Ulum Islamiyyah: Malaysian Journal of Islamic Sciences

The purpose of this article is to identify characteristics which distinguish the two administrative systems in the world. Its main objective is to examine and choose a better system that could be applied in ruling a country. To achieve the above objectivs, the study review some major writings in the field. This comparative study focuses on several issues namely state, the head of state, sovereignty, law the role of the citizen, election and electoral system, parliament and majlis syura. As a result of the comparison, the study found that Islamic system of leadership is superior to that of than democratic type.

Credit card is substitute of money used as medium of exchange. Its usage creates controversy not only because it encourages debt but also because the existence of questionable issues of whether its contract is in accordance to the Islamic Law as well as the persistence existence of ambiguous elements in it. If credit card is to be used it is more appropriate if its contract be based of kafalah contract, or even better if it is being replaced with debit card which is clearly avoiding the consumer from debt as well as helping in planning consumer’s current expenditure.

This paper examines the phenomena of Imitation and Deception in Islamic philosophy, past and present. The issue of imitation in Islamic philosophy has been discussed by many Muslim scholars and Orientalists. They can be divided into three groups. The first group consists mostly of western orientalists. These believe that Muslim Philosophy is nothing more than ancient Greek philosophy translated into the Arabic Language. For this group, either Muslim philosophers were not able to produce genuine philosophy or their thoughts can be traced to Islamic theological doctrines. The second group believes that Muslim philosophers has made significant contributions to human thought by adapting ancient Greek philosophy and forming their own philosophical doctrines, such as the contributions of al-Kindi, Ibn Sina, al-Farabi, Ibn Rushd and many others. The third group argues that the so-called Muslim philosophers do not represent real Islamic Philosophy. For this group, Islamic philosophy is more appropriately represented by the schools of Islamic Theology, especially the theology of Ashariat, Maturidiat and Mu’tazilat. This paper compares the position of the three groups of scholars. In addition, it discusses the concept of imitation or “taqlid,” and its implication for modern Islamic thought in general and for Islamic philosophy in particular. The paper extends the discussion of concept of imitation to the phenomenon of deception in Islamic philosophy. On this point, the position of Asha’riat scholars such as al-Ghazali, Dr. Sulayman Dunia, Dr. Ali Sami al-Nashar from the traditional Islamic philosophy, together with a consideration of Ibn Rushd’s doctrine, are considered in detail. This paper rejects the claim of Asha’riat scholars that Muslim Philosophers in general, and Ibn Rushd in particular, used deception to mislead Muslims. The paper also present historical, comparative and analytical arguments to provide evidence that the phenomena of imitation in Islamic philosophy was not an objective in itself but rather a method of teaching develop by fuqahaa.

This study examines the concept of “al-tadayyun” as one of the most important concepts which being a subject of discussion among the Muslim preachers and the Islamic approaches in its meaning, limits and effects in the Muslims life. Generally it is based on two perspectives, objective method (al-manhaj al-maksadi) which is used to understand the text and to derive the fiqhi jugdement. It based on the wisdoms and objectives which are used to understand Islam, and to be practiced in the society based on three factors, current situation, reason and text. These factors are inter-related in a dialectic reaction in order to enjoin the right and avoid the evil. In contrast to the second perspective which has adopted literal method (al-manhaj al-zahiri) to understand the Lord text, which is based on superficial meaning of the texts, neither seeking the reasons of the injunction nor its objectives. It has rejected the using of reason (‘aqal) and satisfied with two factors only, text and current situation. The second is totally directed by the previous which is being understood as a blocked command, without considering the real situation of the society. Furthermore, it exposes the people to the difficulties, problems and loss of interests, all happened by claiming to maintain the injunctions of texts without changing its contents. Some Islamic societies nowadays still depend on this literal approach and considered it correct on Islam in terms of understanding and revelation.

The focus of this paper is on the history and development of the usage of gold and silver coins as a form of currency. The historical background starts before the Islamic era as it was used by the Greek and Romans, then followed by the Muslims. The development of the Islamic currency production gives emphasis on the differences made on the existing currency until the Islamic currency came up with its own identity. The aspects related to the currency and religion, the economic factors and the rulers who influenced the success of the currency are also studied and discussed.

Labuan was declared as an International Offshore Financial Centre (IOFC) IN 1990, with a goal of developing an international Malaysian Capital market. Malaysian government has spared nothing in building up-to-date infrastructures in Labuan to portray the image of world class IOFC. Its objective is to be a financial ‘supermarket ‘offering a wide range of offshore financial products, which specializes in Islamic financial instruments.

Pada dasarnya kertas kerja ini dirangka mengandungi beberapa bahagian tertentu yang saling berkait antara satu sama lain, yang bakal menumpukan perhatian terhadap isu dan pengaruh idea orientalisme barat yang dapat dikesan dalam konteks Malaysia. Antara lainnya ianya terdiri; (1) Perkembangan kecenderungan Islam di Malaysia selepas merdeka. (2) Sikap Islam terhadap genre orientalisme : suatu analisis. (3) Analisa terhadap isu dan pengaruh orientalisme yang terpihh di Malaysia yang merangkumi isu: (i) Penghinaan dan penolakan terhadap autoriti Rasulullah; (ii) Isu gender mengikut neraca dan sistem nilai barat; (iii)Penghinaan yang berlebihan terhadap sumbangan ulamak di dalam konteks zaman moden dan (iv)Usaha menjadikan kerangka dan nilai barat sebagai model pemodenan dan kemajuan. (4) Perincian sebab kenapa sarjana Malaysia terpengaruh dengan idea orientalis (5) Kesimpulan.

The spread of the words of Islam are not only h t e d through the usual mediums used by dai'e and ulama but it encompasses all disciplines including poetry. The prophet Muhammad s.a.w. honors Muslim poets, and one of them being Hassan bin Thabit. It was said that the prophet Muhammad s.a.w. once told Hassan bin Thabit in his own words which means: "Act in response to the insult from the musyrikins and may Jibril join you, if all of my friends fight with weapons, you shall fight with your tongue (words)". The Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.'s stance towards poetry is encouraging, that his conduct mirrors his fondness for poetry. Not only does the prophet Muhammad s.a.w. enjoys and appreciates poetry, he even uses Muslim poets to help him oppose Islam's enemies and simultaneously spread the teachings of Islam. The Prophet appointed Hassan bin Thabit as his own personal poet to create poems to deflect the mockeries made by the musyrikin poets and at the same time enlightening them with the truth of the teaching of Islam brought by the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. The spread of the words of 1slak through Hassan bin habit's poetry has been successful, this can be seen where he has been given support and praises for every victory that the muslimins have achieved in opposing and in combating the Prophet's and Islam's enemies by extolling Islam's greatness and the Prophet's teachings and also the unity and the strength of muslims. He also praises the Prophet and his friends whom are fighters and warriors in propagating and upholding Islam's syiar. In short, dakwah islamiyah in Hassan bin Thabit's poetry can be seen through the themes contained in his poetry, such as praises, pride, insults, lamentation, appeal etc. Truly, Hassan bin Thabit uses his poetry to defend the Prophet s.a.w. and the teachings of Islam and also the muslmns. His role and contribution in the arena of dakwah islamiyah through poetry cannot be forgotten or put aside in Islam's history. It is no wonder that he is accurately dubbed as the 'official poet', even prophet Muhammad s.a.w. dubbed him 'Abu al-Hasm' with respect to his role in defending the Prophet s.a.w. himself.

This working paper discussed regarding the law of narrating "hadith" among the members of "bid'ah" in the eyes of the members of "hadith". Narrating "hadith" is a noble work and very important in maintaining the validity of Rasullulah's "hadith" from those which are "daif'. The hadith's theologians have put on a very meticulous effort in the process of narrating "hadith", and they have outlined a guideline, which need to be followed in facing the narration by the members of "bid'ah". Therefore, the discussion is aiming at the meaning of bid'ah itself, a person who does things, whch are bid'ah and the category of bid'ah. Apart from that, this working paper classified the "bid'ah" into two, which are, one that brings to the "kufur" and the other that brings to the "fasik". At the end, the writer found that if the narrator had done the bid'ah which lead to the "kufur", the narration is rejected, and if the bid'ah leads to the "fasik", the "ulamak" make the evaluation whether to accept it or not.

Colors are one of the most outstanding evidences of Allah existence, as well as the means to explain and differentiate amongst things. The holy Qur'an illustrates that the difference of colors besides proving the grandeur of Allah in His creation is one of His blessings to distinguish between matters around us, be it animate or inanimate. It is impossible to imagine the universe that surrounds us without colors. The Holy Qur'an also highlights the fact that colors are one of the attributes of beauty when used to give detailed description of any entity with its colors. Thereby adding to colors another function, which is the artistic and the aesthetic expression. The use of colors in the Holy Qur'an is related to the meaning and sometimes to the mobility in order to express vividly what the context requires. The choice of a particular color by the Holy Qur'an is one of the scientific I'jaz (phenomenon). In addition, the manifestation of one of its aspects leads to the justification of the existence of the creator-Allah. This research paper discusses the colors mentioned in the Qur'an and attempts to link the Quranic implication of a color in a specific situation and its scientific implications, as colors is a field of study highly connected with other natural, physical, philosophical and psychological sciences. This paper also sheds light on the agreement between the Quranic and the modem scientific achievements with regard to colors' implications, especially its in a positive or negative effect on the psychology of mankind as it emphasizes the multi implications for each color that could be positive, beautiful and impressing in a certain situation and setting. However, under different circumstances the same color would imply different meaning. Furthermore, the paper lists the colors mentioned by the Holy Qur'an such as, white, black, green, red, yellow and blue, and the usage of each one in describing the aspects of dus life such as that of nature, as well as that of the hereafter, like paradise; its luxurious life of green clothes and green plants besides the description of the black face of the non-muslims on the day of judgment. The Quran also includes indications of mixed colors such as Dihan (Paint), Ghabra (dust) , and Mud-hamatan (Dark blackish green). Therefore, this humble paper attempts to explore and contribute with more findings to the field 'Studies of Quranic I'jaz (phenomenon).

Management from an Islamic perspective is an emerging subject. There are many authors who have contributed towards the understanding of management Functions in areas of leadership, motivation, employees' behavior and business management ethics.It is evident that much emphasis is there on basic issues such as ethics and leadership and those related to behavioral aspects of organizations. Rarely there is sources available focusing on Islamic perspectives to operational areas of management such as management process, quality management, marketing and s e h g or performance appraisal of employees. Over a period of time the body of literature pertaining to Islamic perspectives to different areas of management of organization is likely to increase and the present paper is an attempt in this direction. The main objective of the paper is to introduce the general objective of Islam and Shariah; and its implications on the management profession.Based on the above the author realized that there is dire need to look into problem of management from Islamic perspective by comprehending the management knowledge as is developed in the Western and industrialized countries, do a critical appreciation of the subject, followed by a process of elimination and reconstruction of our own model based on certain Islamic principles. Thus, an Islamic perspective of management model has been developed by the author. It is highly based on the idea of the following premises of thought regarded very high in the early days of Islam can work equally benefiting manner even today. These principles are: 1) visionary leadership, 2) strategic management, 3) management of change, 4) fair treatment and social justice among the employees, 5) sincerity and commitment and 6) motivation based on merit. A model based on the above six principles of management from Islamic perspective, it is hoped by the author, may help in solving some of the problems of contemperory management.

Tawaran dan penerimaan merupakan elemen yang penting dalam memulakan suatu kontrak. Kedua-dua elemen ini apabila digabungkan membentuk satu perjanjian yang merupakan salah satu dari unsur-unsur asas kesahan sebuah kontrak. Kegagalan memenuhi elemen-elemen ini akan mengakibatkan suatu kontrak menjadi batal (void ab initio). Menyedari kepentingan tawaran dan penerimaan dalam sebuah kontrak, artikel ini akan mengupas mengenainya dari perspektif undang-undang sivil menerusi Akta Kontrak 1950 serta undang-undang syariah. Perbincangan akan meliputi perkara-perkara berkenaan defenisi, syarat-syarat perlaksanaan dan pembatalan sebuah tawaran dan penerimaan.

The Bahr al-Madhi of Shaykh Muhammad Idris al-Marbawi can be aptly considered as one of the greatest literary masterpiece of Malay Muslim scholarship in the twentieth century. It was composed as a commentary to the Jami' al-Tirmidhi and the only one of its kind to have been written in the Malay language. Perhaps, due to the lack of awareness, the book has not received attention or been the subject of any study or scrutiny by contemporary researchers. It is therefore, the intention of this preliminary exposition on the book in terms of its scope, content and analysis of the methodology of its author to pave the way for further analysis and studies in the future.

The current events on the relation between the West and Muslim world dictate comprehension of fundamental features of Islamic international relations. Muslim intellectuals have to contribute to this timely phenomenon in order to enhance the true picture of Islamic view on the subject. This could only be done with the condition that one refers to the views of Muslim classical jurists on the issue and interpret these views according to the time-space factual experience. The typical legalistic format and traditional approach to the study of international relations will no longer be applicable. Muslim-non-Muslim relation is not based on a "state of war" as depicted by minority hatred-oriented Muslim individuals. Historical dimensions on the aforementioned relation are indicative of this assertion. Muslims should not limit themselves on the framework of operational details of early juridical rulings rather should respond to current events on international relations according to the political and social situations of the contemporary world order.

Since Islamic literature and criticism are new areas in the vast field of literature and criticism, this paper mainly attempts to set criteria for Islamic literature and literary criticism in light of the positive efforts made by the contemporary figures in the field of Islamic literature and criticism. As an introduction to the paper, definitions of all the vocabularies related to literature, criticism, writer and critic are discussed. Following that are the similarities and differences between a literary writer and a literary critic. Before discussing any criteria of Islamic literature and literary criticism, some background on Islamic literature is discussed under different subtitles such as The relationship between literature, life and Islam and Definition of Islamic literature before pointing out the similarities and differences between Islamic Literature and other literatures. Furthermore, the role of criticism in a Muslim society, Horizon of Islamic literature and other Issues related to Islamic literature and Islamic criticism are discussed. Under the Criteria of Islamic literature, relevant areas such as Islamic literature and literary writers, The Characteristics of a Muslim Writer, as well as that of Islamic literature are highlighted before attempting to set a criterion for Islamic literature under the heading Towards a Theory of Islamic Literature and Literary Criticism. The last major part of the paper deals with the Criteria of Islamic Criticism. This part discusses The need for a Theory for Islamic Literature, The characteristics of Islamic Literacy Criticism as well as that of a Muslim Critic. Lastly, the conclusion highlights the significance of literature in general and Islamic literature in specific as well as the role in criticism in life sums up the whole paper.

The Holy Quraan narrated the stories of the previous nations and prophets peace on them all, these stories are educational programs in building the human society for it is containing advises that Allah wanted them to be contained in a great book so the story of Luqman (peace on him) considered to be the greatest story coming in humanity building to him self, to his family, and to his society, beyond this simple study I focus my study on the most important subjects to build the human being and the society as if it is practical essences in our daily life and to share in recure many diseases which human beings always suffered from it nowadays.

Kekaburan tentang tasawwur kepimpinan Islam adalah sesuatu yang amat malang terutamanya kepada masyarakat Islam. Ini adalah kerana sistem pemerintahan tersebut telah berjaya melahirkan masyarakat yang cemerlang dan kecemerlangannya telah diakui oleh para sarjana termasuklah para sarjana Barat sendiri. Kejayaan tersebut telah direalisasikan oleh baginda Nabi Muhammad SAW apabila terbentuknya negara Madinah. Setelah itu corak pemerintahan tersebut telah diimplimentasikan oleh para Khulafa al-Rashidin, para pemerintah zaman Umaiyah dan zaman Abbasiah. Namun begitu, sistem ini telah runtuh di tangan orang Islam sendiri apabila Kamal Atartuk tidak lagi menerimapakai sistem pemerintahan Khalifah di negara Turki. Bermula dari detik tersebut umat Islam mula tertanya tanya apakah bentuk kepimpinan yang diasaskan oleh Islam yang diistilah sebagai kepimpinan Islam. Oleh itu, kertas ini cuba menyelesaikan kekaburan mengenai tasawwur kepimpinan Islam.

The paper examines the issue of disparities between Muslim nations and other countries based on the Human Development Index (HDI) measurement. HDI measures the average progress of a country in human development. It is computed as the composite index of three equally weighted outcome measures: longevity, knowledge and income. This paper briefly discusses the measurements and changes in the calculation of HDI. The status of human development in the Muslim nations will also be addressed. The paper concludes that HDI can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of national policy choices pursued by the government.