Al-Ghazali was one of the most prominent and influential philosophers, theologians, jurists, and mystics of Sunni Islam. He was of Persian origin.

Islamic tradition considers him to be a Mujaddid, a renewer of the faith who, according to the prophetic hadith, appears once every century to restore the faith of the ummah (“the Islamic Community”).His works were so highly acclaimed by his contemporaries that al-Ghazali was awarded the honorific title “Proof of Islam” (Hujjat al-Islam).

Al-Ghazali believed that the Islamic spiritual tradition had become moribund and that the spiritual sciences taught by the first generation of Muslims had been forgotten. That resulted in his writing his magnum opus entitled Ihya ‘ulum al-din (“The Revival of the Religious Sciences”).Among his other works, the Tahāfut al-Falāsifa (“Incoherence of the Philosophers”) is a significant landmark in the history of philosophy, as it advances the critique of Aristotelian science developed later in 14th-century Europe.

Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad discusses disciplining the soul and focuses on human sexuality from the Islamic perspective.

In this video, Sh. Dr. Yasir Qadhi covers the important topic of sexual harassment and crimes in our society. Some topics covered include:

1 Such crimes are indeed crimes and sins in the sight of Allah SWT.
– Any person committing such a sin must seek forgiveness from Allah and try to right a wrong with the victim (if possible)
– A person in power or authority committing such is a heavier sin
2) Parents should recognize, pay attention to signs of trouble and protect their children
– The vast majority of molestation occurs in hand of friends and relatives
3) If friends and family come to us for emotional support, this is not the time for blame, rather compassion should be shown
-legal authorities should be involved if necessary

Some lessons from the Quran & Seerah:
– Evil existed even at the time of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
– The Prophet did not question harshly or reprimand the woman
– Mistaken identity is possible
– Yusuf (A.S) was a victim of power differential, but he passed the test
– One should repel the test as much as possible, but the coercion (forced) situation is forgiven

4) We should, as a society, reflect upon the rise of promiscuity, immorality, free-mixing, pornography, objectifying the female (or male) body and instead encourage intimacy strictly within marriage, limiting time alone with opposite gender, modest dress-code, etc, in order to uplift the principles of Islam.

5) Anytime harm is being done to others, this should be dealt with swiftly, publicly and may involve authorities. If adults are involved in private sins, they should be advised privately first.

Imam Yaseen Shaikh discuses in this lecture, the issues surrounding Muslims and homosexuality. The Imam also answers several questions relating to this matter. Can one have homosexual tendencies and still be a Muslim? Can one be an active homosexual and Muslim? This video is not a hatred towards the Homosexual Communities nor is it homophobia related, but is for the purpose of educating Muslims on the issues that exist in Islam.

Sheikh Abdal Hakim offers some thoughts on gender in Islam. He begins, with characteristic catholicity, by discussing the career of Valentine de Sainte Point, an early French feminist and Futurist who in later life rejected what she perceived as the dehumanising trajectory of Western culture and converted to Islam, in which she found a more integrated and integrative understanding of human nature.

From that, the sheikh moves on discuss some aspects of the Islamic understanding of gender and sexuality, and how in this respect, as in others, the message of the Qu’ran and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) acted as a rectification to misinterpretations of previous revelation; in this case, the rejection and excoriation of human sexuality often manifested by Christianity. The Prophet, by contrast, as ‘mankind perfected’, embraced this aspect of his humanity as he did every other, according to the Divine Guidance. His role as exemplar was thereby extended to women partly through his marriages, which provided multiple models of exemplary female behaviour. The sheikh finishes by discussing this in relation to the Prophet’s wives (may God be pleased with them) and Qur’anic examples of ideal women.

A great lesson from the Qur’an about how men and women are supposed to interact in public and the workplace.

In this video, Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan tackles a few issues that are related to shamelessness. Through verses of the Qur’an, he explains how much Allah dislikes zina, adultery, sexual promiscuity, looking at the haram (forbidden), and not lowering our gaze.

This Khutbah was given by Imam Khalid Latif at the Islamic Center at NYU on Friday, April 13th, 2012. April is recognized as Sexual Assault Awareness month.

In this lecture, Shaykh Kamal el Mekki discusses on the issue of sexual relations and how it is understood in our a current society and it’s relation to Islam.

Sex, Drugs & Rock n’Roll: Or is there more to life?