’adah Centre), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia.

This special issue is a selection of seven articles that are research-based. The articles were extracted from the Master of Counseling (Substance Abuse), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia students' research reports. The students were assisted by their respective supervisors to produce the articles as a form of academic training to disseminate their research findings through journal publication.

This special issue brings together thirteen selected articles of which nine of them were presented at International Conference on Da'wah and Islamic Management (IC-DAIM 2017) which was held on 31 October to 1 November 2017. The conference was organized by Dakwah and Islamic Management Program, Faculty of Leadership and Management, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM).

This special edition compiles a collection of papers presented at International Conference on Islamic Higher Education (SeIPTI) 2018 organised by Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) on 25 to 26 November 2018. SeIPTI is a conference that groups scholars to discuss issues pertaining to Islamic higher education. The fifth conference this year brings about the theme of “Barakah Campus”. Under this theme, various issues have been discussed including the concept of barakah in universities and wider topics that are not confined to merely discussions on Islamic higher education but also broader debates on developments related to Islam in various fields in different kinds of organisations. Hence, this special edition highlights the theme, “Developments in Potential Fields in Achieving Barakah”.

Salah satu tema perbahasan di kalangan ahli falsafah zaman pertengahan (kurun ke-7 -11M) adalah hakikat sebenar manusia. Tema ini juga turut menjadi tumpuan perbahasan dalam kalangan ahli-ahli falsafah Islam terutamanya Ibn Sina yang banyak menulis berkenaan manusia dan jiwa. Dewasa ini, perbahasan tentang hakikat manusia dari perspektif barat pasca-modernisme tertumpu kepada aspek material dan mengetepikan aspek spiritual. Justeru, kertas kerja ini akan meneliti pandangan Ibn Sina (980-1037M) tentang hakikat manusia berdasarkan karya-karya beliau, khususnya al-Shifa’ kitab al-Nafs. Secara umum, manusia adalah suatu kewujudan yang terdiri daripada unsur fizikal iaitu jasad dan unsur spiritual iaitu jiwa. Dalam menjelaskan hakikat manusia, Ibn Sina secara terperinci menegaskan bahawa essence sebenar manusia adalah jiwanya, bukan jasadnya. Jiwa menurutnya adalah suatu substance yang bersifat subsistant iaitu boleh berdiri sendiri tanpa perlu kepada jasad (matter). Keupayaan ini membawa kepada kekekalan jiwa walaupun jasad telah mati dan bermakna manusia akan terus hidup dengan jiwa walaupun tanpa jasadnya. Pandangan Ibn Sina ini seterusnya menjadi salah satu faktor timbulnya doktrin atau teori kebangkitan tanpa jasad semasa hari kebangkitan.

The article examines the philosophy of Avatara, especially Kalki Avatara in Hinduism vis-a-vis Islamic concept of nubuwwah (prophethood). It analyses teachings and objectives of Avatara which claim that God has created no community of human beings in the world without a purpose and left them without a guide or leader. It begins with an introduction of Avatara and its philosophy. Then, it examines the main features of Kalki Avatara and Prophethood within Hindu perspective. Descriptive and Comparative approaches were used to carry out the Islamic analysis of Kalki Avatara. Finally, it elaborates how Islam discusses the issues of Nubuwwah, and approaches Hindu view of Kalki Avatara. The research found some similarities and significant differences on both concepts. While both concept of Avatara and Nubuwwah share many similarities especially on their purposes, Avatara is more related to God's incarnation which does not exist in Islamic teachings.

This article analyses Imam al-Ghazali’s theory of the balance observance of ibadah (devotional acts or good deeds) among Muslims. Performing ‘ibadah, is part and parcel of the Muslims’ life. Nevertheless, the majority of Muslims—scholars and the public alike—place great emphasis only on the diligent outward performance of devotional acts, and on the observance of the outward requirements. However, Imam al-Ghazali goes beyond this normative practice, arguing that a mere outward observance of devotional acts is still insufficient, and indeed is still at risk. This article is theoretical in nature, and it involves bibliographic research, employing descriptive and analytic methods. The article founds that Imam al-Ghazali maintains devotional acts consist of outward and inward dimensions, and both need to be observed simultaneously and kept in balance. It is only through this balance observance that devotional acts will be transformed from mere physical motions of pure ritualistic observance to spiritually rich deeds, filled with real understanding, wisdom, and realisation.

This article analyses al-Ghazali’s theory of the Inner Knowledge (‘Ilm al-Batinah) of good deeds or devotional acts (‘ibadah). This article is theoretical in nature, and it involves bibliographic research, employing descriptive and analytic methods. The article argues that al-Ghazali formulates unique and profound ways of understanding good deeds, which, if analysed accordingly alongside his theory of Inner Actions (al-A‘mal al-Batinah), can be developed into a spiritual model of good deeds. The article found that al-Ghazali places great emphasis on the need to understand inner knowledge of good deeds which requires one to understand their Inner Meanings (al-Ma‘ani al-Batinah), real purposes, as well as their different grades and significance. His analysis of these elements is unique and profound, filled with spiritual insight. Al-Ghazali’s insight of this spiritual dimension of good deeds can increase one’s consciousness, and help one to be more attentive or present in performing good deeds or worship.

Isu penghinaan agama Islam di Malaysia terutamanya di media sosial masih tidak dapat ditangani dengan sebaiknya melalui sistem perundangan sedia ada. Sehingga ke hari ini masih berlaku perbuatan mencerca, menghina dan merendahkan martabat agama Islam di negara ini. Melihat kepada situasi semasa maka satu langkah pencegahan perlu diambil bagi menangani isu ini. Untuk tujuan tersebut kajian ini telah menjalankan kajian untuk mengenal pasti apakah faktor-faktor yang menyebakkan berlakunya penghinaan agama Islam di Malaysia. Kajian ini telah menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif, di mana data diperolehi melalui analsis teks (textual analysis) dan temu bual mendalam (in-depth interview). Para informan dipilih dari kalangan individu yang mempunyai kepakaran dan pengetahuan untuk menjelaskan isu dan permasalahan kajian ini. Data temu bual telah ditranskip dan dianalisis secara deskriptif. Dapatan kajian mendapati bahawa terdapat pelbagai aspek dan konteks berlakunya penghinaan agama yang secara asasnya saling berkait rapat. Oleh itu, pendekatan pencegahan perlu dimulakan daripada aspek pendidikan dan da’wah.